Tag Archives: MN-DNR Eagles

Tragedy to tragedy. Late Monday and early Tuesday in Bird World

13-14 June 2022

The Cape Henlopen State Park Osprey nest kept me occupied for a large part of Monday . It is a very complicated situation. There are two intruder birds. They are distinctive in the very thick eye band. One has quite a good necklace and the other does not. Their eyes are close and often look like when we say ‘snake eyes’.

As the sun was setting both of the adult birds were on the nest. You can see their distinctive eye bands that are thick and go right to the shoulder. Except for their necklaces you might want to think they are twins.

One of the birds has some feather damage. It is the one who moved the chicks out of the nest. At first I thought the little chick had its wing caught in the talon but watching the bird try to remove and then in a second try achieve getting one of the bigger chicks off the nest – it was deliberate. She just didn’t have a good hold on that wee third hatch and it is probably – or was – at the base of the platform.

This bird has some interesting feather damage in at least two areas. I hope to get someone who knows about feather issues to examine the photo. It looks like a section around the scapula V on the right has been cut or torn or there are feathers missing. You can see the feather on the right hanging. The bird has flown on and off the nest carrying the chicks but returns quickly so she is just dumping them close by.

It appears that there is a third bird that is around the nest that these two are concerned about and it could be the Mum of the three dead chicks. Of course, this is simply speculation on my part. We have not seen that bird and none are ringed.

There are no adult ospreys on the Cape Helopen Osprey nest tonight, 13 June.

I have received word from ‘A’ and ‘EJ’ that the two intruders were at the Henlopen Osprey nest this morning and at one time a fish was brought and removed. The female intruder has also removed the third dead osplet from the nest. ‘A’ mentions the third osprey that has been bothering me. Is it Mum? is she injured? If it is her – our hearts go out to her. She has sadly lost her entire family.

I remember in an online discussion and chat with Sean and Lynn at Cal Falcons, they mentioned that the problem with the success of reintroducing these species is that there are too many birds. There are territorial fights, etc. Perhaps also it is the amount of habitat loss due to population growth and building, climate change and being able to get adequate food that is also a problem. For the Osprey there is then the issue of trees. Unlike Bald Eagles, Ospreys like to have their nests at the top of a dead tree. So many trees have been lost to deforestation and wildfires and in my community if someone sees a dead tree, it is cut down. Only in the marshes and mangroves do I see them. In South Australia they are busy building platforms in good places for the Ospreys if they have seen Ospreys nesting like Turnby Island. The new platform is up and the Ospreys are already on it along with most of their old nest. Do we need to get building more platforms? And if lakes and streams can be stocked for people to go fishing, what about the birds? It does appear – from many nests – that the success of both the Osprey and Eagle reintroduction programmes have caused issues for established nests – some outright tragedies. There must be some solutions.

Little Bob at the Loch of the Lowes was shut out from the evening feeding. Indeed, he had not eaten all day Monday that I am aware. Both Little and Middle stayed well out of the way of Big and just let him eat. Then Middle went up. By the time Little got up to the table the fish was gone. If this is a problem with Laddie not bringing in enough fish now – then Blue NC0 needs to step up the game and go fishing.

Big ate almost all that fish and has a big crop and so does Middle. Poor wee Bob. They can last for several days. We have seen this on many nests but it is time Little Bob had a good feed. Fingers crossed for Tuesday.

This is Blue NC0 defending the nest and chicks against the intruder.

The situation at the Loch of the Lowes has not improved. There is a ringed intruder and as such Laddie and Blue NC0 are both dealing with that. A fish finally came in at 16:00 but both Little and Middle Bob are getting pounded. Little Bob did not even raise its head and beg for food. There are any number of people worrying about this nest. I will be checking on it later. Some of the Osprey groups are already posting thoughts for Little Bob – he cannot go much longer if he is to live. I do not think he will make it either. So sad. Middle ate yesterday.

I started making a list of all the sadness at the nests this year and will post it later today. It has been a year of tragedy.

The West End fledglings – Ahote and Kana’kini – are really using their wings and learning how to land. Two of the chicks on the natal nest watch one of the siblings (I believe it is Kana’kini) fly off the nest and land on Transmitter Rock.

Perfect landing.

Kana’kini was still on Wray’s Rock Tuesday morning. She had flown there on Monday. Tuesday morning Ahote and Sky were on the natal nest when a fish delivery came in at 05:42. Waiting for Sky to fledge.

Kana’kini and Ahote have since flown off leaving Sky on the natal nest.

At the Two Harbours nest of Chase and Cholyn, Lancer will be 10 weeks old (70 days) tomorrow, the 15th. Cholyn is still flying in to feed their big girl!

There are big storms moving through the area of the ND-LEEF nest. The camera is out of sorts. This could seriously impact any prey deliveries for tomorrow. Little Bit 17 really needs a good meal tomorrow.

The system is going to impact a large area that have nests.

The camera is down because of the storm at the ND-LEEF nest. The eaglets are ND15 75 days old, ND16 74 days old and Little Bit ND17 is 70 days old. It sure would be a shame to lose this little fighter now. What a time to have a storm – backed up with days of little food. My goodness.

I haven’t checked on E1 and Nancy at the MN-DNR nest lately. Nancy made a prey delivery, E1 mantled quickly and was very aggressive to the adult. This is normal behaviour in eaglets getting ready to fledge.

There was a lot of strong winds and rain over night at the MN-DNR. The system is due to be about the same as the one in my city. It will calm down and may begin again. E1 survived it fine – thank goodness.

At the nest of Big Red and Arthur, it appears that the only eyas left to fledge is L4. Little cutie pie. And little cutie pie took advantage of having its big siblings off flying and getting prey elsewhere to eat up two prey items on the nest and get an enormous crop! Sometimes there are advantages to having your other siblings fledge. This might also work for Little Bit if everything came come together to get the parents able to find prey to deliver. I understand that this time of year at this particular nest prey deliveries suffer.

Big Red’s kids do not have that problem. Arthur is excellent at delivering food and Big Red is often hunting herself. They did a marvellous job this year. Amazing.

L4 could fledge. He has 5 going on 6 dark stripes and he is 47 days old. remember the average age of fledge is 46.5 days at this nest.

I love the stretching exercises after the meal. He stretched both sides like this.

The UFlorida-Gainesville Ospreys are not sleeping on the natal nest tonight.

The adults are dropping off fish on the nest and both of the fledglings, Big and Middle, make their way there when they see the parents flying in that direction. Big had the fish and then Middle got tired of waiting and took it. Both had a decent feed. These two are doing fantastic.

It is always good to remember that what you want to see are the chicks being fed by the parents on the nest after fledge. At other times, they will feed them off nest like they did with Little MiniO at Captiva. Often times the fledglings bolt and well, they need to get home. You might recall if you watched the NEFlorida Bald Eagle nest that Legacy (2021) was missing for about six days. She was so glad to find home she didn’t leave for another month!

It is early morning in The Czech Republic and Betty is feeding the four White storklets at the Mlade Buky nest. Oh, look. They are getting their pin feathers. Fantastic. Note: The smallest, the 5th storklet was eliminated on Sunday.

It is also lousy weather in Estonia but Karl II has been out fishing for these babies. Did you know he flies 10 km to get the little fish? It is monitored by his tracker.

Liz did a lovely – and short video (I always appreciate her short videos getting right to the heart of the matter) – of the three Black storklets of Jan and Janika’s in care late Tuesday having a meal. They are doing so very well. I think that you are witnessing an intervention that is going to go very, very well.

All three osplets on the nest of Aran and Mrs G in the Glaslyn Valley are doing quite fine. Just look at that face of Mrs G. I certainly would not want to mess with this Osprey Mum. In the second image all have crops after their afternoon tea time meal.

Idris taking the head off of the tea time fish for Telyn and the three Bobs. There is definitely not a problem at this nest!

Little Bob is in the middle and Telyn has been feeding him – and he will be fed til his crop is full! (or they run out of fish)

Llyn Brenig Ospreys have had their troubles. The third hatch died but the two surviving osplets appear to be doing very well. Let us hope that the horrible weather that has swept through the nests dissipates and gives these families a break!

The two surviving osplets at the Loch Arkaig nest have been enjoying all that nice fish that Louis brings in. The tea time one was a little too close to the lads or lasses but both got fed. Big Bob looks like he could be a problem. Let us hope that he isn’t! There is always fish on this nest of Dorcha and Louis.

They have had their problems up at Llyn Clywedog but it looks like those are behind them. Dylan brought in a huge Mullet for Seren and the three Bobs at 16:00:03. Just look at their crops after their tea.

That is a hop, skip, and jump through the nests with troubles and some of those that are doing so well. Seeing those three at Llyn Clywedog after the fear that Dylan was missing just warms the heart.

Last, Alden delivered what appears to be a pigeon. Annie gets it and this translates into a food fight between Lindsay and Grinnell, Jr. Neither have fledged yet but it is just morning in California! Fledge watch at Cal Falcons.

We may never know what ultimately happens at the Cape Henlopen State Park Osprey nest until we see who is on the nest for the next breeding season. If it is Mum who has been trying to get her nest back, let us hope that she either does so safely or she leaves the territory in good health to find another nest and mate.

I am working on two different pieces for you. One of Wildlife Rehabilitation Centres and their importance and another on the birds that we have lost since last 1 July. It is sadly a very long list. I had hoped to have the one on the rehabilitation centres finished this week but the events at some of the nests took over.

Thank you for joining me. Take care everyone. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams and/or FB pages or videos that I have captured and used for this blog: Liz M, Cape Henlopen State Park Ospreys, Cornell RTH Cam, ND-LEEF, Friends of the Loch of the Lowes and the Scottish Wildlife Trust, CarnyXWild, Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Dfyi Osprey Project, MN-DNR, Explore.org and the Institute for Wildlife Studies, Llyn Brenig Ospreys, Cal Falcons, Llyn Brenig Ospreys, Eagle Club of Estonia, Mlade Buky White Storks, UFlorida-Gainesville Ospreys, and NOAA.

Late Saturday and early Sunday in Bird World

28-29 May 2022

Saturday was an incredible day for a long walk at the nature centre. Thankfully individuals have donated benches in their loved one’s names and they are scattered about the trails. Much of Ft Whyte has been covered with water and there are areas that are more wetlands than anything else. Those are the interesting places. The Red-winged Blackbirds and the Yellow-rumped Warblers seemed to love eating the seeds? of the bull rushes. It was a fascinating day. Way across the lake were two adult Double-breasted Cormorants and nine juveniles. The Cormorants make their nests on islands or in the tops of trees or platforms. Normally there are 5-7 eggs that are incubated for 25-59 days. This couple seems to have hatched 9!

They were at a great distance and the sky was getting very dark. Not touched up but a lovely scene.

The usuals were around – beautiful Yellow Warblers, American Goldfinches, the Yellow-rumped Warblers, and a Downy and a Hairy Woodpecker.

What a striking difference between the male Red-winged Blackbird and their female mates, below. She is having a wonderful time gleaning for insects and seeds on the ground.

This female American Redstart flitted around the Cattail branches. She was very difficult to photograph! She was hovering around the pools of water foraging for insects.

The Canada Geese are still incubating. No one seems to know when the eggs are due to hatch at Ft Whyte! (or not anyone that I could find).

You often see evidence of the woodpeckers presence but, most times, you do not actually see them. So to see both a Hairy and a Downy over by the songbird feeding station was quite a treat.

A female Hairy Woodpecker.

The female Downy Woodpecker.

In fact, today was a fun day because so many of the female birds were out feeding. What a joy!

I had hoped to head out today, Sunday, but right now it is raining. The birds in the garden are not happy! Hopefully the sun will come out later for them and they can dry off and I can go for my walk.

Sadly, Saturday was not a good day on the ND-LEEF nest. The lack of prey coming to this nest is becoming highly problematic. The two older siblings have figured out how to self-feed. Little Middle 17 had an advantage when they didn’t know how to do this! There was someone on chat that made a comment that Little Bit 17 had some food from Dad last evening – a heron?? I did not see it. Perhaps some of you did. My notes indicate 48 hours without substantial food. Let us hope that the fish get on the nest tomorrow and are plentiful. In fact, one of the older siblings – I do think it is the Middle one 16 – attacked Little Bit today and Mum flew down from the branch and intervened. We need fish on this nest quickly. Send all positive thoughts to Little Bit 17.

Two fish have so far come to the ND-LEEF nest on Sunday morning. The second one right before 10:58 when Mum flies down and feeds 17. Originally the fish was left on the nest but no takers and Little Bit seemed reluctant to eat it. He is staying back in the part beyond the camera. After a few minutes Mum comes down and takes the fish. Little Bit eats. Then in a few minutes 16 steals the fish. How much did Little Bit get? It isn’t clear but when 16 stole the fish, there was only about half of it left. I know Little Bit can eat fast – he has had to. Let us hope he got enough and that another fish comes and then another. We need to get out of this bad loop on this nest. 16 continues to attack Little Bit. 16 is one nasty bird.

If you are at all sensitive, I would not watch this nest for a few days. Let it sort itself out. I am very concerned about the level of hunger and the attacks by 16 on Little Bit.

The eyases on the Red-tail Hawk nest of Big Red and Arthur are changing by the day. Those juvenile feathers continue to grow and grow. Watch their tails. It is best if they have 5 or more dark tail bands for fledging.

That is little L4 showing off his beautiful wings. Big sister is in front. It is awhile til fledge from the look of the tails!

At the UFlorida-Gainesville Osprey nest, Middle was busy eating a really nice fish. And guess what? He did not share!

This nest is so civilized now. If you just tuned in you could never imagine that the third hatch died from siblicide or that the Middle chick had been beaked and stopped from eating. It is a lovely nest to watch.

Middle was making some headway 9 minutes later. It is hard for the osplets to figure out how to hold the fish down and unzip it at the same time. They need to watch Mum carefully when she digs her beak into the skin and pulls hard!

Both of the osplets have been eating on the UFlorida-Gainesville nest Sunday morning. Each has had a turn at a fish and there are fish on the nest if you look closely – well, pieces of them. These two are healthy and doing so well.

As the sun went down on a beautiful Saturday at the Loch of the Lowes, Blue NC0 was feeding the three nestlings. I am cautiously hopeful for this third hatch. It is a nice strong little one.

It was so windy earlier in the day that Blue NC0 was literally blown off the nest.

It is Sunday morning and Blue NC0 and the trio of Bobs are waiting for Laddie to deliver a fish!

Laddie came through – of course, he did! They have all eaten well and Little Bob felt like he wanted to start a fight. He is a little toughie. LOL. You can see the plumage changing on Big Bob.

Telyn had gone for a break at 0503 and Idris flew in with the breakfast fish two minutes later. He thought he was going to get to feed the Three Bobs but, no. Telyn had a different idea. Gosh, they are so cute…I wish they would stay this soft grey downy chick for awhile longer before becoming a Reptile-Dinosaur showing their DNA chick.

It is quite amazing how quickly they get stronger. Adorable. Nice dark bands around those eyes.

The Dyfi Osprey Project created a video log of the hatching.

Aran and Mrs G now have two Bobs at the Glaslyn Valley Osprey nest. One more egg to go!

These two look like they will be a hand full.

CJ7 and Blue 022 have already made history by laying the first osprey eggs in a nest at Poole Harbour in more than 200 years. The eggs were laid on 23, 26, and 29th of April. That means that the first egg is 36 days old now. I am thinking pip watch in a couple of days?? This morning CJ7 ate her fish off the nest so no hatch yet! Gosh this is going to be a difficult nest to see those historical hatches!

Oh, those three Bobs on the Manton Bay nest of Blue 22 and Maya are getting huge. It seems it was only yesterday that we were worrying that the flapping Perch had killed one or both of the nestlings. It was 13 days ago!

This is such a good nest. A fish is right there when Maya gets the chicks up in the morning. It must surely help to have a stocked lake that is free from leisure vehicles and people.

You can almost hear Maya saying, “Oh, please, just have one more bite.”

Maya looks like she is in shock as Blue 33 arrives with a fish.

And what a fish that was!!!!!!!!!! Oh, gosh, is it going to land on the chicks?

All lined up like the Osprey lads at Port Lincoln last season. No need to fight over food on this nest – everyone is fed regularly til they are full. Would love to send this fish to Little Bit 17.

Blue 33 also brought in some nesting materials this morning and dropped them over the chicks. The look on Maya’s face was priceless!

After Blue flies off, Maya turns and looks at the camera. My goodness she is a beauty.

I haven’t mentioned them for awhile – shame on me. There are three osplets in the Osprey platform at Cape Henlopen State Park in Lewes, Delaware. They are doing fine and from their heads you can see they are now moving into the Reptilian phase.

Bukachek and Betty have five White Storks this morning in their nest in Mlade Buky, The Czech Republic. Everyone is so excited. There is one more egg to hatch.

Here is an adorable video of the six storklets at the nest of Jan and Janika!

There are wee ones on the nest of Karl II and Kaia, too. With all the nesting material it is hard to see how many.

It is rainy and blowing at the MN-DNR nest. Nancy has gotten food on the nest and E1, Harriet, continues to do very well. Hopefully Nancy will have a new mate next year. So many of us still miss Harry. What a real shame to lose him – he was only 5 years old. Just starting his life really as an adult. And what a wonderful mate he was while he was with Nancy!

There are way too many nests! And too many things happening. There is Annie looking up at us at 05:53 this morning in San Francisco. She is asking you to pick ‘nice’ names for the two chicks that her and Alden have raised. Suggestions stop and then there will be a vote…it seems that there will not need to be a run off for the name of the male. Grinnell is running away with the numbers! How could it not be Grinnell, seriously?

To suggest a name go to https://calfalcons.berkeley.edu and click on the Facebook tag. Scroll down a few entries and put in your desire names. Suggestions end on the 30th with voting starting immediately for the finalists once they are listed. They are giving us a short time so do not delay choosing your favourites of the short listed. I will try and remind everyone, too.

Take care everyone. Have an absolutely fabulous Sunday. Thank you for joining me today. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Cal Falcons, MN-DNR, Eagle Club of Estonia, Mlade Buky White Storks, Osprey Webcam for Cape Henlopen State Park, LRWT, Poole Harbour Ospreys, Brwyd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Dyfi Osprey Project, Friends of Loch of the Lowes and the Scottish Wildlife Trust, UFlorida-Gainesville Ospreys, Cornell Bird Lab RTH cam, and ND-LEEF.

Late Wednesday in Bird World

18 May 2022

It is nothing short of rainy and freezing on the Canadian Prairies. The furnace is on. Outside people have a heavy coat on and hat. I am beginning to believe that we really could have snow in a couple of days.

Little Red. 15 February 2022

The garden/shed is no longer. It was built in 1902 on the property next door. In the 1940s it was moved to my property. Since I dream of living up on the Cape in the dunes with the Ospreys and the sand, everything was covered with cedar shakes. A cottage in an urban environment. I think I miss the shed as much as Little Red does already. 🙁

The Dutch designed and built Red Squirrel House arrived today – thank you DHL. Now to put it up and see if Little Red will accept the new accommodation. He has been stressed out and upset and he might well just go elsewhere. I just hope not in anyone’s attic!!!!

Prairie people dream of sand and water!

“Beach Scene 7277” by Joanna Lee Osborn is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

One of my favourite beaches is Lunan Bay. It is just north of Arbroath, Scotland. Idyllic. Ospreys near by but not here at the beach.

If you want to read something other than factual books about Osprey development, I recommend both of David Gessner’s books. They evoke that beautiful New England coast. The first is Soaring with Fidel written when putting satellite trackers on Ospreys was novel. Gessner follows a bird – at first in an attempt to beat a BBC crew doing a documentary – and then was his own journey all the way to the mountains of Cuba where Ospreys fly in huge groups overhead as they fly to Venezula and Brazil. You will want to travel the same route – Gessner has a way of sucking you in to everything he does delightfully. The second is Return of the Osprey. A Season of Flight and Wonder. I do have a date with an Osprey and I will either be in Cuba on those mountains this September or next! Hidden within the pages of Gessner’s text is all kinds of information on Ospreys, too.

17 at the ND-LEEF Bald Eagle nest has not had any food and unless something comes in late, it will go hungry. 17 had a full crop last night but to grow this wee one needs food and lots of it. The other two are levelling off. Surely something will happen and turn this nest around! I just ache for this hungry little one. If falcons and hawks can manage five nestlings, what happened with the eagles. Why can’t they get enough food for all of them?

Mid-afternoon saw more fish arrive at the UFlorida-Gainesville Osprey nest. Both Big and Middle are sporting nice big crops. Talk about a nest that has turned around. I really wonder what is going on there??? If Dad does have two nests does he alternate weeks – one week one gets little while the other gets a lot and vice versa? [I am not saying he has two nests but it is certainly a theory]. It has been a good week and I will take it. Middle is doing fine. Both are fine.

Middle has big droopy wings now. He was so hot today. Good thing there was fish!

Say hello to RR16, Richmond and Rosie’s wee little one hardly a day old. Cute.

Did DH14 fledge? or is Big just up higher on the nest tree? Three or four fish have been delivered to the nest today! Middle seems to be giving away the hide-and-seek secret hiding spot. Fantastic.

More fish. Middle has an enormous crop after River feeding. I do wonder about Big. She always likes her fish.

There was some concern about the weather plowing through northern Minnesota. I just checked and the MN-DNR Bald Eagle nest is alright as is the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum Osprey nest where Mum is incubating two eggs.

Top is E1, Harriet, on the MN-DNR nest waiting for Mum Nancy to bring some more dinner!

Right by a field! There are two eggs being incubated at the Osprey nest below.

Aren’t they adorable? Can you see their ears? Those black mole-like dots behind the eye and a little down? Those will be covered with feathers soon. When you look at this group and want to place them in order of hatch, look at feather development, not size. Then you will always get it right.

From left to right, L1, L4 (always in front near the beak), L3, and then L2. It could be the camera angle but it might not. L3 looks larger than L2. I guess we will continue to watch and guess – boys or girls. L4 is definitely a little tiercel. And L1 is too much of a big Mama not be another Big Red. The world could use lots of good hawk mothers like BR.

The two chicks of Annie, Grinnell, and Alden are losing that ‘cute’ little newly hatched look. Feathers are coming in. They are getting taller and thinner. Annie spent time today trying to keep the two shaded. It must be hot in San Francisco. Oh, they are adorable. We could be only a week away from ringing them! And names…yes, names. Of course, one has to be Grinnell, right? I mean how could it not be Grinnell?

I would say they are hot!!!!!! I wonder if there is a bit of a breeze coming in from outside? It looks like they have been doing some egg painting.

Cal Falcons posted some information and two images of Alden taken by Moon Rabbit Rising. Check out her Instagram page for more images.

It is happening. Blue 33 and Maya were the first to arrive and lay eggs in the UK. Now we are getting into the next group of Ospreys. I know that there are quite a number together with Mrs G and Aran bringing up the end of hatch.

Right now there is a really nice pip at the nest of Laddie LM12 and Blue NC0 at the Loch of the Lowes!

Everything is fine at the Rutland nest of Maya and Blue 33. The kids eat, sleep, grow, eat some more. Maya is like Big Red. No one goes hungry at her house!

Thanks to ‘B’ who wrote and said Ervie is on the nest. I went and had a good look. Ervie arrived in the wee hours of the morning and slept on the perch flying down to the nest. He flew off and got a puffer. And it appears his talon is starting to grow in.

You can still see Ervie on re-wind on the PLO streaming cam. What a treat. Two days in a row. Thanks so much B from all of us!

You can see the talon just starting to grow.

Every nest seems to be doing fine except for ND-LEEF which has risen to the level of worrisome. If I say this and if everyone sends really positive energy over their way, maybe things will change for the good. As I look at Maya feeding the three Bobs, I sit in wonder. Big Bob survived the fish but I surely thought that Middle Bob was a goner – exposed to rain and the cool weather for 5 or 6 hours til Maya got the fish off and him under her. All three of them are alive and thriving. It is just such a happy positive sight. I wish all of the nests were like this one. We need a miracle for ND-LEEF. Let us all hope for it!

It has been a super long day. I have a few last images for you. I put out a new seed cylinder – they do really well for the garden birds when it is raining. Guess who found it in seconds? Dyson!!!!!!!!

The Baltimore Orioles are still visiting. In the chaos today I did manage to get to the birdseed store to get some White Millet. The place was packed with people purchasing special feeders for Baltimore Orioles. Yes, they are cute. Do you need them? No. A dish of any kind of jelly (not just grape) and orange slices set on something are absolutely fine.

This fellow has been eating oranges and Danish orange marmalade.

Thank you so much for joining me this evening. When I get Little Red’s house fixed, I will show you. Take care everyone. Stay safe.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams and/or FB pages where I took my screen captures: DHEC, Cornell Bird Lab RTH, UFlorida-Gainesville Ospreys, Cal Falcons, ND-LEEF, MN-DNR, Minnesota Landscape Arboretum Ospreys, LRWT, Scottish Wildlife Trust, Port Lincoln Osprey Project, and SF Ospreys and Golden Gate Audubon.

Monday Morning in Bird World

16 May 2022

The sun is trying desperately to brighten the sky. The leaf buds are half way open and there is a tinge of green on all the trees in the neighbourhood. So nice after the long grey white brown winter which seemed to go on forever. The flood waters in my province are finally receding but the cost to the wildlife is unknown. I do hope to see some goslings but how many nests were destroyed by the rising waters will always only be a guess.

I want to thank everyone who sends me news items that demonstrate that we have a long way to go in our fight to make our planet safe for our dearly loved feathered friends (and others). News has come to me this morning from ‘S’ about the toll that wind turbines are taking on the eagles – both Bald and Golden. What an avoidable tragedy!

The ESI Energy Company, Inc. has pleaded guilty to violating the Migratory Bird Act in its killing of at least 150 Bald and Golden Eagles.

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/wind-energy-company-pleads-guilty-to-killing-eagles-180979898/

The story was carried by all the major US news agencies. Thank you ‘S’ for bringing this to my attention.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2022/04/06/150-eagles-killed-wind-turbines/9492311002/

The simple solution is to paint one blade black. “An eagle eye has two focal points (called “fovea” [singular] or “foveae” [plural]) one of which looks forward and the other to the side at about a 45 degree angle. These two foveae allow eagles to see straight ahead and to the side simultaneously.” A study by Jesper Kyed Larsen, Environmental Expert at Vattenfall (Netherlands Energy Company) says, “Painting one blade of a wind turbine rotor black resulted in 70 percent fewer collision bird victims. That has to do with the way birds perceive the moving rotor of a wind turbine.”

https://group.vattenfall.com/press-and-media/newsroom/2022/black-turbine-blades-reduce-bird-collisions#:~:text=That%20study%20showed%20that%20painting,Larsen%2C%20Environmental%20Expert%20at%20Vattenfall

So why is this easy solution not being undertaken? Why is this taking so long?

Some US States have outlawed balloons because of the damage that they do to the waterfowl. ‘L’ writes about a story that broke in Florida after 90 balloons were popped and tossed into the water? How many waterfowl will wind up in the care of the local wildlife rehabilitation clinics? This is precisely what happened on a yacht in Biscayne Bay. Will fines and public shaming help to stop the problem of the balloons? And do we really need to have balloons to have fun? or to mark the site of a celebration?

https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/2nd-arrest-after-viral-video-shows-popped-17171599.php

The two osplets on the nest at the practice field at the University of Florida in Gainesville are waiting for their breakfast.

As I write this, it is now past 11:00 and the two chicks are still waiting for a fish to appear.

As all of you know, ‘R’ and I have been trying to solve the mystery of the lack of fish coming to this – a fact that saw the third hatch become a victim of siblicide. Every possibility had been examined with no conclusions other than multiple factors might be causing issues including the amount of algae in one close lake and the encroachment of dormitories and parking lots taking up part of Alice Lake. This morning ‘R’ caught the camera panning around the campus. There had been a question about whether or not Dad had another nest.

So who is on this nest? Is this a second nest of Dad’s?

The mystery continues.

Still tracking what is happening at the nest of Richmond and Rosie on the old Whirley Crane in San Francisco.

Everyone was expecting the first egg to pip or even hatch by the 15th of May.

Rosie was rolling eggs and the camera is zooming in to see if there is a pip.

That looks like old fishing nets on the nest. Makes me nervous just like fishing line and baling twine.

Is anything happening? It is very hard to tell.

Everything is fine at the platform of Blue 33 (11) and Maya at Rutland today.

Iris. Iris has, perhaps, had a suitor landing on the nest. One day she called for a fish and he did not bring her one. The next day she fought him off. Yesterday she did let him land but she isn’t friendly. Oddly, Louis doesn’t seem to be around. If only this new male would bring Iris a fish!

There is a chunk of fish on the MN-DNR nest of Nancy and E1, Harriet. We can assume that all is well so far there today.

Beautiful close ups of DC9 at the National Arboretum nest of Mr President and Lotus.

The two eaglets on the Dale Hollow nest are restless this morning. We are within the early part of a fledge window at this nest.

So many of us are really going to miss the triplets at the West End nest of Thunder and Akecheta. What a joy Kana’kini and her two brothers have given us this year. But hates off to Akecheta. He sure stepped into the role of Dad in a big, big way!

The wee eyases at the Cal Falcons nest cuddled up with one another. They are waiting for their breakfast.

Cal Falcons reports that the eyases have reached a milestone in their development:

Oh, those five eyases at the Manchester, New Hampshire scrape are growing. Unbelievable!

The falcons on top of the tower in Oudenaarde in Belgium have an amazing view! In the image below you can see that while the chicks are seemingly alone, there is an adult close by. This would be the same with all the other falcon scrapes that we watch.

Big Red was up early – just as the sun was beginning to shine over Cornell’s campus at Ithaca – feeding the Ls. Notice how the eyases’ gorgeous contour and wing feathers are starting to grow.

Gosh, I continue to enjoy watching the Goshawk, Alla with her chicks. Here is a short video clip of a feeding this morning.

Bukachek and Betty have been taking turns incubating their eggs in the Mlade Buky nest in The Czech Republic. Some of the interference with the nest has stopped. Looking for pip watch in about a week.

That’s a wrap for this morning. The truck has arrived to start taking apart a very old garage/shed that has been the ‘penthouse’ for Little Red. By mid-June, if all goes well, there should be a greenhouse/conservatory taking its place. Can’t wait. The birds are not happy with the workmen being here – indeed, the birds are not happy if I am outside other than to fill their feeders!

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

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams an/or FB pages where I took my screen captures: Cornell RTH, Cal Falcons, MN-DNR, LRWT, UFlorida-Gainesville Ospreys, DHEC, NADC-AEF, Mlade Buky White Stork Nest, Peregrine Networks, Montana Osprey Project, Explore.org, SF Bay Ospreys and Golden Gate Audubon.

Friday Morning in Bird World

13 May 2022

Good Morning Everyone! I hope that your Friday is a very good one.

Have you seen this old film titled Osprey?

In the Q & A discussion at Cal Falcons, one big difference between Grinnell and Alden that has been noticed is that Alden hunts at night. He also seems to be hunting in exotic places bringing in various prey items. Last evening the kids and Annie had a bed time snack at 22:00.

Alden on the left and Annie, who has just taken prey item, on the right. Look at those two smiling eyases! How grand. Both ate extremely well, the little one falling into a food coma first.

All are wide awake first thing in the morning and ready for fish at the Manton Bay Osprey nest at Rutland. Blue 33 (11) has been flying in with more and more fish during the day. The three are doing very well with the flapping perch incident well behind them! A great way to start a Friday.

At 11:50 Blue 33 took a turn feeding his chicks as Maya looked on.

More food around 14:00. Maya is pretty much feeding the chicks every two hours. The trio will grow fast!

The streaming cam to the nest of the Lesser Spotted Eagles, Anna and Andris in the Spruce Tree in a forest area at Lemgate, Latvia is back on line. The couple are incubating one egg which is set to hatch in June.

Both eaglets are still on the nest at Dale Hollow. They are 75 days old today if you count hatch day (28 Feb). Gorgeous birds who are now filling in almost the entire nest. They are definitely within fledge range which is normally 10-12 weeks for Bald Eagles.

The eaglet at the Duke Farms Bald Eagle nest is four days older than the pair at Dale Hollow.

Middle Little was on the platform at the Captiva Osprey nest this morning early calling for dad, Andy, to bring in a fish. All four of the family can be seen flying around the area and since Middle Little and Little MiniO are the only fledglings, Lori has been able to take images from her kayak and is certain it is them screaming for the parents to bring fish. Lori is returning to Canada today. If you have enjoyed watching the Ospreys and all her help finding them to reassure us all are alright, why not go to the chat today and just give her a little thank you. It has been a great year at the Captiva Osprey platform – a first in a long time to have osplets fledge! Thanks, Lori.

At 07:25:29, Dad delivered a fish to the UFlorida-Gainesville Osprey nest. Middle started cheeping right away and managed to get into position quickly, on the opposite side of Mum, to get some nice fish. That is a great way to start the day at this nest. It is 22 degrees C, winds were at 6 kmh at the time of the delivery with the pressure rising. The weather forecast is for a thunderstorm later today.

Nice to see that fish this morning before the weather turns bad.

Big did not seem threatening but Middle still got around the back of Mum and over to the opposite side calling loudly for food. Good for you, Middle.

Mum did give Big the first couple of bites before Middle got up front but then she fed both. I hope Middle is getting his confidence back!

Oh, this camera can be annoying. That is Middle with its wings spread. Growing. Getting to the point that Big really cannot do too much damage other than throwing Middle off the nest — which I hope is not going to happen. The thunderstorm is forecast to begin around 16:00 nest time.

Nancy and E1 – Harriet – were rearranging straw on the nest this morning. There continues to be a sub-adult around the nest. Both Nancy and E1 continue to do as well as expected as a nest with a single parent. Look at Harriet help her Mum!

Cholyn fed TH1 at 05:33 from the fish that was left overnight.

Just look at that beautiful golden glow over the nest shining on the face of our beautiful Mum. It won’t be long til Dr Sharpe climbs up the cliff to band the eaglet. I will see if I can find out when that is going to be for everyone. If you know already, let me know!

They have fledged but both Jasper and Rocket are still hanging around the nest tree getting food from Samson and Gabby. Gabby normally migrates north when it gets hot while Samson stays in the Jacksonville area. Last year he kept feeding Legacy for some time. It is so nice to see the birds on the nest. Look close. One of the eaglets is on a branch almost at the left bottom corner.

The two eaglets on the Decorah North nest of Mr North and Mrs DNF are well and doing just fine. Bad weather has been going through the area with a Derecho or Inland Hurricane with winds of 100 mph going through South Dakota and area yesterday. Fingers crossed for all that were in its wake.

Big Red and her gang of four eyases are doing just fine this morning, too. The chicks are relaxing after having breakfast and Big Red has been on the nest doing some allopreening.

Big Red is so beautiful.

This has been a great way to start a Friday morning. All of the nests appear to be doing well. In Canada we traditionally plant the annual flowers on the May long weekend which is connected with Queen Victoria’s birthday. That is next weekend. Everyone will be at the greenhouses stocking up on flowers and vegetables and mixed in there will be me today. Take care everyone. Thank you so much for joining me today!

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Latvian Fund for Nature, LRWT, Cal Falcons, Captiva Ospreys and Window for Wildlife, Dale Hollow Eagle Cam, Duke Farms, UFlorida-Gainesville Ospreys, MN-DNR, Explore.org, NEFlorida-AEF, and Cornell Bird Lab RTH.

Tuesday in Bird World

10 May 2022

Gosh, golly. 21 degrees C. This means summer!!!! The parks, both of them, were full of joggers, walkers, people having picnics, playing ball, or tennis. The Cricket pitch was busy. Canadians are wearing short sleeves and shorts and we are happy and smiling! Last week was a different story. If it rains again on Thursday we will be back grumbling. I promise. Summer is way too short. You realize I did not say ‘spring’. Honestly we don’t have it any more. A normal summer temperature a couple of decades ago was 18 degrees C. Of course can hit 35-38 C easy. Then we all go inside grumbling. There is a sweet spot around 21-23 degrees C that is just perfect for humans and for the birds on the Canadian prairies.

Note: Bear with me. I did not edit this today!

I left this morning in search of wood ducks. Where are they? I found one couple at one park and three males and one female at another. Even more absent were the Mallards. Sadly, what else I found was that the torrential rains and rising water levels everywhere have made many of the duck and goose eggs non-viable. If the outside coating gets wet, there is no oxygen. This was sad.

The water has receded and you can see some of the clutch that has been abandoned. This area is a small island – there are two islands – in the centre of the pond. It appeared very, very crowded with geese further back incubating and a pair of Wood Ducks walking through.

I wonder how man of our waterfowl lost their eggs this season? Some goslings have hatched but I did not see a single one today. Last year I could not walk for wee ducks and geese. Let’s see what next month brings.

This Mallard couple were taking turns trying to find pond vegetation and keeping an eye on me – I was about 20 metres away but they still knew I was there. The birds around the Witches Hut at St Vital Park are very friendly. During nesting season they get a bit touchy but I think they were waiting to see if I brought any food with me.

The light was not great today. In fact, it gave some rather bizarre colours to the birds.

The colours on this Mallard might even make a Peacock envious.

The Black-capped Chickadees, six of them, were dive bombing me. Did they know I had seed for them in my pocket? or do they now see humans and think seed? Probably the latter. It is a very popular spot for walkers and people that live close by to spend an afternoon, always with birdseed. The lens I had on the camera really compromised what would have been great images taken with a phone camera rather than a 600mm lens.

They came and went many times while I stood and watched. Picking up a single seed, flying up to the tree nearby to crack it on a branch and then back for another one. I wonder how many calories they burn flying back and forth??

The Canada Geese were everywhere – and I do mean everywhere.

Tucked in near to them was a Chipping Sparrow hunting for sees and bugs.

None of those images will win any awards for photography but they are a nice memory of my day and some of the birds that I saw.

When I got home I went back and checked on the Manton Bay Osprey Nest in the UK to see if the third chick had hatched for Blue 33 (11) and Maya. Not yet but you could clearly see a crack forming. One of the reasons that this couple has such huge success is that the eggs normally hatch within a couple of days. Maya always delays incubating the first two eggs until the last has been laid. Talk about a remedy to help with food competition. Of course, it helps to have a big lake with lots of fish in it and not much competition right under your nest!

There was Blue checking out his newly hatched Big and Middle Bobs.

Big Bob looks like it is going to have an attitude.

If you stare at the egg long enough at the back on the left at about 2100, it appears there are some cracks forming. Of course, I could be losing my mind also.

So all is well at Rutland. Then skipping over to the UFlorida-Gainesville Osprey nest and gosh. Middle had a crop at 16:18. So I went back and it appeared that another fish had come to the nest around 15:00.

The fish has arrived. Middle is just lucky. If Mum moved the wrong way she would knock him off that nest. He is on the far side. The chick you are looking at is Big.

Mum is feeding Middle!

Mum continues to feed Middle.

So, today, Middle ate and had a couple of crops. This nest is like a roller coaster. Did you know that birds can get stress lines in their feathers? I don’t know if all banders check but when they checked the three lads at the Port Lincoln Osprey nest they checked for stress lines and found none. Of course, they would not have. Those three males were like three choir boys until they fledged. They they really began to do the ‘dust ups’ shoving one another off the nest, intercepting fish, stealing fish and whatever else three brothers can think to get into. Here is a ‘dog fight’ between Ervie and Falky.

And here is the ‘dust up’ between Ervie and Bazza on the nest where one falls off:

For those of you that do not know the PLO nest it is on a barge at Port Lincoln, Australia. The nest always had a history of siblicide. This year everyone held their breath when the three eggs hatched and there was Little Bob. Well, Little Bob was quite the character. He had to always be at the beak, in front. When Bib Bob tried to bully him, Little Bob just didn’t let it happen and Big Bob got tired and quit. Still we worried until everyone realized that Little Bob was getting rather dominant. At the time the three were to be banded, it was decided that the heaviest of the three would get the one satellite-pak. Everyone was sure it would go to Bazza the eldest. No. Ervie – who never missed a meal and who had been right up front that morning – got the GPS system! And we cheered! The three were Bazza the eldest with the red band, Falky the middle with the yellow, and Ervie the youngest with the dark green band. Falky – being the middle – did not always get much attention until he dove off the barge and caught a fish! Falky was also the one spotted 300 km north of Port Lincoln. Bazza was the reluctant flier and stayed on the nest to let Mum feed him. Then he left. I hope we hear about Falky and Bazza. Ervie was flying about and then Ervie got one of his talons pulled out. Who knows how. As a result he stays around Port Lincoln and has a fondness for Puffer Fish! He is adored by many.

Sometimes it is nice to sit back and remember those really wonderful nests and last year, PLO was one of the best!

If you are into the translocation project that has been going on in the UK, you will be excited to read the announcement by Poole Harbour today on their FB page:

Single Bald Eagle Mums have a difficult job especially if the nest is in an area where there are constant intruders. There had been a bit of a dry spell at the MN-DNR nest but today around 16:15 nest time, Nancy brought in a huge fish. E1 ate well. I understand that a group of school children are calling E1 – Harriet. If it isn’t official, it should be. It is a perfect name to honour her missing and believed dead young dad, Harry.

The winds are still blowing strong in Scotland and the rain will start pelting down at the Loch Arkaig nest in the West. Dorcha is doing a great job keeping those eggs incubated.

At the Loch of the Lowes, the wind is blowing but you can hear the ducks and geese flying in for the evening. Blue NC0 looks pretty content on the nest of hers and Laddie’s. Not long til there will be chicks here.

One of the things that people/researchers/naturalists and lovers of Osprey look at it is the return rate. How many fledglings from a nest in a particular year with particular parents return as juveniles and are officially seen? Well the Llyn Clywedog nest is doing a bit of celebrating today. So far two out of three of the 2020 trio have returned – 550 and 551. They only need 552 and they would have a 100% success rate. They are going to have bragging rights regardless for some time. This is fantastic news.

Richmond and Rosie have been fighting off intruders this entire season. We are a few days til hatch watch. Here is the banner for SF Bays Hatch Watch announcement at the SF Bay nest of these two great Ospreys.

Here is the link to Richmond and Rosie’s streaming cam:

This is the 15:49 feeding at the Cal Falcon nest of Annie and Alden. Cute. So cute.

This is the 16:55 feeding at the Manchester New Hampshire Peregrine Falcon scrape. Crazy!

Everything is perfectly fine at the nest of Big Red and Arthur on the Cornell Campus. L4 can almost be heard saying, “My crop’s as big as your crop! Nah, nah, nah!” Every time L1 does something, L4 seems to copy her.

Big Red looks like she is ready for an evening break before she snuggles down with these four Ls.

So far, so good. Food was on both the MN-DNR and the UFlorida-Gainesville nests. One day at a time. Today it was all good. So from me and all the garden gang and TH1 at the Two Harbours nest in the Channel Islands, good night. Take care. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams or FB pages where I took my screen captures: LRWT, UFlorida-Gainesville, PLO, Birds of Poole Harbour, MN-DNR, Woodland Trust, Loch of the Lowes, SF Bay Ospreys, Cal Falcons, Peregrine Network, Cornell Bird Lab RTH, and Explore.org

Home

Ivory-billed Woodpeckers, Hampshire Falcons and more in Monday Bird World News

9 May 2022

Oh, it is pouring down rain and, as such, is a great day to drink hot tea and read. A friend sent me an article from the New York Times. [ Thank you ‘WW’ for that]. I do have a subscription but, as of late, I just haven’t had the time to forage through the paper or, for that matter, read it at all, sometimes. I like Margaret Renkl’s writing style. Her book Late Migrations looks down at me from the bookcase and like her, I have stacks of books all around, some read, some waiting. Today, she has written an opinion piece on the Ivory-billed Woodpecker. It is a good – it is a hopeful read. That is something we can all use on a cold wet dreary day.

So apparently I can gift the article to you to read. I don’t know about you but good news is uplifting and I will take all of it that I can find including the discovery of a bird living in quiet isolation that was believed to be extinct. I just hope that thousands of humans don’t converge on Louisiana with their long lenses and ruin it! Seriously, it is important not to give away the locations of some nests and these would be one of those instances to stay quiet!

Did you know about the Peregrine Falcon scrape in St Mary’s Church in Hampshire in the UK? I didn’t! This nest has been here for a number of years. Listen to the discussion at the end to find out how the nesting birds were discovered.

The chicks are just slightly older -but not much – than Big Red’s. They are getting their itchy blood feathers. The scrape looks successful. Why do I say that? Look at all the ps on the walls!!!!!!!!!!

This is a great 51 minute talk about Peregrine Falcons by Ornithologist Keith Betton who is also the Country Bird Recorder for Hampshire. It is interesting.

There was a bit of a prey tease the other day at the Cromer scrape. They made a short video of it. Cute.

It is dinner time at one of Poland’s Peregrine Falcon nests – and it wasn’t a tease. Also notice – it is a nest! Just like the other one in the Polish forest, Dolina Baryczy.

It is evening – 20:21 – at the LRWT Manton Bay nest of Blue 33 (11) and Maya. We are definitely on pip watch but, if there is one, our Mum is not revealing it. Maya has been extremely restless since late last evening. Is she hearing her chicks? I feel like a very restless expectant parent!

I am not familiar with the Osprey nests in Finland but, last year, a lovely young woman wrote to me to tell me that they have ten nests. That is fantastic. This is the link to one of those. Last year the couple laid three eggs. All three hatched. The youngest died at the age of 2 days for an unknown reason according to the streaming cam information. There was not a threat from the goshawks so I want to continue to check on this nest. The location is splendid. Just look at the water with all the fish for the babies and parents.

The female is Manta and the male is Manu.

The eldest eaglet at the Pittsburgh-Hayes nest is getting closer to branching. She was up on the top of the nest rim called ‘The Baby Gate’ today. The others are just too curious and they will be up there soon!!!!!!! Just don’t go crowding one another knocking someone off!!!!!!!!!

Anyone still worried about L4 at the Red-tail Hawk nest of Big Red and Arthur? I sure hope not. There is the tiny one right up front having lunch! If he isn’t on the edge, he will climb over the others to get up to Mum’s beak. Partially this is because he eats less food but needs to eat more frequently than the older siblings. But oh, what a little cutie pie.

Oh, those wings look like soft cashmere. Wee one is tucked in under them keeping warm. Every chick has a big crop!

The weather in Scotland around Loch Arkaig has not been good. The winds have been very very gusty with rain. One of those gusts almost completely blew dear Louis’s mate, Dorcha, off the Loch Arkaig nest around 16:00 today. Unbelievable. It always frightens me when this happens. Last year and the year before, Big Red was almost blown off once with a chick holding on to her.

Dorcha recovered but gosh, golly.

Nancy is on high alert at the MN-DNR nest after a juvenile eagle stayed on the perch tree and another flew overhead. Oh, I wish they would leave her alone. She cannot go and hunt for her and E1 with these interlopers about. It is pretty clear that the success of the reintroduction of the Bald Eagles (and Ospreys) in the US has caused a lack of good territories and nests causing much of the disruption and harm we have seen lately. I would also include the Peregrine Falcon population in the California area. What is the answer? More artificial nests? the stocking of ponds for fish for the birds?

Alden may be shy of the chicks but he is keeping the pantry full for Annie and the two wee babes. Don’t they just melt your heart?

Seriously sweet.

Some much bigger birds in the Dale Hollow Eagle nest were both enjoying a nice fish today for lunch. Both of them are perching up on the nest rim and each is doing very well. Looking forward to their successful fledge!

The UFlorida-Gainesville Osprey nest cam is back up and running. Excellent news.

I continue to hope that there will be a new wee babe on the Manton Bay nest by the time I wake up tomorrow. All of the nests I have checked are doing fine except for the continuing intrusion at the MN-DNR nest of Nancy and E1.

Thank you for joining me today. Take care everyone!

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: UFlorida-Gainesville, Ospreys, DHEC, Andover Peregrines, LRWT, Cal Falcons, MN-DNR, Woodland Trust, Cornell RTH, and Pix Cams.

Early Wednesday in Bird World

4 May 2022

Gosh, it was sure nice to end the day on Tuesday seeing the Mum and the two osplets at the UFlorida-Gainesville nest with huge crops.

Food coma for the kids and some fish leftover for Mum! Nice. I really hope that today turns out as good as yesterday for these two.

It really is unclear again what is going on this morning. A headless piece of fish was brought to the nest by the male around 09:00. He did not feed the youngsters. Middle was right up there hungry chewing on the edge of the fish. Once again he is looking around. Is it another day of intruders causing havoc with fish deliveries and feedings? Is Mum off chasing the interloper away?

The chicks ate well and went to bed full. Ideally they are fed more often and early morning would be ideal to keep them hydrated. This is also a nice size fish so everyone gets some.

We wait to see how this sorts itself.

Intruders or interlopers are causing mischief at the nest of Richmond and Rosie, still. Indeed, there were five! They have not let Rosie or Richmond alone this breeding season and soon there will be three osplets to feed.

Miss a day or two and there are more falcons hatching! There are four at the Salisbury Cathedral in the UK. Oh, so well-behaved and cute.

There are now five eyases at the Peregrine Falcon scrape in Manchester, NH. The three oldest all hatched on the 28th of April with the wee ones on 1 May and 2 May. Often all the eggs will not hatch, – but, they did this year.

They will all be fine.

It is 11:16 nest time and there have already been three feedings!

Here is a link to this camera at Manchester.

Nancy has been on and off her perch this morning at the MN-DNR Bald Eagle nest. I have not seen a feeding. There appears to be a little food left on the nest for her and E1.

Lady Hawk did a tribute for Harry and E2 at the MN-DNR nest. He has now been away nearly a full 8 days. Another interloper/intruder is assumed. And another siblicide.

Iris, the oldest Osprey in the world, has an egg. Right now she is just as happy as she can be! Sometimes go off in this fantasy that maybe Louis will actually help her this year and not just feed Star and her chicks at the baseball park.

I wonder what the status of the Clark Fork River is this year? You might recall that last year it was almost dry in places with lots of beautiful trout dying because of the hot water. I would love to give them some of our water if it would help! If only it were that easy.

The two Red-tail Hawks at the Presidio in San Francisco are fine this morning. They are a little itchy and both of them are waiting for breakfast.

Everyone is soaked at the Dulles-Greenway Bald Eagle nest in Virginia. Our tiny eaglet of Martin and Rosa grew and is now self-feeding. Blink.

Prey delivery for the eaglet came at 09:07.

The Pittsburgh-Hayes triplets are drying out after being soggy yesterday like the Dulles-Greenway eaglet.

Spirit is getting almost as big as Mama Jackie! What a gorgeous nest they have at Big Bear Valley.

Do you remember sitting and holding your breath wishing that the egg would hatch successfully after Jackie and Shadow not having any chicks for two years? Now look at her. Spirit did hatch and it was 3 March. She is 62 days old today! Wow. Not ready to fledge but getting there. In California, the average age for fledging is 12 weeks. This also depends on the amount of prey, the sex of the eaglet, and the timing of the hatching.

There is an excellent report on the different times of hatching and fledging for Bald Eagles by latitude. Go to avianreport.com/baby-bald-eagles

One of the eaglets is self-feeding at the West End and doing a pretty good job of it. Looks like Kana’kini to me as she is larger than Sky or Ahota.

River brought a fish in and fed the two eaglets on the Dale Hollow nest. Big is really beginning to flap its wings while sitting on the railing. 66 Days old.

Most of us can’t be in San Francisco on 6 May for hatch day for Annie, Alden, and Grinnell. No worries. Sean and Lynn of CalFalcons will be holding another one of their great Q & As. Here is the information:

We are actually one day away from the first anticipated hatch day at Rutland Water’s Manton Bay nest of Blue 33 (11) and Maya. The window on the three eggs hatching is: Egg 1: 5th to 12th May; Egg 2: 8th to 15th May; and Egg 3: 11th to 18th May.

For those of you that do not know this couple, they are considered super Osprey parents! They consistently fledge all of their chicks. They have been together since 2015 and in six years they fledged 20 chicks – that doesn’t count this year!

It has been drizzly in Ithaca at the Red-tail hawk nest of Big Red and Arthur. Big Red has the four wee ones comfortably under here so they will not get wet. They cannot regulate their temperature yet and this is so important! Warm and Dry.

Fingers crossed for the osplets at the UFlorida-Gainesville nest today. Let us hope that Mum returns to feed the babes soon. (Gosh, I wish these dads would also feed the chicks…it would be so helpful).

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

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures today: Cornell Bird Lab RTH, Pix Cams, Montana Osprey Project, UFlorida-Gainesville Ospreys, MN-DNR, Cal Falcons, Rutland Water LRWT, DHEC, Explore.org and The Institute for Wildlife Studies, Friends of Big Bear Valley, Peregrine Networks Live, Salisbury Cathedral Falcons, Presidio Trust, and Dulles-Greenway.

Late Saturday in Bird World

30 April 2022

It is still raining in southern Manitoba. There are images on FB of deer trying to find dry ground and food. They are walking along the railway tracks south of Winnipeg. They will, so sadly, have a long way to go. The birds have been with us all day grabbing on to the vines that grow on the side of the house, stopping to eat when the rain is not too heavy, and then looking for shelter again when it starts. Will this really turn to snow tomorrow? It is better for the birds for sure. I just hope the promise of 20 degrees C or 68 F really happens on Thursday. Everyone and all things could use a dry out.

The Grackles arrived this week. I have a new ‘used’ ‘refurbished’ camera and it is heavier than my old one. It is going to take some getting used to. So please bear with me!

Grackles are so overlooked. Isn’t it stunning? Just look at the colours!!!!!!!! Mr Grackle and his family of eight normally spend the summer with us in our garden. Two years ago when their single surviving chick fledged, the whole extended family arrived, perching on the cable line, swaying back and forth, in joyous celebration. Last year Mr Crow took all the newborn chicks. I yelled at him. He doesn’t like me!

The focus is soft. I will work on that but, at least, those gorgeous wing feathers and that beautiful indigo head came through.

The European Starlings were here today, also. They discovered the meal worms and got all excited.

Dyson is not bothered by the birds.

I caught Hedwig, an Eastern Cottontail, waiting for the Grackles to leave the deck. Hedwig has decided that he likes to have his food – carrots, sunflower seeds, and millet – on the deck by the Japanese lantern. It is always so good to see him.

Scraggles and Little Red were running around, too. It is reassuring to see them, to know that they are alright. Their lives are not easy.

It has been a really tough season for our streaming bird families. One day I will sit down and write down the names together and find images of all the ones we have lost since January. We get attached to them and losing E2 today and having Harry missing from their MN-DNR nest – well, it hit many very, very hard. Harry was a popular young dad – four years old!!!!!! They fledged two last year. He barely had his white head this year – and he was an excellent provider. Nancy should be able to keep herself and E1 alive if the intruders will leave and she can go hunt. Please send warm thoughts their way.

I wanted to just send you some lovely images of Big Red and Arthur’s nest on the grounds of Cornell in Ithaca, New York. Big Red makes me happy. She adores being a Mom and every year she rises to the top as Bird Mother of the Year. If I could arrange it, Big Red, those would be chippies on a stick instead of yellow tulips!

The images are in no particular order. Most of the time when I pop in to check on them if they are not streaming behind everything else, Big Red is feeding the chicks. That is Little L4 getting some nice squirrel. The pantry is decreasing and Arthur will, no doubt, be working to fill it again.

How about a fur lined nest with Squirrelillows?

Keeping the nest insect and pest free is a big job. Big Red is always aerating.

More food. Wee L4 is back up there.

L4 looks just like a little snow person there on the far right. S/he has figured out a good place to be when it is feeding time.

I will check on the other nests tomorrow. The activity at the MN-DNR nest took the wind out of my sails. It is heart breaking. And enough with the intruders. There are way too many eagles and ospreys without nests and I am told way too many male Bald Eagles without a partner that this is becoming a big problem. All I know is that intruders caused the death of Grinnell at the CalFalcon scrape, almost killed Bella, have probably killed Harry – and the list goes on. A Bald Eagle (not Connie or her mate) chased one of the Osprey fledglings from Captiva today. I am certain that you have a long list also. Then there is blatant siblicide. Dale Hollow. UFlorida-Gainesville Ospreys. MN-DNR.

I hope the garden animals and seeing Big Red in all her glory with four eyases -for the very first time- will bring a smile to your face. Take care everyone. Thank you for being with me today. See you soon!

Thank you to Cornell Bird Lab for their streaming cam at Ithaca where I took my screen captures.

MN-DNR E2 is Euthanized

30 April 2022

The father, Harry, – his second year as a young Dad in 2022 – went missing Tuesday evening. Nancy the Mum hunted and got a huge fish on the nest on Wednesday for E1 and E2 when Harry did not return. Since they were small, E1 had marginalized E2, beaking it, and not allowing it to eat. Three weeks ago, according to my great source “P” who loved that eaglet and watched that nest, E2 was self feeding. Sadly, E1 became more and more aggressive with the absence of Harry and regular food deliveries. On Friday, it tried to push E2 off the nest. Today, it tried again in the morning and was successful in the afternoon. This is siblicide. Nancy has not been able to go and hunt since Wednesday because of the adult eagle intruder in the area. A search party extended 3 miles and did not find Harry. I hope that Harry is only slightly injured and is resting and healing away from the territory and will return like Bella did.

The boots on the ground found E2. He was taken into care.

Sadly, this is the last announcement from the MN-DNR.

He was a vibrant young eaglet with so much promise. Fly high Little One, fly high.

Thank you again to “P” for keeping me constantly informed. I know how much she loves this wee babe.