Tag Archives: monofilament line injures raptors

Some support for Middle Little

4 April 2022

UPDATE: I have just heard from Jessica Halls at the American Eagle Foundation. They are on standby to do the rescue once the thumbs up from TN is given. They are awaiting permission from the Army to enter the site.

This morning I received two positive e-mails from individuals who are going into action for the little eaglet at Dale Hollow. I want to thank Ron Magill of the Miami Zoo who rescued R2 just ten days ago, the eaglet of Ron and Rita’s who had monofilament line wrapped around its legs. Ron sent the information about the eaglet to the Reese Collins, the Eagle Permit Holder for the USFWS. She has alerted the proper individuals in Tennessee. One of you made a video of the line and I thank you. I have sent it to Reese to confirm the continuing presence of the line. I am also attaching the letter received from Ron Magill and from Reese Collins because each of you cared and in your own way have worked hard to get help for Little Middle. I continue to say, we just have to find the right person. Ron Magill’s love of eagles and his recent rescue bring the urgent understanding to this issue.

This is the letter from Ron Magill:

“I apologize for not getting back to you sooner but I was away for the weekend and just saw your email.  With that said, I am so sorry to hear of the eaglet at Dale Hollow that is entangled in monofilament line.

Though I don’t know of anyone in the Tennessee/Kentucky area who may be able to assist with that issue, I have copied Resee Collins from the USFWS who is the best eagle expert I know and who first introduced me to bald eagles decades ago.  She is the Eagle Permit Coordinator for the USFWS and I reach out to her whenever I have an eagle question or concern.  Though I am not sure if there is anything that can be done for this bird, she would be my best bet for any guidance.

No matter what the outcome of this situation at the Dale Hollow nest, I want to express my heartfelt thanks to you for caring enough to try to help.  It is the passionate concern of individuals like yourself that helps inspire people to care and it is appreciated very much by all of us who know how special these majestic raptors are.  I don’t want you ever to think that your efforts are not making a difference.

I hope and pray that the situation at Dale Hollow has a positive resolution.”

This is the immediate response from Reese Collins:

“Mary— Thank you for your concern for this eaglet and for helping to promote wildlife education through this online eagle nest cam experience at Dale Hollow. It certainly is distressing when humans directly or indirectly cause impacts to bald eagle nests, such as this instance with discarded fishing line attached to a fish that was brought to the nest by the adult birds and subsequently the younger eaglet became entangled in. You rightly expressed concern for the eaglet’s survival in this condition, since the fishing line has the potential to impair circulation and cause neurological damage and/or prevent the eaglet from being able to fledge successfully.

Have you observed additional video of the younger eaglet in this nest and if so, is it still entangled and the line cutting the skin of the eaglet as stated below? I’ve been to the website several times this morning, but both eaglets have been inactive and lounging in the nest, so was unable to confirm if this situation is still ongoing or if the eaglet was able to get itself untangled over the weekend. 

By virtue of this email, I am bringing this situation to the attention of Jessica Hall, Executive Director of the American Eagle Foundation in Pigeon Forge TN and Rusty Boles, the Captive Wildlife/ADC Coordinator for Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency in Nashville, TN.  The American Eagle Foundation is the state’s leading eagle expert (although they are over 2 hours away; perhaps they would know of a contact closer to this location) and any granted access to an active eagle nest would have to be coordinated through TWRA’s Rusty Boles. 

The Service would support a rescue of the eaglet if it is still entangled in the fishing line and it appears to be causing a medical issue as long as the state wildlife agency supports the rescue (Rusty Boles with TWRA) and a federally permitted wildlife rehabilitator such as American Eagle Foundation is on site for the rescue. In similar cases of fishing line entanglement, we have recommended that while the rescuer was retrieving the eaglet, that any other litter that’s accessible in the nest posing a potential risk to the adult or nestling eagles be removed as well. Fortunately, these eaglets are at a young enough age that typically they would just flatten down defensively in the nest and not jump out. This certainly is a teachable moment for your viewers about the perils that discarded litter can cause wildlife.”

You just need to find the right person who understands and is willing to help. I am so grateful to Ron Magill and to Reese this morning. Reese is on standby to go into action once Rusty Bowles gets the go ahead. I wish you could see the tears and the smile on my face!!!!!!!! As you may be aware the individuals that run the camera do not own the land nor do they own the eagles who are protected and as you can see from the attitudes of those highest in the USFWS they want DH15 saved from the line. I am more hopeful than I have been.

You will note that the head of permits does require the state of Tennessee to agree. I want you also to please see that the experts state as we have that the eaglets will flatten down and not jump. They call this a teachable moment. It is and will give joy to us if this happens.

Thank you again to all of the readers of my blog. You care and together we can work to make things happen! I hope that those individuals who contacted me are able to make the intervention!

Oh, Little Middle how smart you are!

31 March 2022

The day did not start off looking good for Little Middle at the Dale Hollow Bald Eagle nest. Little Middle was not interested in eating and had monofilament line wrapped around the toes of its left foot since the previous afternoon. That tight line can clearly be seen at 08:28:09.

Little Middle missed the morning breakfast because of that fishing line. He was pecking away at it.

At 09:37ish, Little Middle has moved over to the rim of the nest next to Big who did eat breakfast. The remaining fish is on the other side of Big. It is unclear if Little Middle’s foot is still tangled. He is not wanting to move much and I cannot see. Little Middle is hungry! And we know how clever he is. Have a look at what he does – I am so proud of him.

If he held the fish down, it would officially be self-feeding I suppose. But for now, give the kid a round of applause. Brilliant.

By 11am, the filament on Little Middle’s foot has been cut by the little eaglet persistently biting away at it. Another gold star for the middle hatch at the Dale Hollow nest today!

The monofilament line can be seen to the left of Little Middle’s right foot. Thankfully it is off his left foot but neither eaglet is out of danger as long as that line is on the nest.

It has been a joyful day.

Thank you to each and every one of you who sent positive wishes and prayers to this nest, to ‘L’ who contacted A Cerere to see if he could help, and to ‘KB’ who put out feelers for help. Your optimism gives me hope that this little eaglet is, indeed, going to fly one day!

Thank you to Dale Hollow Bald Eagles for their streaming cam where I took my screen captures and video clip.

E20 is a pistol

Social media is filled with pictures of Harriet and M15’s two little eaglets. Those eaglets are adorable.

The meaning of the word ‘pistol’ describing someone is a compliment. It means that they are full of surprises. And, so it was today, that E20 showed him or herself to be a ‘pistol’ when it provoked the first round of beaking on the nest at the 07:04 feeding, its first! It happened again at 09:04 and Lady Hawk caught it in a video for us.

Those eaglets are sure cute even when they have fish juice running all over them.

No problem opening wide. The eaglets are eating some nice fresh fish flakes today and loving it.

Look at the size of that bite. I think that is E19 up at Harriet’s beak.

Harriet always makes sure that each of the babies are fed. She is a very experienced and excellent Bald Eagle Mum. She also knows when to put her foot down on the nonsense – she just casually goes over and gets on top of both of them. Sometimes they will miss a meal if she decides they need too. Often M15 will step in and they will tandem feed the youngsters. That is the best!

Wonderful dad, M15 on guard.

Another example of fishing line! This hawk was really lucky. Around a river or lake and you see fishing line – help clean it up! We owe it to them. — In order to help we need to be ready. It helps to have a very sharp pair of scissors, a box, some garbage bags, and gloves in the trunk. Of course, you can add to that. A fishing net is great along with old towels to help the birds not get so stressed.

I am so proud of the three juveniles at the Port Lincoln Osprey Barge. I just went to check on them and Falky tries fishing. I recorded it for you. He will dive from the right ropes into the water and he will do several flybys before landing pack on the ropes. Oh, they are sure trying.

I want to close with a beautiful video of Xavier and Diamond bonding in the scrape box. Nothing more precious than seeing a pair of raptors confirming their togetherness. It was a hard season for them with the loss of Yurruga and the other two eggs not being viable. We wish them the best for next year.

It seems like today is a day of videos instead of images. I hope that you enjoyed them.

Take care everyone. Thank you so much for joining me today. Enjoy little E19 and 20. We will be at the clown feet stage before we know it.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen and video captures: SWFlorida Eagle Cam and D Pritchett and the Port Lincoln Osprey Project.

25 November in Bird World

I hope that anyone celebrating Thanksgiving today had a wonderful meal with friends and family. All of us have so much to be grateful for – including our beloved birds – every day.

So, let’s start with the not so great news and move into the good, shall we?

Everyone has been waiting for Grinnell to step up to the plate and stay in the scrape box on The Campanile or on the ledge waiting for Annie. So far that has simply not happened. Today, however, it was the ‘new male’ that was there. Grinnell may still lack the confidence to engage with the intruder that injured him. Here is that video:

Port Lincoln has posted that the official autopsy on Solly, the 2020 fledgling of the Port Lincoln Osprey Barge and the first Osprey in Australia to have a tracker, was, indeed and very sadly and unnecessarily (my words) the victim of electrocution.

Oh, just look at her. What a beauty. Her necklace would have been the envy of everyone. She reminds me, so much, of Iris. Stunning.

Port Lincoln also posted the following information on their FB page. I am delighted to see that they are going to use the information gathered by Solly’s tracking to understand where to put protectors on the hydro poles.

Thank you to all my readers who wrote to the South Australian Minister of the Environment and Water, David Speirs. You may remember that Speirs travelled to Port Lincoln to help band the chicks there and at Thistle Island. Ervie is named after the town in Scotland where Speirs was born. Every letter and every phone call does help. It is a tragedy and one that did not need to happen!

Blackland Prairie Raptor Rescue posted the following image of a hawk caught up in fishing line. Look closely at the outward damage that line caused and imagine the pain and suffering. This was in Lucas, Texas but it could be anywhere people fish and do not care to clean up after themselves. Please spread the word to anyone you know who fishes. And if you want to do something to help, put bags in your car and pickers (those tools people use to pick up litter) along with gloves. Go for a walk along a shore and clean it up. Take the family. The birds will thank you. They really will!

And now for some really good news.

Port Lincoln has a couple of items. The first is a posting about Port Lincoln fledgling from 2019, Calypso. It seems that she has been spotted a few times with a male. Could this be pair bonding?

And lastly out of Port Lincoln, Ervie is doing more flying and getting stronger. He even flew over houses! The trio – Ervie, Bazza, and Falky – are doing great. All are flying and eating and life is good on the barge.

Ferris Akel’s tour meant a lot to lovers of Big Red today. About a week or ten days ago I posed the question on the Cornell Chatter’s FB page: Has anyone seen Big Red since 16 October? No one had. News came on the Cornell Twitter Page that Karel and Bogette had seen Big Red on 21 November at Beebee Lake. There was a lot of worry.

Everyone on Ferris’s tour were overjoyed to see her back sitting on the building where her ‘throne’ is located.

Oh, she is a beauty and is so dear to everyone. Such joy she has brought to people from around the world. Indeed, at one time, she was said to be ‘the most famous’ Red Tail Hawk. I am certain she still is! Ferris also spotted Arthur so everything is right with the world in Ithaca.

Soon the NZ DOC will select the Royal Cam family for the 2021-22 season. I wonder who they will choose?

And remember to mark your calendars. #1031 Iniko will be released back into the territory where she hatched in Big Sur on 4 December. It will be so exciting to seeRedwood Queen and Kingpin’s daughter return to the wild after surviving the Dolan Fire in 2020. This is one of those events that will warm your heart. No one believed Iniko could survive that fire. Her father, Kingpin, is believed to have perished but the wee one lived. Jubilant is the word I am looking for – everyone associated with the rescue and the release will be jubilant for a long, long time.

Take care everyone. I am thankful for each and everyone of you because you love and care for the environment where our beloved birds live and hunt and raise their families. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams or their FB Pages where I took my screen shots: Port Lincoln Osprey Project, Ferris Akel Tours, Blackland Prairie Raptor Rescue, and Cal Falcons.