Tag Archives: NADC

Soap opera at Rutland, Both home at LOTL, R5 is here…It’s crazy on Friday in Bird World

17 March 2022

Good Morning Everyone,

Happy St Patrick’s Day to all our Irish friends. Growing up, I was always told that the paternal part of my father’s family was from Scotland. No way. They were from Donegal and Cork!

There is so much happening in Bird World that I am having difficulty keeping up this morning. Eagle eggs pipping, hatching, eaglets branching (yeah, 21), and ospreys arriving in the UK as they all got on the Eurostar together! Even so, the kittens would feel entirely left out if I didn’t include some pictures. They enjoyed and were spoiled by the young ladies looking after them while I was away. It also seemed that they were as delighted to see me! Lewis decided to help put things in the fridge – yes, he did get in there – and also helped block the cashmere sweaters. That is a tip if you come to Canada during the winter – a cashmere turtle neck will be your best friend! Or other real wool clothing. Makes all the difference.

Lewis is the smallest, but he can take over the entire dog bed! Missy is too nice to him.

I have not watched the SW Florida nest much today – just on and off. I know the prey deliveries vary by day. Both eaglets continue to do fine as they approach their 11th week, and 21 branched on the spike. They had both been working on breakfast Dad had brought in, and 21 jumped up and down. Is this a real official branch up to the tree? Well, maybe not. If so, that won’t be long!

This is a compilation video from the 5th of March – so 12 days ago. It is lovely, and I thought it would inspire the rest of our Friday—beautiful images from one of the on-ground photographers in the area. It gives us an entirely different sense of what is happening. M15 is magnificent. Thank you to The Real Saunders Photography!

For awhile it was in doubt but R5 made it into the world when Dad, Ron, was on the nest. I cannot wait to see Rose’s face when she returns and finds two babies in the nest needing her attention instead of that pesky R4. Oh, R5 you are going to have to be strong little one.

Ron got up from brooding so that R5 could break free.

Well, R4. You are a spunky little character. Poor R5.

It seems that R5 is pretty strong, too. It was up hoping to get some fish after its feathers had dried off! My goodness. Ron and Rose make healthy robust eaglets!

Ron has been doing a fantastic job feeding R4, and he will undoubtedly be of great help with R5. Rose continues to give big pieces and, well, as ‘A’ notes, she loves her fish. Fingers crossed for this new Mum as she navigates two growing babies demanding food!

I do hope, as ‘A’ mentioned this morning, that Rose will stay on the nest more and let Ron out so that he can fish and hunt and protect the territory.

There are now two eaglets at the Dulles-Greenaway nest! Congratulations Martin and Rosa!

The beaking is still going strong on the Moorings Osprey nest. Harry continues to bring the food in, and I hold my breath every time I see the oldest one go after the youngest.

Will be happy when this period of their lives evaporates! There had been little beaking at meal times, but, it appears this has begun, and Abby is being very dominant. So far Sally has fed them both – so, go for it Sally. Give those 8 or 9 feedings with one an hour long. Fledge two!

So far, there have been five feedings on the 16th of March: 12:26; 02:34 (yes 2 in the night), 0803; 10:43, and an hour-long marathon at 13:14. I caught another feeding at 15:51 and another at 19:19, and I am presuming that there were others that I missed. The osplets, Abby and Victor, are getting plenty of food.

Oh, these two are changing so much. Nothing appears soft and cuddly anymore. The dark eye line has given away to almost spooky white goggles, and bald heads with black and copper coming through. Abby and Victor hatched on the 3rd of March. Today they are two weeks old!

Sally is a very relaxed and observant Mum. A piece of nesting material, a strip of bark, had covered Abby’s head. Sally casually went over and lifted it off with her beak and put it to the side. Well done, Sally!

Blue 33 was on the nest at Manton Bay working hard after eating his fish. Oh, he wants Maya to arrive! What a cute couple they are. Tradition has it that they will sleep together in the nest duckling style! It is beginning to rain and it is 1832. Blue is there hoping his gal will arrive.

Well, Geemeff writes this morning that there is a soap opera brewing at the Manton Bay nest. Remember the female that arrived first? Blue 25? Well, she is making a play for Blue 33 and he is falling for it (for the moment!). Geemeff warns us that Blue 33 has landed on Blue 25’s back a couple of times and there could have even been a successful mating at 13:21. Oh, and gosh, there is sky dancing heard off camera!!!!!!!!!! Maya will eat Blue 25 for breakfast if she catches her at that nest.

Oh, Blue! Did you happen to check that band number? Blue 25, go home!

Laddie and Blue NC0 have both arrived at LOTL on the same day! It looks like Blue NC0 arrived first.

Getting acquainted again.

The female has arrived at the Cromer Peregrine scrape!

My eyes have been on Jackie and Shadow on Thursday. They were at the nest early, working and they returned after 1900 to do some more nesting. Will there be a replacement clutch? Gosh, it is beginning to seem a little more of a possibility. We wait….birdwatching requires a lot of patience and a lot of waiting, no matter what species and what circumstance.

Look at that crop! Someone had a good breakfast!

During the evening restorations, Jackie even tested out the nest bowl. Are these two teasing us? I hope for a miracle – a replacement clutch and a single healthy hatch, just like Spirit last year!

At the Berry College Eagle Nest, B16 is 55 days old today. He is a little more than two weeks younger than the Es. As the apple of Pa and Missy Berry’s eye, B16 is – well, can I say it? A nice-sized young lady! Beautiful eaglet and doing so very well. LOL. The gender is just my guess based on the size of B16.

As the sun sets over Captiva, Connick is growing and flapping his wings. Just like 21, he is getting some air under there but, he still loves to be fed by Mum, Connie, or Dad, Clive.

Take a look at those great tail feathers. Such a gorgeous eaglet.

Today, Mum and D3 defended their nest at Centreport, New York. Six eagles! Six. Could you talk about intruders?

At the new National Arboretum nest of Mr President and Lotus, BOGS have seen evidence that Lotus is feeding an eaglet!

Gosh, so many eaglets at so many stages of development. Ringo, at the Webster, Texas Bald Eagle nest, is getting some air under his wings.

Do you know the Canadian environmentalist David Suzuki?

For many decades there have been actions in our most western province, British Columbia, to protect the old growth forests. Today, I found a site on the Internet that has discussions/presentations with Suzuki and one of those is ‘The War of the Woods’. I thought you might enjoy it and some of the other topics listed. Last year, David Hancock reported that the British Columbia government approved the cutting down of 141 Bald Eagle nests in the area where the Site-C hydro dam is to be built. British Columbia is home to North America’s largest population of Bald Eagles. Any logging harms wildlife! And also helps to create the atmospheric rivers that have so devastated the region in the past couple of years. Christian Sasse and David Hancock had an on line discussion about these issues. I will check and see if I can find that for the weekend.

https://gem.cbc.ca/the-nature-of-things/s62e10

I will have to get my running shoes on today even to attempt to keep up with a few of these nests! Thank you so much for being with me today. Let us all send wishes for a tailwind for Maya, so she arrives safely home and boots 25 off to her nest! Take care. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their notes, tweets, videos, posts, and streaming cams that help make up my blog today: ‘A’, ‘Geemeff’, SW Florida Eagle Cam and D Pritchett, The Real Saunders Photography and SW Florida Eagle Cam FB, WRDC, Dulles-Greenway, Moorings Park Ospreys, LRWT, Geemeff and LRWT, Friends of LOTL and the Scottish Wildlife Trust, Cromer Peregrine Falcons, FOBBV, Berry College, Window to Wildlife, Centreport Bald Eagles, AEF-NADC, Paul White and Webster Texas Bald Eagle Cam, and the CBC.

L4 fledges and other news in Bird World

18-19 June 2022

The record breaking rains coupled with our current heat warning mean that it feels like a rainforest on the Canadian Prairies. The songbirds are happy. The lilacs and vines have grown enough that they are providing cooling shade for the birds. The temperature drops tremendously – just like walking into the Bamboo Forest at Arashiyama outside of Kyoto – when you enter their area of the garden.

“Bamboo Forest of Arashiyama, Kyoto 京都嵐山の竹林” by CLF is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

37 degrees C or 98.6 F today. Heat warning. Winter went to summer with tonnes of rain and flooding. The new normal?

Yesterday L4 was jumping all over the rails just as he had done the day before. The question on everyone’s mind was when is L4 going to fledge? Well, he flew this morning! 07:03:36. L4 landed in the trees across the street taking off from the rail where he loved to dance and jump. Congratulations! Big Red and Arthur have successfully fledged 4 hawks.

Ready…set…

Go!!!!!!!!! And L4 is off to the trees over by the Fernow Building across the street.

Rosie and Richmond’s two osplets were banded yesterday and the banders believe that they are two little boys by the leg measurements. Sweet. Today is the last day to vote on the name pairings! Here is the SF Bay Ospreys announcement:

The little Red-tail hawklet- Malala- that arrived for lunch and stayed to be adopted at the Bald Eagle nest on Gabriola Island (just off Vancouver Island) – has branched and is really growing. Consider its size compared to the eaglets and how fast it is at getting prey. Now think of Little Bit 17. ND15 and ND16 might be big but ND 17 is quick, like the hawklet, as lightning.

Yesterday Thunder and Akecheta’s triplets were on the nest together for awhile. So nice to see the Three Amigos. Beautiful, beautiful juvenile eagles.

Thunder’s sister at the Two Harbours nest of Chase & Cholyn is big and beautiful. Parents are bringing in the fish – there were three yesterday!

Spirit is a regular visitor to her Big Bear Valley natal nest. Her ‘eagle’ eyes see Jackie and Shadow coming in with fish and she is on that nest! Fabulous.

In the first image, Spirit has spotted a fish delivery. She rushes to the nest.

Those parents really have to be careful with those talons. Shadow’s beak is extremely sharp.

Whew.

It did not take long for Spirit to polish that fish off!

Remember when?

Saturday evening Mum arrived on the ND-LEEF nest and fed the three eaglets the rest of the raccoon. ND17 had a nice little crop after – he did appreciate the raccoon! 15 and 16 had some bites and left.

Sunday morning a really large fish was brought to the nest at 08:52. Little Bit 17 stole some of that fish at 09:01.

At 09:14:24 Little Bit 17 grabs more of that fish and rushes over to the rim to eat it while a big sibling stands behind him. I sure hope he got that nice tail portion!

Takoda is still branching – have not heard of a fledge at the National Arboretum nest in Washington, DC yet.

The nest of Aran and Mrs G is really getting to look like part of the field down below. All three of the chicks are doing grand.

Aran flew in with a really nice fish at 13:43! It was a lively one.

Not to be undone by Aran. Idris is on a roll and this morning he brought in a very rare Shad to the nest to the envy of all watching. Telyn was quite happy to take that whole fish and feed it to the Bobs!

CJ7 might be a first time mother but she is a really smart one. She had a nice piece of fish tucked under some nesting materials to feed the Bobs first thing this morning – they were hungry very early.

Blue 022 has proven himself to be a young but reliable Dad – several fish deliveries including this one at 15:47. Blue 022 is flying off and CJ7 is up and ready to feed the babies.

The three Bobs on the Manton Bay nest of Blue 33 and Maya are as big as Mum when she is feeding them. All bets are on for tomorrow (Monday the 20th) being banding day provided a boat and a bander are available.

Everyone is tired after a big meal.

The latest tracking for Ervie shows him staying around Port Lincoln and his unusual haunts. This comes from the 18th. Did he visit the barge?

Other quick news. News is coming from Patuxent River Park. An osplet fell through the platform because a Beaver chewed a large hole. A new platform is going up. Will follow up on this. There was a hatch at the MN Landscape Arboretum Ospreys on June 17 at 08:26:34. A pair of Ospreys landed on the Collins Marsh nest above the old fire viewing tower. I hope they do not stay. This nest needs to be removed and a new platform built with a ladder and a perch! And the pond needs to be stocked with fish for them. The fishing has been hard for Laddie and Loch of the Lowes with no fish delivery so far on Sunday. I sure hope Blue NC0 goes out fishing – the Bobs are too big to let starve!!!!!!! Has something happened to Laddie? If you watched the Decorah North nest, DN16 has fledged. The three Black Storklets of Jan and Janika have yet to be moved to their ‘forest room’. I am told it will be soon. This is the latest feeding video from Liz. They are getting their itchy feathers!

Happy Father’s Day to all those bird fathers out there caring for their mates and their chicks and/or eggs! Here is a lovely tribute from Cal Falcons – grab a tissue! Lindsay and Grinnell Jr are one of the positive things to come out of Bird World this year!

Take care everyone. It is a busy day on the nests with lots of things happening. Thank you so much for joining me today. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams and/or FB pages where I took my screen captures: SF Ospreys, GROWLS, Explore.org and the Institute for Wildlife Studies, FOBBV, NADC-AEF, Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Dyfi Osprey Project, Poole Harbour Ospreys, LRWT, Cornell RTH Cam, EMU and Liz, ND-LEEF, and Cal Falcons.

Late Wednesday in Bird World

06 April 2022

Everyone watching the Black Stork Karl II breathed a sigh of relief when he crossed the border into Belarus on his way home to Estonia for the spring and summer breeding season. It is a long way from the Sudan and Karl II is almost at the nest. He is spending his time today in the forest in Belarus near this site – image posted by Looduskalender. Thanks Anne7!

River brought in a fish head to the Dale Hollow nest at 16:25:48. She leans over to give Little Middle some bites and Big decides she is eating first! Little Middle moves to the rim and waits. At 16:48:54 Big moves over. The parent flies off. Little Middle moves up and feeds itself. Go Little Middle! It even looks like Big is watching and taking some self-feeding lessons from Little Middle.

Little Middle watches and waits. Once Big moves over he goes up but the adult flies away.

If there is any fish flesh left on that head, Little Middle is going to find it!

You might have been frightened if you had seen Little Middle with that fish bone choking but he finally got rid of it. Great work Little Middle.

Little Middle is a survivor.

The chicks are wet and both of them are hungry. They had a good feed this morning. Maybe a parent will come in before dark with some more fish, maybe not. Little Middle is determined to get every last piece off that fish head!

Richmond and Rosie finished their nest on the Whirley Crane just in time. There is no rewind on the camera but Rosie just rolled their first egg. She laid it on the 5th of April.

That dirty little Ragmuffin’ of OGK and YRK at the Taiaroa Head Royal Albatross Colony in New Zealand is a girl.

This is why I really like Blue 33 (11). He is right there with Maya after she lays her third egg of the 2022 season! These two are the darlings of Manton Bay at Rutland.

Over at the West End Bald Eagles, Thunder flew in with a fish at 15:33. Didn’t take the triplets long to line up and get ready for their afternoon snack. The oldest eaglet will be 30 days old tomorrow.

Just down the way at Two Harbours, the only chick that hatched earlier today for Chase and Cholyn had some fish juice and saliva. Cutie Pie.

The cold wind is howling through Iowa. Mother Goose is paying no mind to a Bald Eagle that has come around for a visit while she incubates her 6 or 7 eggs at Decorah, Iowa.

At the Decorah North Bald Eagle nest, Mr North and Mrs DNF have two fluffy 10 and 11 day old eaglets to keep fed. They are both looking good! Mr North is taking a turn feeding them. Oh, so cute when they are still fuzzy wuzzies.

My goodness. Those wee ones and then Jasper and Rocket at the NEFlorida nest of Samson and Gabby who are branching and thinking about flying. All we have to do is blink and they leave the nestling stage and get ready for the adventures that their lives will be. Jasper and Rocket have certainly been entertaining. You might recall that like Little Middle, Rocket taught itself to self-feed long before Jasper.

This year has been a wonderful season for Jackie and Shadow. Spirit is 33 days old. Hatched on the 3rd of March do you remember how you watched and hoped beyond hope that Jackie and Shadow would have a successful hatch this year? I know many of you shed tears of joy when this beautiful bird hatched.

In Redding, Liberty and Guardian are on the nest with the two eaglets alerting. Something has caught their attention.

At the Pittsburgh Hayes nest each eaglet is fed. No one is left out. They are doing fabulous. A fresh fish has just arrived on the nest.

At the USS Steel Bald Eagle nest, the first chick hatched on 4 April and they are on pip watch for egg #2.

If you ever go to the National Arboretum Nest and do not see an eagle on the nest, be assured that they are close by.

It is a wonder that the wee one ever gets some sleep. It feels like Mr President and Lotus are always feeding the baby.

Just the other day this little white bundle of fluff was more like a round teddy bear. Look at how much those wings have grown and its neck!

All of the nests and scrapes are doing well. Many continue to mourn the loss of little MO, the 4th eaglet at the PA Farm nest. It appears that little MO was not under Mum and when the rain and cold came last night, he died of hypothermia. Of course, without a necroscopy this will not be known for sure. We hope that the other three on the nest continue to thrive and are grateful for the joy that little MO brought to our lives. It is always difficult to losing a wee one.

It is a cold nasty day on the Canadian Prairies. Soaking wet with snowy rain continuing to fall.

Thank you for joining me today. It is always wonderful to have you with us. Looking forward to seeing you again soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cam where I took my screen captures: Golden Gate Audubon and SF Ospreys, Looduskalender, Pix Cams, Explore.org, Redding Eagles, Dale Hollow Eagle Cam, NADC-AEF, Redding Eagles, Friends of Big Bear Valley, LRWT Manton Bay, Cornell Bird Lab and NZ DOC, Friends of Big Bear Valley, NEFlorida Bald Eagles and the AEF.