‘F and M’ just alerted me to the naming contest for the Captiva Eaglet. I know that you will want to participate so put your thinking caps on and come up with a terrific name for this eaglet at the Captiva Bald Eagle nest of Clive and Connie.
This is the announcement by Lori Covert the property owner.
To vote, you go to FB: https://www.facebook.com/LoriPellerCovert OR Instagram (search for Lori Covert).. Find this baby a great name. A gender neutral name that will travel with him or her for 40 years or more. Thank you!
The sun is shining bright, the sky is blue with some clouds, and the Dark-eyed Juncos and European Starlings arrived in the garden three or four hours ago! There is not supposed to be more snow for another five or six days – thankfully.
Mr Woodpecker came for some of the suet a few hours later. Normally he goes to the suet cylinder with the wooden flap that helps him sit better but today he decided he wanted the peanut suet.
I love the rustic garden we have created that allows us to interact with wildlife in an urban setting rather than setting boundaries to keep the birds, the squirrels, the rabbits, and sometimes a raccoon separate and apart. We seem to have all found a way to coexist which certainly brings a lot of joy.
I received a note from a friend of forty years this morning. They live in a beautiful flat in New Zealand near a place where they can observe ducks and swans but, with the sale of the family cottage, they are now longing for a home with a large garden. Whether it is a large or small space, each of us can bring joy to our lives by helping our feathered or furred friends. In fact, it is often so much easier to manage a small space with a single feeder. Everything helps! Yesterday a huge flock of robins came to our neighbours. She didn’t have seed of any kind but she had dried cranberries, frozen blueberries, and some apples she chopped up. The Robins were very grateful.
The day started off really well for Little Bit at the UFlorida Osprey nest in Gainesville. Mum called and Dad brought another fish to her at 09:34.
Little Bit – in the middle – stretches its neck really far and gets some amazing bites of fish. This little one is not bothered at all when it comes to putting its head in front of Big sibling. Did I actually think at one time this wee baby would not survive? He is so feisty and what a great Mum he has. She tries each beak when she has flakes of fish. Not one of the chicks is ever left out. Slow and methodical. I am so impressed by her.
Big Bob (left) has its dark oily head today and has been seen doing a lot of preening as its new darker-grey wooly down comes in. Little Bit (middle) still looks rather soft and young. It is healthy – look at that fat little bottom. Middle Bob (top right) is in between the other two siblings. Tomorrow Middle Bob will look much more like Big Bob. The dinosaur phase is upon us.
Yesterday, at the Captiva osprey nest, the last fish was delivered around noon. Was recreational boat traffic the cause of no deliveries later in the day? I always wonder especially on a holiday weekend.
The first fish today came in and Middle grabbed it. I think Lena was planning on dividing it up but she didn’t get a chance. [Chat uses the term ‘Little’ when I say Middle]. I hope Andy brings in another fish soon for Lena and Little [Mini].
Idris brought in a super fish for Telyn at the Dyfi nest and then incubated the eggs for her so she could have a good feed.
Idris is one of my favourites.
Aran and Mrs G have both been on the alert this morning at the Glaslyn nest. No eggs so far – that’s a good thing.
Aran looking around from the rim of the nest.
Mrs G. looking at the intruder above the nest.
Both on the look out from the perch. There are still floaters around looking for a mate and a nest. They often cause a bit of chaos.
Yesterday, Blue NC0 laid her third and, hopefully, last egg of the 2022 season. If all three hatch, Laddie LM12 is going to be one busy male at the Loch of the Lowes. Last year the couple fledged two chicks.
Here is a short video clip of the third egg being laid.
Maya and Blue 33 (11) will have the first Osprey chicks to hatch on the streaming cams in the UK. I will alert you as we approach pip.
All three eaglets at the West End had a nice early breakfast. Thunder told them to stay away from the edge!
There were some gorgeous views from the Two Harbours nest at sunrise.
Chase wanted some time with the eaglet so he brought in a big stick and coaxed Cholyn off the nest. Sounds just like Shadow at the Big Bear Valley nest! You can see that stick to the side of Chase.
The Pittsburgh Hayes eagle nest would sure like some of that warm California Sun today. Everyone looks miserable. I can only imagine what that stock of fish smells like.
Unbelievable. Only Bob at the National Arboretum nest is no longer a fluffy little white teddy bear. Just look at that eaglet with that big crop. There is still some white natal down on its head.
The image below is the eaglet on 6 April. Twelve days ago! The saying is: An eaglet grows from three inches to 3 feet in 3 months. That is incredible.
Mother Goose has her eggs in the old abandoned Bald Eagle nest at Decorah North in Iowa. She seems to be doing fine. No disturbances and unlike dear sweet Diasy, Mother Goose has help.
The camera operator searched and found the Bald Eagles working on their new nest this morning. It is really windy!!!!!!!!
Harry and Nancy were both on the Minnesota DNR nest as snow was falling this morning. Everyone was having a big feast. Each parent was eating and feeding an eaglet. Beautiful.
Liberty and Guardian were both on the Redding Bald Eagle nest this morning too. It looks, from the size of all of these eaglets, that we are really going to be busy when they all start fledging at once!
Would you like an opportunity to name the two Redding eaglets? Here is where you go to fill in the form:
Names already used include the following: Liberty, Patriot, Spirit, Guardian, Conehead, Freedom, Hope, Peace, Shasta, Justice, Stormy, Windy, Lassen, Pi, Paddy, Poppy, Birdie, Bogey, Solo, River, Sky, Hope, Honor, Glory & Rebel.
The whole family was on the nest this morning at Big Bear after Shadow brought in a really super fish.
What a peaceful image. Spirit looking out on Big Bear Lake while Jackie finishes up some fish. Spirit has such a huge crop! Glad there was some fish left for Jackie.
While the ‘New Guy’ is incubating, Annie chases an unwanted male from The Campanile. Oh, and we so wished Annie would have some peace and quiet.
We are waiting for the announcement of the name for ‘The New Guy’.
Jan brought some moss to soften the nest that he shares with his mate, Janika. Their artificial nest is in Jogeva County in Estonia. It was built in 2021. Black Storks are very rare in Estonia and everything is done to encourage them to nest successfully. If you look carefully you can see that there are two eggs already in the nest.
Big Red and Arthur have been taking turns incubating the four eggs. In fact, this year, Arthur has become a bit bolder in his attempts to get Big Red off the nest so that he can care for the eggs, too. We will be on pip watch at the end of the week. I won’t be able to sleep!!!!!!
In past years we have seen Big Red encrusted in snow, blow off by high winds, and drenched by torrential rains. With four eyases it will be imperative that they get under the adult until they are able to regulate their own temperature if bad weather hits the Cornell campus.
Big Red is certainly a good name for the Queen of Red-tail Hawks. She has the most gorgeous deep red plumage whereas Arthur is lighter.
You can really tell the difference in the couple’s colouring by looking at BR above and then Arthur below.
It has been a wonderful day, so far, at the nests. That is a great way to begin the week. Thank you so much for being with us today. Take care. See you soon!
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: UFlorida-Gainesville Osprey Cam, Captiva Osprey Cam and Window for Wildlife, Dyfi Osprey Project, Brywd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Scottish Wildlife Trust, LRWT, Explore.org, Pix Cams, NADE-AEF, MN-DNR, Redding Eagles, FOBBV, Cal Falcons, Eagle Club of Estonia, and Cornell Bird Lab RTH.
The American Eagle Foundation posted this information today for the contest naming Little Bit, NE27. You will notice that its older sibling has been given the name Jasper. So you are only voting to name the youngest of Samson and Gabby’s 2022 eaglets.
These are the five names and the reasons for their selection as posted on the AEF website:
1. Sunny refers to the “Sunshine State of FL” 2. Garnet refers to the January gemstone (the month NE27 hatched) 3. Jiji means clever and wise in Korean 4. River is a nod to Majory Stoneman Douglas who wrote “Everglades: River of Grass” which has been credited with influencing the creation of numerous parks and related conservation groups. 5. Rocket refers to the space coast area and the rockets that can be seen from the nest area. Rocket also describes the eaglet who will soon be taking off into the sky, flying and soaring high.
You will notice that this is a fund raiser. Each vote is $5.00 US or $6.65 CDN. You can pay by credit card or PayPal should you wish to participate. You can vote as many times as you want. The name with the most donations wins.
Yes! It is this cute little pumpkin that needs a name. Little Bit doesn’t seem to fit any longer!
If you wish not to participate formally, you can always guess which name will win and see if you are right. The voting closes on March 11 at noon.
Take care everyone.
Thanks to the American Eagle Foundation and the NE Florida Eagle Cam and the AEF streaming cam and FB page where I took my screen captures.
The top three names are now posted on the Kistachie National Forest Bald Eagle streaming cam.
Those three area: Kincaid, Lucky, and Alex.
I do not know the connection for Lucky or Alex. Kincaid refers to the lake that you can see from the nest sometimes. It provides the food for all of the eagles. In keeping with staying local, Kincaid seems like a super name. Last years chick was Kisatchie after the forest that provides the nest.
To vote, please go to the streaming cam. Voting is live. When you vote you will be able to see which name is leading and you will see how many votes have been cast. Voting closes at noon on 9 February.
The snow that began last night is continuing to come down in the garden. It is gusty and blowing and the birds are having a difficult time finding a place to get out of the wind. I would love for someone to contradict me but, I do not recall this much snow in 15 years. Thankfully, there is no reason to get out, not even for birdseed. We have at least another two weeks on hand! There are times that I think the garden visitors eat better than their caregivers! It is the running family joke.
You might have felt that I am a little ‘shy’ of that WRDC nest of Ron and Rita’s. This is a new Bald Eagle couple to me. It is really difficult to see if R2 is getting much food. Clearly R1 is a bit of a brute. R3 would not have had a chance. The adults often stand in front of the camera so the view is restricted or, else, I can only see R1 bonking the little one. There is lots of food. Ron is a good provider.
I want to imagine that I am terribly wrong and that the adults are feeding R1 until it passes out in a food coma and then are making sure that R2 is full to the brim. If you have seen this please let me know! I would be delighted.
Some good news. There is no sign of Daisy the Duck on the White-Bellied Sea Eagle Nest in the Sydney Olympic Forest. Continue to send your positive energy to our little duck so she finds a safe place to hatch some eggs!
The bad news – unless you are a GHOW fan – is that Mrs Hootie laid her first egg on the Savannah Osprey nest of Scarlett and Rhett. Where will this longstanding Osprey couple lay their eggs?
The snow is melting in Ithaca, the home of Big Red and Arthur.
The Clark Fork River is open in places near Missoula, Montana. It is hard to imagine but in 9 weeks Big Red should be laying eggs and in 10 weeks we will be looking for Iris, the oldest Osprey in the world, to return to her nest at Hell Gate Canyon.
There is some snow in Latvia and like here in Canada, I expect that they will see more. Milda’s nest is waiting for her albeit there have been intruders.
The eaglet at the KNF nest was stretching its little wings this morning. It is 6 days old and is energetic, curious, healthy, and happy. What more could you want?!
Anna and Louis are quickly becoming one of my most favoured Bald Eagle couples!
Pa Berry fed B15 til it passed out in a food coma. I had missed seeing him brooding or feeding so this really put a smile on my face. B15 is a little character. Full of life! So happy.
Pa Berry was really aerating the nest this morning!
R15 is so cute. I wonder if R15 will get attached to ‘eggie’ like Legacy did last year?
The two eaglets of Harriet and Mitch are doing fine at the Hilton Head Island Bald Eagle nest. Have a close look. That second layer of dark grey down is covering them and there are feathers peeking through. Soon they will look like E19 and E20.
E20 looks on as E19 is eating at the SWFlorida Bald Eagle Nest. It will wait til E19 is finished and then will go and have food.
Ferris Akel posted a very short video of the Canada Geese and the Snow Geese from last Sunday’s tour. I had not seen so many since our migration in September-October here in Winnipeg.
Ervie is on the nest and will, no doubt, be ramping up the volume screaming for a fish once the dawn breaks at Port Lincoln. Oh, Ervie. Are you going to be another Izzi? We do adore you and we wouldn’t mind! On the other hand, you did get the sat-pak! Will the conclusion be that at least one male Eastern Osprey likes to stay at the natal nest? Oh, Ervie, you do put a smile on our faces.
Thank you for joining me today. It is so nice to have you with me. Take care! See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen shots: WRDC, KNF, Port Lincoln Osprey Project, Hilton Head Island Trust, SWFlorida and D Pritchett, Berry College, Cornell Bird Cam and Montana Osprey Project, Cornell Bird Cam and RTH, Cornell Bird Lab and Savannah Ospreys, Latvian Fund for Nature, and Sea Eagles@Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre Sydney Olympic Park.
