First, in my blog Birds and Drones Don’t Mix, the number of Tern Nests evacuated because of the drone crash on Huntington Beach in June 2021, was 3000 not 300 as I reported. Incredible. Can you imagine a whole generation of birds completely wiped out? That is what happened.
This morning Kincaid was waiting for his breakfast when I left to go for my walk. Louis brought seven fish on to the nest while I was away. Kincaid has a full crop. He is such a cutie. The sound is so good at the Kisatchie National Forest Bald Eagle nest that you can clearly hear the eagles chattering. Today, little Kincaid, all interested in what they were doing joined in with his own vocals. It was nothing short of adorable.
My goodness Kincaid is full to the brim! I wonder if that full of a crop is uncomfortable?
Are we heading into a food coma?
Louis is on the nest and Kincaid wonders, even with that huge crop, if he might get a few bites of fish!
Oh, gosh. How do you spell cute? Is it NE 26 and 27?
Samson did a great job of feeding his babies this morning. 26 and 27 both ate really well, had crops and were wonderfully behaved!
The storm has really wiped out the wifi at the Port Lincoln Osprey Barge. No news on Ervie. I am sure they are OK but I wonder how much Ervie has had to eat. With choppy weather, Dad excels at fishing but I doubt Ervie is good enough at fishing to be successful in stormy weather.
Big Red and Arthur both came to the Fernow Light Stand Nest today at 06:57 to check on it. Arthur stayed longer actually rubbing the nest cup to check on it. We are about six weeks away from egg laying – unless Big Red is early!
Falconer Laura Culley will be joining in on the morning chat discussions. It is a great time to learn everything about Red-tail Hawks that you thought you would never want to know.
This is the 25th anniversary of Cornell’s Backyard Bird Count. It takes place this year from 18-22 February. It is free and I urge all of you to join in. This is citizen science at its best – helping to establish which birds are where and how many before the spring migration. Please do take part. Please go to https://www.birdcount.org/participate/ to sign up. You can participate for as few as 15 minutes a day. You can use the Merlin Bird App on your phone or use your desktop or laptop computer. It is fun and it really helps understand bird population growth and decline.
Thanks everyone for joining me today. My regular blog will be coming later in the afternoon for the next week. Take care. Stay safe. See you soon!
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screencaptures: NEFlorida Bald Eagles and the AEF, KNF, and Cornell Bird Labs Red-tail Hawks.
If I say the word ‘drone’, I am certain that you can conjure up a likeness in your mind. You probably know more about these remote controlled flying machines that can be equipped with everything from cameras to laser guided missiles than I do. The subject of this blog is the impact of drones on birds!
This morning I received a note from a reader (Thank you, ‘B’) telling me of an incident with Annie and a drone that was flown illegally over the UC-Berkeley campus. ‘B’ thought it was a good idea that everyone becomes aware of the dangers to Annie and Grinnell – and all our other wildlife – from these flying objects.
The individual flying the drone at UC Berkeley sent the machine very close to The Campanile where Annie has her scrape box. Annie went into defensive posture chasing after the machine. She could have been fatally injured by such an encounter. She could also be frightened away from her scrape abandoning breeding season which has just started or eggs, if laid.
UC-Berkeley is trying hard to locate the individual responsible. There are news reports and everyone is trying to spread the word. I hope that that individual cares and will stop their behaviour.
There are Bald Eagles trained and being trained to deal with drones.
Annie and Grinnell are not the size of a Bald Eagle. They could easily be injured or killed.
But Annie and Grinnell, Peregrine Falcons, are not the only birds having problems with illegal drones. In June, 2021, 3000 Terns and their nests of eggs were wiped out because of a drone. The Terns abandoned their nests on Huntington Beach, California after a drone crashed.
If you have a drone or if you know someone who does, perhaps it is time for a chat about responsibility. Wildlife can be seriously injured, killed, or frightened. There is a place for drones but it is not anywhere around the nests of birds!
Thank you for joining me and thank you ‘B’ for letting me know about this drone violation and its impact on Annie. Take care everyone. See you soon.
If you watch the West End eagles on Santa Catalina Island, you will have noticed that there are tags on their wings similar to the tags on the wings of the California Condors.
It all goes back to DDT and the near extinction of the Ospreys, Bald Eagles, and other birds from the United States. Sea life has been impacted and so have humans. After World War II DDT was used to eradicate for mosquitoes in the US. Various areas received high amounts of this toxin. It wasn’t just the spraying but also the illegal dumping of hundreds of thousands of tonnes that has caused harm. Indeed, the waters off Catalina Island, for one, became a dumping ground for DDT.
In 2020, an article appeared in the Los Angeles Times about the finding of the rusting barrels of toxins leaking near Catalina Island. (The scientists were looking for methane).
The author says, “As many as half a million of these barrels could still be underwater right now, according to interviews and a Times review of historical records, manifests and undigitized research. From 1947 to 1982, the nation’s largest manufacturer of DDT — a pesticide so powerful that it poisoned birds and fish — was based in Los Angeles.”
“DDT is so stable it can take generations to break down. It doesn’t really dissolve in water but stores easily in fat. Compounding these problems is what scientists today call “biomagnification”: the toxin accumulating in the tissues of animals in greater and greater concentrations as it moves up the food chain.” The birds at the top of the food chain, often referred to as the canaries in the coal mine are the Ospreys who eat the fish and the Bald Eagles.
This is a fantastic read. I urge you to take the time so that when you hear about the impacts of DDT you will understand the history and the harm.
In 1980, there was a reintroduction programme of Bald Eagles into the Santa Catalina and San Clemente Islands. Even until 2001, the eggs were removed and fostered and the chicks banded. Between 1980-86, 33 Bald Eagles were released on Santa Catalina. These birds grew to adulthood even breeding but due to the DDE levels, the eggshell thickness was still compromised. You might recall that Jackie and Shadow at Big Bear have problems with thin eggshells today. Big Bear Lake was heavily sprayed with DDT and it is residual in the soil. The tagging program can be seen with the tags on Thunder and Akacheta. Their chicks, should they hatch and survive, will be banded as part of the continuing study.
From the findings of scientists now, the number of barrels of DDT in the waters of this area rusting and leaking are growing. In April of 2021, more were found.
For those who would like to go back to the 1970s when the alarms were being sounded by various individuals including Rachel Carson, a good read is The Silent Spring. I would hope that most local libraries would have copies. As you can see, the storage and long life of DDT and the fact that it does not break down in water, is a continuing concern for all the wildlife and humans around the Santa Catalina Island which is now controlled by the US Navy.
In other Bird World News, there was a major storm going across the Eyre Peninsula, home to Port Lincoln and Ervie. The camera has been off line for some time. There were several nests waiting for food deliveries this morning including the KNF nest, home to Kincaid, in Louisiana.
It was wet at the NEFlorida Nest but, because the chicks are younger, there are still piles of fish in the pantry.
Have you noticed that as the nestlings get older the amount of prey on the nest declines? A small fish was delivered to SWFlorida E19 and E20 but that nest is empty of prey also. No worries. It is something to notice as the eaglets develop.
Thank you for joining me today. It is a beautiful morning -1 on the Canadian Prairies. More snow is due to start mid-afternoon. I am going to go out to try and see some birds! The Snowy Owls are still eluding me! Take care everyone. See you soon.
Thank you to Explore.org, NEFlorida Bald Eagle Cam, and the AEF and the KNF for their streaming cams where I took my screen shots.
In my blog on Florida Eagles, I made mention of blood feathers. A reader, ‘B’, wondered about those blood feathers. I realized then I needed to clarify the matter. So, let us take a short look at feathers – what they actually do – and in that discussion I will clarify the ‘blood feathers’.
What are feathers? Sibley says “that the precursors to feathers were not scales but bristle like hollow structures” that evolved into what we know today as a ‘feather’. Feathers are made out of keratin, the same material used for human fingernails and toenails as well as the beaks or bills of birds.
There are seven different types of feathers. They are the wing, the down, the contour, the fail, the semiplume, bristle, and filoplume.
@Cornell Bird Lab
The down feathers have hardly any shaft. You will recall the soft down that Daisy rubbed from her chest to line her nest. You can see it in the image below. This soft down helps to insulate the birds by trapping air.
The contour feathers help give the bird its colour and shape. Contour feathers cover the birds everywhere except for the beak, its legs and feet. They are the outer covering of the bird and you are probably more familiar with them than any other type of feather. These feathers overlap. You can see these overlapping feathers on Daisy in the image above.
Flight feathers are on the wing and the tail of the birds. It is easy to get confused. Some people separate and say tail and wing to distinguish the parts of the bird where the flight feathers grow. Tail feathers help the bird with flying. They help it to change direction – similar in function to a rudder on a boat. These broad flat feathers help the bird to fly along with those on its wings.
The image below is of a Turkey Vulture. It is still flying – and is alive – despite the fact that it is missing one leg and some of its wing (flight) feathers.
Here is a great diagram showing the primary, secondary, and tertiary wing or flight feathers. The Vulture above is missing some primaries as well as secondary feathers.
In the image below you can see the tail feathers clearly. You can also see the overlapping contour feathers.
The function of the wing or feathers is to support the bird so that it can fly precisely to its destination. Here is an example of a flight feather.
The central hollow shaft attaches to the bird at the calumus. In young birds, such as eagles, this shaft is filled with blood and is called a Blood feather. When the feather has completed growing, the blood vessels regress.
If a flight feather is broken – the tail or the wing – before it is fully grown, blood will flow. Normally, the blood of birds will coagulate just like humans and there is no risk to the bird. However, it is possible for birds, such as eaglets, to bleed to death by a simple broken feather. This is especially true if the bird has been exposed to rodenticide. Rodenticide stops blood from coagulating. In the case of the Captiva Eaglets, the elder was flapping its wings and jumping and broke a blood feather causing it to bleed to death. It had been exposed to rodenticide by a dead rat being brought to the nest.
There have been instances when birds have had to have emergency treatment because they have bled so much when a feather was broken. These are emergencies and the blood needs to stop flowing. Cornflour (cornstarch) and icing sugar can be applied to the site of the break. Both will help to coagulate the blood. If you have pet birds this is something to know if you raise little ones.
Here is an excellent article on all things feathers!
The feathers are ever so important for the birds. Indeed, the feathers are absolutely essential for the bird’s survival. You will see them constantly conditioning their feathers by preening them. The feathers wear out and have to be replaced. Some birds molt twice a year to change the colour from breeding to non-breeding. Others molt only once a year. Molting uses up a lot of energy so birds generally molt during the warmer times of year such as summer. Some birds replace a few feathers at a time. Geese and ducks actually molt all of their flight feathers at once which means that for several weeks until they grow in, they cannot fly. Some of you will have seen Cardinals or Blue Jays molting their feathers. Their heads often look like they have a disease. Our favourite Red-tail Hawk molts after the nestlings have fledged. The running joke is that Big Red becomes Big Blond as the colour of her feathers goes from a deep rich auburn red to a paler strawberry blond of blond during the late summer and early fall.
So, to be clear, birds will not bleed to death once their feathers have fully grown in and there is no blood in the shaft. One way to help reduce the number of blood feather deaths or any deaths of our raptors is to ban rodenticide.
For American Bald Eagles, we use the change in the colour of their plumage to tell us what age the birds are. When all of the eaglets from the nest fledge, they will look like the raptor in the top left. In 2020 (I think I am right), there was a 4 year old Dad at the DNR nest in Minnesota. This was unusual. Normally the adults that are breeding are 5-6 years of age and have that distinctive pure white head.
Thank you for joining me this evening. I hope that you are all well. I look forward to seeing you again soon.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Sea Eagles@Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre Sydney Olympic Park and the WRDC Bald Eagle nest in Miami.
There are a number of Bald Eagle nests on streaming cams in Florida: Captiva, NEFlorida, SWFlorida, the WRDC, and Osceola to name five. Three of the nests have eaglets who are getting their blood feathers and beginning to look like gorgeous dark espresso juveniles. One nest did not have viable eggs on its first clutch and NE Florida has eaglets who are, on average 14 days old.
Gabby and Samson really had a weekend of bad weather. Rain and high winds rocked the nest but it did not rock this great eagle couple. Samson piled the fish on the nest so the entire family could eat regardless of the weather and Gabby did an amazing job of keeping NE26 and 27 dry and fed. This is an incredible team!
NE 26 is 15 days old and NE 27 is 13 days old today.
The eaglets at NEFlorida are in the process of losing their natal down and getting the thermal down. At that time they will be able to more regulate their own temperature.
At the WRDC nest of Ron and Rita, the eaglets are getting their blood feathers or juvenile feathers. I say the word ‘blood’ feather because the middle area of the feather – often called the quill – is full of blood. If it should break, the eagle could bleed to death. Just this morning Rita stepped on R2’s wing and there was concern.
R1 is 37 days old and R2 is 36 days old today.
That is R2 nearest the adult. Note the lovely thermal down and the dark feathers. They are growing in through the follicles where the natal down was (or so I am told). What is interesting to me in terms of eaglet behaviour is that R2 is beginning to walk. He is not fully steady but he will move from one side of the nest to the other on his feet.
There he made it. You can see that R1 has more juvenile feathers than R2. It is a good way to distinguish them.
Here is some information on the stages of development.
The eaglet at the Osceola Bald Eagle Nest is ahead of the eaglets at the WRDC in terms of its plumage development. There are three Bald Eagle nests with only one hatchling so far: Osceola, Kistachie National Forest, and Berry College. The single at Osceola is actively looking over the edge of the nest to the world beyond. An adult is providing security on a branch to the left.
It might look like E19 and E20 are alone on the nest but just like the eaglet at Osceola, they aren’t. Harriet or M15 or both will be up on the higher branches keep guard over their nest and their territory.
The plumage development on the SWFlorida Eaglets is between that of Osceola and WRDC it appears with Osceola being the most developed.
The Captiva Bald Eagle nest on Santibel Island of Connie and Clive did not have any hatchlings from the first clutch of eggs. It is unclear whether Connie and Clive will try for a second clutch. They each worked burying the egg yesterday and placing palm leaves over it. Surely a means of closure and new beginnings.
Other Bird World News:
Richmond continues to come to the Whirley Crane and spend time waiting for Rosie’s arrival. Today he stayed for over half an hour. Normally Rosie arrives right around Valentine’s Day. To get you in the mood for baby Ospreys, here is a compilation from last year and the triples: Sage, Poppy, and Lupin. It is nice to remember that Ervie was once this small! Oh, they grow and leave us way too fast.
Ervie is on the nest crying for Dad to deliver him a fish at the Port Lincoln Osprey Barge. The last fish delivery was yesterday at 15:07 so Ervie is very hungry this morning.
And breeding season has started at The Campanile Peregrine Falcon nest of Annie and Grinnell!!!!!!!!! Oh, how exciting!
I went to one of our local nature centres for my walk and to check on the little woodpecker that had a beak issue today. The temperature was only -7 C but the breeze off the lake made it feel much more colder.
The food in the feeders was almost gone. The Nuthatch was trying to get thee last of the suet.
There were a pair of Black-capped Chickadees feeding on Black Oil Seed.
The little woodpecker was not at the feeders when we departed the centre or returned.
It is hard to describe to anyone how much snow we have had. Here in the park it is almost at the top of the picnic tables.
We walked across the frozen lake and back. It was so quiet. The snow is dry and it crunched under our feet.
It was a lovely day despite the chill to be outside. I felt blessed.
If you are interested in what is happening on the high seas in terms of fishing, I will provide you with a link to the Sea Shepherd site. Paul Watson is a Canadian and he is intent on bringing to justice those who fish the seas illegally. Sea Shepherd also works with countries helping with illegal fishing in their waters. In September I had a friend taking photographs on the Faroe Islands when the largest pod of Dolphins was forced on shore. That report with images and why it was considered an illegal hunt is on the Sea Shepherd site under News. The fishing impacts the sea birds like the Albatross. If huge illegal trawlers continue to harvest 24/7 seven days a week, the fish stocks in the ocean will be depleted. That along with warming waters is a huge threat to the Albatross and Petrels.
Once you go on the site, to find the latest news you have to click on Media and then news.
Thank you so much for joining me today. There is so much happening with the Bald Eagles that my mind has to stop and focus on a few at a time. Take care everyone. See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screencaptures: NEFlorida Bald Eagles and the AEF, WRDC, Osceola Bald Eagles, SWFlorida and D Pritchett, Port Lincoln Osprey Project.
There were two nests that I wanted to check on before the end of Sunday. The first was the NEFlorida nest of Samson and Gabby and the second was our dear Ervie at the Port Lincoln Osprey barge.
The winds are still blowing at around 21 km/h and it is 9 degrees C – cold for Jacksonville, Florida – and the NEFlorida Bald Eagle nest of Samson and Gabby. For now, the rain has stopped although the weather forecast is calling for some more light rain before midnight.
Gabby has taken every opportunity to feed NE 26 and 27. Here are some images from three of those feedings. In each, both chicks had crops and were well fed. There is no cause to worry. Even with this storm, Gabby has all of this under control. While she is taking care of the babies, Samson has kept the pantry full and he is being diligent in his security duties. With all of the intruders at so many nests, Samson knows how important this is.
In the image below you can see that both have nice crops. Gabby does a real good job with these two. Any rivalry has been at the minimum even with the storms this nest has had. Great parents!
You can see the thermal down coming in below that soft natal down. There are very clear – it is all good.
Both will have nice crops after the feeding.
Oh, those are the sweetest little babies. I did worry about sibling rivalry between the two but it was so minimal. Gabby has good control and the chicks seem to be aware that both get fed and there is lots of food. Fingers crossed!
If you watch the Decorah North nest in Iowa, the first egg was laid last year on the 16th of February. Everyone is starting to watch and hope in Iowa!
Hope and Chandler at Port Tobacco Eagles have their first nest. It arrived at 16:11 today. Both parents were on the nest at the time.
This nest is in Port Tobacco, Maryland. The couple fledged two chicks in 2019 and two again in 2020. Two eggs laid last year on Feb 7 and 10th. No fledges. I will be checking closer at the history of this nest for you shortly.
Here is the link to the camera. There is no IR. There is a monitored chat during the day.
It has been a lonely day for our Ervie on the Port Lincoln Osprey barge. It is now mid-afternoon. This morning Ervie flew off the nest at 10:36:37.
Ervie is an excellent flyer. He will be away from the nest for 46 minutes. He returns at 11:22:05 soaking wet – I meant wet to the core. It was obvious to everyone watching that Ervie had been fishing. He had no crop but, never mind. He tried fishing again! The toadfish is still on the nest – a reminder of a successful attempt of a horrid fish that not even a pigeon wants to eat!
Here he is soaking wet.
Ervie has flown off the nest and returned a couple of times. Once I believe he flew down to the cave.
At 15:07:07 Dad delivers a fish to Ervie. Oh, thank you, Dad!
Ervie is so loud. They could probably hear him on the other side of the bay.
Ervie was absolutely raveous.
He has been moving backwards on the nest. I really hope he does not lose this fish before he finishes eating it.
This fish delivery brought much relief to streaming cam watchers! Dad is still there for Ervie. Ervie is so hungry he is not fish calling in the middle of the bites!!!!!! His silence and just flat out eating says a lot about Ervie’s level of hunger. Perhaps he will have some energy to maybe go and try fishing again today???
I couldn’t call it a night without checking on Ervie and the NEFlorida nest. Relief all the way around. If you are a Redding Eagle watcher, there appears to have been two incidents of intruders at that nest and a chase.
Intruders into well established nests seems to have been the them this year as breeding season progresses in various areas around the US. Hopefully this will stop at the Redding Nest because everyone is on egg watch and it is the time between now and the 12th of February that Liberty likes to lay her eggs.
That is it for Sunday the 6th of February. Take care everyone. Thank you so much for joining me. See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: NEFlorida Bald Eagle Nest and the AEF and Port Lincoln Osprey Project.
The wind has not let up at the NEFlorida Bald Eagle nest of Gabby and Samson. Gabby has gotten up twice to make sure the little NE26 and 27 are fed. Thank goodness that Samson filled up the pantry because he would not be able to go and fish in these winds.
The babies are growing and need more food. You can see the white dot of the ear on NE26 standing up.
These two still do not have their thermal down and Gabby has to be very careful to keep them warm and dry.
I feel for all of the birds who have these intense storms. They, on the other hand, just get on with life as best they can!
There are now two eggs on the Achieva Osprey Credit Union in St Petersburg, Florida. Congratulations Jack and Diane. Jack has been bringing fish to the nest and taking his turn at incubation. That nest looks a little wet, too.
It is hard to believe it, sitting here in frigid Canada, but the first Red Kites have begun their northerly migration from Africa passing over Poole Harbour today! Gosh, golly. Red Kites are beautiful raptors. They are about 66 cm or one foot in length with a very distinctive forked tail, angular body, and reddy-brown body.
I am getting excited for the streaming cam to come on line in the Taiwan cemetery that has a Black Kite nest. That should be about the middle of March.
It is a gorgeous day in Pittsburg. We continue to be on egg watch at this nest.
Liberty and Guardian have both been on the nest in Redding, California and there is egg watch there, too, just like at Pittsburgh-Hays.
Thunder has three eggs at the West End Bald Eagle nest. Her and Cheta keep taking turns incubating them. Oh, I so hope these two have a successful season but they are going to have to be diligent! Those Ravens are intelligent and they sit back and wait and watch. We know this from Daisy the Duck’s experience on the WBSE nest.
Connie and Clive, as mentioned in an earlier blog, have buried their last unviable egg. The first broke. Both have brought greenery into the nest and covered the place where the egg is buried. Will there be a second clutch? or is this greenery a way of bringing closure to a lost season for this new pair?
It is a gorgeous day over at the Duke Farm Bald Eagle nest in Hillsborough, NJ. Gosh, I bet everyone was glad that storm was gone!
There is a really beautiful Snowy Owl over on the Mississippi Flyway Streaming Cam today.
Lena is on the eggs over at the Captiva Osprey Nest on Santibel. There are fire trucks in the background and oh, she is loud! You can easily hear human voices over the nest microphone, too. That is really something folks should be aware of when they walk by these nests!!!!!! If they know they are by a nest.
The eggs were laid on 8, 11, and 14 January. Can you believe we could be on hatch watch? To my knowledge, the streaming cam on Andy and Lena will be turned off if the eggs hatch. It will be kept off until such time the owner believes that the Crows are no longer a threat. I will try to keep you posted.
It is early Monday morning in Australia and it looks like Ervie is the only one on the barge. Individuals continue to ask where Mum is. Traditionally, in migrating Ospreys, the Mum leaves the nest and the Dad feeds the chicks til they leave. At that point he begins his migration. Australian Ospreys do not migrate. That said Mum has done her job and is probably over on the Old Barge resting and getting her strength back. There is no need to worry! She probably got tired of Ervie’s very loud prey calling. Dad hangs out on the barge with Ervie some of the time. Dad definitely provides food for Ervie.
I want to leave you today on the happiest of notes. It is a courtship display by our two favourite North American Peregrine Falcons, Annie and Grinnell, on The Campanile today.
Thank you for joining me today. Take care everyone. See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen shots: Port Lincoln Osprey Project, Captiva Osprey Cam, Mississippi Flyway, Duke Farms, Explore.org, Captiva Bald Eagle Cam, Pix Cams, Redding Bald Eagles, Achieva Credit Union, and NEFlorida Bald Eagles and the AEF.
I have to admit that I have been feeling rather sad for Ervie. He was so excited – and proud -to bring his catch to the nest. Then for it to turn out to be a toadfish, something that he cannot eat (or did not eat – he did eat the puffer fish!), had to be a real disappointment.
That fish remains on the nest and every once in awhile Ervie takes a look at it. You can see the fish to the right of Ervie. It also sticks to Ervie’s feet when he jumps around the nest trying to get a delivery from dad. I wonder why he doesn’t just shove it into the side of the nest?
Yesterday Dad brought in two fish meals for Ervie. Those times were 12:55:43 and 17:56:51.
Here is Dad delivering the first lunch for his lad.
Ervie is really lucky that Dad continues to feed him! Ervie reminds me of Izzi, the cutest peregrine falcon, at the scrape in Orange. Izzi did eventually leave the area but not until it was nearly time for his mother, Diamond, to lay her eggs for 2021. Some thought Izzi would have to stay and help take care for his siblings! It has happened in the UK.
It appears as long as there is a chick crying in the nest, no matter how big and old, Dad will continue to provide some food.
Ervie is really mantling his precious fish. He gives Dad a bit of a nudge to get him off the nest!
Dad is amazing. Ervie is really going to enjoy that fish.
Ervie slept in the nest last evening. I wish the camera could give us a view of the nest and Dad’s shed area. Is Dad not there? Is that why Ervie is sleeping on the nest? I have more questions than I will ever get answers.
In other Bird World News: Thunder has now laid her third egg at the West End Bald Eagle on Catalina nest with Akecheta. Bald Eagles Connie and Clive, realizing that their egg was not fertile, each helped bury it in the nest at Captiva. Today they are bringing in new soft materials covering the egg and the nest area. Does this mean they are going to attempt a second season?
There is a storm raging at the NEFlorida nest of Gabby and Samson. Gabby and the nest are almost at the point of being so deluged that she might not be able to keep the chicks dry. The other issue is that the temperature at the nest is 9 degrees C (49 F) and there is a wind advisory. Gusts up to 40 mph will ravage the area until Monday afternoon. The rain should stop by early evening. My heart goes out to Gabby.
Pa Berry has the nest stocked and while it is a little breezy, all seems well at the nest with Missy and little B15 at Mt Berry, Georgia.
Kincaid is growing and doing well. Louis doesn’t have quite the pile of fish he had on the nest. Thinking about those 10 fish and Coots reminds me. There was a question the other day and I am certain we have all thought about this. How well can Bald Eagles smell? That nest of Anna and Louis’s in the Kisatchie National Forest had to just reek.
Eagles have high temporal resolution – keen eyesight – and they rely more on their vision than smell. Turkey Vultures and others who rely on Carrion as a food source do have a developed sense of smell that helps them find their food. Eagles have functional olfactory glands meaning that they can smell but the numbers of those glands is relatively small in comparison to mammals. I will post a link to an article on Olfaction in Raptors at the end of this blog if you want to access it.
Kincaid is sitting up nice and straight. He is not yet walking around the nest but he sure manages to move relatively quickly, regardless. Anna keeps him full to the brim, normally!
There is an interesting story coming out of Alexandria, West Virginia Audubon Society about an Osprey that caught a crow. Have a read:
It is -18 with a bright sky on the Canadian Prairies. I am hoping to go out and check on some birds this afternoon for awhile. February is always the month for ‘cabin fever’ and this year is no exception! I do have some images of our dear Dyson yesterday in the garden. He is sure enjoying that hard suet cylinder!
He managed to share it with the European Starlings yesterday. Sometimes I see him chasing them about the Lilac Bushes hoping that he will get them to move so he can have some seed.
For some reason Dyson likes to eat this hard seed cylinder or sit in the open square feeder and eat just Black Oil Seed. I cannot get him interested in anything else.
Dyson becomes a bit like an acrobat hanging on to that small branch of the tree and the wires of the suet holder.
He sure does bring me a lot of joy!
Little Red was out yesterday, too. When the temperatures dropped from -32 to -15, the squirrels became much more active. It was nice to see them all! Reassuring.
Thank you so much for joining me. I hope that you are all well. Stay safe! See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screencaptures: Port Lincoln Osprey Project, Berry College Bald Eagles, KNF Bald Eagles, and NEFlorida Bald Eagles and the AEF.
Before I begin, I want to thank ‘A-M’ for alerting me that Ervie had caught a fish and brought it to the nest yesterday. I was not watching at the time and in my excitement to tell you, I forgot to thank her. My sincerest apologies. I always appreciate all of the news you send me, especially when I can only be in one place at a time! Thank you ‘A-M’.
Yes, Ervie caught a fish and brought it to the nest yesterday. It was magnificent and happened at 13:37:14. Ervie had to be so excited.
Ervie was so proud of his fish and rightly so. Indeed, he was so happy that he wasn’t paying full attention. And the fish was still alive. Yes…if you are thinking fluttering fish on nest, you have it. Ervie was a bit shocked when the fish started moving away and fell into a hole at the top right of the nest!
There is Ervie looking down that hole in amazement. It ate his fish!
Everyone had faith that Ervie, the chick who could dig out old fish tails from the nest, would be able to retrieve his fish ——- and he did!
Well done, Ervie. Today you gained some confidence and you learned a lesson – pin your fish down hard while you eat it!
The very curious thing is that Ervie, who was obviously hungry, did not gobble up his fish. He also walked around the nest like something distasteful was stuck to his foot. One of the knowledgable chatters suggested that it was a ‘toadfish’ and that maybe he didn’t like the taste of it.
So what is a toadfish? The Common Toadfish grows to approximately 15 cm or 6 inches in length. The fish is actually covered with some prickles which could account for why Ervie didn’t like it stuck to the pads on his feet. They are found along the coasts in shallow water and sometimes bury themselves in sand with only their eyes showing. The fish is toxic to humans who, if they consume the fish can die of respiratory failure. It carries the same neurotoxins in its tissue as the Blue-ringed Octopus or the Pufferfish. Those toxins are Tetrodotoxin.
I asked a biologist if this could harm the transfer of information from Ervie’s nerves to his muscles and they were unclear as to the impact. Perhaps the toxins do not harm the sea hawks like they do humans. Still, as my grandmother would say, it is a good thing Ervie did not like the taste of the fish and didn’t finish it just in case. Over time, Ervie will discover the fish that are good to eat and those that aren’t.
Dad watched his son closely. At 17:52, he brought Ervie a nice fish to eat. Thanks, Dad!
Dad has a nice crop. It looks like he made sure that the fish was dead by eating its head before delivering to our sweet boy.
Ervie has spent the night in Dad’s shed hanging on to Dad’s favourite blue rope sleeping.
Other Bird World News: The Ravens came to attack the nest of Jackie and Shadow. Shadow was not home. Jackie defended the nest of two eggs valiantly. This will not be thee last time they come. They know there are eggs in there and Jackie and Shadow are going to have to be vigilant! It is believed that E20 at the SWFlorida Bald Eagle nest of Harriet and M15 has officially started self-feeding. Jean-Marie Dupart has counted 220 Ospreys at the Langue de Barbarie Park in Senegal. This is a record! Ferris Akel will be hosting his birding tour of the area around Ithaca today starting around 1pm Eastern time. Go to YouTube and Search for Ferris Akel Tour Live. For those fans of E19 and E20, they are some of the feature wildlife that are in CROW’s 2022 calendar. The calendars are now 50% off. Here is the link to order: https://bit.ly/2022CROWCalendar There is no news on Bella at the NCTC nest. She has not returned to the nest since the last time she was seen injured on 1 February. The search party was not able to find her. The new female and Smitty have been exchanging fish on the nest. We are on egg watch for the Redding Eagles. Lots and lots happening. The poor weather seems to have moved out of the nest areas!
This is Pittsburgh-Hayes a few minutes ago. We are on egg watch there, too.
The sun is shining down and the snow is melting in Ithaca for Big Red and Arthur.
Not-so-little Kincaid has a big crop this morning at the Kisatchie National Forest Bald Eagle nest in Louisiana. The thermal down is coming in nicely and just look at those big feet! Oh, you are growing way too fast Kincaid.
It is a cloudy day on the Canadian Prairies. No snow warnings and it is now a balmy -15 C. Someone asked me how we stay warm. For the most part, the houses in Canada are well insulated with double or triple pane windows. Central Air is pretty standard. We pay very high heating bills (very high) in the winter even if our homes are insulated well and have great windows if the extreme cold weather lingers for several weeks. Smart persons really bundle up before going out in -35 degree weather. Coats, boots, ski pants all rated to -35 or -45 help tremendously along with gloves and toques (knit hats). I prefer the dry snow over the wet – that makes you cold to the bone!
Thank you so much for joining me today. Stay safe. I look forward to seeing you soon.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen shots: Port Lincoln Osprey Project, Pix Cameras, Cornell Bird Labs, and the KNF Bald Eagle nest.
It is impossible for me to hide those birds that melt my heart. The third hatch of Mum and Dad at the Port Lincoln Osprey barge this year was one of those birds. Measured to be a male, given a sat-pak to track his adventures, and a real name – Ervie – he has amused us from the moment he hatched. Whether it was making certain that he got to the ‘sweet spot’ so Mum could feed him, standing up to Bazza, or having those dust ups with his older brothers, Ervie has been nothing short of a joy to watch.
For the past few days, Ervie has been down in the cave with Dad. One day Dad brought Ervie 3 fish meals but yesterday, he brought Ervie only one. Observers believe that Ervie had, at one time, been catching fish successfully off camera. While we so longed for Ervie to dive off the barge and come up with a fish like Falky, that has not happened. Ervie did bring in a puffer fish to the nest that he had obviously caught. There were loud cheers from Canada to Japan when that happened.
Today, Ervie was on the nest and Dad was sitting on the twigs in the cave. Ervie flew off the nest. When he flew in, he had caught a fish – a very nice fish – and Ervie was wet.
Tears of joy flowed and hands clapped. Our boy can fish!
You can see Dad down in his cave. Ervie has flown off the nest. I wanted to make certain that Dad did not hand the fish off to Ervie somewhere else. No, he is sitting tight. Did he have a chat with his boy?
Here comes Ervie with a nice fish in his talon. Dad looks up and sees his lad. He must have been thinking, ‘Well done’.
Ervie lands nicely and doesn’t lose the fish over the rim of the nest.
Fantastic, Ervie! You look so proud and confident.
You can tell that Ervie is wet – yes, Ervie, you did catch this fish all by yourself. Congratulations!
Ervie is really enjoying that fish. It must be all the more delicious because he caught it himself.
I wonder if we will see him fishing more and more and bringing his catch to the nest on the barge?
I am smiling! Wonder if Dad thinks Ervie should share with him?
Three other items in Bird World. A search party gathered to look for Bella, the female, at the NCTC. She had an altercation with another female several days ago. Bella returned briefly to the nest but she was bloodied and there was much concern over her left eye. Bella has not been seen since. There is no news on finding Bella, sadly. Perhaps they will continue looking tomorrow. The Dulles-Greenway Bald Eagle couple have their second egg. It was laid today. And, sadly, Scarlett, the female adult Osprey on The Landings nest has returned to find her nest taken over by GHOWs. I wonder if her and Rhett will find a place for their eggs so they can raise little ones this season? They had two of the most gorgeous fledglings last year!
Thank you so much for joining me. I know that so many of you love Ervie just like I do and his successful fishing trip just reassures us that he can take care of himself – when he wants to! What a darling. Take care everyone. See you soon.
Thank you to Port Lincoln Osprey Project for their streaming cam where I took my screen shots.
