Late Monday in Bird World

Any worries about the bopping that Big Bob seems to want to inflict on Little Bob as of late should be cast aside. Little Bob is a survivor and he won’t let anything Big does keep him from his favourite fish! At the feeding around 15:00, all three Bobs had enormous crops. Little Bob was the last one to leave the table.

Each of the trio looked like they would just about pop.

Everyone is hot at the Captiva Osprey nest. The chicks are panting to help thermoregulate.

Lena decided to go for a dip in herr own private area of the Gulf of Mexico to cool down. Lena has a pretty enormous crop, too. She went for her dip right after feeding the chicks. One thing Lena seems to really dislike is fish oil on her feathers. She has returned and is trying her best to keep the babies shaded, too.

It’s Monday and the fishing is good.

Meanwhile in Big Bear Valley, Jackie has fed the wee babe again at 13:01. I sat and giggled at the size of the pieces she was offering the eaglet.

Would you like some fish tail, darling?

Or, perhaps this is a better size????

It was quite humorous. I had a feeling, at one point, that Jackie was trying to demonstrate horking to the nearly four day old chick. Horking meaning to eat very quickly a large piece that would otherwise be eaten in smaller bites.

Jackie then settled into feeding the wee one smaller bites til it had a nice crop and was ready for another nap and some more growth.

Adorable.

NE 27 continues to do the snatch and grab rather well. He stole an entire fish from Samson today. 27 was already full, almost to the brim. Perhaps Jasper will get some time to practice his self-feeding if and when 27 gives up on the fish. Meanwhile, this is a short clip (don’t blink) of NE27 walking and doing some wing exercises.

B15 at the Berry College nest of Pa Berry and Missy is the sweetest little eaglet. It still has that adorable face it had when it was wee and a great big curiosity about the world around it. Pa Berry has been bringing in all manner of prey items. A squirrel landed on the nest for breakfast.

It scares the wits out of me when the eaglets look over the rim of the nest like B15 is doing below!

I missed him! Did you? This is the most recent tracking report on Ervie.

Awwww. Would have given anything to see Ervie. Bet I was watching Big Bear at the time.

There was a report of 130 Mallards and 1 American Black Duck at an open piece of water in one of the two big rivers that flows through our City. This one was the Red River. And, yes, they were there. Hard to see as I was scandalously far away and didn’t have my 2x adaptor.

Just before I took off to find the ducks and that small open piece of water, Little Red had been waiting, warming himself in the sunshine, while another Red squirrel had their eyes on his penthouse. Little Red wanted some of the peanuts I put out before Dyson got them but he decided to protect his territory instead.

Dyson, on the other hand, was being a right little trouble maker today. I put out a new square hanging feeder full of a mixture of Butter Bark, peanuts, and Black Oil seed. So what does Dyson do? He creeps through the Lilac bushes and takes a flying leap at it! About 2 litres of seed fell on the ground. What a mess!!!! Dysonnnnnnnnn!!!!!!!!

Dyson saw me watching. Whether or not he was concerned is another story as he sat and stuffed his cheeks for more than ten minutes. Then when I moved to another window, he decided that sitting inside the lilacs and eating his prize seeds was best. He was still going in and out for quite a long time.

As it warms up the squirrels seem to be coming out more. There are rabbit tracks all around the garden so we know that Hedwig is around and the Little Woodpeckers – both Mr and Mrs Downy – have been around most days at the suet feeder. Sharpie even flew through at least once yesterday causing everyone to flee hither and yon. Thankfully the European Starlings have dropped considerably in numbers at the feeders. There are now only about 7 or 8. It gives the other birds a chance to flit in and out including the Black Capped chickadee who visits daily.

I hope that this quick and short newsletter finds you well. Again, most of the bird nests are doing fine. There seem to still be intruders about at some nests and the wee one at Duke Farms still has trouble getting to the table. I am going to hold my breath and check on it and Dale Hollow in a couple of days.

Thank you so much for joining me. Take care.

Thank you to the following streaming cams or FB pages where I took my screen captures: Port Lincoln Osprey Project, Friends of Big Bear, Berry College Eagles, Captiva Ospreys and Window on Wildlife, and Friends of Big Bear Valley.

Late Sunday Afternoon in Bird World

06 March 2022

The first hatch at Big Bear Valley, the nest of Bald Eagles Jackie and Shadow, has had five feedings so far. The first was at 05:51 followed by 07:57, 09:06, 10:15, and the last one, just finished, at 13:24. The wee one is doing so well and already looks like it has doubled its size in just three days (or nearly). The wee chick did its first poop shot (ps) at 10:15:59 demonstrating that all of its plumbing is working.

The eagles are restless today. Jackie is currently being very careful to roll that second egg. With the wet straw in the egg cup, it is difficult to tell if there is a pip or a pip and a crack.

Here are some images from the Big Bear nest of Jackie and Shadow from the late morning to early afternoon for you to enjoy.

Shadow helped Jackie with the feeding at 10:15 and took over brooding and incubation duties much to his delight. Shadow will remain on the nest until Jackie returns at 13:19. They will then both feed the wee chick.

Both adults have been staring at the chick and the egg and moving ever so slowly around the nest. I love how they back off the egg and chick so they can see them. They could, so easily, step all over everything if they got off incubation/brooding by moving forward. If you watch, they are ever so careful with their big feet and talons.

Oh, what a big yawn!

Do you see anything like a pip or a crack on this egg?

Both help with the 13:24 feed. You can hear the Corvids in the background. That must frighten Jackie and Shadow alerting them that they have to be ever so careful about coming and going from the nest – making sure that someone is always home.

The chick is eating much bigger bites than yesterday. Look how big it is compared to the egg. That is how much this wee babe has grown in 70 hours.

The nestling eats small pieces of the meat or fish along with saliva from the parents and juice from the prey items. This provides much needed antibodies and nutrients as well as electrolytes. Electrolytes keep our bodies balanced, in terms of fluids and in terms of salt and sugar. if you have dehydrated animals, electrolytes are given like an IV to rehydrate. They are essential for a healthy system.

This chick is getting fed approximately 8-10 feedings each day.

Such a good baby.

The egg has been rolled several times. Did it pick up wet and dirty straw that has clung to it so that we think it is a pip or a crack? I wonder. Big Bear has not announced a pip on the second egg.

Adorable. Jackie is such a proud Mama. She takes over from Samson and lets him have a much needed break. Meanwhile, the weather is just so much better than yesterday.

Other Bird World News:

The Pied Cormorant is still hanging around Dad’s perch at the Port Lincoln Osprey Barge.

The trio at Captiva Osprey nest have been enjoying a nice afternoon fish that arrived sometime around 14:15.

Everyone will stagger away with a nice big crop and be rehydrated. They are hot in that Florida sun.

The two nestlings at Duke Farms Bald Eagle nest are doing just fine.

Anna and Louis have been spending a lot more time with Kincaid over the last week. It will not be long til this 8 week old eaglet is branching and before we know it, Kincaid will fledge. These are adorable parents. It has been a real privilege watching them take care of Kincaid.

Jasper and NE27 continue to do well. NE27 is so far ahead of Jasper on the self-feeding but slowly, ever so slowly, Jasper is catching on. I hope that we have a name for NE27 this coming week. That would be super. Beautiful eagles out of the NEFlorida nest of Samson and Gabby.

Just a few hours ago E20 branched up to the Veranda at the SWFlorida nest of Harriet and M15. Now both eaglets have branched. It will not be long until these two fledge.

Lady Hawk caught the branching in a short video:

Thank you so much for joining me for this end of the day nest check on Sunday. Everything is fine. Our sweet Ervie has not been back to the barge and continues to hang out around the North shore. I hope he is enjoying every mouthful of fish that he catches. Oh, the joy he brought us. I wish he would just take a quick fly over to the barge and hang out for a bit. I bet you do, too. Take care all. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Friends of Big Bear Valley, NEFlorida Bald Eagles and the AEF, Captiva Ospreys and Window on Wildlife, KNF Bald Eagles, and Duke Farms.

Late Sunday in Bird World

02.27.2022

The Captiva trio are in food coma after their second big feed for the day. It is 16:56 nest time. Little Bob got his tiny but chubby bottom up to that table just like our dear Ervie. This little one loves to eat that fish! Little and Middle Bobs fell asleep at the table. Big Bob had left earlier and passed out on the other side of the nest.

That fish delivery came at 16:00:35. This time Andy ate the head so he had some nourishment, too.

One of my friends, ‘B’ suggested that it is the recreational vehicles at the weekend causing fishing difficulty for Andy. ‘B’ commented that it was the same issue at the Redding nest last season. Tomorrow is Monday. I hope Andy’s fishing returns to 3 or 4 fish. The adults need to eat as well too. It is like the oxygen instructions in a plane. The responsible party needs to put theirs on first and then take care of the others. Same for eating with Ospreys.

We will not worry about these three until tomorrow. Thanks Andy and Lena!

Window to Wildlife, the group affiliated with the cam and the chat, posted a short video of Little Bob hatching today.

I am just so impressed with the tenderness of some of the males. At the Dale Hollow nest today, Obey was clearing out some of the pantry items to see what he needs to bring in. All the while he was feeding River who was brooding the twins and keeping their pipping egg 3 nice and warm.

At the same time, River and Obey do another tandem feeding for the twins this afternoon.

I am so glad that I found this nest! They are an incredible family that is working so well together. Experience can do that!

The Port Lincoln Osprey nest is really lonely this morning in Australia. The pigeons are still doing clean up. I wish I could import them to clean up around my bird feeders! They look very thorough.

This is the latest tracking for Ervie posted yesterday on the Port Lincoln Osprey Project’s FB page. While he really did explore Port Boston to the right of the airport, Ervie continues to return to the area of the green pin to roost at night. The barge is the point right above the ‘t’ in Port at the bottom of the tracking image.

The juveniles, Jasper and NE27 on the Northeast Florida Bald Eagle nest are doing well. Here is a great image of NE27 standing tall this afternoon. Remember that this beautiful Bald Eagle will get a name based on the votes that the American Eagle Foundation receives of the five finalists. Jasper got her name because she was born when the named storm, Jasper, hit the area.

Message me through comments if you would like the information on voting.

The juveniles at the SWFlorida Bald Eagle nest in Fort Myers are several weeks older than those at NEFlorida. Harriet and M15’s E19 and E20 are really good at self feeding and they stand on the edge of nest rim and look about. Next stage is branching!

Big Red and Arthur have been working on their nest on the light stand. It looks so forlorn today with some snow and ice remaining.

I have not heard about a pip at the nest of Jackie and Shadow at Big Bear. When the pipping begins, the parent will hear the cheeping of the chick and can feel it moving about. You should notice the one on incubation duties looking down and listening.

I always hate to close with bad news. This are the two most recent postings for the Hilton Head eaglets. You will note that HH3 and HH4 are in critical condition. There is also information about the spread of avian flu and the deaths of other eagles. Anyone feeding birds needs to be vigilant in cleaning the feeders. If you were to find dead birds at the feeders and it is not the result of a cat or raptor, you might want to contact your local wildlife rehabber for advice. Do not handle the dead birds with your bare hands. You might want to do a major clean up as the lab results can take several days. Prepare for the worst and hope for the best.

Our thoughts go out to all of the bird families that have been impacted by this lethal disease. It is sobering to consider that an entire generation of eaglets (and other birds) could be wiped out.

I note that rodenticide poisoning also causes nestlings to literally fall out of the nest. One of my favourite wildlife rehabbers, A Place Called Hope, has admitted a Barred Owlet who fell out of the nest and is suffering from this poison. This is entirely avoidable. Everyone reading my blog knows rodenticide. Work hard to educate people so these beautiful raptors do not have to suffer.

Are you a falcon lover? The Peregrine Falcons are getting busy in Utica, New York. I am looking to find their streaming cam link and will post it tomorrow for everyone.

Thank you so much for joining me today as I did a hop, skip, and a jump checking on some of our nests. Take care everyone. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams or FB pages where I took my screen captures: Bald Eagles 101 FB, Dale Hollow Lake Bald Eagles, Captiva Ospreys and Window on the World, NEFlorida Bald Eagles and the AEF, SWFlorida Bald Eagles and D Pritchett, Port Lincoln Osprey Project, Cornell Bird Labs RTH camera, and Friends of Big Bear Valley.

Late Wednesday in Bird World

Have you ever sat and watched a female Bald Eagle go through the pantry, choose what is for dinner, eat away all the while the chicks are watching and waiting? For days now I have watched Anna on the Kistachie Forest Nest go after her mate, Louis, when he comes to the nest and wants to have dinner with the family. Anna likes to eat! She is a great mother but it is a bit of a giggle. Today, Gabby was tearing into the fish eating the nice tender cheeks while the two chicks looked on waiting their turn.

Samson is security guard while Gabby broods NE26 and NE27. The pantry is full.

Samson is getting a turn to feed his chicks.

These little ones are absolutely adorable. During the times that I watched the feedings only once did I see even the slightest notion of pecking and that was NE27 going after 26s fluff on its head. 27 needs its eyes to focus better and his head a little more stable. Otherwise that would not have happened.

We are getting close to the announcement of the top three names for the Kisatchie National Forest Bald eaglet. Louis delivered a Coot today and Anna was delighted. Anna is so funny. Any food that lands on the nest is – to her – the property of her and the eaglet/s. Louis is not supposed to eat it. Interesting.

Just look at the difference between the two chicks above and the little eaglet below. The KNF eaglet is 14 days old today. Thermal down and feathers are growing in.

Louis might have wanted some of that nice Coot but he was having a difficult time getting permission to eat the fish tail! The eaglet was so full he was getting ready to fall asleep while Mum and Dad discussed meal sharing.

Missy and B15 continued to work on the hare that Pa Berry brought to the nest yesterday. B15 is growing just as much as the KNF eaglet is – they are in a big growth spurt period! And they are losing that ‘cute little eaglet’ look that NE 26 and 27 have.

I don’t always check on Ron and Rita’s two eaglets at the WRDC Nest. It was good today to find them both fed and again to see R2 over chewing on a piece of fish.

R1 is stretching its wings and getting its muscles stronger.

R1 has finished eating and R2 is being fed.

R1 is on the far right. R2 is close to Rita.

R1 is in a food coma. The parent is up on the branches and R2 is going after the fish like it did yesterday!

There have been storms, then good weather, and the camera is currently off line at the Port Lincoln Osprey barge. At 13:00 Ervie was on the nest calling for fish! It was sunny and there was no rain.

I took the afternoon off from the streaming cams. Everyone is doing fabulous! No worries. We went out to our local landfill to try and find the Bald Eagle hanging out there and then for a long walk at one of the nature centres in our City. The Bald Eagle was not to be seen. Just a murder of crows and a hawk in the distance. At the nature centre, I was blessed with a sweet little Black capped Chickadee, a White-Breasted Nuthatch, and a female Downy Woodpecker.

No one wanted to pose for me. The Chickadee would take the black oil seed and either break it on the feeder or fly over to a nearby tree and crack it on the branch.

I really wanted to see this cute little woodpecker sharing the feeder with the Chickadee.

Oh, when she turned around I realized she has a disease on her beak. I have seen this before and it looks like trichomoniasis. “Trichomononsis (also commonly known as trichomoniasis, canker, or frounce) is an infectious disease among many species of birds caused by the microscopic parasite Trichomonas gallinae.”  I realized that the woodpecker was lucky to have the seed feeder as it appears it would not be able to peck hard into a tree to eat. However, the presence of the infection causes issues for the other songbirds eating at the feeders. It was reported and hopefully someone who knows more about these things will check out the little woodpecker.

The White-Breasted Nuthatch is so funny. Everything is the opposite even eating off a suet feeder.

The paths are nicely groomed for walking, cross country skiing and snow shoeing.

It was a beautiful day to be out in the forest.

There were quite a number of wasp nests – each different than the one near to where I live.

Then there were these large globular nests. They were all spherical in shape and were completely enclosed except for a very small opening near the top on the side of the nest.

I wonder who they belong to? Must find out!

When we got home we were greeted by Scraggle Tail, Dyson’s little sister. Oh, it was so nice to see her.

Dyson was here, too. He was up on the feeder. It made me giggle. Maybe Dyson was brushing off some seeds to rain down on his little sister!

It was simply a beautiful day to be outside knowing that all of our friends in Bird World are doing well. Thank you for joining me today. Take care. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: NEFlorida Bald Eagles and the AEF, Berry College, KNF, and the WRDC.

Tuesday in Bird World

All of the eaglets are doing well. It is a great Tuesday. It is seriously a great Tuesday with the hatch of 27 and the sighting of JJ7 in Senegal.

NE27 is only a little over 13 hours old and it is right up there with big sib having some fish. 27 looks almost as big as 26. Hopefully they will both hold their own and be nice to one another. Samson is not letting the pantry even think about getting low on stock! Gosh, I adore this Bald Eagle couple – Samson and Gabby.

These two are going to keep Gabby and Samson on their toes! That is 27 with its beak wide open calling for food despite the fact that it could live on the yolk of the egg for some hours, up to 24.

Pa Berry brought in a rabbit for the Tuesday nest feast at Berry College. B15 seemed to really enjoy it! It was caught on video and is impossible for me to replicate the joy in Missy at the rabbit’s arrival. Notice how B15 pancakes it as Pa lands.

Bless-Her-Heart Anna did the Mumbrella for more than 7 hours straight last night and early this morning so her baby would stay warm and dry in the torrential downpours in the Kisatchie Forest.

Anna and the nest were soaking.

When the rains stopped and things began to dry out, Anna started digging up the nest to aerate it. Her little eaglet isn’t so little anymore and was sitting up straight with its big clown feet today enjoying some fish. According to the rangers, the eagles have not eaten the turtle yet.

To be named shortly eaglet was doing a lot of preening with those itchy feathers coming in. This is the cutest little one. Anna certainly makes sure it is never hungry. The eagles have been bringing in pine to help with the insect problems and all that fish. The eaglet is 13 days old today.

Ervie woke up to thick fog this morning. By the time it had cleared, Ervie had flown off in search of fish.

Got a good look in the nest of Jackie and Shadow at Big Bear. No second egg yet but soon. What we can see is that the eagles have found some soft material to line that egg cup. It is not just sticks and twigs. Thanks cam operator!

Something very interesting is happening at the WRDC nest of Rita and Ron. R2 has discovered self-feeding and s/he is not giving up trying to eat that fish. I think this is absolutely brilliant. R2 is the one that often doesn’t get fed until R1 is stuffed. This is a solution. Feed yourself. This is definitely the sign of a survivor.

A little earlier both eaglets had nice crops which you can see in the image below. Just hold on and take a deep breath. They love getting to the edge and looking over.

At the SWFlorida Bald Eagle nest of Harriet and M15, both parents were feeding and both E19 and E20 had huge crops.

Indeed, it appears that someone has put a beach ball in their crops! What you are looking at is that wonderful thermal down that will remain under the feathers to help the eagles regulate their temperature. If you look carefully you can see the feathers coming in on the wing tips of the one closest to the bottom of the screen.

For the fans of Honour and Liberty at Redding, nestorations are underway!

And if the Redding Bald Eagle nest is not on your list, here is the link:

And last but never least, we are coming up to egg watch for Jack and Diane at the Achieva Credit Union Osprey nest in St Petersburg, Florida. They fledged three chicks last year….one of a handful of nests world wide on streaming cam to do so. It is a dreary rainy day and at least one adult, looks like Jack, has come and gone.

Look at that gorgeous bark!

Here is the link to the streaming cam.

Life is good. Everyone is happy. All have eaten. What more could we want?

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 captures: Achieva Credit Union, Port Lincoln Osprey, KNF Bald Eagle Cam, NEFlorida Bald Eagles and the AEF, SWFlorida Bald Eagles and D Pritchett, Friends of Big Bear, WRDC, and Redding California Eagles.