The ‘Alberta Clipper’ is just starting to impact Winnipeg with some light snow flakes. We are in an extreme blizzard warning area until tomorrow morning when the winds and snow – getting up to 90 kph (or 55 mph) – dissipate. The garden birds were a little strange today. They ate and left. Normally they come and stay all day but a couple of waves of different groups came and went. I suspect they were going to try and find a place to hunker down for the duration. This storm system is also going to impact a huge part of the US including my childhood state of Oklahoma.
It is snowing on the Storks near Freiburg, too.
There is wind and blowing snow in Durbe, Latvia, the home of Milda, the White-tailed Eagle. The sound from the camera’s microphone makes you shiver – the wind is just howling through the forest.
The female Bald Eagle at Duke Farms is also under some snow and it looks like she might get more as this weather system moves through the eastern US.
There is good news in Bird World. Both of the USS Bald Eagles were seen at the nest today. The worry last night over whether or not there was an injury melted away. Nice.
The thermal down is coming in on the eaglet at the KNF in Central Louisiana. The light natal down is giving way to dandelions. Notice how much longer the beak is and how large the cere has become. The cere is the soft fleshy part above the black beak, seen below. The cere varies in shape, size, and colour amongst raptors. The beak will turn that beautiful yellow when this eaglet is approximately 4-5 years old and be pure yellow by the time it is 6 years old. At that time, it will also finish getting its adult plumage including that full beautiful white head.
The meals are more spread apart but the eaglet is eating longer and its crop is getting much fuller. Just look below. The crop is a pouch along the espophagus. It stores food before it gets to the stomach. It also processes prey items that cannot be processed in the stomach. The raptor will regurgitate a compressed pellet of those items that do not go to the stomach.
The Wildlife Biologist has just confirmed that this crop is at least 3-4 inches (10 cm) long! Wow.
Poor Baby. It took some maneuvering with the weight and flopping of that crop for it to get in a position to PS. Obviously the crop weighs more than the chick’s bottom does.
This baby has really grown in the last 4 or 5 days and is changing more and more with every blink it seems.
Despite being full to the brim and hardly able to move, Anna is making certain that the little one is topped up before bedtime.
NE26 and 27 are awash in Spanish Moss. The nest seems to be covered with it and fish. Lots of fish.
There are those sweet little fluffy dumplings in the nest bole.
Sleeping quietly under Mum.
At the WRDC Nest in Miami, R1 and R2 have popping crops, too. The pin or blood feathers can be seen coming in through the thermal down.
R1 is closest to you. R2 without the fluffy hair is in the back and also has a large crop. Both eaglets are doing well and there is plenty of food on the nest.
The 2022 Albatross Count on Midway Atoll is completed. Here is the information as it was posted by Friends of Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge today:
YRK flew in and switched places with OGK yesterday at the Royal Albatross Quarry Track Nest in New Zealand.
Lady Hawk caught that sweet reunion.
The camera is still offline in Port Lincoln. Would love to have had a good look at our Ervie.
Tuesday February 1 is Lunar New Year for many of our friends. For all of you celebrating the Spring Festival, we wish you a healthy, happy, prosperous Year of the Tiger.
Thank you for joining me today. So happy to have you with me. Stay safe, stay warm!
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Cornell Bird Lab and the NZ DOC, Friends of Midway Atoll WildlifeRefuge FB Page, KNF Bald Eagle Nest, NEFlorida Bald Eagles and the AEF, WRDC Eagle Cam, Duke Farms, Latvian Fund for Nature, and the Stork’s Nest Livestream.
Yesterday I took a walk in the English and the Leo Mol Sculpture Gardens. They are part of the larger Assiniboine Park in Winnipeg. In the summer, these areas are full of people walking and looking at the flowers, of people clamouring to see the latest hummingbird arrival, or me – sitting on a bench hoping to see the juvenile Cooper’s Hawks again.
There was not a single bird in this area of the park yesterday. The wind was bitter against your face. The only remnants of the birds were the nests, sometimes two to a tree. As I looked for nests I also notice this colossal Blue Spruce.
And another one full of Spruce cones. We planted a Blue Spruce in our garden. I am hoping that one day it will be full of cones like this for the Red Squirrels to eat.
There are a few snow flakes falling in the garden. Dyson & Co were up early eating off the suet cylinders and the square hanging feeder. Each had a spot – 3 civilized squirrels all having breakfast. Close your eyes and imagine it! By the time I had the charged battery in the camera they were off, chasing one another in the Lilac bushes.
I checked on Ervie first. The camera has been on and off at Port Lincoln due to the storm. One of the chatters posted a fish arrival time stamp for Ervie yesterday afternoon and thankfully, I could still rewind and find our beautiful boy.
Dad arrives with a nice fish. Here he is flying off. Ervie has it in his talons.
Ervie spends the next hour eating that fish – it was a nice sized one.
I wonder what has happened to Ervie’s feathers on his left wing?
It was just so nice to see Ervie and see him eating that I could have stopped checking on the birds right then! How much longer will we see this incredible Osprey on the barge? Every day is a gift.
It is good to see Port Lincoln posting updates. That means that they survived the big storm as well. Here is the latest tracking for Ervie from yesterday. Yes, he is traveling further afield! So glad he has a tracker!
Port Lincoln also posted information on Calypso. 2019 hatch. Here she is! What a beautiful Osprey!!!!!!
The little chick at Berry College is so adorable. You can see the dark thermal down coming in replacing the soft light grey natal down. Soon our wee one will be able to thermoregulate its own temperature. For today, however, it wants to be close to Mum to stay warm.
A great comparison is the plumage of E19 and E20 yesterday but first, look at that crop. Harriet and M15 have been keeping these two full and I have not seen any of the rivalry when I have been watching them that we did in early days. (Feel free to correct me!)
The thermal down layer now covers E19 and E20. There are a few dandelions of the natal fluff left. You can now see their contour and flight feathers coming in.
The image below shows the juvenile Bald Eagle at the Osceola Florida nest. Notice that it is a dark espresso brown/black. It will not be that long and E19 and E20 will look like this beautiful only Eagle.
The little eaglet is growing and growing at the KNF nest. It is out of its ‘hole’ that Anna had made for it and is up sleeping by the eleven fish and the turtle that Louis has in the nest. The pair have been busy moving Spanish Moss around covering much of the pantry at times.
Look at the size of that leg! You can see the thermal down coming in on the Anna’s baby. Soon there will be only dandelions, faint hints of it as a wee babe. It seems like it has doubled in size overnight.
The eaglets really grow fast. Samson and Gabby’s wee babes are some of the only ones now with natal down. They are darling. Samson seems to have been in some kind of contest with the number of fish on the nest with Louis. As someone reminded me, Samson has 2 to feed, not 1. Regardless, Louis and Samson are two of the best prey providers. Incredible what they bring to the nest.
These two appear to be getting along. They are both doing very well.
The two are not really that much difference in size. The camera angle and 26 having its neck pulled all the way out makes it look much bigger. Gosh they are cute.
The nicest thing about this year in terms of hatching is that the nests vary so much in the age of their nestlings. It is fantastic to see all the stages of development including their plumage!
It was reassuring to check on the WRDC nest and see that R2 (in front) and R1 (eating) both have crops albeit R1 is going to have the larger. The wind is very brisk at the nest. In fact, there is a wind advisory for Miami with a temperature of 13 C (or as you see on screen at 57 F).
There is a cold front moving through all of the Eastern US.
It is much colder in Ithaca. Indeed, Ithaca is -11 C which is precisely the same temperature as we have in Winnipeg today. Crazy. It is difficult to imagine that in less than 8 weeks we could have Big Red incubating eggs on this nest!
Except for the extreme wind and cold temperatures, everything seems to be just fine with all of the nests. Most of all it was wonderful to get a good look at Ervie and know that he has eaten in the midst of all the horrific weather in South Australia the other day. Good news continues to come out of Senegal. The Osprey count along the coast for the month of January was 1206. That is simply amazing Jean-Marie Dupart.
Take care everyone. Thank you so much for joining me. I will see you tomorrow!
Thanks to the following for their streaming cams and/or FB pages where I took my screen captures: Port Lincoln Osprey Project, KNF Bald Eagles, NEFlorida Bald Eagles and the AEF, SWFlorida Bald Eagles and D Pritchett, Berry College Bald Eagles, WRDC, Cornell Bird Lab and RTH, and the Osceola Bald Eagle Nest.
What a joy it has been to sip my morning coffee and watch two eagle families going about their lives not having any idea that there are school children and people all over the world intently following everything they do.
Everyone loves cute fuzzy little eaglets especially when they are good to one another. Gabby and Samson at the NEFlorida nest have two of the sweetest little ones you would ever hope to see on an eagle nest. I have been watching them for days – without the usual beaking – amazed. Then it occurred to me that we were saying the same thing about the Port Lincoln Osprey nest. Is it possible that Gabby and Samson have two little boys?
Gabby brooding the babies.Samson taking a turn at feeding.27 in front and 26 behind
There is nothing like two very civilized little eaglets having lunch to warm your heart.
Civilized feedings.
Samson has the nest full of nice fish for Gabby and the babies. The wind is really gusting in Jacksonville and it is raining. Not a nice day at all!
It is really hard to feed two little bobbles in the wind and rain and keep them fed enough and dry enough so they do not get a cold or get grumpy over food.
Let us all hope that this weather system moves quickly!
Poor Gabby. It is almost impossible to keep the babies full and dry.
Louis has been delivering meals to the nest in the Kisatchie Forest. This morning he has brought in a Coot, an unidentified duck, and a nice large bass just a few minutes ago.
The soon to be named eaglet has been nibbling and eating off of the waterfowl. Is this self-feeding? It is certainly getting bites and eating them unassisted! just like R2 on the WRDC nest. Of all the nests, Anna and Louis’s is my favourite for many reasons. The parents are incredibly good. Louis can’t keep the nest too stocked with fresh game from Kincaid Lake. The eaglet is simply a cute and you have three of the best people running a chat and answering questions – Cody, Steve, and Tonya.
The camera has an amazing zoom that shows the area around the nest. This is Kincaid Lake where Louis goes to fill the pantry. Everything is always fresh.
It is a beautiful sunny day in central Louisiana!
View of Lake Kincaid from the Bald Eagle nest.
You can also get amazing close ups with their camera especially if you are trying to identify prey items brought to the nest or to look at the eaglet.
Today this eaglet has been focused on that nice bit of the waterfowl (I am not sure if it is the duck or the Coot) and has been feeding itself small bites.
Anna has just fed the baby some of the nice fresh bass. Looks like the little one is going to have to have a sleep soon!
Louis is on the nest brooding the baby. The sun shines on that beautiful fully adult white head of the Bald Eagle.
It is just such a pleasure to see the joys, the triumphs, and the challenges our Bald Eagle families face. There are some funny moments in the KNF nest between Anna and Louis when she doesn’t want Louis in the pantry. Just look at that pantry!
This is Samson and Gabby’s third clutch and Louis and Anna’s second. Both families have fledged each chick that hatched.
If you want to put in a name for the little eaglet on the KNF nest you have until the 30th. Then the top three most sent in name suggestions will go to a final public vote. You can send those name suggestions to nametheknfeagle@gmail.com
Have a great day everyone. Thank you for joining me today. All is well on the other nests so no worries at all. See you soon!
Thank you to the NEFlorida Bald Eagle Nest and the AEF and the KNF Bald Eagle Nest for their streaming cams where I took my screen shots.
These images were taken four hours ago. You can see the chick is really breaking up the shell. Just a little more and 26 will be free and fully hatched. Bald eaglets are not considered hatched until they are out of the shell completely.
You could also hear NE26 cheeping!
At 21:30 Gabby raised up enough to see some fur and still some shell. There was loud cheeping.
Gabby is trying to take some power naps in between raising up and moving gently. She is very antsy. NE26 should be fully hatched soon. It will be the fourth hatch for Samson and Gabby and their third breeding season. This will be a sibling for Jules, Romey, and Legacy.
Gabby is really sleeping. Does she know something we don’t???
Here is the link to one of the cameras at the NEFlorida Bald Eagle nest so you can join in watching this incredible Bald Eagle family.
I am so excited. If you are not going to sleep, join me and the more than 300 persons who have stayed up to get the first glimpse of this welcome eaglet. Unless I fall asleep!!!!! LOL, it has been a long and exciting day with Jackie and Shadow’s first egg.
Thank you for joining me on this check in with Samson, Gabby, and the almost hatched NE26. Take care everyone. Tomorrow we will get to see this little eaglet have its first meal of fish. Yippeeeeee.
Thank you to the NEFlorida Bald Eagle Cam and the AEF for their streaming cam where I took my screen captures.
Late Tuesday afternoon I was watching the Kisatchie National Forest Bald Eagle nest of Anna and Louis. It was such a calming and funny experience. Ten fish were on the nest. Ten. Not tinny weeny fish but substantial fish or portions of. When Louis is brooding the baby, he will get up and start to eat some of the fish. Two things happen. First, the eaglet seems to recognize that Dad is not such a great feeder and ignores him eating.
Then, secondly, Anna sees or hears Louis in the pantry and immediately comes to the nest with a request for him to leave the food.
At this point, she begins eating the fish – and the little one gets itself over to where she is so s/he can have some of that fish, too. How smart. Six days old and already recognizes the best feeder of the parents.
This little one is so strong. It held itself up high and steady for long periods of time. Incredible.
Anna helps to strengthen the chick’s neck by making it stretch to get the food.
It was hilarious and just what I needed at the end of the day. This little eaglet will go on to have more feedings before it gets dark. Anna wants the baby to sleep well so it can grow – and be quiet. This baby is quite loud when it is hungry – which is rare.
One of the individuals on the KNF chat stated that the KNF nest was their top nest to watch and that they had stopped viewing another nest because of the violence of the older eaglet to the younger. I know at least two Bald Eagle nests that the person could have been referring to – and even I had wondered if I wouldn’t take a break from both of them for at least a week to let things settle.
It is very difficult watching streaming cams. Very difficult. The birds bring us much joy and enrich our lives. They teach us so much. We want them to play fair and survive. We grieve when one dies and we yell at the screen when the eaglets hurt one another especially when there is food to spare. So along with the joy comes a lot of anxiety and grieving.
One of the nests has to be SWFlorida’s. I held my breath and checked on E19 and E20 as the sun was beginning to set in Fort Myers. Both of them had crops. Yes, E19s is bigger but the fact that E20 will go to sleep full means a lot. In order to have a crop of any kind, E20 had to do the old snatch and grab. And then Mum ran out of food.
This morning, Wednesday, I also checked in on the SWFlorida nest. A nice sized sturgeon had been delivered. Big enough to feed both eaglets well but, E19 was determined that it was going to eat most of it. It was only after 19 was full that 20 was able to begin doing the snatch and grab, again.
E19 continues to be miserable.
In the past I have praised Harriet and M15 – especially M15 – for stepping in to help so that both eaglets get fed to the brim. That doesn’t seem to be happening yet. I am disappointed.
One of the ‘oddest’ issues is that by the time E20 gets its turn, the amount of prey on the nest has significantly diminished or, in one instance, was all gone but a tail.
I did not check the WRDC nest. I will but, not until the end of the week. I want to give the sibling rivalry some time to settle. There are plenty of nests and lots of activity to keep me out of trouble.
As it happens Berry College was one nest that I was shy about watching or recommending. Today, Berry College posted the cutest video of B15 on FB and its reaction to a big stick on the nest. They sped up the frame rate so everything is happening fast – like slapstick comedy. I hope you enjoy this. It does show you that B15 is a real character and secondly, that it is a good thing that other egg didn’t hatch!
This morning it was 8 degrees F or -13 C. Very cold at Berry College. B15 was quivering its wings while Pa Berry fed it a breakfast of squirrel and hidden fish!
Pa Berry does a good job feeding his baby.
B15 is doing very well. Less than a week ago it fit into the size of that egg!
The Bald Eagle couple at Big Bear, Jackie and Shadow, have a loyal fan base. Last year they lost both of their clutches. Everyone is hoping that this year this popular couple will be successful. They have certainly been doing nest renovations making way for eggs!
Jackie and Shadow have a beautiful view of Big Bear Lake. Sadly, as I often mention, the area still contains the residual effects of the DDT that was sprayed on Big Bear Lake to rid it of mosquitoes more than 50 years ago. This could be, in part, the cause of the thin egg shells.
It is egg watch for Jackie and Shadow.
As I mentioned earlier, Louis and Anna have the sweetest little eaglet. Louis is a fantastic provider. There are reports of cold icy weather heading towards Louisiana. I hope that it veers away from this nest!
Samson and Gabby also have a gorgeous place for a nest.
What a beautiful egg cup.
Samson rolls the eggs giving Gabby a chance for some food and a break.
Gabby is on deck this morning (Wednesday) and tomorrow, Thursday the 20th is the beginning of pip watch for Samson and Gabby at the American Eagle Foundation! Yes. I am so excited along with all of their loyal fans.
Ervie only got a couple of small fish yesterday. He was on and off the nest so that chatters are now giving him the nickname of ‘Boomerang’. He spent the night on the perch after being spooked by a boat that got too close to the barge at 21:08:23. This is at least the third incident this breeding season. Just the other day two youngsters on paddle boards appeared right by the barge. It really does unsettle the birds.
I am delighted that Daisy the Duck is still not laying eggs on the WBSE nest. Each day that she isn’t there is a day to celebrate albeit we do miss seeing her.
I know that each of us wish that this was ‘our’ Daisy after her eggs hatched on that big nest. Talk about adorable. These ducklings follow their Mum perfectly til they get to the stream!
I hope that put a smile on your face. And, Daisy, I hope that in about a month this might be you! We all do.
It is -25 C on the Canadian Prairies and we had more snow last night. Everything is beautiful and white and typically, on very cold days, the sky is blue and the sun is bright. The Blue Jay family has been absent now for over a month. I hope they decided to leave town for warmer climates. Ah, but where to go? It was colder in Georgia yesterday than it was in Winnipeg! Dyson was out doing what he does best —-eating! I caught him on the large suet cylinder yesterday afternoon. What Dyson doesn’t know is that I removed the cage from around the big suet so that he could eat all he wanted. Don’t tell him or he will think I am an old ‘softie’. Notice how thick Dyson’s fur has gotten since the fall.
The European Starlings were everywhere. The numbers typically range between 27 or 28 up to 56 to 58 at a time. They do tend to intimidate the smaller birds from coming to the feeders until they are full. This has meant watching and keeping food topped up until around 16:00 when everyone leaves.
In the middle of the all the chaos caused by the Starlings is the Chickadee who visits several times a day. Slipping in and out when there are not so many other birds around.
Little Red is around but he has only let me photograph his tail at one of the feeders – cheeky little thing. The other two Grey Squirrels come and go as well along with Sharpie who sweeps through a couple of times a day checking to see if he can grab a snack. They seem to be braving the bitter winter weather and the snow with more grace than I seem to have. It certainly feels like spring is a long way away.
Dyson knows precisely where I fill the feeders. When he finishes there will be nothing left but the shells from the Black-Oil Seeds.
Thank you so much for joining me today. From me and all the garden friends, take care, see you soon!
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: KNF Bald Eagle Cam, Sea Eagles@Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre Sydney Olympic Park, Port Lincoln Osprey Project, Berry College Bald Eagle Cam, SW Florida Eagle Cam and D Pritchett, NEFlorida Eagle Cam and the AEF, and Friends of Big Bear.
It has been a very difficult time for all of us since the Ravens destroyed Daisy’s nest. Things had gone so smoothly that most of us began to believe that those eggs would hatch. Sadly, it was not to be. I so wished that the male Pacific Black ducks had the instinct to go to the nest and relieve their mates! Daisy was quite distraught, understandably. A friend that is around the Discovery Centre has offered to take a photo for me of Daisy paddling around the canal after the holidays. There are not that many ducks there so she is confident she will recognize her again this year. Before I move on to other bird news, I am reminded that Daisy rushed to the big WBSE nest to lay an egg. She did not prepare the nest and it is possible that she had a nest elsewhere and something destroyed those eggs and, as a last resort, she came to the WBSE nest. There might well not be a safe place for our Daisy and that could account for so few ducks in the water there. If a duck hatches a normal clutch, it is normally 47 days before the pair mate again and this will only happen twice a year. If the eggs are broken, it can be as few as 10 days, a reliable source tells me. I hope that we do not see Daisy again – as much as I would like to see her and know she is safe! The WBSE are often at the nest in January and it would be wonderful if later Daisy was seen with little ones in the canal. We wait.
I needed ‘something lighter’ and that turned out to be the boys at the Port Lincoln Osprey barge. It seems that Bazza picked off the first two fish deliveries. At some time Ervie got mad at him and kicked him off the nest. Falky continues to perfect his diving skills hoping to catch that elusive fish one day. They are so lucky that they have parents that continue to provide these big strapping lads with food!
Here is Falky diving off the ropes and coming out of the water in sequence:
No fish but, Falky tried! If you look at the time stamps you will see how quick that dive was. This family is just doing great. That is a wonderful thing! Falky is really trying.
Ervie’s satellite tracker indicates that he has been visiting the local boat ramps. The owner of PLO is wondering if Ervie has discovered places where he can get fed! Here is Ervie’s latest tracking:
Port Lincoln Osprey FB Page posted some great shots of Ervie and Falky. They were taken by Bazz Hockaday. I hope they don’t mind my sharing them with you. You can see how stunningly handsome and – well, these are just great Osprey fledges. A success story this year that gives us a lot of hope. I understand that Falky followed Ervie to the beach. Bazza stayed on the nest and cleaned up on all the fish. I am certain that Bazza will never leave home!
ErvieFalkyFalkyErvie
Port Lincoln also posted a picture of the barge from the other side. It really helps us visualize where the nest is.
This is dad delivering a fish dinner to the nest. What an amazing shot! Thank you Port Lincoln!
The hatching and fledging of the three males at this beautiful barge with its Osprey nest made history for this mated pair. For years they have had issues relating to siblicide and they have never fledged three. Everyone was cautiously optimistic and it happened. It is one of those great moments of 2021 that no one will forget!
I urge you to check in on this nest and also the Port Lincoln Osprey FB Page. You don’t have to be a member of anything to find out what the lads are doing. And this is such a happy site – we need it, we truly do.
There are lots of mothers incubating eggs. Two of my favourites are Harriet and Gabby.
Harriet and M15 have been taking turns at the SWFlorida Eagle Nest. It has not been easy for the male, M15. He has continual strikes by the Great Horned Owl whose nest is 900 metres away. M15 had an injury the other day. The GHOW also strike Harriet on the nest and will do the same to the hatchlings. Sad.
Samson and Gabby have been taking turns incubating their two eggs in the NE Florida Bald Eagle nest near Jacksonville. They have had a sub-adult intruder but nothing like the issues with the owls that Harriet and M15 have endured. As nests and trees become more precious – with growing numbers of eagles and owls – these fights for territory could come more often and many times the owls usurp the eagles from the nest. I continually remind everyone that they might be cute – the owls – but they are a formidable Apex predator.
Gabby – you can always tell the ‘shag look’.Samson with his slick backed head.
Hatch watch for Harriet! Bobble heads coming real soon. I can’t wait.
I want to leave each of you with something that is just full of joy! Perhaps you have discovered this wonderful girl that loves squirrels. If you haven’t, then you are in for a real treat. Please enjoy -.
Thank you so much for joining me today. Thank you for all the letters and comments about Daisy. It was a very difficult time for the community of people from all over the world that loved her. I hope that we get a picture soon of her paddling away and that if she should lay more eggs, we don’t see them but they hatch and we get news of Daisy on the canal being a Mum. Take care everyone. See you soon.
Thank you to the following for the streaming cams and their FB pages where I took my screen shots: Port Lincoln Osprey, SW Florida Eagle Cam and D Pritchett Family, and NE Florida Bald Eagle Cam and the AEF.I also want to thank Bazz Hockaday for those amazing images of Ervie and Falky.
Despite the presence of the Sea Eagles, Lady and Dad, at the River Roost on the Parramatta River, Daisy has been blissful since she returned from her morning foraging trip at 07:11:00
The Sea Eagles have not come to the nest. The wind is beginning to really pick up. I have not seen any predators on the nest. That said, the sound is off on the main camera and the Ravens could have been in the branches above like they have been lately or simply flying by. The strong winds might keep them at home!
It is currently 30 degrees in the forest and the winds are blowing at 19 km/h with gusts up to 39 km/h. It is hot and humid for Daisy with the confirmation of thunderstorms (90% chance) from 15:00-18:00. Hopefully Daisy will wait til the rain and winds have calmed before going out for her evening foraging. I am not concerned about her. She has been through many storms but, rather, for the priceless down covering those eggs.
It is nearing 11:30 on the old Ironbark Nest. The wind is rocking the tree but Daisy does not seem bothered. I have no noted any predators around and it is unclear if the Sea Eagles are still at the River Roost. The sound is still off line.
Other Nest News. A video has been posted of the thunderstorm that hit Orange last evening. Lightning, hail, thunder, and high winds. Diamond is in the scrape. You can see she is frightened. This morning Xavier arrived on the ledge of the scrape box and there was much relief he was alright. You can imagine that was this type of storm that also hit Daisy in Sydney.
Need an Osprey fix? Lena can see Andy in the distance and she is fish crying. Here is that video:
Samson is so happy that him and Gabby have their first egg as of yesterday. Just look at those two!
Over at the Port Lincoln Osprey Barge, Ervie picked up the first delivery of the morning -despite the choppy water and winds – from dad at 06:30:41.
Falky got the 07:39:44 fish.
Last time I checked Bazza was alone on the nest wishing for a fish.
Thank you so much for joining me. There is not much to report about Daisy which is, after all, a good thing. Hopefully the weather will not be as bad for her as it was for the Peregrine falcons, Xavier and Diamond, at Orange. I will monitor her throughout the rest of the day. Take care everyone. Stay safe! Look to the birds for joy!
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen shots: the Port Lincoln Osprey, the NEFlorida Bald Eagle Cam and the AEF, and the Sea Eagles@Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre Sydney Olympic Park.
Ever since Daisy landed back on the nest this morning, I have been more than curious. Her neck was ‘huge’. This image is later but squint and see that floppy large ‘crop’! It is so big that it is catching the light and looks like a shiny ball almost in the centre of the picture. She looks like she is sleeping on a puff pillow.
Over the time Daisy has been on the nest, I have had conflicting reports about whether or not ducks have crops. I was told that they have an expanded esophagus as well as a gizzard.
I continued to research this because I was completely dumbfounded about Daisy. She has obviously foraged very well during the three hours she was away before dawn. That bulge looks like a crop – a term used with raptors – for a place to store food before it goes to the main stomach. So I found this image by Murray State University. The vet students were dissecting a wild duck. Do you see what I see? The arrows for the Empty Crop and the Esophagus point to the same place. If we look at our live duck, Daisy, I think it is safe to say that an extended esophagus is also a crop. Mystery solved. Daisy is literally ‘full to the brim’. Hopefully she will be quite content to wait til sunset not have to leave. It seems that the Ravens check at least twice a day to see if she is on the nest.
So far, it has been another wonderfully uneventful morning on Daisy’s nest. I just want to pinch myself. Could our little duck actually fledge those 8 ducklings to be?
A Noisy Miner came to visit. It is right on the branch that is illuminated – look right above Daisy. This bird will not harm Daisy – it doesn’t have the nicest voice but it will not hurt our Duck or her eggs!
Last clutch, everyone wished that Daisy had come to the nest earlier – in December – because that is when Lady and Dad seem to spend the most time on Goat Island. Lady loves Goat Island. Dad’s former mate liked a different location after fledging the eaglets. No sign of Dad or Lady at the River Roost so far today.
Daisy is just sleeping away with the warm sun shining down on her and her 8 eggs. Oh, what a little sweetheart.
It is after noon for Daisy. I cannot tell you how quiet the forest has been. It is positively wonderful. There is a gentle wind that rocks Daisy and her eggs. You can hear a plane fly over once in awhile. Blissful.
Here are some images that I enlarged so we can see Daisy better. She is so camouflaged in those images above that you can hardly make her out from the sticks.
Other Bird World News: Wow. Ervie, that incredible third hatch at Port Lincoln Osprey barge, is really flying. Fran Solly, Take2Photography, reports that Ervie’s tracker shows he is following Dad to go out when he goes fishing. Solly says that “He (Ervie) went around the corner to the main Bay and along the wharf. I’ve seen Mum and Dad both fish there.” Oh, Ervie, you are a survivor! At the Kisatachie National Forest Bald Eagle Nest, Anna broke one of the two eggs while landing today. While that is very sad, hopefully the other one will stay safe and hatch. One healthy eaglet is good! Last I checked there was not an egg on Samson and Gabby’s Bald Eagle nest in Jacksonville, Florida. We wait. Anxiously.
Oh, I wish the NE Florida nest used a 24 hour clock!
Ferris Akel has cut down his streaming tour of last Saturday to show the Snowy Owls. For the people around the Finger Lakes of NY, Snowy Owls were a rarity. In Manitoba, you can often see 25 or 30 within a short distance during the winter. If you want to see these fluffy owls, here is the link:
Everything is alright in the world of Daisy. This is so wonderful. I will continue to monitor her until she leaves for her evening foraging. I hope this time is as quiet as the morning has been!
Thank you so much for joining me today. Take care everyone. Stay safe!
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Sea Eagles@ Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre, NE Florida Bald Eagles and the AEF, and Murray State University.
Samson and Gabby, the resident Bald Eagles on the nest in ‘The Hamlet’ near Jacksonville, Florida have been working on their nest all day. Yesterday, Samson brought in a really nice meal for Gabby – an American Coot. While they are a large waterbird breeding in the shallow marshes, ponds, and wetlands of my province and others in Canada, they are also what is called an ‘all terrain bird’. They are equally at home grazing in water or on the land looking for small fish, aquatic invertebrates, and plants. They can reach 40 cm in length and 70 cm wide. They are black with a white bill, red eyes, and yellow green-blue legs. Notice their lobed feet in the image below. Wow, those are different than Daisy’s!
I have been spending so much time with Daisy that I have neglected all those other amazing birds that we all love.
Gabby and Samson continue to work on their nest. They have been mating and many hope that eggs will be laid today or tomorrow. Gabby continues to tease everyone!
Samson is delivering another large stick for the walls of the nest.
What a gorgeous couple. Gabby is on the left and Samson is on the right.
The Mississippi River is home to many species of birds. Did you know that there is a live camera? The types of birds vary by the season, the day, and the time of day. Right now there are loads of Sandhill Cranes!
There has been an update for WBSE 27. You might recall that 27 was taken into care twice. The Pied Currawongs were unmerciful to the beautiful fledgling. I am thrilled beyond words for the latest announcement. To my knowledge none of the fledglings over the past two years – 25, 26 (deceased), 27 (in care). and 28 have been trained by their parents to ‘be a sea eagle’ – in other words, how to hunt prey, fish, and have the time to hone their flying skills. Without these skills, they simply cannot survive. WBSE 27 will receive this training and hopefully will emerge a confident bird who can live in the wild.
I have seen no update on Annie and Grinnell and the interloper. We will wait until breeding season starts and see who Annie is with!
The Kakapo Recover posted a humorous cartoon about some of the male Kakapo. I needed a giggle. Maybe you do, too?
Sadly, the time to adopt a Kakapo is over. If you missed it, make a note for next year. Those Kakapo stuffies are really quite sweet and blend in with all your indoor plants.
Daisy has had a seemingly uneventful morning. Her first break of the day and foraging – before sunrise – did not happen because the Ring-tail Possums were crawling all over the nest. She has been sleeping most of the morning. There are lots of birds in the forest but I have not heard the Ravens yet and the cam operator did not find the WBSE on their River Roost earlier but she did capture several sea eagles flying. Fingers crossed. So far the WBSE have not been an issue. So all is well with our wonderful duck. It is 08:29. The Daisy update will be later this evening unless something untoward should happen.
Thank you so very much for joining me today. Take care everyone. See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams or their FB pages where I took my screen shots: Sea Eagles@Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre, NEFlorida Eagle Cam and the AEF, Kakapo Recovery, and Explore.Org
Today is a gorgeous day on the Canadian prairies. The rains helped to contain or put out many of the wild fires in our province and this morning, for a second day, we woke up to blue skies and white clouds! All of the plants are a vibrant green and the birds continue to sing. There was not enough to fill the dry creeks but the downpours we did get are a reminder of how much all life depends on water. The nestlings and fledglings would add ‘food’ to that list!
There is a constant worry that some of the late hatches are seeing dwindling food deliveries and that the parents might leave for their migration with young still on the nest. My friend, ‘S’ is concerned, as are many others, for the nestlings on two Black Stork nests – one in Latvia and the other in Estonia. Some others worry about the little osprey on the Collins Marsh Nature Centre nest that we have been calling ‘Malin’. (The official contest is underway for the official name).
Malin self-feeds from small Bullhead. 11 August 2021
Malin was receiving 5 feedings on occasion. Those were good days. The chick has not been fed well by the standards of other nests. This past Sunday, 8 August, Malin had no food. Yesterday, 10 August, he had two feedings. Today, there have already been 2 – one at 9:35 and the other around 11:42. Always these are small whole fish or pieces of fish. I have not seen a whopper on this nest.
Malin is hungry and several of us are trying to ascertain if the fish are ‘fished out’ or if the Dad has another nest – it really is unclear. A report by the Wisconsin DNR on the number of Bald Eagle and Osprey nests in the state indicate a drop of Ospreys in area 3, where the Collins Marsh nest is located, by -25.2%. While every other area saw an increase in Ospreys, Collins Marsh was only one of two that showed a decline. Does all of this reflect a growth in Bald Eagle Nests in the area? If you would like to read the report from 2019 (I have not found one for 2020), I am attaching a copy. A big shout out to ‘S’ who found this and sent it to me. Thank you.
The feedings for the nestlings of Grafs and Grafiene at the Sigulda Nest show a similar up and down pattern to that at Collins Marsh. However, there has not been a day without food to my knowledge at Sigulda.
‘S’ reports that on 9 August, the storklings had four feedings – which is considered low – but yesterday, they had only two. Today, there have been 2 deliveries by the female, Grafiene, and one by the male, Grafs. Grafiene is also like the female at the Collins Marsh nest, Marsha, who leaves for periods up to 24 hours at a time. The behaviour of these two females is very curious.
It is hoped that there is time for both the Black Storklings and the Osprey to fledge. ‘S’ advises that the minimum is ten days for the storklings. The Ospreys tend to migrate at the end of August or beginning of September in Wisconsin.
Malin is not ready to fledge. It is very worrisome for many reasons. I look at the development and growth of the Osprey fledglings in the UK and then compare this with Malin. Those in the UK have fully developed feathering and have really perfected their flying skills. They are self-feed with ease. Most have been fledged for a month. Will Malin have a month to further develop his body and skills? Will the storklings? The nest that is on the branch of the pine tree in the forest near Sigulda is so very narrow and has collapsed in the past. Will the hopping and flapping cause the little ones to fall?
The storklings are so excited when a parent arrives with fish that it does make you wonder if the could make the branch nest collapse. Grafiene covered the nest with little fish around 17:20. There was lots of food for each of the nestlings.
The storklings were eating and eating and had large crops. I wonder if a parent will bring another delivery before night?
I am including the link to the Black Stork Nest in Sigulda County, Latvia. If you wish to find the chat room or forum (with lots of information) please check the information under the streaming cam.
In Alaska, Kindness is not short of food. She has gone some days with few deliveries and other days, Dad not only leaves her food for self-feeding but today, he fed his baby girl. Dad just can’t help himself. He has an enormous soft spot for Kindness. The image below of Dad feeding Kindness is right after he had delivered prey 20 minutes earlier! Oh, Kindness, how lucky you are.
Did you know that Bald Eagles have a polarizing lens that helps them see fish in muddy waters? (Just like those who fish often wear Polarizing sunglasses.) That said Bald Eagles normally only feed in the top 15 cm or 6 inches. Their bare legs are designed to only go into the water 15 cm or 6 inches. Like the Ospreys and Sea Eagles, if they had feathered legs, they would get water logged.
You can watch Kindness here. The moderator on the camera chat is reminding everyone today that Kindness is 76 days old today. She is already flapping and jumping. The average act for fledge on this nest – not the whole of Alaska – is 89 days. (The whole of Alaska is 80 days). If she behaves like the other eaglets on this nest, you should be able to watch her until mid-September. Here is the link to that camera:
The White-Bellied Sea Eagle, Lady is feeding 27 and 28. Those little ones continue to look like white fluff balls but if you look carefully, their necks and wings are getting longer and there is a hint of ‘dark plumage’ underneath that natal down. The WBSE nest had a fright a few days ago. Dad showed up on the nest with a laceration on his leg and a cut near his throat that was bleeding. That seems to have subsided and Dad is busy catching fish for the family. (I am wondering about the small amount of salt water in the Parramatta River and its healing effects on Dad’s foot.)
27 and 28 do bonk but not much anymore. Some of the time it is instigated by the ‘little one’! They really are a good match for one another and unlike past years, viewers are remarking that they are really enjoying seeing the nest this year.
The egg tooth is disappearing as their beaks grow longer.
If you wish to watch then, here is the link to the cam:
There is some troubling news coming out in Bird World. ‘S’ informs me that the storks crossing over Greece where the wildfires are raging are being injured in large numbers as they migrate to Africa on the eastern routing. Various news agencies are reporting that people in Athens have been picking up dead storks off their lawns. This is more than sad. Here is a short news report by Reuters. I hope you can open it.
A second is the number of raptors going into care. In the United States, there is an all out assault on plant life. Various levels of government are asking for and receiving permission to undertake ‘aquatic treatments’ using either Tribune or Harpoon. These are chemical herbicides and they poison birds!!!! At the moment, A Place Called Hope, has raptors in its care because of these treatments.
In Jacksonville, crews have been up doing maintenance on the NE Florida Bald Eagle cam. The presence of humans on ‘his’ nest brought Samson out from the trees and onto the nest yesterday. Wow. What a wonderful treat. Samson remains in the area and does not migrate while Gabby leaves early to travel north to cooler weather. Ironically – and sadly – this year it has been as hot in Ithaca, New York as it has been in Florida.
All three of the fledglings at the Foulshaw Moss Osprey nest were present yesterday. Poor White YW. Tiny Little Bob almost ripped his leg off trying to get at a fish delivery. Tiny Little! To steady himself, White YW had to put his talon on Tiny Little’s head. Gracious. It ended OK – no bird was injured.
For some reason all of the fledglings have been coming to the nest for fish. One will get the fish from dad, one will stalk that sibling, then they will get it and then White YW will arrive with another fish and confuse the entire situation. It is really quite hilarious. The fledglings are as big (or bigger) than Dad! You can watch them here:
Oh, wow. Tiny Little just snagged a fish from sibling 462. Fantastic.
Tiny Little is a ‘scrapper’ just like Tiny Tot. They both learned ‘street smarts’ to survive. Well done, Tiny Little! It was not that long ago that Tiny Little was shy. Her aggression will help keep her alive in the future.
News Flash. The female companion of Bucacek on the Mlade Buky White Stork nest in Czechoslovakia has been named Marketa.
Everyone reading my newsletter loves birds and animals or you wouldn’t be here. I was sent a delightful story – a view of rewilding through the eyes of a deer. Since we have so many deer in our city that have been displaced for ever more condominiums and roads, it really struck home to me. Perhaps you would enjoy reading it, too. Here is the link to ‘Rewilding is a Two Way Street. A letter from your neighborhood deer’.
Whew. That was a long newsletter. Sorry. Thank you so much for joining me. Send warm wishes to all the birds – for food and for the storks to survive as they travel from northern Europe to Africa. Take care everyone.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen shots: Collins Marsh Nature Reserve, Glacier Gardens Park in Juneau, Latvian Fund for Nature, WBSE Sea Eagle Nest, Birdlife Australia, and the Discovery Centre, Cumbrian Wildlife Trust and the Foulshaw Moss Osprey Nest.
