Tag Archives: NEFlorida Bald Eagle Nest

Early Saturday in Bird World

10 December 2022

Good Morning Everyone from a snowy, icy landscape – the Canadian Prairies. As many of you suggested, it was a huge culture shock going from bright sun and warm seas to frozen. It is always good to be away but, it is equally nice to get ‘home’. Thank you for all your wonderful letters and best wishes. I had an epic time!

The big news is still coming out of Samson and Gabby’s nest in The Hamlet near Jacksonville. Will there be a nest take over? will Gabby get a new mate? where is V2 this morning as I write this? did Samson appear? Wow. Everything else pales in comparison.

This is a short catch up on some news that we are following this morning.

I want to start with a disgusting arrogant display that has gone viral. It was posted by Geemeff, one of our readers.

What a disgusting individual.

Was it Samson visiting the NE Florida nest? We would have to see his toe – one is flattened. But, gosh, it sure looks like him.

Maybe the word is out and all of them know that Gabby is now single (sadly) and they are lining up for her to choose? They should try bringing her fish!

There was a musical nest. V2 was there and gone, then Gabby left and V2 returned, and then he saw Gabby and escorted her back to the nest.

Postings of a third visitor.

But where was V2 last night. It looks like Gabby spent the night alone – again!

Gosh, I love these daily videos that Elain posts of the highlights at the Orange scrape in Australia of Diamond and Xavier. That little Indigo reminds me so much of Izzi – chasing the parents out of the scrape in the morning, pair bonding, and snacking.

Why do I like them? Elain edits the entire day into a short video and includes the main highlights.

Now for a few smiles.

Falcons in the Middle East fly in their own 747s. Challenger the famous US Eagle in the care of the American Eagle Association likes to fly SW Airlines.

Have you been following the World Cup of Birds? Let’s see who is left standing! Pick your favourite bird out of those left and follow what happens. Morocco stunned everyone when they beat Brazil putting the Rufous Bellied Thrush out of action. So will Moussier’s Redstart take home the cup? England is playing France today – the Robin vs the Gallic Rooster! Stay tuned.

For all Osprey fans, there is an Osprey still in Londonderry today – at the Bann Estuary. Does this bird know something we do not know? I mean seriously shouldn’t he be sunning himself in Spain right now or Africa? or does he need to get out of town quick?

Zoe is flying over shallow water and getting those wings to work. Dad brought Zoe 3 fish yesterday and Mum brought her 1. They are taking good care of their daughter! Here is her most recent tracking release.

We haven’t done a check on Karl II’s family recently so let’s have a look and see where Waba and Bonus are today.

Waba is still loving Sudan and fishing at the Nile River.

Bonus started flying over the Eastern Desert. There has been no transmission since the 4th of December. We wait. Please send Bonus your best wishes.

Thank you for being with me for this quick look at what is the main story in Bird World – Gabby and her nest. Send out your warmest wishes to Rita who is healing nicely in Miami and to dear Alden and Samson – we wish you would still appear! Take care everyone. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams, videos, and posts which make up my blog this morning: NEFL-AEF, Bald Eagles Live Nest Cams and News, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam Project and Cilla Kinross and Elain, American Eagle Live Nest Cams, Southwest Airlines, Raptors of the World, Port Lincoln Ospreys FB, Looduskalender, and Geemeff.

Harriet lays her first egg of the season! and more news in Bird World

30 November 2022

Good Morning Everyone,

I want to thank everyone who sent an e-mail or who made a comment about the loss of Orange’s dear darling Rubus. It was extremely difficult for everyone not least of all those wonderful people at Orange. We all loved the feisty little eyas. What joy he brought!

It would be helpful if there were an international protocol in place that everyone agreed on and knew. If a raptor is grounded and does not flee when a human approaches, it should be placed in care for an examination. No guessing, no regrets. Just a clear protocol. If the raptor requires care, it can receive it. If it doesn’t, it is released where it was found or at its nest, if known. Perhaps protocols could be put in place in memory of Rubus.

Meanwhile, Indigo is doing very well and thriving. Wonderful news. This is him yesterday eating a huge prey item! So glad he is visiting the scrape.

“Sulphur-crested Cockatoo” by NathanaelBC is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

It is not about raptors but, after the week we have had and now with Harriet having an injury from the GHOW hit last night, we need a laugh. We seriously need a laugh just to take us away even for a few minutes. This Sulphur-Crested Cockatoo will certainly help.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-11-30/cockatoo-video-dropping-pot-plants-melbourne/101710478?fbclid=IwAR2dBBKdcL_6wP-BBMZYqu9IC3iaThR1hi0dMv1wI_hkPV5nwOpS_Pn2sjk

“G’ sent me a great article on Glen, the only surviving Tweed Valley osprey fledgling. It is a great article and you realise how miraculous this bird’s adventure has been – almost blown out to sea, having to flap its wings for 36 hours over the ocean! And finally finding a small piece of land to rest for 11 hours. Thanks, ‘G’. Glen deserves a long and safe life.

Here is the link:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-south-scotland-63795390

Congratulations to M15 and to Harriet for their first egg of the 2022 season! The time was 18:09:34. M15 was there with Harriet during her labour.

Sharon Pollock posted a video of the happy moment:

At the nest of Pa Berry and Missy, Pa has had to deal with a GHOW strike like Harriet did the night before she laid her egg.

Many of you will have seen Tiger Mozone’s name on the PLO chat. Tiger runs a FB group re Ospreys and is encyclopaedic when it comes to the history of UK Ospreys. Tiger and Chloe Baker have a web site with much information on the UK Ospreys – magicats. He also has a Twitter account. Check him out.

Tiger and I have been chatting today about the state of the fish at Port Lincoln. I have been – well, almost, pulling my hair out over the lack of fish. Is it because of commercial fishing? flooding and silt? changing water temperatures due to climate change? Dad’s age? You have probably asked yourself the same thing. So far no one seems to have come up with an answer but Tiger and I talked about practical or possible solutions. I have always maintained that fish must be provided. But how do you provide fish? Well, large commercial-like tanks such as the ones that the Ospreys in South America steal from is one solution. Tiger thinks a fish pond or stocking the lagoon where the barge is located. I wonder how many regulations there are for doing this? Are there any more than all of the permissions required for intervention?

Zoe is wide awake and wanting fish. Dad will deliver early today. I wonder if she spotted him flying off.

Did you know that there is a river that was created and stocked just so photographers could take images of Osprey fishing? Yes. It is the River Gwash and Tiger told me about it today. So if you can build a river in the UK and stock it so Ospreys can fish and charge people to photograph them in a hide doing just that then, why not stock the lagoon where the barge is and – from a safe distance – allow people for a charge to photograph them? Why not? It might bring more tourism to the area, too! That along with Osprey Excursions.

The Gwash River runs through Rutland, Leicestershire, and Lincolnshire.

Other places stock ponds and lochs for the osprey such as Rutland and Keider. It is time that everyone considered this as humans have mismanaged our planet so much. We owe it to these beautiful birds.

Alden has still not been seen. A video clip of Annie reacting to the visiting male.

Dear Gabby waits for Samson’s return. If you did not see my correction, Samson was not injured. There was a posting on FB showing what appeared to be an injury to Samson’s head; I carried that information in a blog. The AEF wishes for everyone to know that he was not seen injured when he was at the nest. I had posted the update in a later blog but it seems some did not see it. Apologies for any confusion.

This is the latest announcement from the AEF on FB at the time of writing this blog:

We know that Bella returned to her nest after three weeks and there is a story surfacing out of Hanover of the resident female returning to her nest after being absent for a week. It gives me hope that Samson will return!

https://www.yorkdispatch.com/story/news/2018/04/09/hanover-nests-resident-female-eagle-returns-fighting-expected/497774002/

Jackie and Shadow always put a smile on my face and here they are working on their nest at Big Bear. Adorable. I received a note that Shadow had been away since the 24th returning today, 5 days later (the information is second hand but comes from a trusted source). So, let us all take a deep breath and believe that Samson just took a wee break before it all begins, too.

The Southern Royal Osprey are a delight to watch and I know that many of enjoyed watching Lillibet, the 2022 Royal Cam chick grow and fledge and the marvelous care that YRK gave to her daughter after OGK went missing in May. There is a new Royal family and Dad, GLY, is incubating that precious egg. Sharon Dunne (aka Lady Hawk) has published a video of the new family and some visitors.

Migration News:

Waba is still in the Sudan.

Bonus is still in Turkey but he has started moving South! Well done, Bonus.

There is a silver lining in today’s news with the arrival of the first egg at the Bald Eagle nest of M15 and Harriet in Fort Myers, Florida.

Please send your best wishes to Rita so that she is strong enough for her operation. ‘H’ wrote this morning to tell me it is scheduled for 1500 Eastern time today. Send good wishes to Alden and Samson wherever they are please come home if you can, and to everyone at Orange and all those who loved little Rubus. He is much missed.

Thank you for being with me. This is not a very long blog but I hope there is something good in there for everyone. I am now ready to try and start packing! Take care of yourselves. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their posts, videos, and streaming cams where I took my screen captures: ‘H’ and ‘G’ for their notes, SWFlorida Eagle Cam and S Pollock, Berry College, Port Lincoln Ospreys, Cal Falcons, NEFL-AEF, River Gwash Ospreys, abc.net.au, York Dispatch, FOBBV, NZ DOC and Sharon Dunne, and Looduskalender Forum.

Wednesday in Bird World

2.23.22

We have a terrible problem in our neighbourhood. But, before I begin, let me say that for most of my life, I have had a cat or two or more. My Dad had a ‘warm’ spot for animals. Today he would be known for feeding feral cats and caring for them. More often than not, we adopted the strays, fed them, and found homes for the kittens. He taught me that they deserve love and respect as he went about rescuing puppies abandoned and starving cats. In other words, I grew up loving animals and am particularly fond of cats. I have not had a cat since last July when my dear Honey died of kidney failure. I do adore them.

Honey was a Sorrel Abyssinian. We rescued her from an apartment where she had been locked in for a month with no one home. She was amazing. She was a lap cat and loved to be into everything that was happening.

Our City has a by-law that cats must be kept inside. It was instigated so that the large feral cat population in the City would decline. The problem is that certain people do not adhere to the by-laws and, of course, no one does anything about it if they don’t. So that is the very back story to today.

The bird feeders were full and one of the small squirrels -either Dyson or Scraggles- was eating away in the square feeder when I left to go and get the produce for the week. Everything ‘seemed’ fine. When I returned an hour later, there were few birds at the feeders. I decided to refill the one for the Starlings. They do love the Meal Worms and Butter Bark for some reason. When I did, I noticed fresh blood under the Black Sunflower feeder and frozen blood in the centre of the square feeder where the squirrel had been. Something injured one of the squirrels while I was away. It was not Sharpie – he only takes a Sparrow once in awhile and there were no feathers flying about. The cats are the likely culprit. You will often find me chasing them away from the feeders. I could not see blood anywhere else. Did the cat actually carry the squirrel away? or did the squirrel escape? We wait to find out. I have looked everywhere for clues and nothing.

None of the squirrels are in the garden not even Little Red and there remain few birds. Events like this are traumatic for them. They can smell the blood and might not know what happened but they would not that something was harmed. Sadly, the wildlife rehabbers will not take squirrels for fear of rabies. So we just hope that whichever squirrel was harmed, it heals properly. It is normally Scraggles that gets in the way of the cats. He is called ‘Scraggles’ because of his shaggy tail and torn bits of fur when he came to the garden more than half dead a couple of years ago. He sat and ate black oil seed for days hardly moving and in a few weeks he was looking good. Fingers crossed for whoever is injured. Please send your warm wishes!

Why am I telling you this when I know you keep your cats inside? Because cats are the major predator to birds at feeders, bunnies, and squirrels. While people believe they need to be outside, most vets will tell you that cats are safer inside watching the wildlife from the window. They will not get injured, hit by a car, lost, or become prey to something larger. Spread the word to those that do let their cats roam.

Bird behaviour is very interesting. You might have read my blogs mentioning Jennifer Ackerman. She is the author of The Genius of Birds and The Bird Way. I picked The Bird Way up again last night to read through a section and was reminded how good Ackerman’s writing is on the topic. So if you are looking for insightful books on our feathered friends and why they do what they do, when they do it – these are excellent choices.

The pattern of feeding at the Captiva Osprey nest is holding. Three good feeds in the morning with the last of the three around lunch time and the first right after dawn. The final feeding – the fourth – is around 16:00. Andy arrived with the fish at 15:56 and by the time Lena got it and the chicks were situated they were right at 16:00. You could almost set your watch by this nest.

One of the things that keeps chicks from having food competition is stability. This nest is regular and stable. Fantastic. There are no surprises. No long period without food save from the last one to the morning feed.

Turn around Little Bob!

Andy is being very vigilant.

The feeding lasted for forty minutes! Lena filled up those chicks so full but, remember, this will be their last meal for the day if the pattern these two adult Ospreys have been following holds. One of the chatters commented that, “Minibob’s got a crop so full that it’s not just getting fatter it’s getting longer as well!” (BJ). That is always good to see.

You can see a bird flying behind the palm tree. There are predators around the nest. It did not go unnoticed by Andy and Lena. Andy is being careful. No one will harm his family if he can help it.

The trio are slowly falling into a sleep coma. There was no fish left for Andy and even Lena didn’t get a lot. The osplets are demanding more and more each feeding as they grow. They will all be entering their second week by the end of this week and that is a big growth period for nestlings.

Andy is off to get his fish. Lena might be wishing he would bring in another one so she could have some more fish, too. Meanwhile she is trying to get the full and sleepy puddle of chicks settled.

Big Bob is not being very cooperative! Get to sleep Big Bob.

Finally! It is a cuddle puddle.

Spring is in the air for all of the California Condors at San Simeon and The Pinnacles. Ventana Wildlife Society just posted this beautiful image with an announcement of a Zoom session. You might want to check it out. I have attended several of these. They are free and very informative.

There is a pip at the home of the Duke Farms Bald Eagles!

Here is the link to their camera. I saw the announcement on FB but the view from the cameras is not good enough for me to get an image capture.

One of our readers, ‘S’ from Latvia reports that the swans are returning. They have been flying over her house and foraging in the nearby fields. Isn’t that wonderful. Next week I will include a discussion on all the nests in Latvia and Estonia – White-tailed Eagles and Storks – that you can watch. Eggs will be laid on some of the nests, such as Milda’s around the beginning of spring. It gives me hope – hope that warm days are coming.

All of the nests are doing well. NE26 and 27 ate so much today they could hardly walk! I have not seen Ervie but his tracker shows he is exploring the area around the bay where the barge is located. Hopefully we might get a glimpse of him, soon.

Take care everyone. Thank you so much for joining me today. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Window on Wildlife and Captiva Osprey Nest and Duke Farms.

Late Thursday 2.17.22 in Bird World

Wow. There are a lot of weather systems moving about that have the ability to really impact not only people but also, wildlife. The UK has been hit many times this season with named storms. The latest one, Eunice, looks like she could bring more devastation to the large trees that serve as nests for the Ospreys and the Eagles as well as the owls and other raptors.

Wales is in the Red Warning area and it is home to some of our beloved Osprey couples including Mrs G and Aran and Telyn and Idris. All train travel has been suspended in Wales. Tiny Little Bob’s nest in Cumbria is in the orange area along with Kieldner Forest and the Scottish nests are, for the most part, in the yellow. Hearts go out all who face extreme flooding and downed trees amongst other catastrophes.

There are various tornado warning areas and a system is moving through the US that will certainly impact Bald Eagle nests in Pennsylvania along with my friend, R. It also looks like bad weather could hit the Berry College nest and Big Red and Arthur’s. Arthur was working ferociously on the Fernow light stand nest today. Birds can tell when bad weather is coming.

Kansas City – right in the middle of the US – has had a record snow fall today! That sleet and snow as falling on the nest of GHOW’s Bonnie and Clyde at Newton.

If having tunnels of snow as high as I am tall in my yard isn’t enough, there is more coming! At one point we had set the 1997 snow record but we surely must have tossed that aside by now. The winds will be really bad also. The birds in the garden stayed a little later but when they were here today they did not stop eating. One of the nut and bug solid cylinders is almost gone thanks to Dyson!

This bad weather really makes my heart break for all of the animals. This huge amount of snow makes it very difficult for them to get prey.

The two Osplets at the Captiva nest are doing very well, indeed. It is the first day but already Andy and Lena seem to have the feedings, the delivery of fish, and security almost under control. The little ones are so healthy. Fat and plump little bottoms. There has been no discord!

I hope that the third egg does not hatch. These two are just perfect. They are almost the same size. Their development seems to be about the same. The most recent images of the nestlings are at the top.

Isn’t it adorable that wee baby with its arm around the egg? Sure makes a good prop!

Andy has been good to stand guard when Lena is feeding the little ones.

Once today my heart sank when the wee ones were on the nest alone! I am going to keep telling myself that an adult was right there.

Everyone is tucked in tight and Lena is catching some sleep, too. Babies keep you busy.

Little Bit continues to thrive on the NEFlorida nest. Another fish came in and Little Bit ate most of it. Samson really filled that eaglet to the brim.

If Little Bit keeps getting fed this much, we will soon have to start calling him Big Bit! That is a very nice crop. Indeed, Little Bit has spent the day eating more and more always ready for more even if its crop is bursting. Well done Little Bit! You are certainly learning some good survival skills including eating everything you possibly can even if you are full. In the wild, you will not know when prey items will be available. Meanwhile, NE26 sleeps.

I am always amazed at how clever the ones who are bopped become out excelling their older siblings. It is fantastic.

Everyone is tucked in tight at the NEFlorida Bald Eagle nest, too. Just look at Little Bit! Looks like he swallowed a beach ball. You can now see clearly that they have both been to the stylist and have lovely black nails in the latest pointy fashion.

So sweet. They are trying to sleep sitting up like Samson and Gabby with their heads tucked. What darlings.

Hatch watch is on for the Savannah Skidaway Island Great Horned Owl Nest.

Audacity laid her first egg of the 2022 season yesterday on the Sauces, Santa Cruz, Channel Islands nest.

That nest is in a really beautiful location. Here is the link to the camera. There is also a chat with very informed moderators.

Eggs are coming faster than I can keep up. Mr President and Lotus have their first egg of the 2022 season at the National Arboretum Nest at 17:05 today, the 17th of February. This is the couple’s first season together.

The couple were in the nest together about 45 minutes prior to Lotus laying her egg.

Lotus really puffed her feathers prior to the egg’s arrival.

Once it was hard, Lotus rolled the egg.

Lotus is tucking the egg so she can incubate it.

Everything appears to be quiet.

Here is the link to the streaming cam of Mr President and Lotus:

Port Lincoln has posted Ervie’s tracking for yesterday. Someone said on chat that Ervie had been seen catching a fish near the Marina. How brilliant!

At this very moment Ervie is on the barge yelling at Dad to get him a fish!

Thank you so much for joining me for this late report. I admit to not being able to tear myself away from the little osplets at Captiva. They are adorable. I am certain you would join me in shooing away the crows so these two have a chancer at a full life. Take care. If you are in the areas of bad weather, please stay safe. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cam or FB pages where I took my screen captures: Window on Wildlife, Port Lincoln Osprey Project, Cornell Bird Labs, NEFlorida and the AEF, Explore.org, National Arboretum and the AEF, Farmer Derek Owl Cam, CNN Weather Tracker, BBC Weather, and Environment Canada.

Sunday in Bird World

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.

“Flying red kite” by Tambako the Jaguar is licensed under CC.

Just look at this gorgeous under carriage.

“Flying red kite” by Tambako the Jaguar is licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0

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.

Dad delivers two fish to his Ervie

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:

https://www.audubonva.org/news/osprey-killing-a-crow-in-alexandria-va?fbclid=IwAR143JSPR4PsbBCq5J-umVH_aML7MF-JpL_EAUcGTnFVbevRsK8zucOx8RU

Here is the article published by Oxford University’s Zoological Journal on Olfactory Glands in Raptors:

https://academic.oup.com/zoolinnean/article/189/3/713/5601241

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 screen captures: Port Lincoln Osprey Project, Berry College Bald Eagles, KNF Bald Eagles, and NEFlorida Bald Eagles and the AEF.

Sunday in Bird World

What a Saturday afternoon and night. It was such a huge relief to find Anna on the Bald Eagle nest in the Kistachie National Forest and that there had been either a misidentification or that Anna and Louis switched places at dawn. Whatever happened- Anna is alright. Both birds were stressed on Saturday. It is unclear what was the cause or was it a multitude of things together – humans, gun shots, other intruding birds or animals.

I just love the image below. Everyone is so happy and relaxed this morning.

If you are watching the KNF nest, listen for the ‘laughing’ frogs. They are actually called Southern Leopold frogs but because of the sound they make, they are nicknamed laughing frogs. I hope to goodness that is the only sound that the nest has to hear besides eagles today!

The eaglet is enjoying some of the duck that was delivered earlier.

Eaglet is in food coma. Hopefully by this time next week, this baby will have a name!

The Wildlife Biologist says this afternoon that Anna and Louis would not have made their nest in a place if they were bothered by humans being around. Yesterday was, however, different from any other time that I have watched this nest – last year and this.

I know that many of you are stork lovers. Did you know that there is a live streaming cam with storks at Dreisamtal, about 10 kilometres east of Freiburg, Germany? A pair of storks make their nest on the roof of the Church of St. Gallus. Normally the couple arrive in February but this year, they returned on New Year’s Eve 2021.

The couple come and go for foraging. They sleep on the nest at night. Here is the link to this camera to calm all of your longing-for-storks-to-return!

What gorgeous plumage these Storks have. Incredibly beautiful!

Ervie had a full crop and was being blessed by diamonds all around. Oh, our glorious boy! He has quite the crop in that image. While there are few fish deliveries captured on the streaming cam, it is now believed that Ervie is catching almost all of his fish himself.

Dad does still continue to deliver a fish on occasion when Ervie is crying on the nest. Ervie loves being an ‘only child’.

The other day a word showed up in respect to Ervie – extreme philopatry. Yes, it is possible that Ervie is tied as tight as he can, more than others, to this very nest and that he will not wander too far afield like Falky has done. Indeed, one day we might see Ervie as the adult male on the barge with his own family.

Look a Ervie’s crop! Our young man is doing well. It is a relief to imagine that Ervie is an excellent fisher now.

At the Achieva Osprey nest in St Petersburg, Florida, everyone is waiting for the first egg to be laid this breeding season.

Of course, we are also waiting for Big Red and Arthur to begin working on their nest. It is, actually, awhile still. Last year Big Red laid her eggs on 26 and 29 March and 1 April! So we have about 7 weeks and a few days til our beloved Red-tail Hawk is incubating.

About the time Big Red is laying eggs, Iris will be returning from her winter migration. It is a snowy cold day in Missoula. I hope Iris is enjoying the warmth of her winter home.

At this very same time – as Big Red lays her eggs and we are on watch for Iris to land on her nest, Milda will be laying eggs on the White-tailed eagle nest in Durbe.

When I looked at my calendar and saw those three events – Big Red, Iris, and Milda – there was a big exclamation mark. Of course, all of the Ospreys and Storks will be returning from their winter homes to breed in the UK and Europe! It is going to get really, really busy.

For now, I will turn my attention back to the Bald Eagles. I don’t think NE26 is being an angel but it appears that s/he is not a ruthless brute either to NE27 – that is all good. Samson continues to have the pantry full and the fuzz balls nothing short of adorable.

In the image below, NE 26, the tallest, was trying to peck at 27. 27 did a pretty good job of standing up to its big sib. Bravo!

NE27 still has quite a dominant egg tooth. Sweet little babe with the golden glow of the morning sun shining on it.

A banana leaf was brought on to the WRDC nest. R1 thinks it makes quite a comfortable bed! So cute. It kinda’ fits with having a Papadam Chair for a nest.

R1 and R2 with their charcoal thermal down are growing and growing. Both are eating well and Ron has just brought a nice big fish on to the nest. It will not be long til these two eaglets are walking with ease around the nest. Just look at how big R1 is – looks like Hulk.

The eaglet at Berry College is wanting to have an afternoon snack and is looking intently at what the adult is plucking on the nest. This little one is a real little sweetie. Look at that lovely soft down head. You can see the thermal down coming in on the body of the eaglet. In a couple of days that soft light grey down will be nothing but dandelions!

And, last for today, if you are a Thunder and Akecheta fan, Thunder laid her first egg at the Channel Islands Bald Eagle Nest at 16:54 on 29 January! This is Cheta’s third breeding season and he no longer minds incubating the eggs. Last year the Ravens (or Crows?) got the eggs so this year, hopefully, neither adult will leave them alone!

Here is the link to the Channel Islands streaming cam:

Whew. All is well at the nests. Thankfully. It is supposed to warm up and start snowing on the Canadian Prairies in a short time. It is a good day for a walk out in the fresh air!

Thank you so much for joining me. Take care everyone and just breathe a sigh of relief. Anna is fine.

Thanks to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: KNF Bald Eagle Nest, Berry College, Port Lincoln Osprey Project, NEFlorida and the AEF, WRDC, Explore.org, Latvian Fund for Nature, Montana Osprey Project, Cornell Bird Lab, Achieva Credit Union, and Storks Nest Live Stream.

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.

Sunday in Bird World 23 Jan

NE26 is here! There are so many hatch times posted that it is unclear when NE26 was officially out of that shell. Does it matter? The AEF is showing 07:28:38 but the eaglet is fully dry and fluffy so I think Gabby was hiding that hatchling, keeping it warm. It is noon and it is still only 7 degrees C or 44.6 F. Chilly for Florida!

By 11:30, NE26 was holding its head up and looking straight at you! Notice that the inside of the shell was, in part, a beautiful blue.

What a cutie pie! Hello.

I wonder if you will be strong and sassy like your big sibling, Legacy????

Samson just brought in a nice fish to the nest – and its got its head on! He is so excited about the little furry one and wants to make sure that Gabby and it are well fed.

Gabby checks to see if the baby wants to eat. That pantry is so far from the nest cup. Remember Legacy last year crawling up the bowl to get over to it? Sure made NE24 strong.

You are so precious with that big egg tooth!

Tired.

Gabby was hungry! And the little one needs to figure out which way to face the pantry! Not the grass! Gabby keeps checking to see if N26 wants to eat some fresh fish.

Proud Mama Gabby!

The growing eaglet in the Kisatchie National Forest Bald Eagle nest has already had 5 feedings between 06:47 and 11:45. I thought Anna might be slowing down but no…the feedings are just getting longer!

What a little cutie looking up at one of the parents on the branch above the nest. If you are looking for the turtle, it is still there amongst all manner of large fish and a beautiful Eagle feather.

A nice family portrait!

B15 at Berry College is doing well.

B15 peeking out between Mum and Dad.

At the WRDC nest of Ron and Rita in Miami-Dade, R2 has figured out to let R1 get full and then get up to eat. Once R1 is full, it doesn’t care what R2 is doing. So around noon, R2 started eating and it is getting really full. Whew!

For all who are teachers, the Raptor Resource Project can help you, from K through high school, from art to science. Why not teach about raptors?

Raptor Resource Project Teachables
From Egg To Fledgling

It is a great Sunday. Everyone is doing well. There are big snowflakes starting to fall on the Canadian Prairies. They are swirling and are quite beautiful. But, please, no more snow! We are 50 days away from the arrival of the first Ospreys in the UK for breeding season! Do you have a favourite nest? I can’t decide but I am awfully keen to see some little osplets in the nest of CJ7. Hopefully she will return to Poole Harbour along with her hopeful partner, Blue 22. For those of you that might have missed it – Jackie and Shadow have their first egg as of yesterday and YRK has flown in to relieve OGK on the Royal Cam nest in New Zealand. It looks like it will be Mum on the nest this year when the hatchling is returned. The egg is in the incubator hatching right now! E19 and E20 are doing great at SWFlorida and Ervie has been sleeping on the perch at Port Lincoln all night – so all is well with the world.

Take care everyone. Thank you for joining me today. See you soon.

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

NE26 – almost here!

Oh, NE26 is really progressing well.

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.