Tag Archives: NEFlorida Bald Eagles and the AEF

Sunday in Bird World

If you are looking for the NCTC streaming cam for the nest of Smitty and Bella and have not found it, here is the link. It is not on YouTube.

https://www.outdoorchannel.com/live/eaglecam/326707/326904

Everyone is hopeful that if the young female returns there will not be a horrific fight between her and Bella. I gather she was not near the nest today as Smitty and Bella got down to all those important preparations for eggs! They did not waste a second.

More love stories with the eagles! A very handsome 4 year old, A-14, named Andor is making a nest with Cruz at Fraser’s Point on the Channel Islands. Oh, goodness, another young dad. It was fantastic to see the young male at the MN-DNR last year. He was quite incredible once it all got figured out. Here is the link to the Fraser’s Point streaming cam. If you like the sound of frogs and crickets, turn it on at night!

The barge at Port Lincoln sure looks empty. It was full of pigeons yesterday cleaning. There is an Osprey sleeping on the perch and it must be Dad. I wonder if he is missing Ervie, too? They got to be good buddies. Wasn’t that fabulous?

Port Lincoln has uploaded the latest tracking on all three Osprey. Our Ervie is really getting around! The green pin indicates the last place he was. His pattern still seems to return to the barge. I do wonder if he will stop in again. He is also going along the coast for the most part which is what he should be doing. It is unusual for the Ospreys to inland but Solly did that last year, remember? Notice, there is a spot in the bay where he appears to have stopped to fish.

So glad that Ervie’s tracking is working and we can follow our favourite Osprey juvenile as he becomes more independent!

Andy brought in a really nice fish for Lena and the three babies this morning. Someone said it was a nice trout.

Lena, we want to see the babies not your tail!!!!!!

Andy looks awfully handsome with his crest fluffed up.

Can you say awwwww?

Each chick ate well.

At the 11:27 feeding, you can get a good look at all three of the babies. Andy brought in a whopper of a fish!

The new parents are getting used to being really busy. Andy has to provide food and security and Lena has to feed and keep them warm plus try to take care of herself. They are doing well. That is Little Bob on the right.

Parents are alerting. Now Little Bob is in the middle.

Everyone had fish. We have to remember that Big Bob will eat more than the newly hatched Little Bob. Don’t worry if it looks like he is getting all the food. They all ate well and Lena is a fabulous Mum.

Look at those little crops.

Here is the link so you can watch this fantastic Osprey family:

The soon to be named eaglets at the NEFlorida nest of Samson and Gabby have pin feathers! They continue to work on self feeding – particularly NE27. In fact, Samson dropped a fish in the nest to see what would happen. NE26 looked at it, NE27 had a go at eating. Then Samson jumped back in the nest and fed both of them. We are over the hump of worry and can look forward to lots of activity in this nest once they start working those wings.

You can see the pin feathers coming in on the wing of the chick on the right.

Adorable. They are both very interested in what is happening off the nest and the comings and goings of Gabby and Samson.

The chat moderator at the Kistachie National Forest (KNF) nest of Anna, Louis, and Kincaid got in touch with Lady Hawk and told her about the 20 fish deliveries . Tonya said she twisted her arm to make the video when she gave Lady Hawk all the time stamps for the 20 deliveries. I know that it is difficult to believe but I have been saying all along that Louis is the best pantry filler I have ever seen! Once I giggled that maybe he was in competition with Samson but he has blown all of the males out of the water with this last barrel of fish. Twenty fish in one day – during daylight hours only. Here is the proof. Have a look:

It is time to check on Iowa. It is now reported that the number of Bald Eagles in Iowa has risen. The Des Moines Registrar states: “Stephanie Shepherd, part of the Iowa DNR’s wildlife research staff, estimates the average number of bald eagles in any given winter to be about 3,500. But that number has increased to nearly 6,000 this year, the National Midwinter Bald Eagle Survey says.” Wow. Where did they come from? are they moving further north because of the weather? It is curious. Certainly other birds are moving farther north.

As of yesterday, 19 February at 16:15, there were two eggs in the nest at Decorah North home to Mr North and DNF (Decorah North Female).

Wow. Look at that beautiful straw and corn husk nest. Gorgeous. You don’t see that in Louisiana or Florida!

There are no eggs on the Decorah Bald Eagle nest (not to be confused with Decorah North). How lucky can you be with a trout fishery right across the road!

It is the 7th or 8th year for the Bald Eagles at the Denton Homes nest. They are named the Majestics. No eggs yet but this nest is currently on egg watch. Becky has been jumping around the nest for the last few days.

We are all holding our breath for Jackie and Shadow at Big Bear. Their first egg was laid on 22 Jan and the second on 25 Jan. Believe it or not we will be on pip watch for Jackie and Shadow on the 26th. Everyone is wishing this much loved Bald Eagle couple success this year.

Doesn’t Jackie look gorgeous as the sun rises over Big Bear Lake?

Here is the link to their streaming camera. Do check in and send all your positive energy to these two fabulous eagles. Maybe this year will be a golden one for them! Thousands and thousands will be crying with joy if it is. Like Captiva, the nest has been plagued by predators and thin egg shells from the DDT that is still in the region after 50 years. We keep our fingers crossed.

Smitty has been bringing in some grasses to the NCTC nest that he will hopefully share with his mate, Bella. I have not seen her this morning nor have I seen the new female (NF). Fingers crossed that there is no horrid confrontation between the two females and one gets injured – again. It had to be difficult for Bella when she was hurt on 1 February and had to leave her nest. Positive thoughts.

All of the nests seem to be doing well today. It is hard not to just watch those little osplets at Captiva and ignore everyone else. They are so cute and we all know that they will grow fast. It is a consolation to have them when we are all missing Ervie so much. Thank you for joining me today. Take care everyone. Looking forward to seeing you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen shots: Window on Wildlife, Friends of Big Bear, Explore.org, Denton Homes, NEFlorida and the AEF, and Port Lincoln Osprey Cam and FB page.

Late Wednesday in Bird World

Big Red and Arthur were doing a late afternoon check on their nest on the Cornell Campus at Ithaca today.

Oh, Big Red, you are gorgeous. 19 years old and the Queen of the Red-tail Hawks.

We could just be 4 weeks away!!!!!!!!

For anyone who doesn’t think they will enjoy watching hawks raise eyases, I want to urge you to watch this couple. Big Red is often encased in snow, almost blow off the nest by winds, wet to the bone and she keeps those eggs and her babies dry! Everyone eats at Big Red’s table. Here is a link to the camera. There are two of them and one has an active chat with hawk experts at specific times of the day.

There is a new beer being launched in Scotland that will be supporting Scottish Ospreys! Now that is an idea.

https://www.bellfieldbrewery.com/blogs/news/osprey-platform-ipa-launched?fbclid=IwAR01zn5vD2Qjl9BH3b3J9jSsaTURzjvpNjPS7flDq0N-rGHwZJVBiTl5bME

So far, it seems to have been a pretty good day on the NEFlorida Bald Eagle nest. I won’t say it is a grand day but Little Bit got fed and is clever at figuring out how to do an end run around big sib. The intruders have been coming for more than a week. Parents are on constant alert and that certainly impacts the amount of food brought to the nest. But…both eaglets are fine!

Lady Hawk posted a video of Gabby giving NE27 a private feeding last night. Here it is:

It always warms our hearts when the little one is fed and happy!

There is a hatch happening at the Captiva Osprey Nest. The landowner is unclear whether to take the camera down or not. Right now it is up and running. All we can do is wish Andy and Lena our best – that this year will be their year with a successful fledging of all the chicks!

Rimu Fruit. Do you know what that is? and why it is important?

“Ripe rimu fruit” by Department of Conservation 

Kakapo chicks are hatching. The food that they require is Rimu Fruit. Dr Andrew Digby who is one of the leads in taking care of the eggs and chicks announced today that the Rimy Fruit is ripening. The fruit that you can see – dark purple – is high in calcium and vitamin D. Oh, this is fantastic. It means that the chicks have a better chance of survival this year!

Many of us followed the Love Trio Bald Eagles on the Mississippi Flyway near Fulton, Illinois and enjoyed how Starr worked with Valor I and II to raise three healthy eaglets to fledge year after year. This year there will be no trio. It was confirmed that Valor I is with a new female named Jolene at their own nest. Starr and Valor II remain together!

My daughter seems to have a rabbit that likes to sit under her bird feeder. Indeed, she says that this time of year she is feeding squirrels and the rabbit. So proud of her. All of the wildlife is hungry and they struggle during the winter where we live.

Thank you for sharing with us!

Today during my walk people were leaving handfuls of bird seed around the English Gardens for the squirrels and the chickadees that are currently there. We had a lot in our pockets, too!

It feels like the end of a long day. The sun is shining and there is so much snow no one knows what to do with it! It is also getting very cold. Down to -32 C in a couple of hours.

That is it for today. The Port Lincoln Camera was going on and off. Last time I checked Ervie and Dad were both on the barge in the shed and a few minutes later, our dear Ervie was up in the nest and Dad was gone. Is he going to get Ervie breakfast? I wonder. Ervie, you know that you are really lucky, right? Dad is doing an amazing job of taking care of you his big boy.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams and FP where I took my screen captures: Kakapo Recovery, NEFlorida and the AEF, Port Lincoln Osprey, and Cornell Bird Labs.

Bird World News 16.2.22

It is -17 C on the Canadian Prairies, almost noon on 16 February. The temperatures will drop overnight so that it is -32 C tomorrow. No snow. Yeah! But the wind was blowing this morning and swirling around Mrs Woodpecker when she was eating the suet.

Yes that white strip is actually how the blowing snow looked to the camera. Isn’t she lovely? None of the other birds had arrived and she had this compressed seed cylinder all to herself. They seem to prefer it over the more traditional suet- at least at our breakfast bar!

It is the middle of the night in Port Lincoln Australia and Ervie and Dad are on the barge. Ervie on the nest and Dad up on the perch.

Yesterday afternoon I needed a break from the worrying over NE27 and so I went and checked on Xavier and Diamond. Diamond had a large crop and was in the scrape. Oh, she is gorgeous.

Did you know that the Latin word peregrinus means ‘foreign, wandering’? Apparently they noted that the bird was constantly on the move!

Sharpie came to visit the other day and I was reminded, looking at him, that he is just so much smaller in size that the Peregrine Falcons which are medium to large size hawks.

I love how the raptors can close one eye with their nictitating membrane, that third eyelid unique to them.

It was comforting to see Diamond in the scrape. Breeding will not take place til the late summer but if you are longing for Peregrine Falcons, it is time to turn your attention to Annie and Grinnell at the UC-Berkeley Campus. Egg laying should be taking place in a couple of weeks.

Both of the chicks have hatched at the Eagle Country nest of Abigail and Blazer. The oldest was given the name Thunder and the youngest is Fern. Fern gets some bites amidst a bit of bonking from Thunder.

There is a pip on at least one of Andy and Lena’s eggs at the Captiva Osprey Cam. I thought it was on two eggs, some think only one.

Here is the link to the cam:

I grew up in Oklahoma. Sadly, one of the oldest living eagles, Taurus, who was an ambassador for the Sequoyah State Park in my home state died. Taurus was 43 years old!

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/national/article258434148.html

At the 07:10 feeding on the NEFlorida Bald Eagle nest of Samson and Gabby, NE27 did the old snatch and grab. It got right under the parent and up so it could grab ignoring a couple of earlier pecks by 26.

NE27 needs to keep its head and neck away from NE26. It seems to know that. It is also figuring out how to circumvent NE26 and get up front quicker. Clever little eaglet.

Later NE27 stared down 26 with the older sibling not reacting. Well done, Little Bit.

That cheeping by Little Bit is because it is hungry. Some eaglets do it more than others.

We are in the third week. We should be seeing this competitive behaviour by 26 easing up in the next week. NE27 is going to be fine and much better suited to deal with the outside world where there will be huge competition with other raptors.

If you missed it, Liberty and Guardian now have three eggs as of yesterday! I missed that one for sure. Last year this couple fledged three juvenile eagles. The Redding California Bald Eagle nest is one to watch!

Here is the link to the Redding Cam:

The sun is shining bright and it is getting a little colder. I am off for my walk and to check on the chickadee at the park. There is a small bag of seeds for it in my pocket today.

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

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Port Lincoln Osprey, Charles Sturt University Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, Captiva Osprey Cam, and NEFlorida Eagle Cam and the AEF.

Little Bit fights Back

Since the time of the storm, NE26 has been very competitive when it comes to food on the NEFlorida Bald Eagle Nest. Yesterday, the younger and much smaller sibling, NE27, did not have any food. The evening before Samson fed 27 until Little Bit had a large crop. Eaglets can go for as long as three days without food. Is it good for them? No. Do they get stress feathers? They can if the stress is severe. We have seen food competition on the SWFlorida Eagle nest but only for a few days when E19 and E20 were wee. We have seen it on the WRDC nest with R1 and R2 in a manner like what we are seeing on the Jacksonville nest of Samson and Gabby. It is good to remember that both R1 and R2 are doing well.

This morning a fresh fish was brought on to the nest of Gabby and Samson. There continues to be alert behaviour with the eagles. I made two short video clips. The first starts mid-way in the feeding. NE27 is very hungry and is getting its courage to snatch and grab. In the second clip NE27 is more comfortable dodging 26s’ head pecks and the old snatch and grab.

The first shows how easily younger and smaller siblings can be intimidated. You will notice that by now NE27 is very close to the parent and will discover putting its head over the rim of the nest out of 26s’ way. The parent will change the direction of the fish at some point. NE27 lands some bites of food. There is still fish left on the nest.

But wait.

NE27 if full and moves over to the other side of the nest. NE26 stays up by the fish. Look at its eyes. It is thinking I could just go over there and eat that fish myself!

Then Samson returns with another fish and NE26 is in the sweet spot to get some food. Perfect. Doesn’t that just put a smile on your face? NE27 is not paying attention – and then, of course, it notices what is going on.

This is a good position for 26 – behind Little Bit!

Both eaglets have a small crop. There is lots of fish on the nest. NE26 is still staring at that fish, though. Hunger is a huge motivator to self-feeding!

NE27 is learning to survive – to be clever, to work around the older sibling. Well done NE27! We are really proud of you.

At the 12:22 feeding, the adult fed NE26. Sadly NE27 went into submissive posture and did not get fed. But after the parent left, this is what happens.

26 passes out in a food coma and 27 continues to work on the fish.

Samson jumps into the nest. I thought he was going to feed them again.

But immediately he was off and Gabby was left as the lookout. This nest has had so much trouble with intruders.

Little Bit. You hold your head up high. You earned it today.

There are many articles about sibling rivalry on Bald Eagle nests.

“I think there’s always some form of sibling rivalry,” says Dianna Flynt, the rehabilitation supervisor at the Audubon Center for Birds of Prey in Florida. “There has to be, because the stronger, older bird is going to be more aggressive when it comes to surviving. But sometimes, it’s very severe.”

Food availability is key. We saw Samson load the nest last week when the big storm was coming. Now you will see a fish on the nest because both Gabby and Samson have had to deal with intruders. Indeed, Gabby was very alert when she was feeding the eaglets this morning. So food being available and in quantity, weather, and other factors such as intruders can all influence eaglet behaviour on the nest.

Sibling rivalry is hard to watch – for all of us. We don’t like to see discord amongst the chicks but I sincerely believe, that in the long run, 27 is going to be just fine. Do not worry about 27. This nest is going to work out just like the WRDC in Miami with R1 and R2 and that is just fine. So big rounds of applause for NE27 who figured out how to get around that pecking older sibling today!

Thank you so much for joining me today. It is snowing and snowing again. Cannot believe how much snow we have this year. But – it is also very beautiful. Take care everyone.

Thank you to the NEFlorida Bald Eagle and AEF nest for their streaming cam where I took my video clips and screen captures.

Valentine’s Day in Bird World

It’s cold and there was more snow yesterday and some blowing wind last night!

There is good news today.

Pittsburgh-Hayes Bald Eagles have two eggs as of today at 16:07. The reveal came at 16:34. Congratulations Pittsburgh!!!!!!!!

Eagle Country had its second hatch today. My goodness these nests are going to keep everyone busy! Two precious bobble heads – a complete Eagle family for Valentine’s Day!

Dad’s got a bunny on the nest in celebration. Congratulations Eagle Country!

Mum isn’t even in the picture. I think Ervie hollers so loud she wanted some peace and quiet. There is Ervie and Dad just hanging out in the shed together. They look perfectly at home!

Ervie, we still love you. You are everyone’s Valentine.

Sadly the competition on the NEFlorida Bald Eagle nest has continued today. In addition, I am not seeing a lot of food in the pantry on this nest like there was earlier. Certainly the Eagles begin to slow down on deliveries but it seems a little early at this nest. NE26 is certainly not treating NE27 nicely.

Those images of that feeding were at 11:14 this morning. Thirty minutes later they are a cuddle puddle.

Neither chick has a big crop. NE26 is clearly much larger than 27. If you were going by size now you would say Big sister and Little Brother.

A fish was fed at 16:00. NE26 ate. I could not see any evidence of 27 eating. It was in submission on the side all the while. I am certainly not liking what I am seeing in this nest. I wish that Samson would get on the nest and feed 27 while Gabby feeds 26 just like Harriet and M15 do in situations like this.

NE26 passes out in a food coma. Little Bit is up looking to see if there is any scrapes on the nest.

27 found a few flakes and then aroused 26 to look up to see what 27 was doing. Note the very nice crop on 26. If there had been enough fish, I am certain that 27 could have had its share once 26 was asleep.

A few minutes later an adult lands on the nest. NE27 opens its beak at 26. It is Samson and there is no good. The adults have been on alert for several days because of intruders.

There has been no more food brought to the nest or feedings since 16:00. NE26 is also hungry. I sure hope there is a whopper of a fish brought in late. As I mentioned, Gabby and Samson have been on high alert because of intruders and that will account for less food on the nest. Protecting their territory is their first priority. The eaglets are last. NE27 had a full crop last night and it will be fine – just hungry. Let us hope that 26 gets full and passes out so 27 can have a meal. I have to say that I am more than disappointed – and I hope that the intrusions stop so this nest can get back to normal. As I often say, the fortunes of the birds can turn on a dime. It can be intruders or bad weather or the heat of summer. Send all good wishes out to them.

This is the video of that great dinner yesterday when both Gabby and Samson were on the nest with the two chicks. Samson fed NE27 til he was super full. Tears.

Come on guys – let’s do that again tonight!

There is great news up in Minnesota. The first egg of the 2022 season was laid by Nancy on 12 February. This is the nest of Nancy and Harry. It is one of my favourites. Last year Harry was only 4 years old when he fledged two super eaglets! Congratulations Nancy and Harry.

Here is the link to their streaming cam:

And here is the video of that first egg of the season laid on 12 February. We will be on egg watch for #2 tomorrow.

Send all your warm wishes to the NEFlorida Nest. I really hope that 27 gets a good feed tonight. Make no mistake, this eaglet is not starving to death. But regular and sufficient feedings really help keep the babies healthy and stress-free.

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

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: MN DNR Eagle Nest, NEFlorida and the AEF, Port Lincoln Osprey Cam, Eagle Country, and Pix Cams.

Thank you, Dad!

The camera has been offline at the Port Lincoln Osprey nest. It was difficult not knowing what was going on with Ervie!

When the cam came on, I could hear Ervie fish calling. Oh, he is loud! In a few minutes Ervie was mantling the nest.

Here comes Dad with a headless fish. It is a perfect sharing. Dad catches the fish, eats the head, and gives the rest to his son on the nest.

Ervie was hungry!

He is mantling that fish really well.

Ervie has that fish firmly under his talons. It is not going anywhere – head or not!

Dad pauses for a moment on the edge of the nest. Thanks Dad!

Ervie really enjoyed his breakfast.

Ervie was cleaning his beak at 10:57. Ironically, he had left a little fish. It is on the nest just below his tail. Looks like half of the actual fish tail with some meat on it.

Ervie flew off the nest and the clean up crew were grateful for the morsels of fish. There is a pigeon at the middle of the nest on the right side. It blends in with the wood.

Ervie was definitely hungry. With all of the outages it is hard to know when he last had a fish dinner.

After he finished eating and cleaning his beak, Ervie looked off in the distance.

Then Ervie began to fish cry again! He almost started mantling.

Ervie raised his wings and flew off the nest at 11:09, Monday the 14th of February. Did he land on the shed near Dad? Did he go somewhere else?

Port Lincoln Posted the tracker for Ervie and a beautiful photo. It was taken by Keith Daniels. Ervie was on his front fence in the Lincoln Cove Marina.

Isn’t he gorgeous sitting there looking in? What would you give to have an Osprey sit on your front fence? and what if it was Ervie!!!!!!!! How grand.

Before I close, I went to check on Little Bit at the NEFlorida Bald Eagle Nest. It had a really nice crop before bed! Yippeeeeeeee.

So all is right with the world.

Thank you so much for joining me. It was just wonderful to see these two fed. It is very reassuring that everything is just fine. Take care. See you soon.

Thank you to Port Lincoln Osprey Cam and Port Lincoln Osprey FB and Keith Daniels for the photo of Ervie on his fence and the NEFlorida Bald Eagles and the AEF Bald Eagle Cam where I took my screen captures.

Rain causes discord between NE26 and 27

It is no secret that bad weather days can cause a disruption in the social behaviour of the eaglets on a nest. That is precisely what happened today on the NEFlorida Bald Eagle nest of Gabby and Samson. NE26, the older and larger of the eaglets, pecked at 27 so that it missed at least two feedings. The younger sibling quickly went into submission protecting is head and neck even when approached by the older sib.

By mid-afternoon, around 15:18, 27 got up around the tail of the adult and had some food. Earlier it had tried to self feed on a fish. That was around 10:18. It is very sad when a nest that had been so civil gets disrupted. Fingers crossed that 26 will behave and Samson will have more fish on the nest.

Here are some images, with very little text, of the encounters between the two siblings. The final one is NE27 finally getting fed.

Competition for parental attention or food, squabbling if you like between siblings, is quite common in Eagle nests even when the pantry is full. All of us have seen this. NE27 did figure out how to get around NE26 because, by mid-afternoon, it was really, really hungry. NE26 had been fed and was also not as aggressive as it had been earlier in the day.

We have seen competition arise after big storms. It almost seems that the time between feedings and the bad weather causes the eldest to become hostile. I hope by tomorrow these two eaglets who were both fed equally with large crops have this sorted out! Both Samson and Gabby are superb parents.

Thank you so much for joining me. Take care!

Thank you to the NEFlorida Bald Eagles and the AEF for their streaming cam where I took my screen captures.

Sunday in Bird World

Yesterday my friend, ‘R’ saw an article in her local newspaper in PA, the Philadelphia Inquirer, by Rita Giordano. Its title was ‘Copper Bullets could help with eagles being poisoned by hunted animals’. Today, one of the FB groups that I belong to trying to end lead poisoning in birds – both flying and waterfowl – posted some information. I would like to add fishing equipment to these topics, not just bullets. That article, ‘Those Bullets that kill Birds’ will be coming tomorrow. Sadly, those that hunt and fish with lead equipment will probably never read my blog but, hopefully, it will inspire you to reach out to those you know who do fish and hunt with the consequences and how they can help be part of the solution.

I am also working on Avian Flu and falcons. That is coming up.

It started off a wet yucky day in Jacksonville at the nest of Gabby and Samson. By mid-day, the eaglets were drying out. Poor Gabby needs to go to the stylist!

Gabby is an amazing Mum. I love watching her take care of her babies. She tries so hard to get them under her so she can keep them dry. She was also spread out like a huge Mumbrella at one time.

It’s a nice fresh fish for the family. Those babies are getting their mohawks.

It was the same for Harriet, M15, E19 and 20 at the Fort Myers Bald Eagle nest on the property of D Pritchett. The one difference between Harriet’s eaglets and Gabby’s is their age and their plumage. E19 and E20 have their juvenile feathers and the rain and cold can be controlled by them – but not by E26 and 27 yet.

still Harriet tries to stuff those big babies underneath her!

R1 and R2 were soaking wet when they woke up at the WRDC nest in the Miami Zoo, too.

Ron and Rita’s nestlings look more like eagles now. My goodness. They are catching up with E19 and E20.

The Osceola Bald Eagle nest looks dry. The Mum was there feeding the eaglet this morning even though it can easily feed itself now.

It is difficult to tell if there is a pip on the first egg for Andy and Lena at the Captiva Osprey nest. Lena has been rolling the eggs and calling for Andy to bring her some food! He brought in a small fish earlier but she is still hungry.

The poor Mum at the Duke Farms nest is under some snow! Dad has brought in food and has done some rotations in the incubation rota with her.

It is pretty nice down in Louisiana. Kincaid always looks so lonely on the nest when he is there by himself, just like the little eaglet at Berry and Osceola. The truth is that Bald Eagles are solitary birds, most often. It probably doesn’t bother them at all – just me! Anna is going to feed that entire fish that Louis just brought to Kincaid! His crop will pop.

The forest rangers are going to add an IR light that will light up the canopy of the tree, more sound, and a new camera. The sound they have now is incredible. This morning Kincaid was food calling and those little cheeps just tugged at your heart strings.

Are you a fan of Bonnie and Clyde, the Great Horned Owls that took over the Bald Eagle nest on Farmer Derek’s property last season? If so, the GHOWs are back! They have visited the nest but no egg was laid last night.

You can see one of the Owls on the branch above the nest at dawn.

Remember that the owls are active during the evening and night – and most active at dusk and dawn. Once Bonnie lays her first egg, she will remain on the nest taking some breaks with Clyde providing food.

Here is the link to this camera:

On the 11th of February, three days ago in Orange, Australia, that little cutie pie Xavier chased a Wedge-tailed Eagle – the largest raptor in Australia – out of his territory! The encounter was caught on the new tower cam. Xavier, you are amazing.

This is the best I could do from the streaming tower cam. You can see the wings of the Wedge-tail eagle in a downward stance to the right of the image. Below and to the left you will see a small dark spot. That is Xavier.

Here is a 3 min 20 sec video on this magnificent bird so you can see how large a Wedge-tail Eagle is and then you can marvel more at Xavier’s ability to get it out of his territory. A short introduction to the Wedgie.

We are in the midst of another blizzard. The snow coming down is not big flakes but it sure is blowing. I thought I caught Dyson eating the nut cylinder but when I cropped the images it was Scraggles eating all those nuts. Dyson is sure missing out! Yesterday, no one in the garden had hardly touched this lovely nut cylinder and by the end of the day, Scraggles might well have eaten it all. Do squirrels get tummy aches?

The snow is sticking to Scraggles’s fur.

I love how Scraggles moves around eating the seed cylinder and hanging on. That cylinder was more than triple the current size when Scraggles started out. He is eating well and looks quite healthy except for his tail which is actually growing back. We believe he had a bad encounter with one of the local cats.

The Sparrows are all puffed to stay warm.

I put some chopped peanuts, meal worms, and Bark Butter balls on the snow for those that wanted to eat off the ground. It was nice to see the Starling and the Sparrow sharing the food.

Little Red has decided to stay inside his penthouse today. I have not seen him out at all. That suet he ate yesterday should keep him full for several days.

The Port Lincoln Osprey cam is offline again. It has just not been the same since the big storm. Hopefully it will be back up shortly and we can check on Ervie.

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 shots: NEFlorida and the AEF Bald Eagles, SWFlorida and D Pritchett, Duke Farms, Osceola Bald Eagles, KNF Bald Eagles, Captiva Osprey Cam, Charles Sturt University Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, WRDC Bald Eagles, and Farmer Derek.

A Good Day at the Hamlet

The day started off with a beautiful morning sunrise at the NEFlorida Bald Eagle nest of Samson and Gabby, NE26 and 27, commonly known as ‘Little Bit’. This nest was and is often called ‘The Hamlet’.

It is going to be partially cloudy in Jackssonville, Florida with none of the horrid rain the eagles had the other week. It is 22 C. The wind is blowing at just 8 kmh.

NE 26 hatched on 26 January with 27 hatching on the 25th. Tomorrow, NE26 will be two weeks old!

Nice siblings making a cuddle puddle.

They are a couple of wiggle worms eating and sleeping and moving all over their big nest.

The little nestlings are becoming curious about the environment outside the nest.

Samson and Gabby make sure that both eaglets are full. No one is left out. There are no worries at this nest about Little Bit not getting his share.

In fact, Little Bit hogged most of a feeding today. Meanwhile, 26 sat and watched. 26 still has a crop from an earlier feeding!

Even so, both were fed as much as they could hold.

These little cuties know where the food is but they are not curious like some of the older eaglets on other nests – yet. Notice the clown feet stage is upon us! These two are right on time in terms of development. Those footpads and talons are growing. They are turning yellow and if I could get a close up of their talons we would see that they are now black, not pink.

You can also see the dandelions from the natal down slowly being replaced by their thermal down.

These two are well fed and very healthy. Their eyes are clear. There is no hint of the Avian Pox that Legacy had last year and just look at those fat legs and bottoms!

More feedings! That is Little Bit up front. This is some kind of bird that Samson has brought to the nest.

The feedings are averaging 30 minutes a session – that is a far cry from when these two were ‘wee ones’ and could only eat a couple of flakes of fish at a time.

The eaglets spend between 75-80 days, typically, in the nest before fledging. The first 35 or 40 days are spent eating and growing. We sure see that. The second half their flight feathers come in and they work on skills, such as wingersizing, to help them after they fledge and playing pinecone which helps them learn to grip with their talons.

We are entering week 3 (days 14-21) for both of these eaglets. You will see some changes. The natal down will disappear from their heads last. It might look like they have mohawk hair cuts. Pin feathers will begin to grow in. You will also notice that Gabby and Samson fill up the eaglets even more so that their crops often look so big they can hardly move. It is an exciting time for these babies. At the end of week 3 they will look less like little fuzzy babies and more like eagles.

The feathers will grow and cover their ears, too. It is so exciting – and, at the same time, a little sad. They are so cute when they are wee.

If you haven’t been watching Samson, Gabby, 26 and 27, these wee ones are growing fast. Here is a link to the streaming cam:

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

Thank you to the NEBald Eagles and the AEF for their streaming cam where I took my screen captures today.

Thursday in Bird World

Oh, we started out with more snow this morning! And with it came the return of the European Starlings – a few of them! The phone caught the flakes coming down reasonably well. For now it has stopped and the small feeders with the butter bark, mealworms, and hand chopped peanuts have been filled for the third time. Gosh, they love those mealworms in the winter.

Poor things. This is before we cleared a bit between the piles of snow. You can see one Starling down with thee Sparrows trying to find seed that had dropped from the feeder.

There are at least 60-75 House Sparrows (at a quick count) in the Lilacs. Dyson, our seed sucking Grey Squirrel, has found a litre of Black Oil seed in the square feeder with the dome. He sits and eats and sways like he has his own personal swing. No one bothers Dyson when he is eating but they do hope he gets off balance and dumps a lot of seed below. We won’t tell Dyson that in the evening we put our special food under that feeder for Hedwing, the garden rabbit, who has been showing up at dusk and dawn and sometimes in the middle of the night. It appears he lives under our deck.

So my birds are fed and as happy as they can be til the wind and the snow start again in a few hours.

There is some good news in the world today and there is some very sad news regarding wildlife. Lots of animal rights issues rising to the top of the news. Brief highlights:

The City of Dallas, Texas is protecting two of the cities favourite raptors!

https://dallas.culturemap.com/news/city-life/02-09-22-bald-eagles-white-rock-lake/?fbclid=IwAR3j0kOCOyuruYEWEsoR0wtkkaeceODJB8zLsnaWWodWzzPi3rilKJ3a31Y

As Dallas protects, people in Britain are calling for criminal charges to be laid to the individuals that killed 2 of the 5 White-tailed Eagles reintroduced to the Isle of Wright. The shooting took place near or over a shooting estate. Chris Packham and other environmentalists have called for the end of killing animals for fun!

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/feb/10/two-white-tailed-eagles-found-dead-in-southern-england

Criminal charges have also been laid against one of England’s footballers for dropping and kicking his cat. The fine is set at 250,000 GBP – yes, you read that right. You can find the story on line if you are interested. Now if we could please get all authorities involved and people educated on the rights of animals – and our beloved birds.

The one thing that sent my granddaughter to becoming Vegan six years ago was the culling of male chicks. At the time they were simply tossed alive into a machine not unlike a wood chipper. Today, Germany has ended the practice of culling the male chicks from the females.

Everyone continues to wait to see how the current H5N1 highly pathogenic avian flu will impact European birds. It has been around since 1998 according to virologist Thijs Kuiken. It is rearing its head this year in the UK and has already crossed the Atlantic into Newfoundland, Canada. At least one wildlife rehabber has had almost all the birds in their care killed because of it. Very sad. That was the Whitby Wildlife Centre. They will not be able to resume caring for the wildlife injured for at least 1 year, perhaps 2.

The camera is working on the Port Lincoln Barge and so is the sound. We just can’t see anything but the deck! Ervie was definitely there earlier. I had to turn the sound down. He even sounded like he was getting hoarse and then everything stopped. I hope he got a fish or flew off to find one.

Gabby and Samsons, NE26 and 27 are really changing. They are certainly no longer little fluffy balls. Today they had the rest of the bird on the nest following by some fish. They were really full!

The weather has really improved in Jacksonville.

It is a gorgeous day to incubate eggs over at Duke Farms in Hillsborough, NJ.

OGK has returned after three days at sea to relieve his mate, YRK at Taiaroa Head, New Zealand, home to the Royal Albatross. The image below is actually of YRK feeding the Royal Cam chick that I took late last night. How touching.

To date 26 Royal Albatross eggs have hatched out of 35. The other 9 will not hatch due to embryo deaths.

Dennis Brecht makes frequent and regular visits to the nest of The Love Trio on the Mississippi River near Fulton, Illinois. So far this year he has not spotted Valor I working with Starr and Valor II on the nest. This trio was extremely unique and popular. The question is: does Valor I have his own nest or has something happened to him? We wait for an answer. Brecht has contacted the Stewards of the Mississippi for assistance and finding the answer to the mystery.

The Ventana Wildlife Society is releasing a few condors into the wild currently. One of those was Condor 340 who was treated for lead poisoning.

Condor 340 hatched in 2004 in the Oregon Zoo. Its name is Kun-Wac-Sun. It was released into the Pinnacles National Park in 2005.

Wheeee. How beautiful. A wild Condor flying free again in the Pinnacles.

Kincaid at the Kisatchie National Forest Bald Eagle nest of Anna and Louis was 4 weeks old yesterday. Oh, this eaglet is getting so big! Finishing up getting its thermal down and you can see the tips of a few juvenile feathers.

I was so happy to see the Captiva Osprey Cam back up and running. Lena is rolling eggs and calling Andy wanting a fish and a break.

You can see the three beautiful eggs. Oh, let us all hope that by laying their eggs a month early this couple will be able to fledge Osprey chicks off Santibel Island.

Hatch watch begins this weekend.

Those are just a few of the many nests to check on. I am really hoping to see Ervie today with a fish! Take care everyone. Thank you for joining me.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Port Lincoln Osprey, Captiva Osprey Cam, NEFlorida and the AEF, Duke Farms, KNF Bald Eagles, Cornell Bird Lab and the NZ DOC, and Ventana Wildlife.