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Crash landings, itchy wings…Friday in Bird World

21 June 2023

Good Morning Everyone,

It is the end of the week. It is almost the end of July. We are less than a month away from some of the females in Europe and the UK preparing for and possibly leaving for their migration. Indeed, migration is on my mind and I have a book recommendation (below) for those that want to learn more of the history of how scientists discovered where our feathered friends go in the winter or spring/summer for breeding. I am also including a study on the impact of Avian Flu and some suggestions on what must be done to curtail it before populations are decimated. There will be continuing news about fledges and, of course, our Little Mini – not so little anymore – who is hoping to take those beautiful wings of hers and hit the skies.

In the meantime, there was a Crow funeral this morning. At first, I did not know what was happening as a dozen or more Crows gathered and flew in circles over the back lane and in front of the house behind me. I thought the GHO had come into the neighbourhood, and I knew the adults would not have that with their fledglings being out of the nest for less than a fortnight. So I investigated, and sadly, one of the fledglings was dead on the side of the street. They had all come to mourn and say goodbye. Usually, I would pick up the carcass and place it on the boulevard, but a wise and knowledgeable Corvid person once told me that the Crows do not like humans to touch their dead. So, I left the lovely one there. How sad.

One of the fledglings on my fence – along with four of its siblings – waiting for its scrambled eggs and cheesy dogs. Sadly taken through a screen of the conservatory so the image is soft and this is as light as I could push it. They are so beautiful. Their beaks are like highly polished ebony and those dark piercing eyes. They know precisely when I am cooking those eggs and arrive and wait so they can get to them before the Blue Jays. I adore them.

That one little Blue Jay is so funny. He likes to take his naps here and he loves to be in the bird bath. He went to sleep eating and kept his lids closed for over fifteen minutes. He was only woken when another sibling flew in to gnab a peanut. Looking over my photographs, there are more than 600 digital images of this one fledgling. Don’t tell my children!

Did you know it is impossible to tell a male blue Jay from a female one unless you see them during courtship or laying eggs? Blue Jays bond for life just like our raptors.

This little one does not mind sharing the table feeder with the Sparrows.

Take the time to observe the birds around you. They are precious. Listen to their songs. Focus on their behaviour and their markings. Soon you will get to know them and they will become ‘family’.

Speaking of family. Mini will never know all the people who have sent positive energy to the nest so that it might survive but, today, this wee fourth hatch has survived and is ready to leave the nest and become a bird.

Three is on the Patchogue fish calling, and Mini just dreams of flying. She has had two good fish from Dad today – perhaps even more I missed. One was at 0920 and the other at 1523. Nice fish, so Mini is not hungry. Gosh, I am going to miss her when she fledges. What a survivor…I hope all she learned on the nest and her fortitude carry her well through life.

Oh, Mini wants to fly. She is getting some height. 1918 Thursday night. Stay home Mini until Friday.

Good night, Mini.

‘L writes that Mini got a fish at 0740 on Friday and that Three had a fish shortly after, too. That is fantastic news!

Mini got the fish and that darn black bin liner. It continues to stick to Mini’s talons. I hope when she fledges she does not take it with her!

There are lots of fledges and some hard to keep up with. All of the three osplets at Alyth have fledged with the last one flying on the 18th of July, 9 days after the first. They are being fed on the nest by the parents although, like all nests, there is a bit of a scramble.

At the Loch of the Lowes, the scramble between the two siblings for fish is intense. It reminds me of Achieva when Big knocked Middle off – these chicks are hungry! Here is the latest posting about conditions on the nest and why they are what they are from The Loch of the Lowes:

What we want to see is all the fledglings return to the nest for a good month to get fed well, fattened up for migration, and get their flying skills in order and those wings strong for that 5000 km journey most will make starting in August – in a month.

Everyone is home at Rutland! These three are keeping the adults busy catching fish…soon Blue 33 will be the sole provider of fish and I can’t think of a better Dad to fatten up these three for their migration.

Another of the Kielder nest 7 chicks has fledged. This time Blue 2B0 Gilsland.

At the Borders nest, Blue 733 Jed flew on the 20th, Thursday. Time 1600. He was airborne for 3 minutes! Well done. Thanks Rosie Shields for that great blog…congratulations, Jed!

Landing back at the nest.

There are still three chicks on the Boulder County nest but not for long.

Pitkin Open Spaces and Trails: One of the osplets is getting a lot of height and is really working its wings today. Fledge is going to be soon – just like Mini, this one wants to go!

Three beauties at Poole Harbour. I want everyone to send positive energy to the nest of CJ7 and Blue 22 that the goshawk does not return to the nest this year and snatch one or more of these beautiful babies.

At Loch Arkaig, there was a bit of an issue with one of Ludo’s flights. Geemeff says, “Ludo LY7 had a bit of a day today – made his second flight with no problems, but got divebombed by his mum Dorcha on his third flight, and missed his landing, tumbling over the edge of the nest and landing in the branches. Fortunately not hurt, took a few minutes in the tree with a few squeaks, then flew off, did a circuit, and landed properly. Relief!” Here it is on video – thanks, Geemeff.

The chick at Cowlitz has really grown and is hopping and flapping. The metal protective grids are not a bother.

Some information on the translocation project for Ireland that involves removing osplets from Norway and transporting them to their new home. Ireland has no breeding pairs of ospreys at this time.

Time for the reports form ‘H’:

Fortis Exshaw: “It was a peaceful day for this osprey family.  There were four fish brought to the nest, including one by stepdad, Mr. O.  A couple of the fish were very large, including a monster fish delivered by Louise at 0604, and there were at least 6 feedings.  No one went hungry.”

Patuxent Nest 1 – The fledglings were both seen partaking of fish at the nest.

Osoyoos – Dad delivered at least 7 fish on 7/20.  The kiddos are 24 and 25 days old, and are doing very well.


Barnegat Light – Thanks to the efforts of Duke and Daisy, there is no shortage of fish at this nest.  Little Dorsett is 51 days old, and is not so little any more.


Patuxent Nest 2 – One of the fledglings was seen on the nest enjoying a meal.

Suzanne Arnold Horning is diligent in finding the Ms after they have fledged their nest on the Cornell Campus – she spots Big Red and Arthur too. SAH has ‘hawk eyes’ – for sure! All of the family are safe and sound today.

I wanted to check in on the nest of Bald Eagles in Juneau. Look at beautiful Hope who is now self-feeding rather well.

‘A’ gives us a report on the Royal Cam Albatross: “

Later on 19 July, after GLY came in for that short breakfast feed, have a look at the late afternoon feeding on the same day. Those chunks of octopus or squid of some variety are MASSIVE. Well done dad! And then we had a feeding from mum L around 08.23 yesterday morning (20 July): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXxHaJngJXs (Notice L’s standing feeding position, different from GLY, who tends to get down really low, as he did when Manaaki was still a tiny chick. These little differences are what we rely on when it is impossible to discern leg bands, which is often the case in the half light or the long grass.) It’s a short feed and Manaaki continues to whee away as she leaves (‘Don’t go, mum!’), but then he did have two meals the previous day, including the giant chunks of squid the evening before this feed. He’s certainly not starving, our giant fluff ball. Manaaki was not weighed on Tuesday but we will see how his weight is going next Tuesday. With half the local cephalopod population being swallowed by Manaaki this week, there should be no problems in that department! What a gorgeous albie he really is. No wonder we all call him Prince Manaaki. He is just the most beautiful bird. So healthy and active and with such a curious personality. He loves to explore. We will all miss him a great deal when he does finally fledge. Day 240. It suddenly seems all too close – day 200 is looming.”

Worried about an animal in need that is not in a nest – phone the fire department! A feel-good moment.

Do you know about migration? There are several books on the subject, but Rebecca Heisman’s Flight Paths has been on my reading list. Migration is a topic that is coming up for almost all of our feathered friends. What I liked about the book is that it is full of science and what we have learned about migration through new methods using satellites, satellite tracking as well as boots on the ground, It is a page-turner—primarily black and white text with images in the middle. I didn’t miss seeing the images of birds. The writing is so good it draws you in. I was fascinated with the study of where birds go —so where precisely will the baby Blue Jays in my garden travel for winter? or the Rose-breasted Grosbeaks? What about the birds in the Himalayas that fly through really thin air to those tiny warblers that weigh no more than a ballpoint pin and travel three days over the ocean to get to their winter homes? This is exciting reading – well, to me it is – the history of migration, how humans discovered the amazing journeys our feathered friends take. This book will add much to your knowledge, deep appreciation, and respect for our feathered friends. It was $37 CDN for a hardback copy. Why not ask your local library to order a copy? Surely this is a subject that will interest many!

It isn’t about raptors but, it is about a natural solution to a problem – instead of using herbicides and pesticides. Just like raptors are the solution for rodents!

Canada is working to save the endangered Piping Plover- it is a good news story in amongst the bad – the BC Government allowed shooting and logging in the area of the endangered Spotted Owl – in fact, there is only one of them and there is shooting. Am I angry? You bet’cha. When will nature be a priority and not the economy? Without nature, there is no economy.

Record-number-of-piping-plovers-pair-up-across-Great-Lakes-The-NarwhalDownload
B.C.-sanctions-shooting-logging-in-endangered-spotted-owl-habitat-The-NarwhalDownload

Lots to read today but Birdlife International has published a report on Avian Flu and some possible solutions that must be taken if our feathered friends are to survive this global catastrophe. The report states, “Bird Flu has evolved to spread more rapidly and easily in wild bird populations. Previously, this disease spread significantly in farmed bird populations and it was quite rare for wild birds to catch it – when outbreaks did occur, they usually impacted a limited number of species and only lasted a few months. This is no longer the case. With birds under greater threat than ever before, this virulent strain of Bird Flu cannot be categorised as a natural process and left to wreak havoc.”

CMS-FAO-TF_avian_influenza_statement_July2023Download

Lots more nests with fledges to come today. Little Mini is just itching to fly – so keep an eye! But if you feel low, think of Fortis Exshaw and how wonderful this season has been with Mr O. He is our Osprey Super Hero! Thank you for being with me. Take care all.

Thank you to the following for their notes, photographs, posts, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog this morning: ‘A, Geemeff, H, L’, PSEG, Alyth, LOTL, LRWT, Rosie Shields, Boulder County FG, Pitkin County Open Trails and Spaces, Anne Ryc and Poole Harbour, Geemeff and the Woodland Trust, Cowlitz Pud, Gregarious Joris Toonen and Ospreys, Fortis Exshaw, Patient River Park, Osoyoos, Wildlife Conserve F of NJ, Suzanne Arnold Horning, Glacier Gardens, NZ DOC, KRCR News 7, Amazon, 27east, The Narwhal, and Birdlife International.

Will the Es be fed, balloons banned, Avian Flu in Japan…Friday in Bird World

24 February 2022

Good Morning Everyone,

There is some good news, and there is worrisome news this morning. This 2023 breeding season has really started off like a wild roller-coaster ride.

First…a big shout-out to Laguna Beach, California. They have banned balloons to save the ocean and wildlife. Let’s see who will stand up for the planet and its living inhabitants next.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/feb/23/california-laguna-beach-bans-balloons-ocean?CMP=share_btn_link

Spring is coming to the UK. I wait for the Ospreys to tell me but, some are watching the Blue Tits starting their nesting.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/feb/21/country-diary-its-started-the-blue-tits-are-house-hunting?CMP=share_btn_link

Thursday has been a very tense day in Bird World. The female with the black talon attacked M15 when he brought a fish to the eaglets for breakfast on Thursday morning. She chased him around the pasture and then flapped him off the nest. It is mid-afternoon, and M15 has not fed the eaglets. The female with the black talon is on the branch below M15, above the nest.

M15 at the very end of the tree doing security. Or is he waiting for her to leave? We should never underestimate this female. She is larger and heavier than M15, and she is determined. Her talons demonstrate that she is not afraid to engage, and we know from footage around the nest site that she has protected the area. It is extremely difficult to anticipate what she will do next but, it seems that any food M15 brings could be grabbed by her and not get to the mouths of the eaglets.

Females injured feet and talons.

SW Florida video of the interaction.

Getting older.

Beautiful hot, and hungry babies. They are 7 weeks old.

It is 17:15 on the SW Florida Nest. No food has arrived. It is now after 1800, and M15 is not at the nest tree. The Es are searching for any old scraps that they can find. We wait.

I worried M15 might not return, but he did. He is on the branch of the nest tree with the black-talon female. We wait in the hope that the eaglets will be fed on Friday. M15 is caught in a terrible dilemma. If he brings food to the eaglets, the female will swoop and eat it. Then he has to quickly get more for the eaglets, ensuring the female does not injure him. He did this successfully the other day. Will he be able to do it again?

M15 has walked a fine line since Harriet disappeared, trying to do everything single-handedly. This female may not allow him to continue to feed the eaglets as he did so valiantly. If that is the case, I hope that CROW has the permit to remove them so that they can eat, learn to fly, and fledge safely. If that should happen, I do not think anyone will forget the good fight that M15 undertook to raise his eaglets under the most difficult of circumstances.

SW Florida Eagle Cam reminds us:

It is Friday morning 11:00, and the eaglets are yet to be fed. Did I say that I am extremely worried about them? Another person has been caught leaving food! Did I say that the eaglets’ ps are getting thin? If M15 doesn’t feed them because of injury to himself, them, or both, will CROW remove the eaglets and care for them til they fly free?

Maybe if I send this quick he will fly in with a big meal for them but, alas, I fear that the fight in the nest and the fact she took two meals in a row and chased him might have changed this. Stay strong babies!

So where does someone go if they want to see stability and tranquillity? Well, there are many choices. The first up for me would be Gabby and V3. No eaglets to worry about. No intruders at the nest. Just nice and quiet. Both have eaten well and have crops. They are in good physical shape, and V3 has ensured that the revolving door of suitors is closed. Gabby saw his great potential and accepted him. While we may have gone after looks, it seems she went after a good security guard that also was quite handsome. Hopefully, they will have eaglets next year. Like everything else in Bird World, we wait.

Of the nests that have eaglets, Captiva is a good choice, but there are intruders sometimes. The KNF-E1 and E-3 nests of Anna and Louis or Alex and Andria have plenty of food and are doing well. It is difficult to tell precisely what is happening at Superbeaks, but at least one of the eaglets has fledged, and both have branched. This has been a great nest to observe. The Royal Cam nest is always sedate and beautiful until the parents begin leaving the chick. This has just started happening, and now there is anxiety because of the number of juveniles or non-bonded individuals cavorting around SP.

Meanwhile, winter storms are troubling some nests. Jackie is going to begin to get very hungry. Do her and Shadow have a food stash? They must!

Jackie and Shadow are valiantly dealing with a big winter storm in the Big Bear Valley area. This is Shadow in the nest Thursday. More than 14,000 people are watching and wishing. If our love could give them a viable egg, they would have a full nest!

Shadow brought in a ‘black’ bird for dinner at 15:53. The couple switched incubation duties while it was plucked and eaten. All I can think of is — if it is hard to hunt prey today, is it now the pesky Ravens that are being served up?

Nancy and Beau are dealing with a winter storm at their nest in Minnesota, too.

Nancy’s new mate, Beau, is good at bringing in fish for Mum and taking over incubation duties.

There is snow in Iowa at both the Decorah North nest (top three images) and Decorah (bottom). We tend to worry more about the eagles when they are buried under snow than when it is hot. We look at them and think that they will freeze. In reality, the snow and cold are better than the heat. Eagles are also so intelligent – as we all know. According to my grandmother, they are much better weather predictors than any meteorologist. If you had watched, they would have prepared the nest with more materials. We saw this in Iowa and Minnesota recently. They might also stash prey items. The eggs will be nestled cosy, deep in the nest, safe and warm.

At the nest of KNF-E1 Anna and Louis, Trey was doing some winging when Dudley blew up! That is one way to get rid of an egg on a nest. It was obviously non-viable!

The Mum at ND-LEEF, Little Bit ND17’s mother, has been missing now for 19 days. There is a new younger female at the nest but the relationship between Dad and her is anything but cordial. The South Bend news carries the story of our beloved missing mother from the nest in St Joseph’s Park in South Bend, Indiana.

Bald-eagle-female-missing-in-St.-Patricks-park-nest-on-Notre-Dame-camDownload

‘H’ sent me a lovely note and images about the Captiva Osprey this morning. Angus and Florence mated four times (looks successful) and had a lovely spa bath together during the day. Things are looking up for a change—some nice news on a Friday morning.

Last year we were entranced with Thunder and Akecheta raising three eaglets. This year they have moved their nest. Oh, how we will miss this amazing family! It is nice to see them even at a distance, though.

Happy Hatch day for two more Kakapo. What a brilliant year 2022 was for the Kakapo Recovery. 55 chicks. 55!

Sweet Pea or South Plateau Chick is now in the post-guard stage. It spent the day panning the horizon for intruders and worked on gardening around the nest.

Bird Flu impacts almost every country in the world. I want to thank one of our readers from Japan for alerting me to this situation. Thank you ‘A’.

Over 10 million birds have been culled in Japan because of Avian Influenza. On the northernmost island of Hokkaido, the first Tanbaku Crane was discovered to have the flu when it died in late October. Since then, there have been—–

Oriental White Storks are Special National Treasures in Japan.

They are smaller than the most famous of the Cranes, the Red-Crowned. They average 110-150 cm in height, or 43 inches to 59 inches tall and weigh anywhere from 6-13 lbs or 2.8-5.9 kg. Their wingspan is quite large at 7.3 feet or 2.2 metres. They have a black beak, red around the eyes and bright white irises. This is the best way to tell them from the Red-Crowned cranes.

The storks live on insects, small fish and reptiles, as well as small mammals. They are a top Apex wetland predator and like Ospreys and Bald Eagles in North America, their presence is a good indicator of a healthy environment. These beautiful wading birds originally lived and searched for their prey in the ride paddies. The industrialisation of agriculture, which included the use of pesticides and chemicals, killed off their natural food sources. The change from having natural waterways connected to rivers to concrete drainage and irrigation was also detrimental. Humans could flood the rice paddies quickly, which meant that many amphibians, such as tadpoles, that the storks relied on for food did not mature. So we now have also a loss of habitat with the logging of pine forests. Many succumbed to mercury poisoning from these pesticides and chemicals and could not breed. This is, of course, very similar to the issues of DDT use in North America. The very last wild storks were seen in 1971, again, a similar time table to the decline of the Apex raptors in the US.

These gorgeous birds are featured in many works of art and on buildings throughout Japan. The risk of extinction caused them to be designed as a special national treasure in 1956 when there were 20 wild storks left. Plans to breed the storks in captivity began to be discussed. It was not until 1985, when Russia translocated six young storks to Japan, that there was hope. Four years later, one pair raised their first chick in the wild! Meanwhile, 300 storks have been bred in captivity and released. Their new threat is Avian Flu.

The female stork hatched in April 2022 and was banded. Her name was Niji, and she was discovered dead at a pond in Muragame on 15 November. Tests indicated that it was the highly pathogenic H5 strain of avian flu. This will have a devastating impact on all the water birds of Japan.

“東方白鸛 Oriental White Stork” by Hiyashi Haka is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.

“Hyogo prefectural homeland for the Oriental white stork, Japan” by pelican is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

The image above is Storks by Ohara Boson.

When you think it is too much at some of the nests, just read this. The raptors do not mess around when it comes to territory. They protect it – often to the death.

I can assure you that all of the eaglets on the nests – save for 21 and 22 – are being well-fed. Eggs are being incubated. There are intruders and sub-adults, even following Jackie at Big Bear today. Mating occurs in the hope of eggs and spring at other nests.

Thank you so much for being with me. Please take care! See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their notes, videos, announcements, and streaming cams, where I took my screen, captures for the newsletter today: ‘A’, ‘B’, The Guardian, SW Florida Eagle Cam and D Pritchett, SW Florida Eagle Cam, NEFL-AEF, FOBBV, MN-DNR, Raptor Resource Project and Explore.org, KNF-E1, South Bend Tribune, ‘H’ and Window to Wildlife, Gracie Shepherd and Raptors of the World, Kakapo Recovery, Cornell Bird Lab and NZ DOC, OpenVerse, and Ciryon Hoop and Raptors of the World FB.

Egg swap at Royal Albatross Cam…Tuesday in Bird World

17 January 2022

Hello Everyone!

The start of the week was rather exciting with the pip of the Royal Cam chick’s egg! The worries about Jackie in the snow and the two eggs at Big Bear. Of course, we shouldn’t worry. Shadow and Jackie have this! Oh, I adore them. My only worry is CJ7 at Captiva which will be explained as this blog unravels today. I have written CROW to find out if there are any circumstances in which they might intervene. I probably will not hear back but, if the chick gets conjunctivitis, they might. They did with E17 and E18 at SWFlorida several years ago.

I found Dyson on top of the neighbour’s house at the corner watching me. Notice how ‘wooly’ she is and those gorgeous little ear tufts. Oh, she is a sweetheart in her winter coat. The squirrels begin growing extra fur in late September here inn Manitoba. Those many layers help them to stay warm in our brutal cold.

Robert Archambeau used to tell us to look ‘to nature’ for colours and patterns to inspire ceramics. I imagine that a lot of textile designers might like to do the same. This is a European Starling in non-breeding plumage. Note the white dots on the chest indicating the ‘non-breeding’. But look at the espresso brown wing feathers lined with that rusty taupe. Then there is that brilliant emerald green sometimes changing to blue and purple depending on the light with its light tips. I mean this is a real beauty. It kept watching me til I was finished…one of the first times I have been able to capture a Starling and see its eye. I love how the camera and this lens cuts through that branch and gives us the detail of the bird with some boke behind.

There were so many Starlings that came to the suet feeders today.

This is not a great photograph but I am including it for a reason. Notice the dark stocky male to the right and then look below. Cornell says that there are white spots all over during the winter but, this is obviously, not evident in these bird’s plumage. The bird at the lower right (not the House Sparrow) is a non-breeding female. Look also at the light marks around the dark eyes. In breeding season, the long beaks of the Starlings will be a bright yellow. You can see a hint of this on the bird to the far left.

One of Dyson’s babies from last summer is enjoying the nuts and sultanas around the small roofed feeder on the deck today. What a little cutie pie.

Making News:

Another unnecessary and painful death on a grouse moor hunting estate! Maybe the only way to get the gamekeepers and the property owners to abide by the law is to take away any licenses that are associated with grouse hunting. There has to be something that will break this endless cycle of raptor deaths that are entirely unnecessary and inhumane.

Barn-owl-found-dead-in-a-crow-cage-trap-on-an-Angus-Glens-grouse-moor-–-Raptor-Persecution-UKDownload

Did you know?

On Monday, I wrote about an incident that occurred on the KNF E3 nest with E01 launching an aggressive attack on E02. I wanted to check and see how old E01 was at the time and the eaglet that hatched on the 26th of December was 20 days old. We note that the blood feathers are just starting to grow in and there remain numerous ‘dandelions’ from the natal down as the layer of thermal down grows in fully.

The eaglets have had their breakfast and everything appears to be fine on Monday morning. E01 is attempting to stand and flap its wings and I caught E02 trying to do the same and walk.

In the top image, the eaglets’ crops are full and E02 is letting its now getting heavy wings flop to the side. Also note that there is plenty of fish on this nest so food insecurity is not an issue with the dust up that happened on Sunday. It is the ‘clown feet’ stage. Notice how much larger E01’s feet are than E02.

E01 is ‘itchy’. This might be a better image to see the size difference in the feet of the eaglets.

The little one of Anna and Louis is a darling. It just wants some Coot! And Anna loves her Coot, too. Sometimes it appears she gives the eaglet a bite but, she does not. She leans down, then changes her mind! Am I more frustrated than the baby eaglet?

Anna leans over to feed little E03 and changes her mind.

“Wait Mama. Can I have a bite?”

Finally…a half hour later.

There are lots of fish on the nest of Connie and Clive at Captiva. An early feeding at 07:56.

Connie fed the little one and at 08:50, there was a little crop.

At 0900, you can see that little crop better.

Want some more fish? It is 09:39.

A little more fish and lots of fish juice around 10:14. Connie is a messy feeder. Poor baby is just soaked in fish juice. Connie does not feed the eaglet a lot.

By 11:39, the little one is wanting some more fish! Maybe not this time. Mum is really wanting some lunch, too.

By 12:26, the eaglet is really wanting some of that fish. “Hey, I want some fish, too!” Connie has eaten half of it. This little one is going to crawl out of that egg cup one day and start nibbling at those fish. Just wait!

Despite some observations, CJ7 was never stuffed – maybe half. The adults certainly eat and it does get fed but, it is frustrating watching at times. Connie ate half a fish. Yes, I know the adults have to eat, too. But, gosh, golly…stuff the little one and then eat, please. Stuff it full. Don’t stop half way over with a bite and then eat it, Mum.

Finally at 13:10:55, some bites but only after Connie moved to the other side – barely missing CJ7 went she stepped over the egg cup.

Sometimes I feel that I am too much of an auntie so I was thrilled when I accidentally found this comment by fellow Canadian, Deb Steyck, writing about Captiva on the 16th.

“Yesterday there were 8 fish visible on the nest so the pantry is full the adults just have to work on the delivery of better feedings. Sometimes i wonder if both adults are new parents; even Connie seems a bit rusty at feeding does make you wonder. By the end of the day yesterday there was a small noteable crop but not full like we would expect especially with frequent feedings and only one eaglet on the nest.”

Seriously I ache for this little babe. I hope that Connie gets her act together. There is so much fish juice. Will this cause an eye infection?

The little one was actually able to hold on to this big piece and eat. it will be the last meal of the day.

Jackie has had a miserable several days ever since she laid that second egg. That storm in Big Bear appears not to be going anywhere soon – and I do hope that it would so that prey could be brought and Jackie relieved.

Jackie is covered at 0200 on the 16th of January.

At 0727 on the 16th it appears that Jackie has gotten up and removed the snow from her back and head. The weather remains a misery. 2540 persons are watching and worrying for Jackie.

There is a winter storm warning for an area south of BB Lake. The forecast for the BB Lake area is as follows:

By 10:51:55, it is clearing a bit but the wind is still very strong.

Oh, bless his heart. Once everything had cleared, Shadow appears on the nest with prey for Jackie and even gives her a break as he takes over incubation a few minutes after she finishes eating. Jackie was so happy to have the food and the break. 14:04. Thank you, Shadow!

Jackie returns at 15:52 and Shadow is off incubation duty. I love how he sees her coming and begins to call, the high pitched calls and the chortles. So sweet as they greet one another. The equivalent of the Albatross sky call.

Just look at how long and sharp those talons are! I thought trimming Lewis’s nails was bad enough. Imagine!

All is well at the Northeast Florida nest of Gabby and V3. V3 will fly in and Gabby will be there seconds later. They have worked on the nest and slept at the nest. While there may or may not be any eggs this season, the pair appear to be a bonded couple and V3 seems to have established himself. There have been no intruders at the nest for some time now. They are a lovely couple. Wishing Gabby the best, the very best.

V3

V3

V3 on the left and Gabby on the right.

Want to see a crop?!!!!!!! Gabby had an amazing dinner!!!!!!! Would love to see CJ7 look like this. :))))). Just saying.

E22 is no worse for wear after having Harriet deliver a huge fish on top of it at the Southwest Florida nest she shares with M15. Later in the day both were looking out of the rails at the world beyond.

As the sun sets over the Central Florida Superbeaks Bald Eagle nest, Tico and Pearl are going to sleep with nice big crops. Nite everyone!

Mum and Dad were both bringing sticks to the ND-LEEF Bald Eagle nest – the natal nest of our own Little Bit ND17.

At the Osprey platform on the grounds of the Achieva Credit Union in St Petersburg, Florida, Jack delivered a fish to Diane at 07:28. After the couple continue to work on the nest periodically.

FO and Mo were both at the Captiva Osprey platform in Florida today.

I was so hoping that the Florida-Gainesville Osprey nest would be up and running this year but, sadly, no. This was the announcement from the University:

“Unfortunately, at this time, there will not be an osprey camera for 2023. The nest was located on the lights at the softball ballfield and these lights were changed (to new LED lights) in the fall of 2022. We are not sure if the ospreys will build a new nest with the new light structure. Please stay tuned for updates about whether it is possible to install another osprey camera in 2024. Thanks for your support! And don’t worry, the osprey parents (Stella and Talon) will build another nest somewhere if not at this exact location.“

Zoe is 121 days old. On the 16th of January in Australia, Mum delivered a fish and so did Dad. Those deliveries came at 14:10 and 17:29. Zoe appears to have a nice crop from the earlier feeding. Mum will arrive in about five minutes with a fish for her girl.

At 10:44 after fish calling, Zoe flew off the nest and returned a minute later with a fish. She did not catch it. Her feathers are not wet. It was a hand off from one of the parents. Gotta be.

Zoe is certainly vocal!! She is 122 days old today.

Sixteen minutes later and Zoe is still eating her fish.

If you are missing Indigo highlights by Elain, Indigo has been heard outside the scrape box but has not been inside for more than two days now.

The egg of L and GLY has been swopped out for the dummy egg at 10:08 Australian time Tuesday Jan 17. Everything seemed to go smoothly. Fly spray added to nest to prevent fly strike when the chick is returned from the incubator. It is ‘egg citing’ on Taiaroa Head. Love the NZ DOC that does so much for its beloved birds. I would love to see their misters on some of the osprey nests in the Pacific NW (Canada and US). Or feeding hungry chicks if something happens to their parent/s?

And a pip has been confirmed. There are currently three eggs in the incubator at Taiaroa Head.

Thank you so much for being with me today. Please take care. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their posts, their announcements, their videos, and their streaming cams that make up my screen captures: Raptor Persecution UK, A Mighty Girl, KNF-E3, KNF-E1, Window to Wildlife, Deb Steyck and Bald Eagles 101, FOBBV, NEFL-AEF, SWFL and D Pritchett, Superbeaks, ND-LEEF, Achieva Credit Union, U-Florida Gainesville, Port Lincoln Ospreys, and NZ DOC.

Sunday Morning in Bird World

6 November 2022

Good Morning All!

Thank you so much for joining me this morning. It is lovely to have you here. I want to say, right off the top, how inspiring each of you are to me. Osprey season, for me, begins in Australia and it has been a particularly devastating start after the great breeding year of 2021 that produced Bazza, Falky, and Ervie. Fortunately, I did not share that sadness alone and I thank you again for being such an empathetic and caring community.

As migratory season winds up in Manitoba, the wetlands and estuaries that were teeming with ducks, geese, swans are silent. There are no skeins of geese flying over my conservatory and already, I am missing their loud honks. Soon our time will ‘fall back’ and it will be dark by 1615. It appears, however, that the Blue Jays and Crows are staying on. Today, one of the Crows was able to tap hard enough on the bird bath to get some water. I must now find the water heater for them. It is very important to have water when you are giving seeds. Here, during the winter, the birds and squirrels will eat the snow but, they do not get the quantity needed so a heated source is very helpful.

It is 5 degrees. There are European Starlings in the trees in the back. Last year they came and ate and filled up before moving South. This year I wonder if they are intimidated by the Blue Jays. The weather report is for snow to arrive in three hours. It has been falling north of the City for hours.

Lewis and Missy are never apart. You would think they were litter mates. I just looked down and each was eating out of their hard food dish with Lewis straddling the water bowl so they could be parallel with one another. I have not seen kittens behave like this. It is literally like they are joined at the hip.

In the Mailbox:

‘C’ sent me a very long discussion with lots of good links from the Looduskalender English Forum about siblicide or cainism. I have skimmed some of the contents and have several parts thoroughly. The information provides good definitions and also alerts you to species that practice ‘obligatory’ siblicide. It is extremely stressful to watch a nest with two healthy chicks that have hatched knowing that the eldest will kill the youngest. If this troubles you, then please avoid those species or wait to start watching.

It is, perhaps, too early to read about this particular type of avian behaviour having lost Middle but, put the link aside and educate yourself.

cainismDownload

Making News:

This late summer, we were blessed with a Great White Egret in our City – indeed, eight or nine of them on a single tree at dusk. Here is a lovely story coming from the UK about walking in the marshes and discovering this amazing bird.

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2022/nov/02/a-walk-on-the-wild-side-explore-the-avalon-marshes-somerset

It is unclear if was fireworks that frightened F22 at the 367 Collins Street scrape last week but, something loud that sounded like fireworks echoing between the tall buildings of the CBD in Melbourne, scared this first time Mum off her perch.

Today, The Guardian is carrying an article demonstrating how fireworks causes geese to become stressed.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/nov/03/bonfire-night-fireworks-cause-major-distress-to-wild-geese-study-finds

Many are choosing to use drones to light up the sky but, has anyone looked into the direct damage hundreds and hundreds of drones might have on birds? If you see anything, please let me know.

Sharon Dunne has posted some information about the new season at Taiaroa Head. It is getting off to a great start!

Pentobarbital Poisoning. There is at least one Bald Eagle in the US struggling for its life because it found a euthanized prey. It laid unresponsive but not dead and was taken to a rehabber who is posting information and working hard. How did this eagle get in contact with the euthanized animal?

https://www.knowledgefun.com/pdf/secondary_pentobarbital_poisoning_of_wildlife.pdf?fbclid=IwAR3xBTkh1FlmePDXANfrSQAljI8f08LCDAwxsq-_qj83gPgjq0px38JXzVA

Here is an article about Bald Eagles surviving eating euthanized cats. Are the vets not responsible for properly disposing of the animals?

https://archive.jsonline.com/news/wisconsin/bald-eagles-recover-from-eating-euthanized-cats-ns5ah7v-150542725.html/?fbclid=IwAR1vtNBYxADyL7PhOOTOGELhRLvPIISvcthjOSQnpbqmCqA2myfsk9137PY

Australian Nest News:

So far, it has been a relative quiet day in Bird World. Every nest had prey deliveries in Australia and the last time I checked there were still four eyases on the Collins Street ledge.

At the Orange scrape of Xavier and Diamond, it appears that Cilla Kinross has changed her mind and believes Indigo to be a male. Is this size? legs? lack of aggression? I have not seen her statement and only noticed this latest information when one of the chat moderators included it today.

An unplucked Starling was dropped off inside the scrape box. Indigo began plucking it. It appears that Indigo’s very active plucking frightened little Rubus for a few seconds. Rubus ran and stood on the Cilla stones and then, watching and well, Rubus is always hungry, s/he begins to think about helping.

Rubus decides s/he will go and help.

The chicks made a good effort. Indigo was very good at plucking and little Rubus helped her by holding down a part of the Starling with the talons. But they did eventually give up despite their early morning hunger.

Rubus was really working on that Starling’s head.

Rubus twisted and turned and pulled getting some bites.

Looks like Diamond came and saved the day! Both chicks reasonably aggressive but, squealing Rubus slightly more so.

When I finished watching 367 Collins Street today, there were still four eyases on the ledge.

Oh, this one wants to fly so much!

They have been watching the adults fly. It is to lure them off that ledge. ‘Hey, look, you are a bird. Flap those wings and fly’ – Mum and Dad are telling them. ‘You can do it!’

It is 12:21 and all of the Melbourne Four are accounted for – there is one that is blending in well with the scrape box and one in the gutter looking like a piece of prey!

Sometimes Mum – who is now slim and trim – can look like one of the eyases. To tell the difference between an adult and a juvenile Peregrine Falcon, look at the bars on the chest. If they are vertical, the bird is a juvenile. If they are horizontal, they are an adult.

All present and accounted for at 1417. Just look at how much the youngest one has changed. You can easily see which one or ones are hungry. See the sunken crop of the one on the ledge and the full crop of the one in the gutter. Falcons do not need to eat every day and…of course, all of us want them to have banquets but, a day will not harm them. These four have learned how to pluck and are preparing for what they are meant to do – fly! So proud of these first time parents. They overcame so much to be able to fledge these four healthy eyases – and that fledging will be soon. I hope they all wait and fly off together.

Here is a very short video of a pigeon delivery to the Melbourne Four. They are sooooo loud. Once you know that sound you will never mistake it for anything else! Poor parent. Besieged.

Mum and Big have been eating. All of the nests have had food – at least one prey drop or more.

Big is big.

Big had a monster sized crop.

Big is very aware of her surroundings and around 1322 pancaked in the nest. A few minutes later she was looking around as if there was ‘something’ or ‘someone’ about.

Mum got a chance to eat some fish on her own — in the middle of the night while Big slept. Thank goodness. Big will eat everything unless the fish is huge. We are now within 5-7 days of banding.

Brief Eagle News:

If you are a Decorah North fan, Mr North and DNF were working on their nest this morning! There is hardly a Bald Eagle nest in the US that is not now going through nestorations.

Muhlady laid her second egg. Pepe was there at the Superbeaks nest in Central Florida giving support. Muhlady was the first Bald Eagle to lay an egg this breeding season. She will have the clutch finished before most even consider an egg!

Migration News:

Waba is still in the Sudan feeding at the Nile River while Bonus remains in Turkey. There will most likely not be any transmissions from Kaia or Karl II as they were already at their wintering grounds. This is typical. In past years there has been no transmission from Karl II until he began his return journey to Estonia. This is the first year that Kaia has a transmitter.

Thank you for joining us today. I hope that your weekend has been good. Please take care. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their posts, videos, articles, and streaming cams that make up my screen captures today: Raptor Education, Royal Albatross Cam and Sharon Dunne, The Guardian, Looduskalender Forum, Port Lincoln Ospreys, 367 Collins Street by Mirvac, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, Decorah North, and Superbeaks.

Not our Spirit! and other late Saturday news

23 July 2022

A Correction. Ah, I got caught ‘off guard’. The Spirit at the Avon Lake School was not ‘our’ Spirit! Thank you, ‘B’. I hope that our Spirit is flying free and chasing Jackie and Shadow around Big Bear while the other Spirit, in Ohio, stays out of trouble!!!!! Sorry for the confusion…

Good news coming out of Osoyoos. Olsen has been working around the clock to bring fish to Soo and the two chicks on the Osoyoos Osprey platform. Even in the heat, he really broke through and found lots of fish — some twiddlers and some nice sized ones. There were no less than seven deliveries (according to the list on chat by ‘H’) with the first at 0502 and the last at 18:42. There could be another before night falls.

A short time ago I wrote about the male Osprey in Montana being shot. (I will not get started on how crazy this makes me!) The news is that the female has been able to carry on delivering fish to the nest where there is at least one chick. Send good wishes to her and to the female at Kielder 1A nest as well. Normally, the females leave the nest before the fledglings and the male. I wonder what we will learn from these two nests in that regard? Will the female feed the chicks til they depart the territory and start their migration to the southern parts of Texas, Mexico, or Central America? or will she wait til they have left and spend 2 weeks getting into condition so that she will have a successful flight to her winter home? We wait to find the answer.

Ferris Akel caught the four Red-tail Hawks on the grounds of Cornell University during his tour today. He had some incredible images of L2 and L4. Here is a number of them. It will also not be long until they depart to find their way in the world so, every minute is precious. They were both hunting. Such wonderful images – love the close ups. Thank you, Ferris!

L2 you are a beauty.

L4 decided that being in one of the pines after a squirrel was the most fun. Good luck!

Many of you watch the Southern Royal Albatross at Taiaroa Head in New Zealand. We have all marvelled at the care and attention the albatross chicks get especially if their parents cannot supply them with enough food. It has been an anxious year with a number of chicks requiring supplementary feeding including the Royal Cam Chick, QT. Her mother YRK has been doing the best job she can with the male, OGK, missing for over two months now.

YRK visits Taiaroa Head on 24 July and gives Quarry Track (QT) chick a feeding.

Additional chicks like the one in the posting below are missing both parents and have to be fed by the rangers. Without the supplementary feedings, the chicks would have perished —including QT. This is the first time that I have seen a request for donations to purchase fish for the chicks come from the Rangers.

Disappearing Gun Chick

‘H’ sent a really cute photo of the two fledglings at Mispillion Harbour Osprey platform. Remember this Mum loves yellow! She has kept this yellow mat on the nest. Once it flew off and Mum retrieved it and put it back. Then it got hidden under other nest material. Today, one of the fledglings pulled it up to the top when it got stuck on its talon. Thankfully, it came off. Mum will be so happy! Thank you ‘H’ for this great capture with the two fledglings on the nest at the same time!

Ah, this is just a quick check in to correct the issue of ‘Spirit’. Thank you so much for joining me. Take care. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams and/or FB pages where I took my screen shots: Osoyoos Ospreys, Mispillion Harbour Ospreys and the DDNR, The Albatross Centre, Ferris Akel Tours, and Montana Ospreys at Hellgate.

Good News on Little Bit ND17 and brief news in Bird World

Sunday 3 July 2022

“Camaro with hay bale” by La Chachalaca Fotografía is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0.

Do you live in an area where farmer’s are baling hay or straw? and using baling twine? It was baling twine mixed in with some other nesting materials that caught on the male Ospreys talon at Osoyoos and pulled the chick off to fall to its death. Dr Erick Greene at the Montana Osprey Project finds literally tonnes of baling twine in the Osprey nests he studies. He also finds dead chicks and others nearly dead and tangled. If you live in a farming area help our Ospreys by spreading the word. Here is an information pamphlet that Dr Greene prepared – it is quick and to the point.

Click to access balingtwine.pdf

It is surprising that the nest at ND-LEEF is still holding. It looks like bits and pieces of it are falling away each day. Mum and Dad are still bringing fish to the nest for ND15 and 16.

15 was on the nest when the adult arrives with a nice fish. Soon 16 arrives.

I believe 15 kept the fish!

There is an update today on ND17 – and it is a good one. There is that sweet baby. It appears that individuals have been showing up at the clinic wanting to see 17. Please do not go there. The clinic staff has addressed this issue in their posting. ND17 is doing great and it is the clinic’s business to help him so that he can be returned to the wild. Everyone who works at a rehabilitation clinic is overworked and underpaid – it is a very sad situation in many instances where they do not get celebrity birds and good donations. Send them a thank you letter! Tell them you don’t expect a reply. Make a donation! Give to your local rehabber — I keep saying clean old towels but gosh, they are much needed. Give the towel a second life, too.

Isn’t he adorable?

Problems with nests and falling out of nests happens everywhere. It has been awhile since I checked on the two White-tail Eaglets in their nest in the Tucholskie Forest in Poland. Last time I remained somewhat cautious about the second chick surviving. Their names are Uno and Duo. (The third chick was a victim of siblicide). Uno fell off the nest and spent 4 days on the forest floor. He must have glided – as he flew back up to the nest. There are now some concerns that Duo has not been fed since 1 July and Uno is taking all the prey. They are big eaglets – just beautiful. Both will hopefully survive.

Sleeping and waiting for food.

Last year, Karl II and Kaia had three storklets. One of those Pikne who stayed with Karl II for a long time having him bring her food before fledging. She hatched on the 28th of May and fledged 4 August. She has a perfect flight to Ethiopia where she arrives on October 24, 2021. Pikne stayed in Africa and set off for her return flight to Estonia. She was in Israel on 1 June 2022 and everyone was so happy to see her transmitter working. Sadly, on 6 June, she on a power line and was killed in the middle of nowhere in Turkey. Such promise. A day does not go by without adding another one to ‘the list’.

Pikne is the storklet getting ready to stand up at the front.

As ‘S’ reminded me last year, countries can make laws that power companies must make their poles safe for wildlife but the companies must follow through in a timely manner. Last fall we lost Solly in South Australia and the individuals that make up Port Lincoln Osprey were on a mission to get the government to fix the power poles. Must check with them to see how they are doing. It is, sadly, a worldwide issue for our beautiful raptors and storks. In Pikne’s case, it is thought that she was tired and landed to rest as there was no place to feed near that pole — so it is not just poles near feeding areas but all poles that should have a protective cover.

This is the nest of Karl and Kaia this morning. Bonus made no reaction to Karl II which means that he has accepted him as his father, the male on the nest and is home with the three siblings. This is such good news for the success of the intervention by Urmas and Dr Madis V. Actually it is fantastic news.

What can you do to help so that our beautiful birds are not electrocuted? Here is a story of a Bald Eagle and an individual who got their power company to retrofit the power lines – 12 of them – in their neighbourhood. Remember! Each of us can make a difference by seeking solutions for the birds that live where we do.

Birds on Utility Poles – The Electrocution Solution

Most everyone is following the story of Malala, the Red-tail hawklet meant for dinner but adopted by the Gabriola Island Bald Eagle family. This article covers this adventure from the beginning to the present. It is a really good read.

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/7/3/2106484/-Dawn-Chorus-From-Abduction-to-Adoption-one-very-lucky-Redtail?utm_campaign=recent&fbclid=IwAR1Oka–04MqhvwMZ5rIbqPXoJicBNFR-BThdwbr-fqoJO4t_f5BJ9M09qA

Every once in awhile I feel compelled to give a shout out to the New Zealand government and specifically their Department of Conservation (NZ DOC). I wonder how many of my readers follow the exploits of the Royal Cam chick on Taiaroa Head? There she is – QT (Quarry Track) chick doing her morning stretches. What a beauty.

This year has seen at least 10 supplementary feedings for QT and a few of the other chicks on the peninsula. Her parents are YRK and OGK. Just like Janika could not provide enough food for her storklets alone, neither can YRK. There is little talk on the Royal Cam FB group but the much beloved OGK was last seen on the 19th of May. Some believe he came in on June 10 but that is not confirmed and many believe it was not him but, rather, YRK. OGK doesn’t choose to not return to feed his chicks. He is one of the most devoted Royal Albatross I have ever seen. He is either injured or dead. Two years ago OGK suffered a leg injury and returned limping after 40 days. If the 19 of May date is correct – he is missing for 46 days now. Send all good wishes his way, please.

US Steel Eagle 4 (USS4) is in care from tumbling out of the tree with severe feather injuries but USS5 is doing great – learning how to fly and returning to the nest for prey from the parents. Congratulations 5 – you are doing very well, indeed.

‘H’ reports that Dory has really mastered the art of feeding her three osplets on the Boathouse Osprey nest – making sure that each and everyone has bites. Dory purposefully gave Little Bob several nice mouth fulls this morning. Fantastic. Thank you ‘H’.

Dad was in early with fish for Mum and the two osplets on the Osoyoos Osprey Platform. It was 0554. Fingers crossed!

That is a brief look at some of the news today. Everyone seems to be doing well.

It is not a good image – taken with my phone at a distance. But this is the tiny rabbit that comes to the garden now grown – 4x his size. Grass and birdseed!

In celebration of ND17s progress, I am sending each of you a virtual piece of that Yokohama Orange cake…Sorry to all food designers. Fall plate and spring flowers! But delicious cake…it was worth all the effort.

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

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams and/or FB postings where I took my screen captures: Humane Wildlife Indiana, The Eagle Club of Estonia, Bieliki Online Bory Tucholskie, NZ DOC, ND-LEEF, Explore and Audubon, Pix Cams, Osoyoos Osprey Cam, and GROWLS.

An ‘Almost’ Fledge and more nest news in Bird World

6 June 2022

Oh, what a day it has been. Pretty exciting stuff happening on the nests. I was just told by my friend ‘G’ that a hatch is happening at Cape May Osprey nest. If you follow that nest, check it out!

First news first. Ahote returned to the natal nest of the West End Eagles, Thunder and Akecheta at 06:54:08 this morning. Whew! He spent 4 days over on Transmission Hill. It is sure nice to see the Three Amigos back together.

Thunder and Akecheta have not delivered food. One of the eaglets has flown off the main nest. It is not clear which male it was. Kana’kini is on the branch on the ocean side. It is thought to be Ahote but no confirmation.

Ahote is back on the nest. So controlled. Oh, I hope those parents get some food on this nest. He needs a big reward for all that effort.

As many of you are aware, Urmas Sellis undertook the rescue of Jan and Janika’s storklets. He originally placed a fish basket for Janika in the hopes that she would find it and be able to feed herself and the four storklets. He also put a pail of small fishes on the nest. Janika did not find the fish table. Two days later, Urmas returned to take the storklets after cold nights without warmth, etc. Sadly, the fourth one died right before the rescue. The three surviving chicks are in incubators. There is a fundraiser. Here is the information if you feel so inclined to contribute.

Fledges are going to overlap one another once they start. At the Red-tail Hawk nest of Big Red and Arthur, the average age to fledge is 46.5 days. Today L1 is 46 days, L2 is 43, L3 is 42 and L4 is 39 days old. It is believed that to fly well, the hawklets need to have at least 5 dark bands showing. L1 has her 6th band peeking out. L2 has the 5th band peeking out while L3 has 4 dark bands and L4 has 3.

Big Red brought in some unidentified prey and some wanted to eat while others wanted to run and flap. It was rather chaotic!!!!!

The hawklets are pretty sedentary on the nest – even with all the flapping. After fledging, during the first 3 weeks, their activity level is believed to double. After 6-7 weeks, they will begin to catch small vertebrae. The parents will continue to feed them (more at first) and teach them hunting tricks until they leave the territory.

To my knowledge, Little Bit 17 at the ND-LEEF has not had prey yet today.

At the UFlorida-Gainesville nest, Middle almost fledged today. He would have if a storm had not quickly rolled in with high winds, rain, and some hail. Have a look at a couple of clips of Middle’s hovering. He is impressive!

At least twice today, Middle got the fish and Big did not! His confidence level is growing and growing.

Even soaking wet, Middle just doesn’t want to give up. Expect a fledge anytime!!!!!!! Nothing is going to stop him.

Middle is full of vinegar. Is this osplet going to fledge soaking wet?

How lovely it is going to be when Middle flies off with confidence. There was a time when it was not clear if we would get to this day. Middle has grown into a fantastic, getting more confident, healthy bird. Am I saying it twice? how nice the feathers are on these two? Mum and Dad can be proud. We lost Little Bit but will have two super fledglings when Middle takes off. I hope he finds his way back to the nest as easily as Big. OGK and YRK have been a bonded pair since 2006 – 16 years.

If you watch the Royal Albatross cam, today marks the 21st day that OGK has been away. Let us hope he returns to QT chick soon. Mum YRK is doing double duty at the nest and the NZ DOC rangers on Taiaroa Head are providing supplementary feedings for several chicks.

D

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

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures and video clips: Institute for Wildlife Studies and Explore.org, the Eagle Club of Estonia, Cornell Bird Lab RTH, Cornell Bird Lab and NZ DOC, and UFlorida-Gainesville Ospreys.

Late Monday in Bird World

1.28.2022

It has been a bit of a very sad day in Bird World with the announcement that Grinnell’s Annie has been missing for a week plus the death of HH4 at the Hilton Head Island Trust Bald Eagle nest. I really hope that Annie is off healing and will return and reclaim her place. We must send out positive wishes.

In the middle of all that grey there was some sunshine and there is more to come.

Dale Hollow 16 (DH16) hatched at 13:21 today. (DH14 hatched at 11:16 on the 25th and DH15 hatched at 11:51 on the 25th).

River pulled the last bit of the shell off so that the wee one could join the twins. She quickly disposed of the shell making room in the nest bowl for all three of the nestlings.

Oh, 16 you are ever so tiny!

Of course, 16 is wobbly but holding its head up much better. after a couple of hours Looks like a strong little hatchling.

River and Obey are incredible parents. These three will be well fed and all the tandem feedings should keep any rivalry down to a minimum.

Babies are fed for the last time today.

Good night, River. Enjoy your dinner, Obey.

It was a much better day for the Captiva nestlings. I know of three good feeds. Maybe there was a fourth? All of the fish were Sheepsheads. Someone mentioned that this species of fish frequent the oyster beds by the mangrove roots. Andy might not have to go far to get his fish! The last fish brought in was at 17:33. Just in time to fill up the nestlings so they can sleep well tonight. They are growing so fast it must be difficult for Lena to get them organized to brood.

This time Andy had eaten the head so that he was sure to get some dinner. He did not get any of the noon fish – Lena and the kids were stuffed and there was not a flake left.

There is Little Bob right in front. I say it way too often but he really does remind me of Ervie. First one up at the table and most often the last one to leave.

Little Bob keeps his place after Andy flies off. I noticed that his head is slowly changing. It is not as soft and fluffy looking as yesterday. Oh, by Wednesday, Little Bob is going to look like someone poured the oil can over him, too!

At one point, Middle Bob was passed out in a very short food coma and Big Bob wanted to move back from the table. Big Bob got tangled up with Little Bob. It was a momentary mess of osplets. Little Bob managed to get undone. He immediately moved back up to Lena so he could have some more fish. Did I say this kid loves to eat?

Big Bob is in a food coma, Middle Bob is back up at the table, and Little Bob is ready to pass out next to Big Bob after eating so much. I hope there is something left for Lena! Gosh, these three can really put away the fish.

Little Bob actually looks like he ate so much he is going to be sick.

If you are a fan of Irvin and Claire at the US Steel Bald Eagle nest, Claire laid her first egg yesterday, 27 February, at 18:29. The view of that first egg is here:

There are still more than 3000 people watching the nest of Shadow and Jackie at Big Bear Lake. Shadow has been at the nest three times (plus when he brings in food for Jackie) wanting to incubate the two eggs and Jackie is not giving in an inch! Does she hear or feel a pip?

Beautiful Jackie.

Many of you are fans of the Royal Albatross Family of OGK, YRK, and QT chick with their nest at Taiaroa Head. The parents have been flying in and out, sometimes in less than ten hours, to feed the chick. At the same time, they get to spend time with one another. Those are really tender moments.

Quarry Track chick is growing fast. This little man doesn’t fit in the sock anymore! Today when the NZ DOC rangers came to weigh QT, they had to use the basket for the first time!

Look at that little QT sitting up so straight like it has its own nest next to Mum or Dad. Precious.

Here we go.

Last week QT weighed 2.4 kg or 5.29 lbs. They have not posted the weight for today as I finish my blog. I will post that weight tomorrow.

Ouch! This chick is too big to brood! The parent looks a little uncomfortable. I want to say that this is OGK just from the way he was standing over QT but it could well be YRK. She was on the nest yesterday. They change so frequently I cannot keep up and I cannot see the coloured leg band.

This little Royal Albatross chick is adorable. Look carefully at the light filtering through that soft down. We are on our way to puff ball stage. So sweet.

While the albatross are enjoying the warmth of summer in New Zealand, the storks on top of the church in Dreisamtal, 10 km from Freiburg, are working on their nest in the winter cold. Oh, they are so gorgeous and a reminder to all of us that spring and the beautiful light and warmth it brings is less than a month away.

There is a pip rapidly moving to hatch in the second egg at Duke Farms. You can really see that egg tooth working away. Tonight, sometime, there will be a new eaglet!

I wish I could close with an image of Ervie on the barge with Dad. Maybe another day! This is the most recent tracking of Ervie. He remains along the North Shore and it looks like he has found a good fishing spot. I wonder if he is still catching Puffers?

Wouldn’t it be grand to be sitting in a boat – at a distance so as not to disturb – watching Ervie with binoculars go about his fishing? I can’t think of anything nicer today.

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

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams and/or FB pages where I took my screen captures: Port Lincoln Osprey Project, Cornell Bird Labs and the NZ DOC, Dale Hollow Bald Eagles, Friends of Big Bear, Captiva Ospreys and Window on Wildlife, Stork Nest Streaming Cam, and Duke Farms.

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.

Late Monday in Bird World

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 Wildlife Refuge 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.