Grinnell and Annie met in the scrape box of the Campanile, the headquarters of their University of California at Berkeley territory. It was a moving exchange – full of ker-chuffing and bowing. In a world that seems to be turning itself upside down, watching Annie and Grinnell gave me some peace. Everything in the world of the Cal Falcons is just fine. Have a look:
The sun is shining down on The Campanile but it is a gloomy day on the Port Lincoln Barge made more so by the fact that Ervie has been absent for a few days. There have been Cormorants and an army of pigeons cleaning up for Mum so she doesn’t have to do it in the summer, but no Ervie. Wonder where he has been?
This is Ervie’s tracker for today. It doesn’t look like our favourite Osprey juvenile takes time to sit. Look at how many times he goes in and out of the shallow water near the shore. Is this Pufferfishville??
People have to be watching Ervie. Let us hope that they will send images in to Port Lincoln!
So many of the birds entering breeding season are having to defend their nest. Today it was Rosie and Richmond’s turn. Poor things. They need to fix up their nest with twigs not fight crows and ravens. Don’t blink, the action is quick!
I feel like we should be sending boxes of twigs out to Richmond and Rosie through courier. The Ravens take what they bring in!!!!!!!! Rosie says it isn’t funny. She is mad.
Shadow is incubating the eggs and Jackie is standing over him like a proud Mum to be. 5778 souls are watching, waiting, and hoping.
The little one at Dale Hollow, DH16, has been getting some bites along with the twins. Remember if you are watching, the older two will eat more than the youngest. This one will catch up. Things look good.
The only owlet at the Savannah Skidaway Island GHOW nest has its eyes open.
Mum Owl has been actively listening as if there are intruders about today.
Harriet has returned to the nest at Dahlgren in King George County. I wonder if she is dismayed to find the old nest that collapsed completely gone and replaced. I wonder if she is as bewildered as I am looking at all that empty space and now wondering – after Achieva – if eggs will fall through???
I love the design of the Papadan nest at the WRDC in the Miami Zoo of Ron and Rita’s. Oh, maybe someone will put some kind of screen that won’t harm the birds under there! It would certainly be helpful – and maybe a hundred twigs to help them get started. That would have been a nice gesture. I know that Ospreys are particular but maybe it would have saved them some time getting started.
It is time for me to stop. I can smell the Blackberry cobbler that is finishing baking. Will see how my Vegan stuffed peppers turn out. They are next to hit the oven.
Take care everyone. Thank you for joining me on this quick check on the birds. I have a hard time not checking on them as you can see.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Port Lincoln Osprey Project, Friends of Big Bear Valley, Dale Hollow Eagles, Cornell Bird Lab and Skidaway Audubon, and Dahlgren Osprey Cam.
Annie’s return to the Campanile warmed all of our hearts. A ray of sunshine in a weary world. I imagined that the researchers at CalFalcons were completely dumbfounded when they looked on the screen and saw her sitting on the ledge. We have seen female eagles disappear for a day or so right at the height of breeding season but this is not common in falcons. Thanks to ‘B’ who sent me the note about Annie’s return, we have an interview with CalFalcons about how it felt to see her return and what might have prompted her absence.
Mark your calendars. Cal Falcons will have a live Q & A session on Annie and Grinnell on 4 March at 2pm nest time. Here is the link. You can set the timer as a reminder. This should be a really interesting session.
The osplets at the Captiva Osprey platform have had their morning fish at 09:32. You can count on Little Bob to be right up front at the table – a mini-version of Ervie! Little Bob will do well in the world.
There is some condensation on the camera and their appear to be boats and some other animal ? in the water under the platform at times. This must make it difficult for Andy to get fish.
There’s our Little Bob right up front. Good for him.
The fish actually arrived several minutes before Lena started feeding at 09:32. It was very difficult to see the size of the fish or the species. All continue to do well.
Nearly 4000 people are watching and waiting for any news on a pip at the nest of Jackie and Shadow at Big Bear Valley.
Beautiful Jackie at first light.
Oh, I so hope these eggs are viable.
Shadows wears the same tight black jeans as Samson. Look at him. What a cutie. He would very much like some incubation time. I don’t know if Jackie is going to give in!
Pa Berry and Missy’s eaglet is walking strong and has most of his contour and wing feathers coming in or in. What a beautiful little eagle B15 is. S/he has been amusing itself by playing with one of the feathers in the nest.
B15 has really been working its wings lately – getting those muscles stronger and stronger by the flap.
No matter how big they are, thee aglets still like to be fed by a parent. Self-feeding is hard work when you are first learning.
Speaking of self-feeding. Remember when we worried about how dominant Jasper was at blocking NE27 from eating? We know that NE27 became the Little King of the snatch and grab. This morning a fish was delivered to the nest. NE27 went over to feed itself. Jasper sat next to it watching – not having a single clue how to go about eating. Jasper also did not beak NE27. I was thinking Jasper might be hoping that NE27 would feed her!!!!!! LOL.
Lots of preening with the first glow of the sun in the morning at the NEFlorida nest of Samson, Gabby, Jasper, and soon to be named NE27.
Beautiful image of our hero.
This is one beautiful eagle. Reminds me a lot of Legacy.
I couldn’t decide whether to cry with joy or laugh at loud. NE27 will be able to take good care of itself when it is out in the world. Yesterday, NE27 did not hesitate to steal food right out of Gabby’s talons. It was hungry and she was ignoring it and just feeding Jasper. I shouted ‘hoorah’ when that happened.
In the image below it looks like Jasper is wondering what in the world 27 is doing.
NE27 has learned to turn its back to Jasper, hold down the fish with its talons, and pull. This is an amazing little eaglet. And look at those beautiful wing and contour feathers coming in with the thick grey thermal down underneath.
Gabby is keeping a watchful eye. It won’t be long before 27 grabs the fish out of the talons again!
I have not been checking in on them but the WRDC nest with Ron, Rita, R1 and R2 seems to be just fine. We are going to have a lot of eaglets branching and fledging around the same time. At this point in time, I am not certain who is who on the nest.
Ron is feeding one of the chicks after the other was self-feeding.
I believe it is R1 self-feeding.
It is 2 degrees C and partly cloudy in Ithaca, New York. Our favourite Red-tail Hawk couple, Arthur and the Queen of RTHs, Big Red, are working and working on their nest. Since the problems at the Achieva Osprey nest with the squirrels and the eggs falling down into a dark abyss, I have noticed that there are layers of soft material alternating with twigs so as to build up a strong and tight nest cup on this light stand where…in two weeks, we could have eggs!!!!!!! I will be deliriously happy as will thousands of others.
You can see how much this couple has been doing. That nest is nice and deep now with a well defined egg cup.
Here comes Arthur. He is an amazing mate for Big Red. As this couple moves into their 6th year being together and their 5th breeding season, Arthur has proved that he is really up to the task.
Putting on the brakes. Once I was privy to watching Arthur flying through the buildings at Cornell to catch some prey. He was like a jet going between and around the buildings. Very impressive.
Arthur carefully arranges the twigs as he thinks Big Red would like them. She will, of course, come and finish the fine tuning and decorating.
The birds carry on with their lives. They give me solace and hope.
Thank you for joining me today. My granddaughter is coming over later and the plan is to cook for her. You might not well hear from me until tomorrow unless something extraordinary happens – like a pip at Big Bear! Take care everyone. Stay safe.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Cornell Bird Lab, Captiva Osprey and Window on Wildlife, NEFlorida Bald Eagles and the AEF, Berry College, the WRDC Bald Eagles, and Friends of Big Bear Valley.
It turned out to be just a grand day for a walk at our park. In fact, while it was -11 C my winter walking clothes rated for the extreme winter temperatures to -30 C proved to be way too hot! It was hard to get the attention of the Red Squirrels because they were thinking ‘spring’ as they chased one another up and down the paths and up a tree, over a branch to another tree.
The photo below should go in the bin. When the little Red squirrel heard me, it stuck its head out of its nest. Before I could even get the camera focused, it was down on the ground. Sadly, the bars of the fence around The English Garden were very much in the way. But, there he is. Cute. Wanting some seed!
S/he scurried down the tree in anticipation of some seeds.
Quite the cutie and much more comfortable with humans than the squirrels in my garden.
Gosh, they are quick. Several big leaps like this and this wee Red almost landed at the fence.
Properly rewarded with some peanuts and Black Oil Seed.
This gorgeous Black-capped Chickadee landed right above me. I could hear the call but could not see the little songbird. So I turned quickly, turned the camera lens all the way to 600 mm and just hoped that I had an image.
When I finished my laps of the garden,, I returned to where I began. The little red squirrel was still eating its seed. No other squirrel cut in and took any. How wonderful.
There is always the question of feeding the animals at the park. Signage went up at the duck ponds not to feed the waterfowl. This was to stop people from feeding them bread so that they did not eat the plants growing in the water. But in the dead of winter? Habitats are lost, the seeds that might normally be available might not be. It is difficult. I have chosen to feed the wildlife. Make sure if you do that you always place the food in a safe place for them.
Annie’s return was cause for a major celebration. Cal Falcons posted a video of that moment! There is a close up at around 15:00 minutes.
This one shows Annie in the scrape reclaiming her ‘nest’.
Everything just feels right at The Campanile with Annie home.
The ospreys at Captiva, Florida had three good feedings today. The last one was at 18:14.
Lena arrives with a piece of fish. There was some concern as she had been away from the nest for 20 minutes leaving the chicks uncovered. Now that there are Crows about, this is a wee bit dangerous.
You can see how Big Bob is gradually changing and getting so dark. His head is like black oil and if you look carefully there are some coppery feathers coming in. Big Bob still has his crop from the earlier feeding at 15:51.
Little Bob is in the middle. The older siblings are rapidly changing in appearance.
Oh, look at those fat little bottoms. These chicks are doing well.
Bedtime! And look who is peeking out!!!!!!! Little Bob with a nice crop. Fantastic.
There is some concern at the Achieva Credit Union Osprey nest. Squirrels had been making holes in the nest. Diane had laid three eggs set to hatch in about 10-14 days. She has been seen spending less and less time on the nest. It is thought that the eggs have rolled down the holes created by the squirrel. There is only one camera and we cannot see down into the nest. There are certainly not any eggs visible but maybe the egg cup is just really deep. Still the behaviour indicates that something has happened. We wait and watch.
Today at the WWII Whirley crane in the Richmond Shipyards, Richmond and Rosie was taking in the view of their territory together! Looking forward to a great year from these two!
Aren’t they a gorgeous couple?
The feedings at Dale Hollow are going well. The twins wanted to exert their seniority at the table today but, in the end, a female Bald Eagle with at least 17 or 18 years experience raising eaglets can handle anything. River is an excellent Mum and Obey also likes to tandem feed the kids. I have no worries about this nest.
It is a gorgeous day at the nest of Jackie and Shadow in Big Bear Lake, California. We remain on pip watch.
Shadow is on incubation duties and you can hear the Ravens in the background. Jackie and Shadow have to be extremely careful not to be tricked or lured by the Ravens who desperately would like those eggs.
According to the mods, the eggs are 35 and 38 days old. Again, due to the high elevation, pips will come later than other nests at lower elevations.
Thank you so much for joining me on a quick check of some of the nests we are watching. Take care everyone. See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Friends of Big Bear Valley, Captiva Ospreys and Window on Wildlife, Dale Hollow Bald Eagles, Golden Gate Audubon and SF Ospreys, Cal Falcons, and Achieva Credit Union.
I was in great need of a giggle and a smile and Jackie and Shadow provided it. This couple is incredible. Now that pip watch is upon us, Jackie is less and less prone to letting Shadow do any incubation duties. In the short video below, I captured the moment that Jackie returns from her break and wants Shadow to relinquish the nest.
I have re-figured my math (never a strong subject of mine). The first egg was laid on the 22nd of January with the second on the 25th. If we do not count the day the egg was laid, that means that egg 1 is 36 days old today and egg 2 is 33 days. At an elevation of 2058 metres or 6751.9 feet, Big Bear Lake is within the Bear Mountain Ski Resort area.
Because of the elevation of the area, it takes eagle’s eggs longer to hatch than those in nests at much lower sites. It might be, then, that Jackie and Shadow’s eggs will take the full 40 days to start pipping. Each of us and the more than 3000 fans needs to keep up the positive energy for this much loved eagle couple.
News has come that the second Hilton Head Island Trust eaglet of Harriet and Mitch has died. The bodies of both HH3 and HH4 have been sent for a necroscopy. It is believed that both have died from avian flu but this has to be confirmed. Our thoughts go out to Mitch and Harriet and all the people at Hilton Head Island Trust eagles.
The first fish of the morning came in at 08:44 to the Captiva Osprey nest. Lena fed the chicks for nearly an hour. She finished off the skin at 09:44.
Just look at Andy’s long legs or tarsi. These allow him to reach quickly and deep to get his fish. You will notice that the legs of other raptors are not quite as long.
It looks like a different fish than the Sheepshead Andy normally brings to the nest.
Turn around Little Bob!
Little Bob still sports his fuzzy down which is actually unbranched feathers. Alan Poole describes them as being “almost furlike”. Little Bob is changing though. His head is not as soft looking as it was.
Awww. There you are right, Little Bob, up there with that long neck of yours. Dinosaurs. Tomorrow or Thursday you will all look like dinosaurs!!!!!!
These nestlings still cannot regulate their body temperature. It will be another week or 10 days. Until then it is Lena’s job to protect them from the heat of Florida and the rain.
They are, however, quickly entering the period of their fastest growth – between two weeks and a month when they will gain an average of forty grams or .09 lb a day, according to Poole.
From this angle you can clearly see the change in the plumage between one of the older Bobs on the left and Little Bob with its still fuzzy lighter down on the right.
At the Dale Hollow Lake Nest in Tennessee, the third hatch, DH16, is eating along with its twin siblings, DH14 and 15. They are so cute. Here are the fuzzy bobbles everyone loves. Precious.
The nest can only be seen from the water. In May, there is a large group picnic with opportunities to go out and have a view of Obey and River and their eaglets. Check the Dale Hollow Lake website if you are interested.
The second egg has hatched at Duke Farms. Congratulations everyone!
1 March is the first day of meteorological spring. The followers of UK Osprey nests bring out their UK Arrival Sheets and start keeping track of who arrives where and when. The first official sighting of a returning came today from the hide in the Holkham Fresh Marsh in Norfolk. Of the public nests where there are streaming cams, I am hoping for Blue 33 and Maya to get back to Rutland Manton Bay quickly!
Loch of the Lowes is gorgeous. This nest fledged two last year. It is the home of Laddie LM12 and Blue NC0. I adore Blue NC0. She is a great angler and she is not shy about getting a huge fish up on the nest for her chicks if Laddie isn’t delivering food quick enough!
Everyone is hoping that 2022 will be a fabulous year for Aran and Mrs G at Glaslyn. What a serene pastoral setting. Last year their three chicks perished.
There are, of course, many people who fell in love with Ospreys because of this nest, Loch Arkaig. We continue to hope for a miracle to happen and Aila to return after not being seen since August of 2020. That year her and Louis fledged the JJs – they stole our hearts and I personally cannot wait to see if JJ7 will be seen in Scotland this year.
The JJs, July 2021
Last year Louis bonded with another female at a close nest and fledged two beautiful chicks but not with the one he shared with Aila.
There are many, many more Osprey streaming cams in the UK and as the birds arrive I will be posting those. One of my favourites is the nest of White YW and Blue 35 in Cumbria at Foulshaw Moss. It is the home of Tiny Little, a third hatch so wee compared to the two older siblings, no one thought she would survive but, survive she did thanks to the ingenuity and hard work of the parents and her very own cleverness and determination.
The sun is out and there is a hint of blue in the sky today. Yesterday it was -8 and today it is a little colder at -13 C. I had a lovely walk accompanied by seven Black-capped Chickadees, a White Breasted Nuthatch and a Red Squirrel. They all knew I had seeds in my pocket!
They were so cute and it was a nice warm day for them, too.
There is still no sighting of Annie at The Campanile. It is very sad to say goodbye to her. She gave us and the world 13 beautiful chicks in the five years she was at the scrape as Grinnell’s mate. I hope by some miracle she returns and is only away quietly healing from an altercation. Send her your warmest wishes.
Thank you so much for joining me today. Take care everyone. See you soon.
My sincerest thanks go out to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures and video clip: Glaslyn Bywyd Gwyllt, Friends of Loch of the Lowes and Woodland Trust, Loch Arkaig, People’s Post Code Lottery, Duke Farms, Dale Hollow Eagles, Friends of Big Bear Valley, Captiva Ospreys and Window on Wildlife.
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.
It is -10 C on the Canadian Prairies on a day that can only be described as white. There is no colour in the sky and while I had anticipated including images of a different landscape due to melting, well, that hasn’t happened. The snow appears to be melting from the inside of the snow banks and tunnels slowly – which is a good thing! Today and for several days this week, we will continue having yet more of the white fluffy flakes. It has – weather wise – been a winter we will not forget for a long time.
I have been reading Mark Avery’s blog. Avery spent his life working with the RSPB in the UK and is an outspoken defender of ‘nature’. He was their Conservation Director for 13 of the 25 years he worked for them. I will include the link to his blog at the end. The current topic is ‘Alternatives to grouse shooting’.
Avery also includes a short list of books he has read and their reviews at the bottom. One of those was The Consolation of Nature. Spring in the Time of the Coronavirus. Three nature writers – Michael McCarthy, Jeremy Mynott, and Peter Marren – keep a ‘nature’ diary running parallel with happenings with the pandemic for the period of spring 2020. They begin with the astronomical beginning of spring on the 21 March running through 31 May when summer begins. (Meteorological beginning of spring is 1 March). My interest in this book is the emphasis on the healing aspects of nature and how, during the beginning of this horrific virus, people turned to nature for solace. All of us watch bird cams. Did you know that in the UK from the period 23 March to 31 May 2019, there were 20,407 page views of bird cams. During the early period of the pandemic this increased to 433,632 views! It was a similar situation at Loch Arkaig where 400,000 people watched Louis and Aila raise their three osplets. Indeed, it was an amazing year for nature as we isolated ourselves. Few if any planes, few if any cars. When we stopped, nature thrived. “Fish returned to the canals of Venice, no longer churned up by tourist boats. In parts of northern India, the Himalayas became visible for the first time in thirty years as air pollution fell. Baby sea turtles made it safely to the water on Brazilian beaches empty of sunbathers, joggers, and dogs. Wild boar and deer came back into car-free European cities.” As the authors demonstrate, some of those events were significant including “a colossal fall in the carbon dioxide emissions” driving climate change. While the coronavirus spring brought many human losses and great stress, nature gave each of us hope and comfort.
It is a remarkable little book. I highly recommend it but, even more so, I recommend that you begin keeping your own diary of how much joy our beloved birds bring to your life – or it could be the animals or the plants in your garden or a green area you visit. In years to come, it will be a treasure, I promise.
Many of us have never looked back after first watching our bird families on the streaming cams. By watching the daily lives of these families struggling to survive sometimes, we have learned much and it is hoped become more empathetic and prone to fight for a better environment for all of us.
Our first family up this morning are the Captiva Osprey family of Andy and Lena and the three Bobs. Lena was up at day break calling Andy to bring in a fish. She is incredibly loud and Andy could have heard her if he had been in Fort Myers!
I picked the image below not for its compositional beauty but because this morning for the first time, we can clearly see the difference in development between Big Bob and Little Bob. Look at the top of their heads. Little Bob, on the left, still has his soft light grey down. Big Bob has lost his. Soon his head will look like it has been dipped in a pot of black oil with a few copper flecks at the bottom. Big Bob is entering the ‘Reptilian Phase’.
While Lena wanted that fish before 07:00, it was, in fact, delivered at 08:14:39. It was a live Sheepshead.
Lena had a bit of a time with that fish – getting it opened and not flipping about on the kids. Big and Middle Bobs are right up there when she begins feeding. You will see that Middle Bob also has a greasy black Reptilian head like Big Bob. Little Bob is just waking up. Get up there Little Bob!
Little Bob is definitely our ‘Captiva Ervie’. It didn’t take him long to get the sleep out of his eyes and get up under Lena’s beak. Look at him stare at the fish. At least for today, we can easily tell Little from the other two if the trio are in a clump.
Lena was really hungry. She fed the kids for more than an hour and then finished off the fish and ate the tail at 09:49. All of the chicks were passed out in a food coma.
Andy returned hoping there would be some fish left just as Lena swallowed the fish tail! The chicks woke up and were thinking about a second feed. Too late! Big Bob did root around in the nest for scraps eating them as he found them. Wow. That is fantastic.
Lena is currently busy keeping the osplets cool by shading them. She is also hoping that Andy will ring another fish in!
Cornell Bird Lab put together a 15 minute video of Big Red and Arthur frantically working on their nest on the Cornell Campus this morning. It is much better than any still captures I could show you!
Squeezing some of the somber in with the joy, HH3, one of the Hilton Head Island Trust eaglets has died. HH4 is fighting for its life and hanging on by a thread. The test results to determine the cause are not ready yet. The adults are being monitored closely and the Birds of Prey Centre has brought in the Clemson University Vet School to help with the determinations as to cause.
There was a lovely kerfuffle at the NEFlorida Nest of Samson and Gabby this morning. It was fantastic, actually. Jasper (NE26) was eating all of the food. This has been the typical pattern for these two. This morning it was the same- NE27 is on the left with its head down and Jasper is at the beak getting all the food.
NE27 moves closer and does the old snatch and grab and horks all of the remaining prey! He was hungry and was tired of waiting. Way to go 27!
Jasper has been doing a lot of standing and wingersizing. She is definitely getting much more stable on those legs.
Gabby and Samson sure make beautiful babies. I just love the pantaloons on Jasper.
The more I watch the Dale Hollow nest the more I am loving this family. Obey comes in to check on River and feeds her. That reminds me of Blue 33 feeding Maya at the Rutland Osprey nest. Then River and Obey feed the chicks in tandem. The life experience of these two eagles, well into their 20s in age, really shows when dealing with the health and welfare of their chicks. Just wonderful. The third egg is 36 days old today and it is almost hatched!
Another tandem feeding this morning.
Continual aeration of the nest cup to keep it soft and bring oxygen in.
River feeding the twins.
Oh, just look at them. They are so cute, fluffy, and a little chubby. Perfect!
There are currently more than 3,044 persons watching and waiting for a pip at the nest of Jackie and Shadow in Big Bear Lake, California. The eggs were laid on January 22 and 25. That makes them 34 and 37 days old. The average time for pip is between 34 and 40 days so we are still right in the sweet spot for hatching. Good luck Jackie and Shadow! Your fans are cheering.
It is difficult to avoid the news. My heart goes out to any person caught in a conflict zone. It is difficult to avoid the war zones in Africa where our birds migrate to for the winter and now, as they begin to return to their homes in Latvia and Estonia, many have historically spent time eating and resting in the Ukraine. This is the map of Karl II’s family migration this past summer. Many of the other birds that migrate to Africa follow a similar route. Wildlife suffers irreparable harm, like ordinary citizens, in times of war.
Here is a detailed study of wildlife in conflict zones and the need for conservation. It is a good first read to understand the challenges that nature and wildlife undergo when there is war. I hope that you are able to open it.
I will close as we wait for a pip at Big Bear and the final hatching at Dale Hollow with a closeup of Dad at the Port Lincoln Osprey barge. Dad spent considerable time on the ropes yesterday. I cannot help but imagine that he was hoping to catch up with Ervie and see how he is doing. You can certainly tell where Ervie gets his good looks from!
It has warmed up to a balmy -8 C. Serious spring weather and I am off to get more bird seed and go for a much needed walk. Please take care everyone. Thank you so much for joining me today.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams or FB pages where I took my screen captures: Port Lincoln Osprey Project, Dale Hollow Bald Eagles, Captiva Ospreys and Window on Wildlife, NEFlorida Bald Eagles and the AEF, Cornell Bird Lab, Friends of Big Bear Valley, Bald Eagles 101 FB, and the Latvian Fund for Nature Forum.
The Captiva trio are in food coma after their second big feed for the day. It is 16:56 nest time. Little Bob got his tiny but chubby bottom up to that table just like our dear Ervie. This little one loves to eat that fish! Little and Middle Bobs fell asleep at the table. Big Bob had left earlier and passed out on the other side of the nest.
That fish delivery came at 16:00:35. This time Andy ate the head so he had some nourishment, too.
One of my friends, ‘B’ suggested that it is the recreational vehicles at the weekend causing fishing difficulty for Andy. ‘B’ commented that it was the same issue at the Redding nest last season. Tomorrow is Monday. I hope Andy’s fishing returns to 3 or 4 fish. The adults need to eat as well too. It is like the oxygen instructions in a plane. The responsible party needs to put theirs on first and then take care of the others. Same for eating with Ospreys.
We will not worry about these three until tomorrow. Thanks Andy and Lena!
Window to Wildlife, the group affiliated with the cam and the chat, posted a short video of Little Bob hatching today.
I am just so impressed with the tenderness of some of the males. At the Dale Hollow nest today, Obey was clearing out some of the pantry items to see what he needs to bring in. All the while he was feeding River who was brooding the twins and keeping their pipping egg 3 nice and warm.
At the same time, River and Obey do another tandem feeding for the twins this afternoon.
I am so glad that I found this nest! They are an incredible family that is working so well together. Experience can do that!
The Port Lincoln Osprey nest is really lonely this morning in Australia. The pigeons are still doing clean up. I wish I could import them to clean up around my bird feeders! They look very thorough.
This is the latest tracking for Ervie posted yesterday on the Port Lincoln Osprey Project’s FB page. While he really did explore Port Boston to the right of the airport, Ervie continues to return to the area of the green pin to roost at night. The barge is the point right above the ‘t’ in Port at the bottom of the tracking image.
The juveniles, Jasper and NE27 on the Northeast Florida Bald Eagle nest are doing well. Here is a great image of NE27 standing tall this afternoon. Remember that this beautiful Bald Eagle will get a name based on the votes that the American Eagle Foundation receives of the five finalists. Jasper got her name because she was born when the named storm, Jasper, hit the area.
Message me through comments if you would like the information on voting.
The juveniles at the SWFlorida Bald Eagle nest in Fort Myers are several weeks older than those at NEFlorida. Harriet and M15’s E19 and E20 are really good at self feeding and they stand on the edge of nest rim and look about. Next stage is branching!
Big Red and Arthur have been working on their nest on the light stand. It looks so forlorn today with some snow and ice remaining.
I have not heard about a pip at the nest of Jackie and Shadow at Big Bear. When the pipping begins, the parent will hear the cheeping of the chick and can feel it moving about. You should notice the one on incubation duties looking down and listening.
I always hate to close with bad news. This are the two most recent postings for the Hilton Head eaglets. You will note that HH3 and HH4 are in critical condition. There is also information about the spread of avian flu and the deaths of other eagles. Anyone feeding birds needs to be vigilant in cleaning the feeders. If you were to find dead birds at the feeders and it is not the result of a cat or raptor, you might want to contact your local wildlife rehabber for advice. Do not handle the dead birds with your bare hands. You might want to do a major clean up as the lab results can take several days. Prepare for the worst and hope for the best.
Our thoughts go out to all of the bird families that have been impacted by this lethal disease. It is sobering to consider that an entire generation of eaglets (and other birds) could be wiped out.
I note that rodenticide poisoning also causes nestlings to literally fall out of the nest. One of my favourite wildlife rehabbers, A Place Called Hope, has admitted a Barred Owlet who fell out of the nest and is suffering from this poison. This is entirely avoidable. Everyone reading my blog knows rodenticide. Work hard to educate people so these beautiful raptors do not have to suffer.
Are you a falcon lover? The Peregrine Falcons are getting busy in Utica, New York. I am looking to find their streaming cam link and will post it tomorrow for everyone.
Thank you so much for joining me today as I did a hop, skip, and a jump checking on some of our nests. Take care everyone. See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams or FB pages where I took my screen captures: Bald Eagles 101 FB, Dale Hollow Lake Bald Eagles, Captiva Ospreys and Window on the World, NEFlorida Bald Eagles and the AEF, SWFlorida Bald Eagles and D Pritchett, Port Lincoln Osprey Project, Cornell Bird Labs RTH camera, and Friends of Big Bear Valley.
Before I begin the morning report on Captiva, sad news. HH4, the sibling to HH3 that fell off the Hilton Head Island nest yesterday, also fell off the nest. The eaglet was noticed to behave oddly before falling over the edge. He has been rescued. If he survived last night, he will go into care this morning. The father brought a fish but the mother has not been seen for a couple of days. This is not the first Bald Eagle nest that has had juveniles falling off the nest or eagles just not being seen. Pembroke Pines have now lost 2 out of 3 eaglets. Our thoughts go out to all of the bird nests at this challenging time. It clearly sounds like the pathogenic Avian flu, H5N1. This is so very, very sad. However, we have to prepare ourselves that so many of the birds may die due to this disease. Our positive wishes go out to everyone working so hard to save these beautiful babies.
Here is the update from the Hilton Head Island Trust.
I am so glad that I did not have the opportunity to check the Captiva Osprey nest until just now when a fish was being delivered. Andy brought it in at 11:59:50. Little Bob worked his way to get to the front. This is the first fish that the chicks and Lena have had in approximately 22 hours. Lena did go for a swim to cool off and the chicks have been outside of the nest bowl this morning. It is so hot on that nest with the air temperature at 24 degrees C and a wind of 11 kph. Oh, I hope Andy manages to bring in some more fish so that everyone is full and hydrated today. They are eating nicely even though each is so very, very hungry including Lena.
Bobs peeking out from under Lena at dawn.
Out of the nest cup and in the shade of Mum. Everyone is hot.
Lena goes for a much deserved dip to cool off.
Andy delivers the first fish of the day to the family at 11:59:50. He did not eat the head.
Lena will fight that bony head to get some food to feed the wee ones quickly.
You can well imagine that being literally empty of food and hot and perhaps even a bit dehydrated that the Bobs were really scrambling for food. Lena is still feeding them at 12:20 and there are no crops to be seen yet. She is pulling really hard to get meat off the fish. Meanwhile, Andy has returned doing security duty and also hoping that there will be some fish left for him, too.
It is so good that this is a very large fish. There is lots for everyone. One of the Bobs (Middle?) seemed that it might have been suffering from the heat. It looked slightly dazed. They should be rehydrated from the moisture of the fish.
The osplets are getting crops. Little Bob has eaten well. He pulled an Ervie and he got right up there at the beginning. Such a relief! I will always worry about those little ones, the third hatch. They cannot hold so much but need to be fed much more often than this. Wonder why the fishing is so bad on the weekend at Captiva?
Lovely crops!
At 12:33 the chicks are still being fed.
One chick is in a food coma and the other two simply want to make sure they get all the fish that they can. I don’t blame them. This nest was steady as you go until yesterday with four big feedings like this one a day – at dawn and nearing 17:00. Now they do not know when there will be another fish delivery.
Little Bob has dropped its crop and is now up in line wanting more fish.
Despite Dad standing and hoping there is some fish for him – and he needs to eat too to have the strength to fish, Lena continues to feed the chicks because she doesn’t know when food will come again either.
Little Bob has a big crop again. This is good. Lena is making sure they are well fed. I hope she is also eating!
You can see the size of the crops growing and growing. Little Bob is so full he fell backwards.
There might be some left for Dad. Maybe.
Just about the time Lena thinks she is finished and Andy figures he might get a couple of bites, Little Bob decides he wants some more fish. This has been the remarkable trait of this mother. She feeds and feeds til every chick is full. That could be the one single reason that the beaking has not been more profound the last couple of days.
At 12:47 Lena offered to feed Andy. It was one of the most moving scenes I have seen on an Osprey nest. She knows that he is also very hungry. He did not ‘just decide’ not to bring fish to the nest. Something has caused the fishing to be ‘off’ this weekend.
It is 12:50 and Lena is still feeding the chicks. She has taken some big bites for herself, too, as the end of the fish draws near. Andy has flown off to hopefully get another fish.
Lena ate the fish tail at 13:01.
If you watched the Achieva Osprey nest last season, you will realize that the chicks at Captiva are so full that they can, if need be, survive until tomorrow without any more fish. I hope that they don’t but they would survive.
Oh, my. Lena went over to clean up the fish skin and Big and Little went over too thinking more fish! Send positive wishes to this nest. They really need another one or two feedings today to keep the stress levels down.
There are pips at Duke Farms and at Dale Hollow but no pip for Jackie and Shadow at Big Bear yet. Let us hope those eggs are viable for those two!
Thank you for joining me today. Take care everyone. See you soon!
Thank you to the Captiva Osprey Cam and Window on Wildlife and the Hilton Head Island Trust for their streaming cams or FB pages where I took my screen captures.
It has not been a great day for Lena on the Captiva Osprey nest. She has had only 2 fish for her and the hungry osplets and no break to go down and get that yucky fish juice off of her. In other words, she is loudly calling Andy as the sun sets desperate for a break and to fill those babies up for bed. If the last feeding was at around 13:30 they will be ravenous by the time the fish lands on the nest in the morning.
While Lena might be rather upset, everything seems really good over at the Dale Hollow Lake Eagle nest. Obey came in to see what he needed to bring to the pantry around 17:00. He then helped River with a tandem feeding of the youngsters while also eating some of the pantry himself. This really is a fabulous nest!
I honestly cannot believe that I had never heard about this nest until today. It is wonderful. Very experienced adults and healthy twins. Still one to hatch. Those little eaglets are tucked under River sound asleep. Happy Eagle dreams!
Ferris Akel found both Big Red and Arthur who were sitting on top of Bradfield enjoying the view. Arthur is on the left with his gorgeous scapula V plumage and Big Red is on the right. She is much darker than Arthur.
Arthur is such a cutie pie. I often just want to cuddle him!
Big Red was doing a lot of preening and simply didn’t seem to want to look at the camera.
So gorgeous. Both are busy bees working on their nest on the Fernow light tower on the campus of Cornell University.
There has been an update about HH3 – the eaglet who fell out of the nest at the Hilton Head Island nest.
There has also been an update on the Port Lincoln Osprey Project FB on Ervie’s tracker. It looks like he is extending his travels over to the right of North Shields and the airport.
Ervie always seems to roost at the same spot. I wonder if PLO knows where this is?
Early this morning the cam operator gave everyone a great view of the Calypso Star as she set out for the day. It is a good thing to remember that the Port Lincoln Osprey Project sponsors our camera view of the barge and the barge out of the earnings from the Calypso Star. They take no donations. So, if you visit Port Lincoln, take a tour with them as a way of thanking them.
At the nest of Jackie and Shadow, Mum is being very limited in her movements and allowing us any view of the eggs. She has been aerating the nest cup which improves the softness of the nest cup as well as providing oxygen during hatching and brooding. Is there a chick pipping under there? The answer could be just maybe there is!
The Quarry Track Royal Cam Chick aka QT is really too large for the adults to brood. They must be thrilled that the little one is out of the nest so they can actually rest their legs! I promise you this is one big boy. If not, I will make a donation to the Albatross Centre!
In the image below, YRK has to stand all the time in order to brood the chick. In the image above she is able to lay down! It must be quite nice. I wonder when they will have the contest to name the chick? And when the parents will stop staying with QT only returning to Taiaroa Head to feed their ever growing chick?
If you are in need of more Osprey nests, the male at the Williamsburg Landing has returned to the nest early – on the 23rd of February. He is working feverishly on this nest.
This Gloucester Point, Virginia nest can be viewed here:
This is an overview of a view of the birds that I do not always cover. I really hope that Andy brings in a huge fish for the Captiva nest very early in the morning. Speaking of Captiva, Connie and Clive were working on the Bald Eagle nest at Captiva this evening together. Will there be a second clutch? We should know tomorrow if Jackie and Shadow have a pip! Life is good except when eagles are falling out of nests. Will continue to monitor the Hilton Head situation for everyone.
Thank you for joining me. I hope Ervie visits the barge today! What a treat that would be. Take care. See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams or FB pages where I took my screen captures: Captiva Osprey and Window on Wildlife, Port Lincoln Osprey Project, Hilton Head Island Eagles, Ferris Akel Tours, Williamsburg Landing, Dale Hollow Lake Bald Eagles, Friends of Big Bear, and Cornell Bird Lab and NZ DOC.
I am so delighted to have found this Bald Eagle nest on the Dale Hollow Lake in Kentucky. Why had I not heard of it before?
The nest is located along the shore from the Dale Hollow Marina on Dale Hollow Lake in Tennessee. The resident eagles are River, the female, and Obey, the female. I asked how old they were and was told they are at least 18-20 years old, perhaps older. In other words, they are very experienced eagles just like Harriet at SWFlorida and the Dad at Duke Farms who is 23 years old.
In the 1800s, it was believed that there were 100,000 Bald Eagle nests in the United States. Those numbers declined rapidly with the destruction of the habitat as cities grew and also because of hunting. In 1940 the US Congress passed a bill to protect them. However, the introduction of DDT after World War II, those numbers went into a tail spin. By the time the impact of DDT was known, in the 1960s and 70s, there were only around 400 breeding pairs left in the US. They were placed on the endangered species list. The eagles had recovered so much that by 2007 they were removed from the list.
In Tennessee, in particular, the eagles suffered from infertility and thin egg shells due to DDT. In the 1980s and 1990s, translocation projects to reintroduce eagles from Alaska, Wisconsin, and Minnesota was undertaken. Forty-four eagles were reared and released around Dale Hollow and Iron Creek in the hope that when they were adults they would return to where they were released. That process of translocation is known as ‘hacking’. Today there are approximately 200 Bald Eagle nests in Tennessee. Of course the threat to eagles continues and their numbers are declining. One of the most serious is lead poisoning – secondary poisoning from the shot left in the innards of deer and other hunted animals which the eagles ingest in the woods. Today, there is the added threat of habitat destruction as well as avian flu.
One of those successful nests is the one of River and Obey. They laid three eggs. Two hatched yesterday within an hour of one another – twins! The other is now believed to be pipping as I write this.
Here is the first feeding of the two eaglets that hatched within an hour of one another on 25 February 2022.
Here is the first attempt at feeding the wee ones by River. Obey had brought in a lot of food.
This is a more recent feeding by River.
I really urge you to add this nest to your watching list. It is easy to overlook for the more well-known nests like Harriet and M15, Samson and Gabby, as well as Jackie and Shadow. This is the link:
This is an image from the most recent feeding of DH14 and DH15:
Fantastic family!
It has been a good day. The Captiva Eagles were enjoying a nice fish at 14:51. Those kids were once again really hungry. Big Red has been working on her nest and Ferris Akel is entering the Ithaca area in search of Big Red. There were a lot of raptors on the tour today. Our snow is melting and tomorrow I will add some before and after images. Hopefully the melting will slow down a bit! The day will be perfect if Ervie decides to show up at the Port Lincoln Osprey barge. Grinnell arrived at The Campanile this morning. He has to be one of the most handsome Peregrine Falcons I have ever seen. Good to see you looking so good Grinnell. You were busy keeping other falcons out of your territory!
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Thank you so much for joining me for this close up look at the Dale Hollow eagles. Take care everyone. See you soon.
Thank you to the Dale Hollow Bald Eagle and Cal Falcons streaming cams where I took my screen captures.
