Tag Archives: Pa Berry and Missy

Late Tuesday and Early Wednesday in Bird World

Late Tuesday afternoon I was watching the Kisatchie National Forest Bald Eagle nest of Anna and Louis. It was such a calming and funny experience. Ten fish were on the nest. Ten. Not tinny weeny fish but substantial fish or portions of. When Louis is brooding the baby, he will get up and start to eat some of the fish. Two things happen. First, the eaglet seems to recognize that Dad is not such a great feeder and ignores him eating.

Then, secondly, Anna sees or hears Louis in the pantry and immediately comes to the nest with a request for him to leave the food.

At this point, she begins eating the fish – and the little one gets itself over to where she is so s/he can have some of that fish, too. How smart. Six days old and already recognizes the best feeder of the parents.

This little one is so strong. It held itself up high and steady for long periods of time. Incredible.

Anna helps to strengthen the chick’s neck by making it stretch to get the food.

It was hilarious and just what I needed at the end of the day. This little eaglet will go on to have more feedings before it gets dark. Anna wants the baby to sleep well so it can grow – and be quiet. This baby is quite loud when it is hungry – which is rare.

One of the individuals on the KNF chat stated that the KNF nest was their top nest to watch and that they had stopped viewing another nest because of the violence of the older eaglet to the younger. I know at least two Bald Eagle nests that the person could have been referring to – and even I had wondered if I wouldn’t take a break from both of them for at least a week to let things settle.

It is very difficult watching streaming cams. Very difficult. The birds bring us much joy and enrich our lives. They teach us so much. We want them to play fair and survive. We grieve when one dies and we yell at the screen when the eaglets hurt one another especially when there is food to spare. So along with the joy comes a lot of anxiety and grieving.

One of the nests has to be SWFlorida’s. I held my breath and checked on E19 and E20 as the sun was beginning to set in Fort Myers. Both of them had crops. Yes, E19s is bigger but the fact that E20 will go to sleep full means a lot. In order to have a crop of any kind, E20 had to do the old snatch and grab. And then Mum ran out of food.

This morning, Wednesday, I also checked in on the SWFlorida nest. A nice sized sturgeon had been delivered. Big enough to feed both eaglets well but, E19 was determined that it was going to eat most of it. It was only after 19 was full that 20 was able to begin doing the snatch and grab, again.

E19 continues to be miserable.

In the past I have praised Harriet and M15 – especially M15 – for stepping in to help so that both eaglets get fed to the brim. That doesn’t seem to be happening yet. I am disappointed.

One of the ‘oddest’ issues is that by the time E20 gets its turn, the amount of prey on the nest has significantly diminished or, in one instance, was all gone but a tail.

I did not check the WRDC nest. I will but, not until the end of the week. I want to give the sibling rivalry some time to settle. There are plenty of nests and lots of activity to keep me out of trouble.

As it happens Berry College was one nest that I was shy about watching or recommending. Today, Berry College posted the cutest video of B15 on FB and its reaction to a big stick on the nest. They sped up the frame rate so everything is happening fast – like slapstick comedy. I hope you enjoy this. It does show you that B15 is a real character and secondly, that it is a good thing that other egg didn’t hatch!

This morning it was 8 degrees F or -13 C. Very cold at Berry College. B15 was quivering its wings while Pa Berry fed it a breakfast of squirrel and hidden fish!

Pa Berry does a good job feeding his baby.

B15 is doing very well. Less than a week ago it fit into the size of that egg!

The Bald Eagle couple at Big Bear, Jackie and Shadow, have a loyal fan base. Last year they lost both of their clutches. Everyone is hoping that this year this popular couple will be successful. They have certainly been doing nest renovations making way for eggs!

Jackie and Shadow have a beautiful view of Big Bear Lake. Sadly, as I often mention, the area still contains the residual effects of the DDT that was sprayed on Big Bear Lake to rid it of mosquitoes more than 50 years ago. This could be, in part, the cause of the thin egg shells.

It is egg watch for Jackie and Shadow.

As I mentioned earlier, Louis and Anna have the sweetest little eaglet. Louis is a fantastic provider. There are reports of cold icy weather heading towards Louisiana. I hope that it veers away from this nest!

Samson and Gabby also have a gorgeous place for a nest.

What a beautiful egg cup.

Samson rolls the eggs giving Gabby a chance for some food and a break.

Gabby is on deck this morning (Wednesday) and tomorrow, Thursday the 20th is the beginning of pip watch for Samson and Gabby at the American Eagle Foundation! Yes. I am so excited along with all of their loyal fans.

Ervie only got a couple of small fish yesterday. He was on and off the nest so that chatters are now giving him the nickname of ‘Boomerang’. He spent the night on the perch after being spooked by a boat that got too close to the barge at 21:08:23. This is at least the third incident this breeding season. Just the other day two youngsters on paddle boards appeared right by the barge. It really does unsettle the birds.

I am delighted that Daisy the Duck is still not laying eggs on the WBSE nest. Each day that she isn’t there is a day to celebrate albeit we do miss seeing her.

I know that each of us wish that this was ‘our’ Daisy after her eggs hatched on that big nest. Talk about adorable. These ducklings follow their Mum perfectly til they get to the stream!

I hope that put a smile on your face. And, Daisy, I hope that in about a month this might be you! We all do.

It is -25 C on the Canadian Prairies and we had more snow last night. Everything is beautiful and white and typically, on very cold days, the sky is blue and the sun is bright. The Blue Jay family has been absent now for over a month. I hope they decided to leave town for warmer climates. Ah, but where to go? It was colder in Georgia yesterday than it was in Winnipeg! Dyson was out doing what he does best —-eating! I caught him on the large suet cylinder yesterday afternoon. What Dyson doesn’t know is that I removed the cage from around the big suet so that he could eat all he wanted. Don’t tell him or he will think I am an old ‘softie’. Notice how thick Dyson’s fur has gotten since the fall.

The European Starlings were everywhere. The numbers typically range between 27 or 28 up to 56 to 58 at a time. They do tend to intimidate the smaller birds from coming to the feeders until they are full. This has meant watching and keeping food topped up until around 16:00 when everyone leaves.

In the middle of the all the chaos caused by the Starlings is the Chickadee who visits several times a day. Slipping in and out when there are not so many other birds around.

Little Red is around but he has only let me photograph his tail at one of the feeders – cheeky little thing. The other two Grey Squirrels come and go as well along with Sharpie who sweeps through a couple of times a day checking to see if he can grab a snack. They seem to be braving the bitter winter weather and the snow with more grace than I seem to have. It certainly feels like spring is a long way away.

Dyson knows precisely where I fill the feeders. When he finishes there will be nothing left but the shells from the Black-Oil Seeds.

Thank you so much for joining me today. From me and all the garden friends, take care, see you soon!

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: KNF Bald Eagle Cam, Sea Eagles@Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre Sydney Olympic Park, Port Lincoln Osprey Project, Berry College Bald Eagle Cam, SW Florida Eagle Cam and D Pritchett, NEFlorida Eagle Cam and the AEF, and Friends of Big Bear.

Tuesday in Bird World

The snow that began last night is continuing to come down in the garden. It is gusty and blowing and the birds are having a difficult time finding a place to get out of the wind. I would love for someone to contradict me but, I do not recall this much snow in 15 years. Thankfully, there is no reason to get out, not even for birdseed. We have at least another two weeks on hand! There are times that I think the garden visitors eat better than their caregivers! It is the running family joke.

You might have felt that I am a little ‘shy’ of that WRDC nest of Ron and Rita’s. This is a new Bald Eagle couple to me. It is really difficult to see if R2 is getting much food. Clearly R1 is a bit of a brute. R3 would not have had a chance. The adults often stand in front of the camera so the view is restricted or, else, I can only see R1 bonking the little one. There is lots of food. Ron is a good provider.

I want to imagine that I am terribly wrong and that the adults are feeding R1 until it passes out in a food coma and then are making sure that R2 is full to the brim. If you have seen this please let me know! I would be delighted.

Some good news. There is no sign of Daisy the Duck on the White-Bellied Sea Eagle Nest in the Sydney Olympic Forest. Continue to send your positive energy to our little duck so she finds a safe place to hatch some eggs!

The bad news – unless you are a GHOW fan – is that Mrs Hootie laid her first egg on the Savannah Osprey nest of Scarlett and Rhett. Where will this longstanding Osprey couple lay their eggs?

The snow is melting in Ithaca, the home of Big Red and Arthur.

The Clark Fork River is open in places near Missoula, Montana. It is hard to imagine but in 9 weeks Big Red should be laying eggs and in 10 weeks we will be looking for Iris, the oldest Osprey in the world, to return to her nest at Hell Gate Canyon.

There is some snow in Latvia and like here in Canada, I expect that they will see more. Milda’s nest is waiting for her albeit there have been intruders.

The eaglet at the KNF nest was stretching its little wings this morning. It is 6 days old and is energetic, curious, healthy, and happy. What more could you want?!

Anna and Louis are quickly becoming one of my most favoured Bald Eagle couples!

Pa Berry fed B15 til it passed out in a food coma. I had missed seeing him brooding or feeding so this really put a smile on my face. B15 is a little character. Full of life! So happy.

Pa Berry was really aerating the nest this morning!

R15 is so cute. I wonder if R15 will get attached to ‘eggie’ like Legacy did last year?

The two eaglets of Harriet and Mitch are doing fine at the Hilton Head Island Bald Eagle nest. Have a close look. That second layer of dark grey down is covering them and there are feathers peeking through. Soon they will look like E19 and E20.

E20 looks on as E19 is eating at the SWFlorida Bald Eagle Nest. It will wait til E19 is finished and then will go and have food.

Ferris Akel posted a very short video of the Canada Geese and the Snow Geese from last Sunday’s tour. I had not seen so many since our migration in September-October here in Winnipeg.

Ervie is on the nest and will, no doubt, be ramping up the volume screaming for a fish once the dawn breaks at Port Lincoln. Oh, Ervie. Are you going to be another Izzi? We do adore you and we wouldn’t mind! On the other hand, you did get the sat-pak! Will the conclusion be that at least one male Eastern Osprey likes to stay at the natal nest? Oh, Ervie, you do put a smile on our faces.

Thank you for joining me today. It is so nice to have you with me. Take care! See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen shots: WRDC, KNF, Port Lincoln Osprey Project, Hilton Head Island Trust, SWFlorida and D Pritchett, Berry College, Cornell Bird Cam and Montana Osprey Project, Cornell Bird Cam and RTH, Cornell Bird Lab and Savannah Ospreys, Latvian Fund for Nature, and Sea Eagles@Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre Sydney Olympic Park.

Monday in Bird World, late edition

It feels like the lull after the storm which is possibly a good thing for everyone who was in the path of the snow and ice in the US yesterday, including our beloved birds and animals. That said, there are still parts of the US and Canada that continue to be having weather from that system.

The rain stopped in Ithaca, home of Big Red and Arthur, and it started snowing again.

It has stopped snowing at the nest of the Pittsburgh-Hayes couple.

In the wake of the storm, the female at Duke Farms laid her first egg about an hour and a half ago. No snow! Congratulations Duke Farms.

Over in Dale Hollow there is snow and the Bald Eagle couple also have their first egg of the 2022 season. Gos, I live in Canada but it looks cold there to me – and a little odd. Snow on the nest and green grass. Oh, Canadians living on the Prairies love to see the green grass come up in the spring.

Here is the announcement:

Did you ever watch the Bald Canyon Eagles? If so, you might be interested to know that the US Navy, the entity that owns and operates San Clemente Island, gave Dr Sharpe permission to install a new camera.

Here is the link to this nest with its new camera. There is no sound as per the US Navy regulations.

B15 is doing really well at the Berry College Bald Eagle Nest in Mt Berry, Georgia. The nest seems to have dried out and Missy’s feathers are all nice and fluffy. This little one is moving about nicely and appears to be quite strong – doing well for one less than a week old! B15 had a nice little crop after its late afternoon feed.

The aggression by R1 towards R2 at the WRDC Nest in Miami-Dade County continues. R2 had one meal by 16:16. Of course, this little one can still survive but it is very intimidated by R1 and will not raise itself to eat while R1 is eating.

E19 was being particularly aggressive today, too. In fact, horrible isn’t even the right word to describe the behaviour towards E20. This is despite some nice fish deliveries at the SWFlorida Nest. How does bad weather impact avian behaviour? These two eaglets were, just a few days ago, cited as being the most civil that Harriet and M15 ever had on the nest. The ‘trigger’ had to be the weather. I cannot account for anything else.

In the end, both eaglets were fed but it is to E20’s credit that it held out and finally had to do the old ‘snatch and grab’.

E20 kept its head down til E19 was full.

E19 was about to pop its crop and was still hammering its younger sibling. And then…E20 cleverly waited a second and got up to Mum. Harriet fed E20 til it was full.

I do not believe there is any reason to be concerned. There has never been a siblicide on this nest and I don’t believe it will happen this year either. These two will be fine. M15 and Harriet are known to tandem feed if required. They are very experienced parents ——- and they care!

Awww. So sweet. Finally being able to enjoy some dinner.

And then E19 full to the top of its head decides that E20 has had too many bites – well before there is any crop – and starts bonking it again. Sad.

To the credit of E20, it was so hungry that it began stealing bites. Bravo!

Sometimes you simply want to find an Eagle nest where there is absolutely no conflict. That nest for me is the KNF Bald Eagle Nest in Louisiana.

At the nest of Anna and Louis, the baby is so full from the last feeding that it is not yet interested in the 10 fish that are on the nest behind it. Yes, 10. Just look at it sit up tall and straight. This baby is 5 days old and curious.

Aww. Baby decided it had better get around to the other side near the pantry if it wanted a late snack.

Anna was very hungry but a couple of little cheeps and she was feeding the little one. It is nice and full and so is Mum.

If you want a peaceful, serene Bald Eagle nest to watch with a 5 day old eaglet, I highly recommend the KNF nest with its chat mods, Tonya from NO and the two rangers, Cody and Steve.

Here is the link to the KNF nest:

Ervie had a late delivery of a fish last night. He was sleeping on part of it this morning. Ervie is flying on and off the nest and everything seems perfectly fine at the Port Lincoln Osprey Barge.

The sun is setting on Gabby at the NEFlorida Bald Eagle nest where we are approaching pip watch on the 21st.

The sun has already set on my garden and the birds have all left. We are expecting more snow tonight! I will check on the Kakapo Recovery tonight and report in the morning. There is a rumour going around that Nora, who laid her first egg in 1981, mated for 83 minutes with one of the males last night. She is really hoping for eggs this year. Fingers crossed.

Thank you so much for joining me. Take care, stay safe. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen shots: WRDC, SWFlorida and D Pritchett, KNF, Duke Farms, Berry College, Cornell Bird Lab, Pittsburg-Hays and Pix Cams, Bald Canyon, NEFlorida and the AEF, and Bald Eagles Live FB Page.

Monday Updates in Bird World

The snow and rain persisted in the North East longer after bringing bitter cold, rain, tornado warnings, and ice in the SE. Last night those white flakes piled up on Big Red and Arthur’s nest at Cornell University. This afternoon rain is falling in Ithaca.

There is still about 9 weeks before Big Red thinks about laying eggs. Suzanne Arnold Horning caught Big Red preening in the snow this morning. Big Red is always beautiful, no matter the weather.

The sun has come out on the WRDC nest of Ron and Rita. Hopefully this will make R1 nicer. Even Rita tried to stop his nonsense with R2 yesterday.

The behaviour of R1, more aggressive than normal during the day of the storm, was mirrored in E19 who was entirely unpleasant to E20 on Harriet and M15’s nest in Fort Myers. These two have been called the ‘the most sweet’ and ‘the most caring’ of all of Harriet and M15’s eaglets and yet, yesterday brought out the aggression.

The cameras at SWFlorida are having problems this morning. The IR remains on and they are all on different times. The camera should, at this moment, be reading 12:30. Those eaglets are fine. Hopefully today will calm E19 down.

The one nest that I have been concerned with is that at Berry College. Missy did real well during the storm yesterday. It appears that the chick attempting to hatch in the second egg has failed. As one of the chatters said this morning, ‘we are thankful for one feisty chick’. Agreed. Let Missy get some experience with this one! Fingers crossed that this little one, B15, will grow and thrive.

I checked on Missy late last night and was thrilled to see the precipitation had stopped.

What I would like to see is a pile of fish on that nest! Pa Berry, let’s go fishing.

No egg at Duke Farm but the nest continues to be restored by the pair of Bald Eagles that gave us those two magnificent fledges last year.

It is breezy and sunny at Hilton Head Island Trust Eagles Nest, home to Harriet and Mitch and their two eaglets. It certainly isn’t hot there and the forecast indicates that the temperatures will plunge on Thursday. Right now the babies are full of fish and sleeping.

Lori Covert at Captiva Bald Eagles has announced that the two eggs of Connie and Clive are either unfertilized or non-viable. No eaglets for Connie and her new mate this year, sadly.

There was a late fish delivery to Ervie on the Port Lincoln Osprey barge. I am not quite certain of the delivery time but Ervie was working on it after 20:00. At one point, Mum came over to see if she could get that fish off Ervie and he promptly booted her off the nest. Ervie!

Ervie did not finish that fish. He seems to have saved some of it for breakfast. He is sleeping on it!

Before signing off – I am late in feeding the garden birds and animals – a quick check on Anna and the little one. Louis has the pantry full – typical Louis -and this baby continues to delight. It is so strong. The Kisatchie National Forest nest is quickly rising like cream to the top in terms of my favourite Bald Eagle nests.

I know that there has been a lot of chatter about Louis being able to feed lots more chicks. Yes, he could. He could supply Berry College easily and keep Anna and babies full. That said, my preference will always be for one very healthy chick at each nest – always. Anna is a young Mum. This is only her second breeding season. Ease her into larger clutches gently! If ever.

This eaglet is the cutest! Seriously.

Thank you so much for joining me this morning. They all seemed to have survived the storms well. Such a relief. Take care everyone. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Berry College, WRDC, SWFlorida, Hilton Head Island Trust, Port Lincoln Ospreys, KNF Bald Eagle Cam, Duke Farms, Cornell Bird Lab, and Suzanne Arnold Horning for the image of Big Red today.

Handsome Ervie, you have come a long way!

Dad brought in two fish to celebrate Ervie’s 4 month birthday on the 16th of January. They were delivered at 18:57 and 20:41. Port Lincoln also gave us some wonderful close up time with the Erv.

From the moment Ervie hatched at 00:51:50 on 16 September 2021, he watched the behaviour of the adults and, in particular, Mum. In the images below, Ervie mimics what Mum did when Dad was bringing in a fish.

I think this is a great image for a fridge magnet.

Ervie sees Dad coming and starts prey calling.

Ervie begins to back up prey calling louder. Have you noticed how the recipient on the nest moves around calling trying to figure out where the adult delivering the fish will land.

Dad lands.

Ervie grabs that precious food.

It isn’t long until Dad comes in with another fish and Ervie repeats his actions.

That was a nice fish and Ervie went to sleep on his birthday with a full tummy.

It was not clear how the third hatch at the Port Lincoln Osprey barge would fare. Sibling #1 Bazza hatched at 22:03 on 13 September and sibling #2 Falky hatched at 02:30 on the 14th. I was particularly worried even though the hatch time difference was only 53 or 54 hours, not 4 or 6 days.

Ervie’s first feeding. He was roughly 5 hours old.

Ervie is a week old. There he is on the left of the trio. You can see that he has a little crop. When Mum finishes he will have a nice one. By the time Ervie was a week old, a lot of the thunder had been taken out of Bazza and he was not attacking Ervie so much. Ervie was also becoming very clever.

The following day Ervie and Mum took advantage of Bazza and Falky sleeping and Mum filled Ervie to the brim! The parents really were amazing at bringing in food and helping Ervie that first week or so.

Ervie learned how to stretch his long neck to get the food from Mum’s beak. He is 9 days old and he is losing his soft down. You can easily distinguish who is who because of the plumage. Bazza and Falky are getting the copper red feathering on the back of their heads and neck. There are a few sprinkles of copper red on the back of Ervie just coming in.

Ervie is 25 days old in this image. Look at that crop. Ervie always loved his fish – he still does! – and he had figured out how to survive around Bazza. Most of you will remember Ervie demanding to be right up at Mum’s beak. We were no longer worried about Ervie! Indeed, Ervie will become the dominant bird on the nest. Well done little third hatch!

Other Bird World News: The second egg at Berry College appears to be coming along for a hatch. B15 is crying for food but it is raining so hard that Missy cannot risk feeding it and having it chill. Last night the nest got some icy snow and the temperature remains unseasonably low at -16 C or 3 degrees F. To put that in some perspective it is only -5 C in Winnipeg at the same time. I have concerns for this nest. The weather does not appear that it will improve for several days. I feel really sorry for this family. I hope there is a break so that B15 can have some fish.

Both R1 and R2 have eaten well at the WRDC nest in Miami-Dade County. No signs of any effects of rodenticide! That is wonderful. However, they are under a severe thunderstorm and tornado watch until 15:00. In fact, the nest is right in the centre of the storm area. The nest is really beginning to rock and roll. Hang on little ones!

If you want to check in on the eaglets periodically to see how they are doing, here is the link to the streaming cam:

Everything is fine at the KNF nest. Louis continues to fill the pantry and the little eaglet and Mum continue to eat well.

Send all your positive wishes and energy to the Berry College Nest and the WRDC. They are going to have a tough time of it for awhile. We are on egg watch at Duke Farms.

Thank you for joining me today. It is always my pleasure to write about Ervie! Take care. Stay safe. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen shots: Port Lincoln Osprey Project, WRDC Bald Eagle Nest, KNF, and Berry College Bald Eagle Cam.

Saturday in Bird World

Good Afternoon Everyone. It looks pretty quiet out in Bird World this morning.

The two eaglets of Rita and Ron’s, R1 and R2, continue to sleep and eat without any observable ill effects from the rat dinner that they had yesterday. Fingers crossed. They are such beautiful and healthy little ones, curious about the world beyond the nest. Hopefully we can all go ‘whew’ after this fright is over – let’s celebrate on Monday.

They are very mobile, scooting around on the nest, balancing themselves with their wings.

This is Ron feeding the little ones. He isn’t as good as Rita but he tries.

There is an active pip watch at the Bald Eagle nest of Pa Berry and Missy in Georgia. B15 is doing well. Right now it also looks like Mt Berry could be in line for some of that winter weather making its way across parts of the United States. I really hope they get little or nothing. It isn’t nice to have a hatch when the snow and ice are coming down.

Pa Berry was on the nest with Missy on alert this morning.

B15 seems to have a good appetite.

Chatters are working on names for the little eaglet at the Kistachie National Forest (KNF) Bald Eagle Nest. The deadline for submissions is 30 January. Late this morning Louis flew in with a Coot to add to the 4 or 5 fish already on the nest.

The area is experiencing high winds today and are under a high wind advisory. It is also very cool in the forest at 8 degrees C.

This little one is the cutest little roly-poly I have seen in a long time. Anna has the feeding down and the baby is happy to have those nice bites of fish!

It is hard to imagine that E19 and E20 were this small a few weeks ago! Now they are at the big clown feet stage and their feathering is coming in nicely. I wonder if Harriet left this fish to see if anyone would try and nibble?

While other parts of the US are being hit with tsunami warnings, record levels of snow and ice, Florida is having a heat warning and should be getting some rain from that system.

Here is a lovely little video of E19 and E20 having their fish breakfast!

Finally, the pip watch for Gabby and Samson will be coming at the end of the week! I am so excited.

There have been intruders and both Gabby and Samson have been watching and listening carefully this afternoon.

How gorgeous!

An alert.

Time for some territorial defense.

All is well. Whew.

This nest is an active site for intruders. Gabby and Samson have to always be vigilant.

The two little eaglets are getting their feathers at the Hilton Head Island Trust Bald Eagle nest in South Carolina. There is no roll back. All I can say is that they appear to be eating well, growing at the right pace, and Mitch seems to have food on the nest for Harriet to feed the wee ones.

If you are in the line of the storms, tsunamis, and heat warning areas of the US or elsewhere, please take care. I will continue to monitor the WRDC nest of Ron and Rita with the hope that the rat did not get sluggy because of rodenticide poisoning. Ervie is on the barge and I will also check in with him and everyone else at the PLO later today. Thank you so much for joining me.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Berry College Bald Eagles, SWFlorida and D Pritchett, KNF Bald Eagle Cam, NEFlorida and the AEF, WRDC, and Hilton Head Island Trust.

Was the rat brought to the WRDC nest poisoned?

Last season, a rat was brought on as prey to the Bald Eagle nest at Captiva on Sanibel Island. It was fed to Peace and Hope. Both died of rodenticide poisoning. There have been far too many deaths due to rodenticide. The list is too long for me to type but every wildlife rehabber will tell you that everyone of those deaths was preventable!

Today a rat was brought to the WRDC nest of Ron and Rita and the eaglets, R1 and R2, ate it. The following was posted on a FB group that I belong to. Rodenticide is meat for rats and mice but it often causes the secondary poisoning of raptors as well as domestic cats or dogs. Everyone is working very hard to get this designer poison banned.

The rats are so easy to catch once they have eaten the poison. They become sluggish and are easy to catch.

Please send your positive wishes to this nest and help the raptors by not using rodenticide and telling everyone you know to not use it and why. I have first hand experience with our lovely cat, Duncan, dying from this. It is a horrific death. Agonizing.

Ervie had two fish deliveries so far. One was at 10:24 and the other was at 12:47:44. Ervie has also been off the nest exploring the area which is wonderful news.

Port Lincoln also zoomed in the camera on Ervie eating his fish. The result was some beautiful portraits of my favourite Osprey fledgling. Told you I was biased!

In the image below, Ervie is giving the ‘snake eye’ look that many Ospreys, like Iris at the Hell Gate Canyon Nest in Montana is so famous for.

Ervie loves to eat! He is really doing a great job eating this nice fish!

The hatch at Berry College is progressing. The extra shell was over the smaller end of the egg. One small victory! B15 is doing very well, too. Let us all hope that B15 is very nice to its sibling once it has hatched.

By 16:00, the little one at the KNF nest was chattering away wanting more fish. Anna waited a couple of minutes and got up and gave that sweetie a really nice feeding. I was surprised that it could hold any more fish after the previous meal but, there was room for a few nice size bites. At that time, 5 fish or parts of fish could be seen on the camera. The one that Anna is feeding yet-to-be-named eaglet had just been brought in by Louis. This baby will never have to worry about there not being enough fish! Last year Louis brought in a turtle but, as far as I know there are no worries about rats coming on to this nest as prey. Lake Kincaid is right out the front door!

I went back to check the WBSE nest and Daisy has not returned since she was there in the morning. There is still much time left in the day, however.

I am so sorry to worry anyone about the eaglets on the WRDC nest. It is reassuring that they are being monitored and I hope at the first sign of a problem they will be removed from the nest and taken into care — with positive results! Three things that would really improve the lives of the raptors ——- ban rodenticides along with lead in hunting and fishing equipment.

Thank you so much for stopping by to check on the latest comings and goings. This is brief because I wanted to alert you to the issue at hand. Take care everyone. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams or FB pages where I took my screen captures: WRDC Bald Eagle Nest, Port Lincoln Osprey Project, Berry College Bald Eagle Cam, KNF Bald Eagle Cam, Sea Eagles@Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre Sydney Olympic Park, and Bald Eagles Rodenticide and Lead FB page.

Thursday in Bird World

I genuinely hope that the Bird World community does not have a fright like it did this morning when Gabby had not returned to relieve Samson of incubation duties for nearly 24 hours. Samson seemed nonplused by it all and maybe he knew where Gabby was. She has been known to disappear for a bit in the past but it seems unusual rip before pip. At any rate, all is well at the NEFlorida Bald Eagle nest outside of Jacksonville, Florida.

A video has been posted of an intruder chase at the NEFlorida Bald Eagle nest around the time that Gabby returned to the nest at 11:53. It would, thus, appear, as I thought, that her absence was based on a territorial issue rather than one of her ‘disappearing’.

B15 hatched this morning at 07:57 at Berry College. Everyone thought Missy might not ‘know to feed it’. She was up eating and looked over several times to see if its head was up and beak open. She knows what to do! Like the KNF eaglet, this little one is pooped from hatching.

B15 is a real little cutie! It looks very strong.

I sure wish Missey had gotten rid of those egg shells when B15 hatched. You will note that one has slipped over the end of the second egg. Hopefully this will not cause B16 trouble when hatching!

B15 looks so tiny compared to Harriet and Mitch’s eaglets at the Hilton Head Island Trust Bald Eagle Nest. Their feathers are starting to come in. Poor things. They are always preening and we think that they must be itchy.

I think this is a new take on ‘Sleeping with the Fishes’. Ron has been keeping the nest full of fish for Rita and the babies. He can often be seen feeding the little ones himself. They are doing nicely and this human-made nest seems to be working out well. Perhaps this design will be needed in areas that lose trees in big storms or fires.

The two of them are adorable. They scoot around all over the nest.

Bingo! Anna and the baby finally got feeding worked out. The little eaglet is going to have a nice crop. Louis is already beginning to fill the nest up with big fish.

I love seeing Louis and Anna on the nest. Look at that nice Pike that Louis brought in for lunch! And there is the little one with its crop holding its head up pretty good. It was so full it just fell over into food coma.

Louis has brought in more fish! No shortage of things for the family to eat. Louis is one of the most enthusiastic fisher-dads I have ever seen.

Anna and the yet to be named baby eaglet have figured all of this out! Just look there is a little tail!

This eaglet is seriously cute. The Rangers are looking for a name. Anyone can send in a suggestion. It should be gender neutral. Send name in an e-mail to: nameknfeagle@gmail.com Send it by 30 January.

You can see the tail and the strong wings below. Oh, adorable. This eaglet is going to be like Kisatchie – there were days you would think s/he was going to pop they had been fed so much. Anna is the kind of Mum that wants you to ‘take just one more bite, pleaseeeee’.

Just doing a quick check on the Port Lincoln Lads. Ervie was, of course, on the nest last night and Mum brought him a fish before bedtime. There are fewer and fewer fish deliveries indicating that the parents want all the boys to be out fishing themselves.

At 07:33:57, someone did, however, deliver Ervie a nice big chunk of fish!

Ervie has the fish.

That fish is under his talents but he is still mantling and flapping and prey calling. Just eat and enjoy it, Ervie.

An hour later Ervie is still eating his fish. His ‘gas tank’ is full!

I have been thinking about Ervie a lot. I have to tell a story to make my point. Years ago we had a black and white cat called Melvin. It was a time when cats could be outside where I live. Melvin loved nothing more than to roll in the dirt! He was always dusty. One day, when he was 2 years old, he disappeared. We looked and called but, nothing. Four days later Melvin was at the door crying to get in. We noticed some strange marks on his paws. It looked like thin wire had worn the fur off and there were a couple of holes. Had he gotten caught in a barbed wire fence? The result of his misadventure was real trauma. Melvin hid in the bedroom and walk-in closet. He rarely came out into the other areas of the house. When we had our cat sitter, Heather, she would take a flashlight to check he was OK under the bed and put his food there. Over the decade she helped us, she never actually saw Melvin, not once, just his eyes. Melvin lived 15 years in hiding, more or less. He would come out with us but no one else. While we will never know what happened to him, that event changed his life. This brings me to Ervie. If you remember, Ervie was the one going everywhere and being independent. It was Bazza on the nest. Then Ervie was away flying south of Port Lincoln. He has not left the nest since except to chase Falky. His behaviour has changed dramatically. Did he try to catch a fish and couldn’t get out of the water easily? We will never know what he experienced. I hope to goodness I am wrong about something traumatic happening to Ervie. He is clearly the dominant bird but why isn’t he out exploring?

The Audubon Society has announced today that the Migratory Bird Act has been brought back and will be strengthened in the US. Here is that information.

https://www.audubon.org/news/bird-protections-restored-and-key-process-advances-strengthen-rules?ms=policy-adv-email-ea-x-engagement_20220113_advisory&utm_source=ea&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=engagement_20220113_advisory&emci=3a9150f3-9e74-ec11-94f6-c896650d4442&emdi=35bb543f-a274-ec11-94f6-c896650d4442&ceid=5004576

And, last but never least, the Kakapo Recovery. Today’s report on the breeding attempts and eggs. This is great news coming out of New Zealand.

It’s an exciting time full of ups and downs. We are on pip watch for Captiva and NEFlorida and with two recent hatches at Berry and KNF – well, it is difficult to keep track of all of them! I am really pleased at Anna and the eaglet getting the feedings worked out. It is all good down in Louisiana. I look forward to tomorrow. Think about a name for this cute eaglet and send it off!

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

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams or FB pages where I took my screen captures: KNF Bald Eagle Nest, Berry College, Kakapo Recovery, Port Lincoln Ospreys, WRDC Bald Eagle Nest, and Hilton Head Island Trust.