Tag Archives: Pacific Black Duck lays eggs on sea eagle nest

The Daisy Chronicles, Day 5. The Ravens Arrive

No more than Daisy laid her 5th egg at 06:32:55 and got comfortable, you could hear the ‘caw’ of the Ravens in the distance. At 07:32:04 those calls are loud!

Daisy is frightened. She knows they are on the branches above her nest. Look at her eye!

There are two Ravens on the nest attacking Daisy! They were relentless.

At 07:39:17 the Ravens are gone. Daisy held them off for 13 minutes. My goodness this little Pacific Black Duck is brave.

Our brave little duck puffed herself up to look larger than she is. She stretched her neck and was fearless in trying to keep the Ravens away from her and those precious five eggs.

It appears that Daisy has thwarted the Ravens for the time being. This is one brave little duck. It is now 08:02 and our little Daisy seems to be alright. I cannot hear any Ravens in the distance only the nectar and plant eating birds of the forest.

Laura Culley has always said that worrying means that the outcome has already established itself, wrongly, in our minds. Still Daisy has a very difficult situation. There was one raven visiting the nest sniffing about on day 4. Two came today. Now the ravens know that there is an egg cup there. What does Daisy do? She has no mate to help her with security. Will she cover the eggs and leave today? We don’t as yet know how many eggs she will lay.

It is 08:09 and I can hear the Rainbow Lorikeets on the nest even though the cam operator is not showing them. Perhaps the Ravens are off elsewhere? For the moment?

Are they trying to tell Daisy something?

Daisy appears relieved, more relaxed, with her friends surrounding her.

The Lorikeets should alert Daisy to the arrival of those birds that would do her or her eggs harm. They are still about Daisy and the tree at 08:20.

I wonder if Daisy tried to lay her eggs elsewhere and predators came and then she rushed on Day 1 to lay her egg in the WBSE nest? It is curious. This might mean that Daisy might not lay any more eggs. I guess time will reveal the answer to that question and to whether or not Daisy can leave the nest during the day without the Ravens consuming her eggs. It has certainly been a harrowing morning for our beautiful Daisy.

At 08:29 Daisy begins to gather leaves. Then she settles back down. Normally she would leave about 2 hours after laying her egg. Today that would be around 08:32. Let’s see if she does.

At 08:35 Daisy rolls eggs and begins to gather leaves. She is still on the eggs at 08:45. Much later than normal.

I will bring updates later tonight or – if everything goes well for Daisy’s eggs the rest of the day – you will not hear from me til Day 6. You can watch Daisy here:

In other Bird World News: If you watched the new Bald Eagle couple, Anna and Louis, at their nest in the Kisatachie National Forest, you will be excited to learn that Anna laid egg 1 for the 2021-22 season on 5 December at 20:44:51. All of the lads were fed at least one fish yesterday at the Port Lincoln Osprey Barge. They continue to thrive. Gabby and Samson have had a sub-adult female on their nest this morning. Gabby escorted her out of the neighborhood! The Bald Eagles at the Wildlife Rescue of Dad County now have three eggs. The female at Berry College has also laid her first egg of the season. Oh, it is going to be really busy towards the end of December and January with all the Bald Eagle eggs hatching.

Thank you for joining me. Please send your most positive energy to our brave little Duck! Take care everyone. Stay safe.

Thank you to the Sea Eagles@Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre for their streaming cam where I took my screen captures.

The Daisy Chronicles, day 5

Daisy, that little Pacific Black Duck, arrived at the old Ironwood Tree deep in the Sydney Olympic Forest at 05:10:31 on 7 December. She is due to lay her fifth egg today.

Little is Daisy aware that a Raven came to the nest on Day 4, yesterday, and became curious. It did not, however, disturb the eggs. I am led to believe that this is because they cannot smell them. So if Daisy is able to gather more leaves – these are large eggs – she will be able to thwart the Ravens until such time she runs out of leaves and twigs and must use her down.

Also unknown to Daisy is the fact that Lady and Dad have returned to their River Roost from Goat Island. The streaming cam picked them up today roosting. Will Day fly into the nest to check today? He often does a quick security run.

See the two white dots on the tree in the middle. That is Lady and Dad.

The camera could not focus in on them but it is definitely the White-Bellied Sea Eagle couple that own this nest!

Last year Dad broke one of the eggs and ate it. He did not like the taste. Neither sea eagle likes the down – it sticks to their beak. They simply do not understand it – it is foreign to them. They were curious as to who was using the nest and Dad understood that eggs are not bothered. Indeed, one time I thought Dad was going to incubate those eggs of Daisy’s!

Daisy arrived at 05:10:31. Once again she was very cautious approaching her eggs.

Look who has come to see Daisy! Last year 8 or 9 Rainbow Lorikeets would come and visit Daisy every morning. They were all over the tree surrounding her. It was simply beautiful.

The bird coming down on the top right is called a Noisy Miner. Noisy Miners are members of the Honeyeater family. They are grey with a black head, a yellow-orange beak and feet with a light yellow patch behind the eye. There are also white tips on the tail feathers. They will not hurt Daisy or her eggs. They are curious but it is possible that they could draw the attention of other birds, like the Ravens, that could predate Daisy’s eggs.

The Lorikeets seemed to come every morning like they were saying hello to Daisy. And here they are today. The one must have told the others that their friend, the little Duck, was back in the nest of the sea eagles.

I don’t know about you but I had to run and get a tissue.

No words necessary as the Lorikeets continue to gather around Daisy.

We are nearing the time that Daisy laid her egg yesterday. I can still hear the Lorikeets and the Noisy Miner.

Oh, how grand it was to see the Lorikeets come to welcome Daisy!

Yesterday Daisy laid her 4th egg at 06:19:36. Egg 3 was laid at 06:55:07. I am hoping that it is earlier for Daisy today so that she can wait for the egg to harden, cover the eggs well, and get away from the nest before the Raven or the Sea Eagles arrive. Fingers crossed they stay away!

Daisy began gathering leaves around 06:23.

With the Sea Eagles back at the River Roost, I am so nervous for Daisy. Last year Dad visited often – curious to find out who was using his nest. I do not believe they would harm Daisy but Daisy and Dad certainly played tag with one another. I hope it is more peaceful for our little duck this year but who knows! Wonder when Dad will come and check on this nest?

It is 06:28 nest time. Daisy hasn’t laid her 5th egg. You can still hear the Lorikeets in the tree. Last year they seemed to be around when the larger predators weren’t. Come on Daisy, hurry! Lay your egg and get out of the forest.

At 06:32:55, Daisy lays her 5th egg!

Daisy moves around in the nest bowl clockwise.

She is moving the eggs about but she appears also to be using her paddle feet to enlarge the egg cup. How smart is that?! She needs those eggs to sink down low especially if she is going to lay several more. Notice how big those eggs are. It takes a lot of nutrients out of Daisy’s system to lay all those eggs.

Daisy has settled down lower than on previous days. She has also brought in some more leaves closer to the egg cup.

Daisy is trying to rest. If today, follows what has happened on the previous four days, Daisy will stay on the eggs for about 2 hours, cover them and depart. Let us hope that she is not disturbed and has time to get those leaves over so that nothing seems out of place if Dad or the Raven come calling.

At 06:42, there was only one Sea Eagle at River Roost. Is Dad fishing? or is he coming to the forest? We wait.

Daisy is way down on the eggs, her head tucked in. So far no Sea Eagle coming. Sometimes last year Daisy just got away in the nick of time. She needs to cover those eggs well though and not be in a rush.

Thank you for joining me today. I will continue to monitor Daisy until she departs and check on the nest throughout the day. If anything happens, I will let you know. Take care. Keep sending your positive wishes to our little duck, Daisy!

Thank you to the Sea Eagle@BirdLife Australia Discovery Centre for their streaming cam where I took these screen captures.

The Daisy Chronicles, day 4 – ‘The Raven Arrives’

Our beautiful little Pacific Black Duck, Daisy, laid her 4th egg in the old Ironbark Tree in Sydney’s Olympic Forest at 06:19:36. She was more nervous today than usual. Something had caused her to be overly cautious today. Still, the little duck worked with as many leaves as she could find to cover her eggs and stayed for almost the entire 2 hours that she has done on previous days. She flew off at 08:15:17.

Daisy covered the nest really well— as best she could bringing in leaves from behind her this morning. There is no indication that she has used any of her down and that is a good thing. The predators would smell it and find the eggs!

Did the Raven see Daisy on the nest? or did he just happen by and was curious?

The Raven lands on the nest at 09:29:30. He actually looks like one of the Crows we have that come to our garden as opposed to a Raven in North America. I know that it is difficult to identify between the Australian Raven and Crow. It is not a Pied Currawong – there is no white.

Whatever – a very dangerous bird has landed on Daisy’s nest of the variety that consumed her eggs last year.

The Raven looks right at the nest cup but cannot see anything. Daisy did do a good job covering those four eggs.

The Raven almost steps on the nest cup! But he doesn’t, thankfully.

He jumps over to the rim of the old Sea Eagle nest.

All the while the Raven is on the nest it is making very strange calls.

I wonder if it was calling the other members of its family. Last year several arrived but not today.

He stares but obviously cannot smell those eggs and he certainly cannot see them. Oh, Daisy, you little Duck. You did do a great job covering them.

It simply felt like he was going to tear that nest up but he moves over to the parent branch of the tree where the juvenile sea eagles often branch.

And then he is gone. I think my heart sunk to my toes. It is too early for the predators to be sniffing around Daisy’s nest. —— Any day is too early until the ducklings hatch and jump!

At 09:31 ‘something’ chased ‘something’ out of the forest from the top centre to the lower left side. It happened very fast and I could not decipher what it was. I wonder if our little Duck chased that Raven? Has Daisy been watching?

I hope that Daisy only lays one more egg. If there are fewer she will be able to cover them adequately or maybe a big wind would come and rain down leaves on that nest. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?

Everyone send all your good wishes to our little Pacific Black Duck, Daisy. She needs all the positive energy she can get as she continues to try and keep her eggs safe.

Other Bird World News: There is no further news on Yurruga. Ervie picked off the first fish of the day at 06:33. If you watch Jackie and Shadow, the Bald Eagles at Big Bend, they have been working on the nest. Yesterday Connie at Captiva laid her first egg at 05:55:37.

There have been two welcome visitors to our garden. Hedwig, the short tailed Cottontail Rabbit, has been photographed.

Shortly after lunch, Sharpie, the Sharp-shinned Hawk dropped by.

The European Starlings, the Black capped Chickadee, and numerous varieties of Sparrows, mostly House Sparrows, filled up the feeders. I think that each of them knew that there was a weather advisory out and that they would be hunkered down by snow and blowing snow with little visibility in the late afternoon.

Oh, I hope that Raven forgets about Daisy and her eggs!

Take care everyone. Thank you for stopping by to check on the birds. It is nice having you with us.

Thank you to the Sea Eagles @ BirdLife Australia Discover Centre for their streaming cam where I took my screen shots.

The Daisy Chronicles, Day 4

Going back to Day 3, Daisy duly stayed on the three eggs for a bit. The third egg was laid at 06:55:06. Daisy began preparing to depart, moving leaves and twigs over the eggs at 08:17. Within two minutes, she was gone — after checking that no one was around watching.

Oh, she is such a beautiful brave little duck!

This programme seems to have put the images backwards! The top row and one on the second shows Daisy covering up her precious eggs.

Day 4: 6 December 2021

Everyone’s favourite duck, the Pacific Black Duck, Daisy, flew into the nest at 05:21:51. You might be able to see her fluttering and flying up in the image below. She is the blurry mark above ‘2021’.

Daisy landed on the nest a second later.

Daisy seemed a tad more nervous this morning. She is extremely cautious taking almost two minutes before she waddles over to the egg cup.

I wonder what sounds from the forest Daisy is hearing that are making are nervous? Are Lady and Dad back from Goat Island? Has Daisy seen them?

Daisy was still nervous after she settled. She did not remove the leaves. She laid down on them and used her paddle feet to stir them around and the eggs.

At precisely 06:19:36, Daisy laid her first egg – about half an hour earlier than the day prior.

There it is. You can see that it is wet and shiny. It will need to harden and Daisy will hope that predators stay away so that she can cover up her clutch of four eggs completely today.

Daisy is allowing the air to harden the egg as she stands over her clutch. If she follows the same routine of previous days, she will remain on the nest for not quite two hours.

So far Daisy’s luck has held. We hope that the Sea Eagles remain on Goat Island. And Daisy may resist putting down with the eggs until there is hard incubation so as not to attract the Ring-tailed Possums who have made a nest also in the sea eagles’s tree.

Good Luck today, Daisy! Cover the eggs really well. You have hundreds of people watching you and sending you much love and luck!!!!!!

Thank you for joining me today. I will bring updates for other nests later today that will include a final check in on Daisy. Take care all.

Thank you to the Sea Eagle@Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre for their streaming cam where I took my screen captures.

The Daisy Chronicles, day 2

We are going to start off with a check on what is happening in San Francisco – before moving on to Daisy.

An absolutely adorable 4 min 16 sec radio discussion on The Love Story in the Sky at The Campanile.

Did you know that Peregrine Falcons were virtually wiped out in California? In the late 1970 there were only two nesting pairs? This was the result of DDT. There is lots of literature but reading Rachel Carsons, Silent Spring, is a very good start.

DDT might have been banned after the revelations of Rachel Carson and others but it remains in the soil in various places. One of those is Big Bear California where DDT was sprayed on Big Bear Lake to kill the mosquitoes. It is still a contributing factor in thin egg shells which may be part of the problem with Jackie and Shadow, the Bald Eagles that have their nest at Big Bear.

Daisy the Duck did not spend the night on the White-Bellied Sea Eagle nest.

She arrived before sunrise to check on the nest. No one else was there. Daisy will be very cautious. She does not want to draw attention to the egg cup where her first egg was laid.

She goes over to where her egg is and checks. It is still there. Safe.

We can see where Daisy’s egg is because we know it is there but it is nicely covered with leaves and nest material so the predators cannot find it.

Daisy leaves right as the sun is rising and the forest is waking up.

Daisy carefully waits on a branch when she returns an hour and a half later. Can you see her?

She is checking and rolling her egg.

Daisy is very still. When she is in labour, her tail will move up and down.

There are now two eggs! Look you can see them both. Daisy is holding herself up so as not to break the second egg. When the eggs are laid they are soft. The air will dry off the surface and make them hard.

Daisy has settled on the eggs nicely. She is having a rest. Daisy will not do hard incubation until all of the eggs are laid. That is so they will hatch at the same time.

This last image of Daisy was taken a few minutes ago. It is nearly 08:30 in Sydney, Australia.

So far Daisy has been lucky. Lady and Dad did visit the nest tree a week ago and then on the day that WBSE 27 was released from care, they were not at the River Roost. They will often go to Goat Island if there are no eaglets to look after. Still, we know that they do come to check the nest.

Someone asked me why Daisy does not stay on the eggs now all the time. If she did they would not all hatch on the same day. Secondly, she is a very smart little duck. Her presence on the nest makes all of the other forest animals and birds curious. Last January they had never seen a duck on the big sea eagle nest — and neither had anyone else! I think Daisy will try and protect her eggs really well this year from the Ravens. She is almost a year older and she is ‘wiser’ now. Her breeding and the laying of eggs normally coincides with plenty of food and water. Her mate, who came to inspect the nest last year, only takes part in the mating ritual. The rest is up to Daisy. That is why she is so vulnerable. Only 20% of Pacific Black Ducks live to be 2 years old. Indeed, the average life span is only about two years. Oh, I so hope that she is successful this year! There are so many people hoping for Daisy!

You can join in and become a real Daisy fan. She needs all the love and positive energy we can all send her. Soon the name of the streaming cam will be changed from Sea-Eagle to Duck Cam! Here is the link to the streaming cam. Daisy arrives about 13:15 CDT or around 05:15 Australian Time. I am not expecting her to stay all day but she might surprise me.

Once Daisy lays all of her eggs (there could be 11), she will begin her hard incubation. Incubation will last for 29 days after the laying of the last egg. This is the difficult time. Daisy still has to eat and have some relaxing time. Last year she even went out during the night. It is then that the eggs are vulnerable. As long as she is incubating them, the Ravens seem not to bother. Our fears of the sea eagles proved to be nothing. They could behave differently this year but they were not a threat last save for the fact that scattering the down nesting material allowed the eggs to be seen. Fingers crossed.

Thanks for joining me. Take care everyone. See you soon!

Thank you to the Sydney Sea Eagle @ Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre for their streaming cam where I took my screen captures.