Tag Archives: peregrine falcons

Wednesday Morning check at Captiva and The Campanile – and other Bird World News

16 March 2022

When I first woke up this morning I was hesitant to check the Captiva Osprey nest. When I finally did I had the sound turned up really loud and all I could hear were the cheep, cheeps wanting more fish! Tears rolled down my cheeks. There was Little and Middle (or Little and Mini) eating what appears to be their third fish of the morning! And they are eating enthusiastically!!!!!!!! Little is eating and eating.

This long silvery fish, a Ladyfish, was being eaten at 11:30. You can see Little’s sweet head under Lena enjoying that fish.

With the disturbance yesterday, Middle and Little had only two fish. They were ravenous this morning. Middle will be 28 days old tomorrow and Little will be 28 days old on Saturday. We will be looking for substantial growth for these two now.

Lena must be so happy to see two seemingly healthy chicks this morning wanting to eat. That is important – they want to eat.

This is an image of the chicks eating an earlier fish.

You can still tell Little from Middle because it does not have the feather growth coming in on the back. Both are doing so well. This is an incredible relief.

Oh, goodness. Lena was thinking that she was finished feeding the Ladyfish but, no. Little wants some more. It is nearing noon on the nest at Captiva and all is well with the world.

It is 11:48, Little is full! Lena is going to get to enjoy some fish and there will be either fish leftover or Andy will take it.

There was a Q and A session yesterday with Connor from Windows on Wildlife. It has been left up on YouTube and might answer many of your questions about what happened with Big at this nest yesterday morning. Here is the link:

There was a hawk attack at the Savannah Great Horned Owl Nest on Skidaway Island this morning. Mum Owl did a great job defending Little Grey.

Speaking of predator attacks, the Ravens at the West End Bald Eagle nest attacked Akecheta at the nest yesterday mid-afternoon. Akecheta bravely defended the nest while Thunder sent the Ravens packing out of the territory. This morning all is quiet there. Let us all hope it stays that way.

Akecheta is now really good at feeding all three of the babies. What an incredible Dad and he really shows he is loving it – all of it!

It is a cold wet damp – what other words are there – chill to the bone – morning at the Dale Hollow nest on the border of Kentucky and Tennessee. I am a little surprised that River is not there keeping the chicks warm since they do not have their feathering to help them keep warm. Little Bit looks really cold. It is actually 12 degrees C with a rate of 94% humidity. Wet.

It certainly looks from the image below that the eldest has eaten from its crop but not Little.

New nesting material has been brought in. Look at the size of Big! This should help, I hope, dry out some of this nest. Little has also dried off and is looking much better.

It is a sunny 10 degree day in Ithaca and Big Red looks quite content incubating her egg. We will be looking for a second one later today.

Big Red got up for a break and we get a peek at the egg. Notice that Arthur and her are really building up the crib rails this year!

Speaking of eggs, what is going on at Cal Falcons?

Annie is on camera this morning.

Has Grinnell given her a prey item? Will there be eggs? Why is Annie late in laying her eggs? Was it the interlopers? the drones? her absence? Grinnell’s injury? We wait to see what will happen with our favourite Bay area Peregrine Falcon couple.

Annie is resting on one of her favourite slippery perches. As she gets closer to egg laying, she will stay closer to the scrape.

Someone is calling Annie at 09:33. She rushes out to the ledge. Grinnell has presented her with a nice pigeon on the ledge. Life is good at The Campanile!

You can see Grinnell’s two ID bands.

Annie is enjoying her present. What a relief! Seeing these two together on the ledge at The Campanile is as good as hearing two hungry osplets on the Captiva Nest.

Cal Falcons caught Grinnell’s first prey delivery to Annie for the 2022 season:

And with that I will say goodbye for the morning. Will do checks on other nests as well as Captiva, Dale Hollow, and The Campanile later today again along with some others.

Thank you for joining me this morning. Take care everyone. It is beautiful weather here and I am heading for a long walk! Much needed after being inside too much this winter. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Captiva Ospreys and Window on Wildlife, Cal Falcons, Dale Hollow Eagles, Cornell Bird Lab RTH, and Explore.org

Early Wednesday in Bird World

09 March 2022

There is not much that would bother me today. It was so wonderful to see Ervie last evening. It was just such a relief. It is one thing to see his tracking and know he is alive but it is entirely another thing to see him alive, well, and eating a fish – even if it is a puffer.

Ervie is obviously catching his own food and doing well. How he lost an entire talon and got his green tag scraped up in places will always remain a mystery. It had to have been really painful. Perhaps he got his foot caught in something? If so, I am thrilled he was able to get out! He also looks very healthy and that is a good thing.

Congratulations to Thunder and Akecheta (West End Eagles on Catalina) on the hatch of ‘his’ first chick and the first time in two seasons that they had success. In the previous two years, the Ravens took the eggs when they were left alone by Cheta. He has matured and understood what happened and – wow. Here is a video of that hatch!

It looks hot already in the San Bernardino Mountains at the nest of Jackie and Samson. Mum has been panting. Shadow has filled the pantry and the little one will be 5 days old today at 16:00 nest time. All is well.

Jackie and Shadow chatting first thing. I think Shadow thought he would get a turn looking after the wee one.

Look how much this baby has grown! Wow. So cute. If you are watching life, check out the front sides of the parents, it has been peeking out. So sweet.

The little eaglet was alive in the middle of the night and this morning, barely, at Duke Farm. It is so much younger and so much smaller and has now not eaten for at least 36 hours. My heart aches for it. It has gotten up to eat and not been fed.

It raised its little head up in the middle of the night when the parents changed duties. Oh, how I wish the Dad would give it a good feed.

Sweet little thing has no idea what is going on when it raises up to eat and the food is on the other side. The development was so off on this nest to the disadvantage of the wee one. There is enough food. Mum could walk around and feed it. She won’t. We all know the story…sadly.

It has not been a good morning for the third hatch at Dale Hollow Bald Eagles either. River has moved to several parts of the nest to feed the chicks but Little seems not up there and going after the food like in previous days. The nest looks wet and damp to me. I hope that it will dry out. Not a good environment for wee ones.

I did not expect to wake up and worry about this nest of River and Obey’s. Oh, let us hope that it dries up soon. It looks like the water of the lake is really rising with all the rain that they have had in the past few days.

There has not been a fish delivery at the Captiva Osprey nest yet today. As I write this it is nearing noon nest time. Big Bob will certainly be in rare form when it arrives.

Lena roosts on the edge of the platform nest at night now. The babies are not babies anymore and do not fit under her even though she might want to try.

Lena is hungry this morning and is looking around for Andy but to no avail. Wonder where he is?

Ospreys choose platforms and the tops of dead trees so that they can see all around them. No surprises for them. At the same time it leaves them open to the heat of the sun.

Big is definitely getting its coppery feathers today!

As it approaches noon and gets hotter, the chicks try to get in the shade of Lena. Little has been partially successful.

The chicks have lined up to eat but no Andy. I hope he brings in several fish in a row. Lena really needs to eat and Little could use a lot of fish today.

Lena seems to have given up on Andy and might have gone out fishing herself for the babes. Nope. She did return. No fish. Wish for fish!

Arthur was working on the nest for Big Red this morning. He flew in around 08:39 and now it has started snowing. I wonder if they will return to work on the nest later?

The female juvenile Peregrine Falcon that has been wanting to get friendly with Grinnell at The Campanile flew up to the ledge with a Mourning Dove this morning. She proceeded to pluck it and eat it and had a massive crop at the end. Grinnell has been aggressive to her but we wait to see how all of this plays out.

Grinnell took on a defensive posture towards this female yesterday. Cal Falcons caught it on video for us:

Things are a little more certain at the Manchester, New Hampshire scrape where the resident falcons were seen mating today.

This is the link to the cam that faces outward in the scrape box:

This is the link so you can see all the action inside the scrape box in New Hampshire:

Harriet has been working on the Dahlgren Osprey platform. They were given a brand new one. There are still a lot of sticks to go before any eggs can be stable in this nest. I now wonder, after seeing the Papadan chair nest at the WRDC Bald Eagle nest in the Miami Zoo, why some mesh is not installed for the Ospreys?????

Poor Richmond and Rosie. Richmond is being attentive and brings Rosie a fish giving us a glimpse of their nest for this season. Boy do these two have a lot of work!

Rosie and Richmond got a great start and look what the Ravens did!

Thank you so much for joining me this morning. Send warm wishes off to the wee ones that are struggling and wish for lots of fish for Captiva! Take care. See you soon.

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 Lake Bald Eagles, Duke Farms, Peregrine Falcon Network, Dahlgren Ospreys, Cornell Bird Lab RTH, Captiva Osprey Project and Window on Wildlife, and Cal Falcons.

Late Monday and early Tuesday in Bird World

Let’s have some fun first thing!

Ah, you can really enjoy a birder’s sense of humour and their love of music with this video of some Red-winged Blackbirds taken by Ferris Akel:

There is super news coming out of Cal Falcons. Annie and Grinnell’s 2020 fledgling Sequoia has a mate! This is just wonderful news. Here is the announcement.

So how far is San Jose from the scrape box in San Francisco? How far did Sequoia travel in her dispersal?

The wonders of banding birds can give us this kind of information.

This is really good news. Did I say that twice? or three times? The population of Peregrine Falcons in the Bay area is returning.

The Dale Hollow Eagle nest looks like it needs more straw! Reminds me of the wet and muddy nest of the storks at Mlade Buky in The Czech Republic. Obey has delivered lots of fish and he stepped in and helped River with the trio.

The little one at Duke Farms got a really good feeding and both of the chicks had a nice crop. Hoping that this wee chick gets much stronger and does well. This nest fledged two last year.

There is plenty of time for more feedings at Big Bear (it is 15:00) but, already, Jackie and Shadow have fed the little chick 9 times. Ten is about normal for this age – 4 days old. They eat such a little amount. Jackie can continue to increase the size of the fish flakes and the length of the feedings. Next week, we should be seeing fewer but longer feedings as the chick grows.

Shadow came in before bedtime and seems to have brought one of his famous sticks and placed it very near the little one to the left. Shadow is certainly thinking about crib rails!

Some images from Tuesday morning at Big Bear. The wee chick has already been fed at 05;35 06;35, and 07:29 – all by Jackie. Shadow has been in and out. A Red-tail hawk has been buzzing around the nest keeping everyone alert.

Jackie and Shadow and their ‘miracle’ baby are making all the papers and televisions stations it seems.

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-03-07/big-bear-bald-eagles-jackie-shadow-welcome-new-eaglet?fbclid=IwAR3pnk8Hdd9S6PpBVDv4LLM1nnP3IRkIYKZdANjWxAt_Ndme1_pM-ZCuot4

I know that the storks are beginning their migration northward to their spring and summer breeding grounds just like the Ospreys are doing. You can see the route that the birds migrated to Africa in the late summer of 2021 below. It goes through Belarus and the birds stop over at various places in the Ukraine including spending much time on the Black Sea. Somehow I thought if I willed them to take a more westerly route they would but, of course, that is simply being nonsensical. Karl II is on his way home and this is what he will be facing.

The map below shows Karl II’s routing in royal blue that he took in the early fall of 2021 get to The Sudan.

The top map shows the different nature reserves that the storks rest and feed at clearer than the second image which shows Karl II and Pikne’s routes for migration south in 2021.

Karl II spent much time on the Black Sea resting and eating. This is currently a war zone.

The last update was on 4 March. It is believed that Karl II is in a desert area north of Sudan and is out of GPS range.

Karl II is a Black Stork whose nest is in the Karula National Park in Estonia. He is equipped with a satellite tracking GPS and is ringed. His number is 715R. His mate is unringed Kati. Last year they fledged three storklets. The oldest was the male Udu, the middle was the female Pikne, and the baby boy was Tuul. Both Udu and Pikne migrated successfully. Sadly, Tuul was lost.

If you want to follow this fabulous and much loved Black Stork, please go to the Looduskalendar Forum that is following his migration home. There are also good discussions and images of the terrain where the birds are staying. Here is the link:

https://www.looduskalender.ee/forum/viewtopic.php?t=945&sid=ce860736f3960a78ca3fec577fa3c5fa&start=12280

There were heavy rains at the nest of Gabby and Samson near Jacksonville. Gabby did the best she could to keep Jasper and NE27 from getting too wet.

Gabby flew off later and Jasper and NE27 are preening. Looks like the weather is improving. Poor wet babies.

These two are growing and walking and self-feeding, well E27 is doing a great job. Jasper is still in kindergarten stage. Gorgeous eaglets. Samson and Gabby make beautiful babies.

Both Harriet and M15’s eaglets have branched. E19 is 10 weeks and 1 day old and E20 is 10 weeks old today putting them right at the beginning of the fledge range. Will they fledge today? Probably not. Hopefully they will wait for another week or more developing their branching skills.

Do you follow the West End eagles on Catalina Island? There is a pip in the first of the three eggs!

Here is the link to the cam:

Things are really beginning to pick up! In the UK the first official sighting of an Osprey returning from winter migration was today. The fish eagle was flying over the Loch of Clunie in the south of Scotland in Perth & Kinross. They are coming home!

Little and Middle Bob have learned to steer clear of Big Bob. This morning they let him eat, then they started eating and he got a second wind. Probably 90% of the fish went into Big. I would hope that Andy will get another fish on deck so that the two others can eat if Big finally passes out in food coma. In the image below, Big is getting his second wind and Little and Middle have moved away and not challenged for food.

At 11:25 Big passed out and the other two rushed up to get more fish! Oh, thank goodness! It is hot and these two need food. Big has dominated the nest since the weekend making life miserable for the other two.

Lena is working hard to find some meat on the skin of the fish that is left. Little Bob is hungry and still does not have a crop.

That is the quick summary of the early morning nest review. I hope that you have a wonderful day. Take care everyone. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Explore.org, Captiva Osprey Nest and Window on Wildlife, SWFlorida and D Pritchett, Dale Hollow Lake Bald Eagles, NEFlorida Bald Eagles and the AEF, Friends of Big Bear, the Looduskalender Forum, Google Maps, and Ferris Akel Tours.

Jackie and Shadow – jubilant parents

04 March 2022

I haven’t been so captivated by a Bald Eagle nest – ever. 8600 souls must feel the same. We are watching every move of Jackie and Shadow at their Big Bear Lake nest in the San Bernardino Forest and are unable to take our eyes off their nest.

Yesterday on the 3rd of the third month chick #1 hatched at 16:14. It really is an affirmation of the positive. This morning watching these two Bald Eagles who have worked so hard to be parents for 2020 and 2021 and now, in 2022 are successful – it is a relief. But, wait. It is more than a relief. This single event has lifted my soul higher than I thought possible in a world weary of the SARS-Covid 19 pandemic, climate change, and now a war raging in eastern Europe.

As I watched Jackie and Shadow, friends of mine in Berlin messaged me to tell me that people were lining the arrival platforms at the Berlin Hauptbahnhof to welcome the refugees from the Ukraine, mostly women and children. This has apparently been going on for several days now with Berliners supplying clothes, meals, and places to stay for those fleeing the war.

Jackie and Shadow give me hope for the future while the Berliners reaffirm my faith in humanity.

There is our beautiful eagle parents. They have one fledgling from 2019, Simba, ZR1. He was last seen in August of that same year. It has been, therefore, awhile since each looked into the eyes of their little one, fed it, and brooded it.

Jackie has fed the chick two times this morning.

Another feeding came at 11:39:38. That makes three feedings so far for the little one. I am extremely impressed with how strong this little nestling is. It is easily holding its head up waiting to see what Jackie and Shadow are going to do.

It is 11:38. Shadow has popped in with a fish and to check on the family and see if he could have a turn. So far, Jackie has refused him 5 times. She is being very protective. It is cold and the little one can only be out for a blink. Big Red is the same with her chicks and she has fledged everyone that hatched but one!

What a little sweetie sitting there waiting. You can see that fresh fish Shadow delivered. There is another one somewhere under the straw.

Jackie is so gentle. She offers the wee one the tiniest bits of fish and juice.

Bingo! This morning Jackie has fed her baby fish at 08:04, 09:28, and now at 11:39.

It is seriously hard to take your eyes off of this loving family. It is simply the best!

Shadow has brought in 2 fish and at 13:01 a delicacy, a Coot. Will he entice Jackie to let him have a turn at feeding or brooding with this special gift? Shadows seems to think so.

Our proud Papa is really wanting some time with the little one. Shadow is now taking to moving sticks on the nest. Typical.

It has been a beautiful morning with Jackie and Shadow. Jackie has gotten up from brooding and incubating to eat the Coot that Shadow has brought. She has to be famished and in a real need for a break. Meanwhile Shadow has pulled out one of the fish. Chick 1 is looking at Mum. I wondering who will wind up with the feeding?

It looks like Jackie decided that the baby needed some of the Coot. She is right. One of the forestry rangers at the Kisatchie Bald Eagle nest of Anna and Louis reaffirmed one day that raptors need to eat a varied diet just like humans.

Awwwwwww. Shadow finally gets permission to brood his chick! It is sealed with a kiss.

Jackie is going to take a much needed break. This nest has food and the baby is strong and healthy. Relief. Wonderment. Happiness. What are all the words?

It had not been my intent to ignore all of the other nests but, that is precisely what has happened. This is the most up to date news on the nest of Shadow and Jackie at Big Bear Valley.

The Q & A session with Cal Falcons Lynne and Sean was very informative. They are a delightful couple, well versed in anything falcon and in particular, Annie and Grinnell. The hour long discussion is archived and you can find it here:

Thank you so much for joining me. It is a beautiful day in Big Bear Valley. Take care everyone. See you soon.

Thank you to the Friends of Big Bear Valley for their streaming cam where I took my screen captures.

Friday Morning in Bird World

04 March 2022

I am certain that Jackie and Shadow would have liked the weather up in the San Bernardino Mountains to be warm and sunny – not a heavy snowfall overnight and snow showers for later today. Still, Shadow had a fish on the nest in anticipation of feeding a chick or Jackie and all is well.

What a beautiful image of a happy Mum, Jackie, and chick 1. The chick was fed at 08:05 for the first time from the fish on the nest.

This image should bring tears to thousands.

Shadow has been wanting some time with the baby but last I looked Jackie was still not accommodating him. Hopefully he will go out and stock from fish on the nest – a little, not enough to attract a mass of Ravens.

Jackie knows that she must keep the baby warm in the cold and wet weather. She will have it out eating only a very, very short time. Once hatched, the chicks can survive on the egg yolk they have absorbed for 24 hours.

What a beautiful couple. I wonder how many sticks Shadow is going to bring in to the nest in his nervous happiness?

Beautiful. The love this family has for their little one and the joy of nearly 9 thousands people watching brings light to a world so weary.

It has all paid off, Shadow.

While Jackie and Shadow adjust to being parents for the first time in three years, Arthur and Big Red are preparing for their sixth breeding season together. They have both been working on the nest this morning now that the snow has melted.

Arthur just loves to work on the nest cup. I sure hope Big Red lets him have some more incubation and brooding duties this year. She is overly careful when it comes to those eyases!

Big Red sits on the lights fluffed up looking out on her territory. Oddly, this is also one of her favourite places for mating. Is she giving Arthur a hint today???

The three osplets at Captiva had a striped fish early this morning, the Sheepshead. What a strange name for a fish! It is noon there now and Lena would love another delivery. In the blink of an eye I saw Andy fly out to the water, I wonder if he was lucky?

That is Big Bob peeking out from under Lena first thing in the morning.

Big Bob certainly had a nice crop after that feeding but Little Bob could have done with some more fish, for sure! Yesterday Big Bob was pecking at Little. Hopefully that will end soon.

Lena moves around the nest like a clock making sure the chicks are shaded. Andy, your family needs a fish!!!!!! Stock up today. Tomorrow is Saturday and all the boats will be out on the water.

At the Southwest Florida Bald Eagle nest of Harriet and M15, E19 has branched! It won’t be long til E20 is up on the Veranda with its sibling. Oh, how big they have grown. I remember the anticipation around Christmas at their hatch! That was not so long ago. E19 and E20 grew up in a blink.

The two chicks at Duke Farms seem to be doing well. Do you remember when E19 and 20 looked like this?

The baby is so tiny. Glad to see Mum feeding it and the other behaving.

Other Bald Eagle nests are continuing with their egg laying. There are now 2 eggs at the US Steel nest, and 1 at both Fort St Vrain and Fraser Point. No doubt there will be more news coming today. The folks at the Achieva Credit Union Osprey nest have reached out to the Audubon Society to help them with the predicament of the eggs at the nest in St Petersburg. Are there three eggs? have they fallen so deep because of squirrels working on the nest cup? have the three eggs been eaten by Ravens or other animals?

I have been hoping to see several dual feedings at the Dale Hollow Lake nest on the border of Tennessee and Kentucky of River and Obey. I have either missed them in re-wind or they haven’t happened. It was reassuring this morning to see that the wee babe was being fed after the twins were full.

Today is the day that the Cal Falcon team will be discussing the recent absence of Annie (she has returned) at 12 noon Pacific Time. If you are interested in peregrine falcons and the nest at The Campanile in particular, tune in if you can. You can find that session here:

Sean has indicated that he will be archiving the discussion immediately after it closes at the same link if you can’t make it. Thanks, Sean!

Thank you for joining me today. The joy at the Big Bear Valley nest of Shadow and Jackie has brought such a bright light to thousands. Please continue to send your warm wishes to them. This is just the beginning of their journey as a family – and there is one more egg to hatch! Fingers crossed. That said, if there is only one —— one is gold.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams or their FB pages where I took my screen captures: Friends of Big Bear Valley, Cornell Bird Lab RTH, Duke Farms, Dale Hollow Lake Eagles, Captiva Ospreys and Window on Wildlife, and SWFlorida Bald Eagles and D Pritchett.

Time for Q & A about Annie and Grinnell

I have just seen a Twitter reminder from Cal Falcons that the official time for the Q and A about Annie and Grinnell and, in particular, about Annie’s absence. is noon Pacific Time, Friday the 4th of March.

I reported 2pmPacific Time not noon! My sincerest apologies.

I do not want anyone to miss this so please go to YouTube and click on the alarm alert so you do not miss this lively discussion. Cal Falcons is always very informative and cheerful. They are a great bunch!

Last time, the discussion was posted if you missed it. But, if you are around, do turn in to the live feed. They often take questions from watchers.

Again, my apologies to everyone. I would not want anyone to be disappointed because of my error. Take care!

Thursday in Bird World

3 March 2022

It is afternoon on the Canadian prairies. The skies are partly blue, the sun is shining really, really bright and as I look out my window, I can see that Little Red has now been joined by several other Red Squirrels chasing one another up and down the telephone poles. It must be spring in their minds! It is -14 and hopefully it will warm up before the astronomical spring is officially here.

A hospital architect, Roger Ulrich, did a study about nature and healing/recovery or gall bladder patients. The paper he wrote for Science, ‘View Through a Window May Influence Recovery From Surgery’ compared gall bladder surgery patients who had windows that looked out to trees with those who had a brick wall view. Ulrich found that those that had the tree view ‘spent less time in hospital, required fewer painkillers, had better evaluations from nurses and experienced fewer post-operative complications’. This leads me to believe that it is important – for each of us – that the place where you spend most of your time has a view of nature! This is the primary reason my desk is located where I can look out on to the garden with all of the birds flying in and out and the squirrels running around. Having moved from a space with no windows, I know that what Ulrich discovered works on normal daily living. So turn your world upside down and move your favourite chair to a window! Your spirits will be lifted and it could be of great benefit to your health, both mental and physical.

Thankfully my posting of the Pip at Big Bear last evening was true. Often times it is easy to think a dirty smudge is the little chick pecking away with its egg tooth. That pip is bigger this morning. Thankfully. Along with 6589 other people, I am holding my breath (well, figuratively) until this chick has hatched. These are anxious moments for this lovely couple.

The two images below were captured at 07:28 nest time. You can still go back and rewind if you wish. The pip hole is clearly bigger. Jackie looks down with great hope – as she hears her baby working to hatch.

The pip is noticeably bigger. It began at 15:47:26 on the 2nd of March.

Send your most positive wishes to Jackie and Shadow and this wee one. Tears from around the world will flow when it is free! Get the tissue box ready.

It is -3 in Ithaca, New York. The snow on Big Red and Arthur’s nest is slowly melting with the bright sun shining in on the Fernow light stand.

I have not seen Big Red or Arthur at the nest today – oh, but I could be so wrong. Arthur is so quick delivering those sticks that if you don’t go very slowly on the rewind you will miss him.

I ached for Lena and the trio at the Captiva Osprey nest last night. Lena kept calling for a fish delivery for the evening so the babies could go to bed full. I did not see that happen. Lena flew off and brought up a small piece of fish tail at 07:27:31 this morning, you can imagine how hungry the three were. Still there was no beaking. The second fish, a really nice one, came in at 09:37:27.

Here is that tiny piece that comes in first thing. I am not sure where Lena found it. Perhaps there is a stash under the tree or she went under the tree to Andy to get it??

It is easy to see that this 09:37 fish will fill all the little ones up and provide some nourishment for Lena, also. Little Bob is right up front with Middle Bob. Big Bob will join them as s/he turns around to get in line. The two older siblings continue to be noticeably darker than Little Bob whose head is clearly turning oily black in the image below. Little Bob will enter the reptile stage soon enough.

Lena filled them all up. Despite the irregularity, the chicks are growing and developing according to schedule and Mum looks alright. Would I like for them to have the 7 daily fish deliveries like Dad provided at Port Lincoln, absolutely.

Fans of Ervie continue to check in at the Port Lincoln Barge. Yesterday, the cam operator zoomed in on a beautiful Cormorant that has taken a liking to Falky’s perch.

This is an Australian Pied Cormorant. They are large black and white birds. They fish in the shallow waters around the barge.

If you are used to the dark brown Double-crested Cormorants of North America, it might take you awhile to recognize these Australian versions on the barge.

I did a couple of nest checks. My goodness, R1 and R2 at the WRDC nest at the Miami Zoo have grown in the last couple of days. They are walking much more steady and both are self-feeding and doing quite a good job of it. Beautiful beautiful birds.

Both are really tearing up the pantry to try and find some more food!

This has turned out to be a fabulous nest design. I really wish that something like this would be placed on both the Dahlgren and the Achieva Credit Union Osprey nests. It could make a huge outcome to the success of any future breeding seasons. — Richmond and Rosie need some help, too, with their nest on the Whirley crane. My goodness they no more than get the twigs and the Ravens and Crows take them! Can you hear me screaming unfair????????????

Despite some shenanigans by the oldest of the twins at the Dale Hollow nest, DH16 seems to be doing alright. So cute and fluffy with their tiny little wings.

In the next photo they are lined up by hatch time with the biggest in front.

Those three wee ones are quite a contrast to Kincaid at the KNF Bald Eagle nest of Anna and Louis. Kincaid is 50 days old today. Wow. And what a beautiful eaglet he is!

Louis and Anna have done a superb job raising their second eaglet.

It is time for me to get ready and go for my walk. It will be so nice to be outside in the fresh winter air. If you have been longing to move your chair near a window and cannot do it yourself, ask someone to help you. Don’t try and do it by yourself! It really will improve your day.

Please continue to send your warm and special wishes to Jackie and Shadow! Remember that tomorrow, Friday, 4 March at 2pm San Francisco time, there will be a Q & A on Annie and Grinnell by the Cal Falcon team. Here is that link. You can set it to alert you.

If you need more falcon activity, the couple at the New Hampshire falcon scrape are doing a lot of kerchuffing lately at the scrape box.

There is an adult on the perch on the left top.

Their eggs are normally laid in less than three weeks. Here is the link to that nest cam:

Thank you so much for joining me today. Take care everyone. Stay safe.

A deep thanks to the streaming bird cams sponsored by the following where I took my screen captures: Friends of Big Bear Valley, Cornell Bird Lab, Captiva Ospreys and Window on Wildlife, Port Lincoln Osprey, WRDC Bald Eagles, Dale Hollow Lake Eagles and the KNF Bald Eagles.

Wednesday afternoon in Bird World

2 March 2022

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.

Wednesday in Bird World

2 March 2022

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.

https://news.berkeley.edu/2022/03/01/annie-the-falcon-presumed-long-gone-returns-to-berkeleys-campanile/?fbclid=IwAR1lkVWNa9QDjws5DHZefB5mNMMWWxIYGTUNLuQ-WMfw5FsnDt5t5mG1qyw

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.

Late Tuesday in Bird World

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.