27 January 2025
Hello Everyone,
Fortunately, there were some beautiful moments on Sunday that helped ease the sorrow of losing E24 at the SW Florida Bald Eagle nest, as well as the ongoing concern for dear Akecheta. As one of the chatters pointed out, his name means ‘fighter.’ We can only hope that he was able to utilize all the skills at his disposal so that when the cameras return, he will be there beside Thunder.
In fact, the Es were doing so well – meeting every milestone – and being so loved by M15 and F23 – that we were paying most of our attention to NE31 and to Jackie and Shadow. We never thought something would come out of ‘left field’ at M15 and F23’s nest. It reminds us never to take anything for granted!
E25 looks reasonably alert.
I will not be able to answer all of your letters today and I apologize as I know that everyone is grieving and is concerned by the odd behaviour of M15 and F23. Neither returned to the nest after E24 passed on Sunday. Heidi writes that F23 brought a fish to the nest this morning and E25 took a few bites. E25 should have been ravenous. I want us to prepare ourselves for the worst while hoping for the best.
I will not speculate as to what caused E24’s passing. The little one had a seizure prior to its collapse at 1841. It had been lethargic for a few hours.
Bird Flu is always one of the tragic diseases that comes to mind – and, again, I am not stating this is Bird Flu. HPAI is highly contagious and we should review aspects of it because it could impact our beloved raptor families this year. Almost exactly three years ago, I wrote about Avian Flu and a case that had hit Estonia in the spring of 2021. That was the very first time that the Virologist, Thijs Kuiken, knew of HPAI happening outside the normal time of autumn.
The excerpts below were written on the 18th of January 2022. Even if this is not Bird Flu at SW Florida, it is good to remind ourselves that this deadly disease is still ravaging the avian populations around the world.
On 6 January, the CBC announced that hundreds of birds in Newfoundland, Canada had contracted the H5N1 strain of avian flu.
What is extraordinary about this is that it is the same ‘highly pathogenic’ (HPAI) avian flu strain that killed the two White-tailed Eaglets in the Balkans last spring. The male had brought a stork or a crane onto the Estonian nest and the two chicks died as a result of eating it according to the autopsy conducted by Madis Leivits. Thijs Kuiken, Virologist from Erasmus University, Rotterdam said to me in an e-mail, ‘HPAI outbreaks in wildlife were restricted to autumn and winter, and had stopped altogether or were at low levels by the time spring arrived’. Kuiken notes that the incidence of HPAI is overlapping with the breading season of many wild animals that could have been impacted. Many chicks could have died.
Going back to the Newfoundland issue, the question is: how did it cross the Atlantic? Kuiken is working with the Newfoundland Government to discover how this might have happened.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/avian-flu-newfoundland-labrador-1.6304817
Today it was announced that this same Avian Flu is responsible for the culling of swans in the UK including those that belong to the Queen.
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-berkshire-60025956
Of further interest is the fact that the same HPAI strain was discovered The in a bird shot in South Carolina in late December 2021. No region appears to be untouched.
If you are interested in learning more about Avian flu and its impact, please read the following article by Dr Kuiken. It is very informative and can be understood easily without great scientific knowledge.
How will this impact the health of all wild birds in Europe and North America? What can be done? Some answers are in the article above. Perhaps it is time to really look at the factory farming of animals carefully and deliberately to a view of becoming more local.
Geemeff also sent me this very clear graphic that outlines how HPAI spreads.
It is hard to move on. There have been some shocking events already in Bald Eagle World that have hit us to our core. It is hard to put them in a box and celebrate the good, but we must do that. There are ways to halt the spread of Avian Flu and Thijs Kuiken writes about that in his articles. For now, though, I ask you to rejoice in the lives of the eagles that are with us, celebrate them, do not close your eyes because it is hard. To grive for these families – for Thunder as she might be mourning Akecheta – for F23 and M15 who have lost one of their children – is to show that you care. Cry. Kick the fridge if you must. It isn’t fair. Do whatever it is that shows your remarkable humanity. That is what makes the Bird World community special. We share in the triumphs and the losses day in and day out. I am so grateful for all of you because you care in a world that seems to be spinning crazily in the other direction. Hold on to that empathy. Send your love out. Mourn with these families.
NE31 is a darling. https://youtu.be/cIroMsxUKjs? The American Eagle Foundation has certainly been busy catching some of the sweetest moments at this nest.
Calico has been unwell and I found that 31 brought me a lot of comfort. There is something so special about new life and the hope that it brings to all of us, especially an eaglet that we so anxiously awaited to see for over two years!
Just look at those strong wings and fat little bottom. 31 has shown how strong it is from the moment it hatched and held its head up pretty high.
On Monday, NE31 was working its wings and pulling itself up higher in the egg bowl as Gabby was getting some fish for its snack. It will not be long until this one is clamouring out of that cup and up to the pantry! You will recall that Gabby gets them moving and up to the table as soon as she can. Food is a great motivator.
Right now, Gabby is on the big screen in our sitting room. She is looking up while 31 peeks out of her breast feathers. Relish ever precious moment.
Heidi reports that the deliveries at the WRDC nest of Ron and Rose have stepped up! Excellent news. There are lots of fish dinners for the family.
It was a very welcome sight at the Captiva nest when a very large fish came. And then, the eaglet stood and walked over and went – ‘hey, I can feed myself!”
Each nest is passing milestone after milestone daily. Dasher and Dancer are working their wings and getting those Hulk leg muscles stronger and stronger as the dandelion mohawks disappear.
It can’t be easy walking around on that nest. But to stand and flap wings using the tips for balance is a real achievement. Both eaglets are doing this.
Dasher is determined to get some fish flakes off that head.
Fish at John Bunker Sands, too!
I am grateful that Ospreys only (well 99.9% of the time) eat fish. (Mind you I know all the issues, as do you, about fish, but…). Wilko who is 114 days old is enjoying a fish. Kasse is 111 days old today.
On Monday, Mum brought in 2 fish and Dad delivered 1. Kasse had two meals and Wilko had a single dinner – at least that is what we can see on camera. No doubt these two fledglings are following their parents and others to the fishing grounds as they get older.
Jack continues to work on his nest. And what an amazing nest he has made! Bless his heart. The bark is coming in to line the area for eggs.
At the Royal Albatross colony, the Royal Cam chick had made 3 star like pips on the egg and is making good progress towards hatch. The first pip was spotted on the 23rd of January, and the egg was removed to prevent a fly strike. A warmed dummy egg was placed with the Royal Cam chick’s egg in an incubator. Fly strike spray was used on the nest to prevent any harm to the chick once it is returned upon hatch.
It is a white grey day in Winnipeg. It feels like it could rain. New suet cylinders are scattered throughout the lilac bushes that extend about 10 metres along the east side of the garden. The tube feeders are full of black oil seed while peanuts slide off the table feeders. There is Alfalfa for the deer and this evening, I will literally dump a huge bag of Black Oil Seed and half a huge bag of peanuts. This should last the birds and squirrels til we return home. The Cat Sitter, Gary, will make certain that The Girls are fed and have plenty of play time. He also takes care of Brock, Star, and the two other cats that come to the feral feeder. That heated double bowl for wet food and water has been such a blessing for the outdoor cats this year. If all goes to plan, they will have a small shed with heat lamps and straw for next winter.
On Tuesday we fly to Montreal. Keeping with our motto of ‘Stay Calm’, we will spend the night there before getting on the flight to Guadeloupe. We arrive there late afternoon on Wednesday. Can you tell we are not rushing anything? My plan is to have a post for you for Thursday evening unless there are some significant occurrences in Bird World. Until then, be easy on yourself. Grieve and then celebrate. We are so privileged to get to know these raptor families. They touch us in ways that one never expects.
Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, graphics, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post this afternoon: ‘Geemeff, Heidi, SP’, IWS/Explore, NEFL-AEF, SW Florida Eagle Cam, CBC, BBC, The Correspondent, Window to Wildlife, WRDC, Achieva Credit Union, John Bunker Sands Wetlands, Port Lincoln Ospreys, NZ DOC and Cornell Bird Lab
