Tag Archives: protecting the environment

LA CBS tribute to Jackie…late Friday in Bird World

14 August 2026

Good Evening Everyone!

We hope you had a good end of the week and that this weekend you take time to breathe and get outside. The summer is quickly coming to an end, and we can already see a tinge in the leaves across our back lane. Today, the birds were in a big flurry around 1500. The Crow family was all in attendance, along with the six Blue Jays – and hundreds and hundreds of sparrows of various types. We noticed a lactating grey squirrel, but it was not Dyson. Since the disappearance of Brock and the other cat, Charlie, we have also noticed a decline in the number of grey squirrels. Down by half. As I have mentioned previously, there is some concern that someone is using rodenticide. That deadly poison goes through the food chain – it can even kill the hawk that comes several times a week! Please do not use it, and if you know of others who do, don’t attack them but do educate them. So read up – there is lots of information on the dangers of this deadly poison on the Internet.

I want to thank everyone for their notes while you grieve, Jackie. She was so loved, and her influence has touched so many. I am grateful for the excellent care she received, from the first responders to the staff and volunteers at the Ojai Raptor Centre. Jackie died a natural death – and whether she knew it or not, she was surrounded by love. Tributes are still being made, and many want a permanent memorial to her at Big Bear Valley. Flower tributes have been left, and I know from your notes and comments that many people have a big hole in their hearts. Luna and Sandy are fine. I find it very interesting that Jackie stayed strong until they had left the area. As you know, raptors hide their vulnerabilities. Otherwise, others will try to take their position. At some point, however, when one is so very, very sick, that illness cannot be hidden anymore, and that is what happened to our dear Jackie. Shadow will be fine. He misses Jackie. He calls out for her, but no one answers. It is not breeding season, but like M15, he will need a strong mate to help him keep the Big Bear nest. It looks like the one female, nearing five years, KD1, is hoping to fill that spot. We need to send Shadow our best wishes just like we did Bella (NCTC), Connie (Captiva), Gabby (NE Florida) and M15 (SW Florida) – to name a few of the eagles who have lost their mates in the past five years.

CBS LA has a lovely thirty-minute tribute: https://youtu.be/B2od9c1IlDo?

I am delighted to report that one female osprey, Blue NC0, whose mate, Laddie LM12, died two years ago, appears to have found another nest and mate. She lost her nest at Loch of the Lowes last year when she failed to bond with the Dark Knight. She has recently been at the Alyth SS Substation nest that previously belonged to Harry and Flora. Harry disappeared, and Flora lost her nest (or that is what it appears). Clyde is the current male, and he has been bringing fish to Blue NC0. Loch of the Lowes and Alyth are approximately 18 km away from one another. I wish Blue NC0 the best.

I want to begin with Geemeff’s summaries and videos from Loch Arkaig:

Woodland Trust daily summary for Loch Arkaig Friday 14th August 2026

Today’s big story is the Nest Two camera being taken out by an electrical storm. Unfortunately, as it’s in a remote area, it’s going to take a while to restore service but it is being worked on, and luckily Nest One cam is still streaming live. Garry LV0 wasn’t seen today so his fish tally remains at two hundred and one, but Aurora 536 came to the nest and preened quietly for a few minutes before departing. Thanks to off-nest reports from local resident LizB, we know the chicks were around today both on and off the nest, and Louis was seen delivering fish. Fishing stats guru Steve Quinn has worked out a formula for estimating deliveries by Louis during the cam outage and the Nest Two tally has been raised to four hundred and nineteen. Dorcha has not been seen on cam since Saturday 8th and off-cam on Tuesday 11th. Meanwhile, all the main events of Season Ten are available on Woodland Trust’s playlist, details in the bonus section. After a stormy night, the weather was reasonably settled today but at the time of this report, midnight, it’s raining and due to continue overnight with a low of 12°C, changing to light showers with sunny intervals and a high of 18°C tomorrow.
Today’s videos:

https://youtu.be/3abZkT-QbX8 N2 The moment the storm takes the camera out 04.29.31 https://youtu.be/e3GDrR-jrtc N1 Aurora arrives, preens quietly, no Garry so she departs 08.41.36 

Woodland Trust daily summary for Loch Arkaig Thursday 13th August 2026 

Garry LV0 and Aurora spent time on Nest One today, and he brought her one fish, taking his tally to two hundred and one. The two chicks were on and off Nest Two being very competitive, squaring up to each other, slapping wings, pushing each other off the nest and chasing, and generally doing their best to get as much fish as possible. Louis only brought three fish, all flatfish, and Amber got the first two and Juniper the third. The Nest Two tally now stands at four hundred and fourteen. Dorcha wasn’t seen today, either on or off the nest, and it looks like she might have headed south – we wish her fair winds and plenty of fish and look forward to seeing her safely back next year for Season Eleven. The weather was damp and overcast, with Nest One shrouded in mist at times, and the damp weather is set to continue with thundery showers and light winds and a low of 16°C overnight, continuing tomorrow with light rain, a gentle breeze, occasional sunny spells and a high of 19°C.

Today’s videos:https://youtu.be/Bwa5tZUn8gw N2 Amber’s waiting when Louis brings the first fish 11.48.59https://youtu.be/4C9DHUpEri0 N2 Amber gets the second fish as Juniper loses out again 15.09.25https://youtu.be/AL-CYDZL52M N2 Finally it’s Juniper’s turn and she gets fish three 16.09.41https://youtu.be/-LZhVieT–0 N1 Aurora’s calls are answered when Garry brings a fish 16.47.16

Everyone’s invited to join the friendly community at Woodland Trust’s Osprey forum, it’s fun, free and you’re all welcome:

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/osprey-cam

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Individuals throughout the UK (and elsewhere like myself) are fed up with the medieval practice on the shooting estates BECAUSE it leads to the gamekeepers poisoning, beating, and killing in the most bizarre ways the raptors that come and take a grouse for food. No one tells them they crossed a boundary – and to be honest the pheasants imported, the monies exchanged, never warrant the brutal killing of the raptors.

Reclaim Our Moors – protest walk against grouse shooting, Peak District National Park, Sunday 16 AugDownload

In the US, people are worried about changes to The Endangered Species Act. Audubon tells us all about it:

Conserving Habitat Has Always Been Central to the Endangered Species Act | AudubonDownload

As you are aware, I am a big fan of Knepp Farms and their Rewilding campaign. In their latest newsletter, they tell of the most recent introduction: “In our latest episode of the Knepp Wilding Podcast, butterfly expert and old friend Neil Hulme joins us to talk about the Knepp Wildland Foundation’s most recent reintroduction project – the black-veined white butterfly.  

Absent from Britain for more than a century, Neil discusses the specialist task of reintroducing a species that vanished this long ago and why we’re hopeful that this rare, striking insect will once again become a UK resident.”

The newsletter also brings up other issues such as the failure of national parks to provide safe environments for wildlife. There are other stories. Have a read.

News from Knepp National Parks or National EmbarrassmentDownload

Oh, you want cute. They look like miniature fuzzy snow persons! SE37 and 38 are adorable.

SK Hideaways has a cute video of the little sea eaglets. You also get to hear the duet! : https://youtu.be/QfxN_k_qH24?

Sadly, it appears that we will not have any Ervie babies this year. We saw him at the nest, but no female! Oh, let’s hope a female comes around. We love Ervie – and I can’t wait til he is a Dad.

Phoenix, from the Sandpoint nest, is doing well in rehab. He is said to be very, very feisty! He won’t leave his wing protector on…but this is good. He will be strong when he leaves care and goes back into the world. (A Bald Eagle injured Phoenix when he flew off the nest).

The females are starting to migrate in the UK. Blue 014 from the Pont Cresor nest in Glaslyn has not been seen since she had a fish on the Glaslyn nest on the 10th. Other females are helping the males fill up the chicks!

Take care everyone. Thanks for being with us. I keep saying I am going to take a day off. Maybe it will be tomorrow. I am hoping to get us on a little road trip if it isn’t raining all day.

Thank you to SK Hideaways and Geemeff for their videos and summaries of nest activities, to Knepp Farms for giving me hope for the future, to everyone who posted information and images on FB, to Ruth T for chasing down the latest raptor persecution news in the UK, and to everyone who owns a camera or posts news somewhere so that we know what is happening in the nests. A big thank you to CBS LA for a lovely tribute to Jackie.

Helping the birds and animals

Oh, be careful for what you wish for! It is 14 degrees, grey, 84% humidity day in the ‘Peg. An overnight rain has made the leaves smell like fall but the cool reminds us of what is to come. Today as I look out the window few of the big old Maples have any leaves left on them and the lilac hedgerow, of sorts, is almost bare. Today, I am missing those 28 degree temperatures of two days ago!

The Superb Fairy Wren won The Guardian’s Australian Bird of 2021. They are such beautiful little birds.

“Superb Fairy Wren” by James Niland is licensed under CC BY 2.0

These gorgeous song birds are rapidly declining in numbers with the loss of territory due to human construction. There are many other birds that are dropping significantly in populations also – everywhere!

Some are dying due to the lack of water. An article in today’s Guardian, ‘The water used to be up to your armpits’: birds starve as Turkey’s lakes dry up provides a stark warning to all of us. This migratory period between 3,000-5,000 flamingos died of starvation in Turkey in July at Lake Tuz because the shore of the lake had receded so far from their nests that they could not reach it. It also caused mass gull deaths and our raptors are getting sick because they are having to change their diet. Many are having to eat rubbish and carrion to survive. Others are killing one another they are so hungry. The deaths have been caused by lack of water and food resources as well as parasites. Unmitigated agricultural practices, large construction projects using the lake water, and pollution are causing all of the wetlands to dry and this is a primary corridor to Africa for migrating birds. This past summer there were also the wild fires. Environmental researchers categorically state that there must be a balance between humans and the natural world if we are to hope of avoiding catastrophic damage/extinction to the planet.

Chris Packham and Megan McCubbin have packed a lot of good information into their book, Back to Nature. How to love life- and save it.

It is a great book and everyone should have a copy. It is choked full of ideas on how we can help our planet. The book is excellent at provoking thoughtful responses to the challenges that the authors put forth. At the same time, they provide easy and sensible solutions and a backdrop of positivity that makes us understand that acting together can produce great benefits to all life. The paperback is $20 in the US and Canada and 8.99 GBP. Well worth it!

I only want to mention two things. Turkey is often called the dumping ground for the EU as plastics are sent there for recycling. According to today’s article in the Guardian about the lakes drying up, much of that plastic is burnt causing pollution or simply left to clog up the earth for millions of years. In one section, Packham and McCubbin write about the Scavenger works. These worms that have existed for 100 million years eat everything from bones to maggots and mealworms to organic matter in our gardens. “Scientists have recently tested the larvae of these superworm species called Zaphobas atratus to determine whether it could successfully consume styrofoam.” The scientists were shocked at the ability of the worms to survive completely on plastic. They are hopeful that the use of these superworms could stop the plastic apocalypse in the world. And that is good news!

Packham and McCubbin also address the issue of the lack of proper ‘avenues’ if you like for birds. Since the studies by Robert MacArthur and Edward Wilson in the 1960s, it has been recognized that large parks and nature reserves are better ecosystems than small parks or nature reserves. They developed the concept of ‘island biogeography’. “Species richness will be higher in larger areas and the species richness will decrease with increasing isolation.” A good example would be Central Park versus the little parks scattered throughout my city that are a city block square. The landscape of almost every country is fragmented. Hedgerows used to be a way for the wildlife to move but much of those are being cut down for development. Packham and McCubbin suggest that it is up to the members of the community to now create these areas of species richness through their own gardens. It can be private gardens, public gardens, or even balcony or patio gardens. They argue that adding up the land areas of the private gardens gives you a huge area but people must work together. Plant trees, native grasses. The idea is to create a series of gardens so that the wildlife and insects can move around freely. One house on one block will not create this. You have to get your neighbours involved by educating them to the importance of greening and wilding. Some cities, such as Portsmouth in the UK, are wilding their streets. People are adding insect hotels, bird boxes, hedgehog highways (holes in fences) and greening their yards not cutting them and fertilizing them to be manicured lawns. It is expected that these wild streets will have a very positive impact on the insects, animals, and birds —- and, ultimately, on us! If you want to find out more, I am including the link to the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust. They say their goal is: “In the next ten years we must create a much wilder Hampshire and Isle of Wight. We want nature’s recovery to be at the forefront of tackling the climate crisis. We want broken ecosystems to be restored and missing wildlife to return. We want people to benefit from a healthy natural environment.” Maybe you can take a page from them and start your own wilding!

https://www.hiwwt.org.uk/our-strategy

It is true that we can all do something but working together in our communities can have an even bigger impact.

A quick check in on Xavier and Diamond, the adult Peregrine Falcons waiting for their second hatch today, sees Xavier sleeping on the ledge with Diamond brooding the first hatch and incubating the two remaining eggs.

The second feeding of the chick will be coming soon. If there is a crack or a pip, I cannot tell.

Enjoy your day everyone. Take care and pick up a copy of Back to Nature. It is full of ideas and great things happening around the world to save our wildlife, our planet, and us!

Thank you to Charles Sturt University at Orange for their streaming cam where I took my screen shots.