It is -17 C on the Canadian Prairies, almost noon on 16 February. The temperatures will drop overnight so that it is -32 C tomorrow. No snow. Yeah! But the wind was blowing this morning and swirling around Mrs Woodpecker when she was eating the suet.
Yes that white strip is actually how the blowing snow looked to the camera. Isn’t she lovely? None of the other birds had arrived and she had this compressed seed cylinder all to herself. They seem to prefer it over the more traditional suet- at least at our breakfast bar!
It is the middle of the night in Port Lincoln Australia and Ervie and Dad are on the barge. Ervie on the nest and Dad up on the perch.
Yesterday afternoon I needed a break from the worrying over NE27 and so I went and checked on Xavier and Diamond. Diamond had a large crop and was in the scrape. Oh, she is gorgeous.
Did you know that the Latin word peregrinus means ‘foreign, wandering’? Apparently they noted that the bird was constantly on the move!
Sharpie came to visit the other day and I was reminded, looking at him, that he is just so much smaller in size that the Peregrine Falcons which are medium to large size hawks.
I love how the raptors can close one eye with their nictitating membrane, that third eyelid unique to them.
It was comforting to see Diamond in the scrape. Breeding will not take place til the late summer but if you are longing for Peregrine Falcons, it is time to turn your attention to Annie and Grinnell at the UC-Berkeley Campus. Egg laying should be taking place in a couple of weeks.
Both of the chicks have hatched at the Eagle Country nest of Abigail and Blazer. The oldest was given the name Thunder and the youngest is Fern. Fern gets some bites amidst a bit of bonking from Thunder.
There is a pip on at least one of Andy and Lena’s eggs at the Captiva Osprey Cam. I thought it was on two eggs, some think only one.
Here is the link to the cam:
I grew up in Oklahoma. Sadly, one of the oldest living eagles, Taurus, who was an ambassador for the Sequoyah State Park in my home state died. Taurus was 43 years old!
At the 07:10 feeding on the NEFlorida Bald Eagle nest of Samson and Gabby, NE27 did the old snatch and grab. It got right under the parent and up so it could grab ignoring a couple of earlier pecks by 26.
NE27 needs to keep its head and neck away from NE26. It seems to know that. It is also figuring out how to circumvent NE26 and get up front quicker. Clever little eaglet.
Later NE27 stared down 26 with the older sibling not reacting. Well done, Little Bit.
That cheeping by Little Bit is because it is hungry. Some eaglets do it more than others.
We are in the third week. We should be seeing this competitive behaviour by 26 easing up in the next week. NE27 is going to be fine and much better suited to deal with the outside world where there will be huge competition with other raptors.
If you missed it, Liberty and Guardian now have three eggs as of yesterday! I missed that one for sure. Last year this couple fledged three juvenile eagles. The Redding California Bald Eagle nest is one to watch!
Here is the link to the Redding Cam:
The sun is shining bright and it is getting a little colder. I am off for my walk and to check on the chickadee at the park. There is a small bag of seeds for it in my pocket today.
Take care everyone. Thank you so much for joining me. See you soon!
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Port Lincoln Osprey, Charles Sturt University Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, Captiva Osprey Cam, and NEFlorida Eagle Cam and the AEF.
Ervie celebrated his 5th month birthday alone on the barge in heavy rain at times. With Dad not around and Ervie hungry, he set off to bring home a fish and he did ——– another Puffer!
Oh, Ervie looked like a wet rat when he arrived on the perch of the barge at Port Lincoln with his prize breakfast.
Can you see the soaking to the bones Ervie on the perch?
Poor Ervie.
When Ervie flew from the perch to the nest he got the Puffer stuck in the corner. He considered it. Flapped his wings, rose up and…
got his prize out and on the nest.
Now how do I unzip this thing?
Poor Ervie. You look like a drowned rat, darling.
It must feel quite odd walking around the nest with a balloon on your talon.
Deflated.
Ervie did a good job eating his fish.
Ervie was cleaning his beak after finishing his gourmet snack at 10:42:37.
I wonder if Ervie is developing a taste for Puffers? or has he found a place on his route around the shore where he finds them easily? Will he bring another one back today?
At 10:44:09 Ervie flies down to the shed waiting for Dad to come and be company with him.
Happy Birthday, Ervie!
Thank you so much for joining me. Take care. See you again soon!
Thank you to the Port Lincoln Osprey Project for their streaming cam where I took my screen captures.
NE27 known affectionately as Little Bit by all his fans, got itself right up to Samson when he flew down to feed the kids.
Samson is already feeding NE26. Little Bit is frightened but is scooting its way up and over the twigs on the nest to get within reach of Samson’s beak but hopefully, not catch too much ire from big sibling who wants all of the food to themselves.
Someone asked why NE27 is always cheeping. It is food calling. It is hungry and it is letting Samson and Gabby know even though its beak is not right up against theirs.
Samson is gesturing to 27 to turn around.
There. Little Bit gets a good bite.
Despite its big crop and fish on the nest, NE26 does not want 27 to eat!
Samon bypasses NE26, moves his head way over, and gives Little Bit a bite.
Little Bit gets quite a few bites from Dad.
This feeding is ongoing as I wrote this blog. It is 15:50:54 and Samson is giving NE27 lots of attention and bites.
Samson will continue to feed Little Bit and 26 will try to stop it. By this time 26 is more than full.
Little Bit and Samson are working around 26.
Little Bit got some nice pieces of fish.
There is that precious little one with a nice crop thanks to Samson!
Both parents are on the nest as I finish writing this. Gabby is doing some aerating and Samson is looking around.
Samson is definitely alert to what is happening around the nest in his territory.
We can all sleep well tonight. Little Bit is full. Nest behaviour is very interesting. Samson responded to NE27s little cheeps for food and worked to help get it to eat. This is precisely what he did 48 hours ago. Do the males remember what it was like having a big sibling? I notice that M15 is quick to come in and help. Curious.
Port Lincoln moved the camera zoom in close and here are a few close ups of Ervie. Isn’t he handsome?!
Ervie. Happy Birthday. You are 5 months old today!!!!!!!!
These images were taken around 07:11-12, 16 February. Ervie is, of course, fish crying! He is also still a little wet from heavy rain a little earlier.
Just look at R1 and R2. Their juvenile feathers are really covering that dark thermal down underneath and they are standing so tall! And walking – not on the elbow but on their feet. Growing Up. I am showing you this because Little Bit will be fine. R2 still suffers but has learned much about snatch and grab, end runs, and feeding itself that are invaluable lessons for survival. Little Bit is learning them, too.
These characters are 10 weeks old.
B15, the eaglet on the Berry College nest of Pa Berry and Missy, is such a curious little one. Today it spent time watching Missy aerating the nest. You can often catch it moving nest materials about, too. This only eaglet is adorable.
Louis and Anna are on the nest with Kincaid. Those feathers are really coming in nicely. Sometimes you can hardly see Kincaid on the nest.
Andy and Lena are keeping alert. No indication of a pip on any of the eggs yet at the Captiva Osprey Cam.
Oh, let us hope these two are lucky this year!
In other news, Iceland has announced that it will end commerical whaling by 2024. That is very good news, indeed.
It has started to snow once again. I went out for a short walk and there is about 24 cm of snow on the sidewalks. I did not get very far! Tomorrow.
Take care everyone. Thank you for joining me today. See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Port Lincoln Osprey Project, NE Bald Eagles and the AEF, KNF Bald Eagles, Captiva Osprey Cam, Berry College, and the WRDC.
Since the time of the storm, NE26 has been very competitive when it comes to food on the NEFlorida Bald Eagle Nest. Yesterday, the younger and much smaller sibling, NE27, did not have any food. The evening before Samson fed 27 until Little Bit had a large crop. Eaglets can go for as long as three days without food. Is it good for them? No. Do they get stress feathers? They can if the stress is severe. We have seen food competition on the SWFlorida Eagle nest but only for a few days when E19 and E20 were wee. We have seen it on the WRDC nest with R1 and R2 in a manner like what we are seeing on the Jacksonville nest of Samson and Gabby. It is good to remember that both R1 and R2 are doing well.
This morning a fresh fish was brought on to the nest of Gabby and Samson. There continues to be alert behaviour with the eagles. I made two short video clips. The first starts mid-way in the feeding. NE27 is very hungry and is getting its courage to snatch and grab. In the second clip NE27 is more comfortable dodging 26s’ head pecks and the old snatch and grab.
The first shows how easily younger and smaller siblings can be intimidated. You will notice that by now NE27 is very close to the parent and will discover putting its head over the rim of the nest out of 26s’ way. The parent will change the direction of the fish at some point. NE27 lands some bites of food. There is still fish left on the nest.
But wait.
NE27 if full and moves over to the other side of the nest. NE26 stays up by the fish. Look at its eyes. It is thinking I could just go over there and eat that fish myself!
Then Samson returns with another fish and NE26 is in the sweet spot to get some food. Perfect. Doesn’t that just put a smile on your face? NE27 is not paying attention – and then, of course, it notices what is going on.
This is a good position for 26 – behind Little Bit!
Both eaglets have a small crop. There is lots of fish on the nest. NE26 is still staring at that fish, though. Hunger is a huge motivator to self-feeding!
NE27 is learning to survive – to be clever, to work around the older sibling. Well done NE27! We are really proud of you.
At the 12:22 feeding, the adult fed NE26. Sadly NE27 went into submissive posture and did not get fed. But after the parent left, this is what happens.
26 passes out in a food coma and 27 continues to work on the fish.
Samson jumps into the nest. I thought he was going to feed them again.
But immediately he was off and Gabby was left as the lookout. This nest has had so much trouble with intruders.
Little Bit. You hold your head up high. You earned it today.
There are many articles about sibling rivalry on Bald Eagle nests.
“I think there’s always some form of sibling rivalry,” says Dianna Flynt, the rehabilitation supervisor at the Audubon Center for Birds of Prey in Florida. “There has to be, because the stronger, older bird is going to be more aggressive when it comes to surviving. But sometimes, it’s very severe.”
Food availability is key. We saw Samson load the nest last week when the big storm was coming. Now you will see a fish on the nest because both Gabby and Samson have had to deal with intruders. Indeed, Gabby was very alert when she was feeding the eaglets this morning. So food being available and in quantity, weather, and other factors such as intruders can all influence eaglet behaviour on the nest.
Sibling rivalry is hard to watch – for all of us. We don’t like to see discord amongst the chicks but I sincerely believe, that in the long run, 27 is going to be just fine. Do not worry about 27. This nest is going to work out just like the WRDC in Miami with R1 and R2 and that is just fine. So big rounds of applause for NE27 who figured out how to get around that pecking older sibling today!
Thank you so much for joining me today. It is snowing and snowing again. Cannot believe how much snow we have this year. But – it is also very beautiful. Take care everyone.
Thank you to the NEFlorida Bald Eagle and AEF nest for their streaming cam where I took my video clips and screen captures.
It’s cold and there was more snow yesterday and some blowing wind last night!
There is good news today.
Pittsburgh-Hayes Bald Eagles have two eggs as of today at 16:07. The reveal came at 16:34. Congratulations Pittsburgh!!!!!!!!
Eagle Country had its second hatch today. My goodness these nests are going to keep everyone busy! Two precious bobble heads – a complete Eagle family for Valentine’s Day!
Dad’s got a bunny on the nest in celebration. Congratulations Eagle Country!
Mum isn’t even in the picture. I think Ervie hollers so loud she wanted some peace and quiet. There is Ervie and Dad just hanging out in the shed together. They look perfectly at home!
Ervie, we still love you. You are everyone’s Valentine.
Sadly the competition on the NEFlorida Bald Eagle nest has continued today. In addition, I am not seeing a lot of food in the pantry on this nest like there was earlier. Certainly the Eagles begin to slow down on deliveries but it seems a little early at this nest. NE26 is certainly not treating NE27 nicely.
Those images of that feeding were at 11:14 this morning. Thirty minutes later they are a cuddle puddle.
Neither chick has a big crop. NE26 is clearly much larger than 27. If you were going by size now you would say Big sister and Little Brother.
A fish was fed at 16:00. NE26 ate. I could not see any evidence of 27 eating. It was in submission on the side all the while. I am certainly not liking what I am seeing in this nest. I wish that Samson would get on the nest and feed 27 while Gabby feeds 26 just like Harriet and M15 do in situations like this.
NE26 passes out in a food coma. Little Bit is up looking to see if there is any scrapes on the nest.
27 found a few flakes and then aroused 26 to look up to see what 27 was doing. Note the very nice crop on 26. If there had been enough fish, I am certain that 27 could have had its share once 26 was asleep.
A few minutes later an adult lands on the nest. NE27 opens its beak at 26. It is Samson and there is no good. The adults have been on alert for several days because of intruders.
There has been no more food brought to the nest or feedings since 16:00. NE26 is also hungry. I sure hope there is a whopper of a fish brought in late. As I mentioned, Gabby and Samson have been on high alert because of intruders and that will account for less food on the nest. Protecting their territory is their first priority. The eaglets are last. NE27 had a full crop last night and it will be fine – just hungry. Let us hope that 26 gets full and passes out so 27 can have a meal. I have to say that I am more than disappointed – and I hope that the intrusions stop so this nest can get back to normal. As I often say, the fortunes of the birds can turn on a dime. It can be intruders or bad weather or the heat of summer. Send all good wishes out to them.
This is the video of that great dinner yesterday when both Gabby and Samson were on the nest with the two chicks. Samson fed NE27 til he was super full. Tears.
Come on guys – let’s do that again tonight!
There is great news up in Minnesota. The first egg of the 2022 season was laid by Nancy on 12 February. This is the nest of Nancy and Harry. It is one of my favourites. Last year Harry was only 4 years old when he fledged two super eaglets! Congratulations Nancy and Harry.
Here is the link to their streaming cam:
And here is the video of that first egg of the season laid on 12 February. We will be on egg watch for #2 tomorrow.
Send all your warm wishes to the NEFlorida Nest. I really hope that 27 gets a good feed tonight. Make no mistake, this eaglet is not starving to death. But regular and sufficient feedings really help keep the babies healthy and stress-free.
Thank you for joining me. Take care everyone. See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: MN DNR Eagle Nest, NEFlorida and the AEF, Port Lincoln Osprey Cam, Eagle Country, and Pix Cams.
The camera has been offline at the Port Lincoln Osprey nest. It was difficult not knowing what was going on with Ervie!
When the cam came on, I could hear Ervie fish calling. Oh, he is loud! In a few minutes Ervie was mantling the nest.
Here comes Dad with a headless fish. It is a perfect sharing. Dad catches the fish, eats the head, and gives the rest to his son on the nest.
Ervie was hungry!
He is mantling that fish really well.
Ervie has that fish firmly under his talons. It is not going anywhere – head or not!
Dad pauses for a moment on the edge of the nest. Thanks Dad!
Ervie really enjoyed his breakfast.
Ervie was cleaning his beak at 10:57. Ironically, he had left a little fish. It is on the nest just below his tail. Looks like half of the actual fish tail with some meat on it.
Ervie flew off the nest and the clean up crew were grateful for the morsels of fish. There is a pigeon at the middle of the nest on the right side. It blends in with the wood.
Ervie was definitely hungry. With all of the outages it is hard to know when he last had a fish dinner.
After he finished eating and cleaning his beak, Ervie looked off in the distance.
Then Ervie began to fish cry again! He almost started mantling.
Ervie raised his wings and flew off the nest at 11:09, Monday the 14th of February. Did he land on the shed near Dad? Did he go somewhere else?
Port Lincoln Posted the tracker for Ervie and a beautiful photo. It was taken by Keith Daniels. Ervie was on his front fence in the Lincoln Cove Marina.
Isn’t he gorgeous sitting there looking in? What would you give to have an Osprey sit on your front fence? and what if it was Ervie!!!!!!!! How grand.
Before I close, I went to check on Little Bit at the NEFlorida Bald Eagle Nest. It had a really nice crop before bed! Yippeeeeeeee.
So all is right with the world.
Thank you so much for joining me. It was just wonderful to see these two fed. It is very reassuring that everything is just fine. Take care. See you soon.
Thank you to Port Lincoln Osprey Cam and Port Lincoln Osprey FB and Keith Daniels for the photo of Ervie on his fence and the NEFlorida Bald Eagles and the AEF Bald Eagle Cam where I took my screen captures.
It is no secret that bad weather days can cause a disruption in the social behaviour of the eaglets on a nest. That is precisely what happened today on the NEFlorida Bald Eagle nest of Gabby and Samson. NE26, the older and larger of the eaglets, pecked at 27 so that it missed at least two feedings. The younger sibling quickly went into submission protecting is head and neck even when approached by the older sib.
By mid-afternoon, around 15:18, 27 got up around the tail of the adult and had some food. Earlier it had tried to self feed on a fish. That was around 10:18. It is very sad when a nest that had been so civil gets disrupted. Fingers crossed that 26 will behave and Samson will have more fish on the nest.
Here are some images, with very little text, of the encounters between the two siblings. The final one is NE27 finally getting fed.
Competition for parental attention or food, squabbling if you like between siblings, is quite common in Eagle nests even when the pantry is full. All of us have seen this. NE27 did figure out how to get around NE26 because, by mid-afternoon, it was really, really hungry. NE26 had been fed and was also not as aggressive as it had been earlier in the day.
We have seen competition arise after big storms. It almost seems that the time between feedings and the bad weather causes the eldest to become hostile. I hope by tomorrow these two eaglets who were both fed equally with large crops have this sorted out! Both Samson and Gabby are superb parents.
Thank you so much for joining me. Take care!
Thank you to the NEFlorida Bald Eagles and the AEF for their streaming cam where I took my screen captures.
Yesterday my friend, ‘R’ saw an article in her local newspaper in PA, the Philadelphia Inquirer, by Rita Giordano. Its title was ‘Copper Bullets could help with eagles being poisoned by hunted animals’. Today, one of the FB groups that I belong to trying to end lead poisoning in birds – both flying and waterfowl – posted some information. I would like to add fishing equipment to these topics, not just bullets. That article, ‘Those Bullets that kill Birds’ will be coming tomorrow. Sadly, those that hunt and fish with lead equipment will probably never read my blog but, hopefully, it will inspire you to reach out to those you know who do fish and hunt with the consequences and how they can help be part of the solution.
I am also working on Avian Flu and falcons. That is coming up.
It started off a wet yucky day in Jacksonville at the nest of Gabby and Samson. By mid-day, the eaglets were drying out. Poor Gabby needs to go to the stylist!
Gabby is an amazing Mum. I love watching her take care of her babies. She tries so hard to get them under her so she can keep them dry. She was also spread out like a huge Mumbrella at one time.
It’s a nice fresh fish for the family. Those babies are getting their mohawks.
It was the same for Harriet, M15, E19 and 20 at the Fort Myers Bald Eagle nest on the property of D Pritchett. The one difference between Harriet’s eaglets and Gabby’s is their age and their plumage. E19 and E20 have their juvenile feathers and the rain and cold can be controlled by them – but not by E26 and 27 yet.
still Harriet tries to stuff those big babies underneath her!
R1 and R2 were soaking wet when they woke up at the WRDC nest in the Miami Zoo, too.
Ron and Rita’s nestlings look more like eagles now. My goodness. They are catching up with E19 and E20.
The Osceola Bald Eagle nest looks dry. The Mum was there feeding the eaglet this morning even though it can easily feed itself now.
It is difficult to tell if there is a pip on the first egg for Andy and Lena at the Captiva Osprey nest. Lena has been rolling the eggs and calling for Andy to bring her some food! He brought in a small fish earlier but she is still hungry.
The poor Mum at the Duke Farms nest is under some snow! Dad has brought in food and has done some rotations in the incubation rota with her.
It is pretty nice down in Louisiana. Kincaid always looks so lonely on the nest when he is there by himself, just like the little eaglet at Berry and Osceola. The truth is that Bald Eagles are solitary birds, most often. It probably doesn’t bother them at all – just me! Anna is going to feed that entire fish that Louis just brought to Kincaid! His crop will pop.
The forest rangers are going to add an IR light that will light up the canopy of the tree, more sound, and a new camera. The sound they have now is incredible. This morning Kincaid was food calling and those little cheeps just tugged at your heart strings.
Are you a fan of Bonnie and Clyde, the Great Horned Owls that took over the Bald Eagle nest on Farmer Derek’s property last season? If so, the GHOWs are back! They have visited the nest but no egg was laid last night.
You can see one of the Owls on the branch above the nest at dawn.
Remember that the owls are active during the evening and night – and most active at dusk and dawn. Once Bonnie lays her first egg, she will remain on the nest taking some breaks with Clyde providing food.
Here is the link to this camera:
On the 11th of February, three days ago in Orange, Australia, that little cutie pie Xavier chased a Wedge-tailed Eagle – the largest raptor in Australia – out of his territory! The encounter was caught on the new tower cam. Xavier, you are amazing.
This is the best I could do from the streaming tower cam. You can see the wings of the Wedge-tail eagle in a downward stance to the right of the image. Below and to the left you will see a small dark spot. That is Xavier.
Here is a 3 min 20 sec video on this magnificent bird so you can see how large a Wedge-tail Eagle is and then you can marvel more at Xavier’s ability to get it out of his territory. A short introduction to the Wedgie.
We are in the midst of another blizzard. The snow coming down is not big flakes but it sure is blowing. I thought I caught Dyson eating the nut cylinder but when I cropped the images it was Scraggles eating all those nuts. Dyson is sure missing out! Yesterday, no one in the garden had hardly touched this lovely nut cylinder and by the end of the day, Scraggles might well have eaten it all. Do squirrels get tummy aches?
The snow is sticking to Scraggles’s fur.
I love how Scraggles moves around eating the seed cylinder and hanging on. That cylinder was more than triple the current size when Scraggles started out. He is eating well and looks quite healthy except for his tail which is actually growing back. We believe he had a bad encounter with one of the local cats.
The Sparrows are all puffed to stay warm.
I put some chopped peanuts, meal worms, and Bark Butter balls on the snow for those that wanted to eat off the ground. It was nice to see the Starling and the Sparrow sharing the food.
Little Red has decided to stay inside his penthouse today. I have not seen him out at all. That suet he ate yesterday should keep him full for several days.
The Port Lincoln Osprey cam is offline again. It has just not been the same since the big storm. Hopefully it will be back up shortly and we can check on Ervie.
Thank you for joining me today. Take care. See you soon!
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen shots: NEFlorida and the AEF Bald Eagles, SWFlorida and D Pritchett, Duke Farms, Osceola Bald Eagles, KNF Bald Eagles, Captiva Osprey Cam, Charles Sturt University Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, WRDC Bald Eagles, and Farmer Derek.
The day started off with a beautiful morning sunrise at the NEFlorida Bald Eagle nest of Samson and Gabby, NE26 and 27, commonly known as ‘Little Bit’. This nest was and is often called ‘The Hamlet’.
It is going to be partially cloudy in Jackssonville, Florida with none of the horrid rain the eagles had the other week. It is 22 C. The wind is blowing at just 8 kmh.
NE 26 hatched on 26 January with 27 hatching on the 25th. Tomorrow, NE26 will be two weeks old!
Nice siblings making a cuddle puddle.
They are a couple of wiggle worms eating and sleeping and moving all over their big nest.
The little nestlings are becoming curious about the environment outside the nest.
Samson and Gabby make sure that both eaglets are full. No one is left out. There are no worries at this nest about Little Bit not getting his share.
In fact, Little Bit hogged most of a feeding today. Meanwhile, 26 sat and watched. 26 still has a crop from an earlier feeding!
Even so, both were fed as much as they could hold.
These little cuties know where the food is but they are not curious like some of the older eaglets on other nests – yet. Notice the clown feet stage is upon us! These two are right on time in terms of development. Those footpads and talons are growing. They are turning yellow and if I could get a close up of their talons we would see that they are now black, not pink.
You can also see the dandelions from the natal down slowly being replaced by their thermal down.
These two are well fed and very healthy. Their eyes are clear. There is no hint of the Avian Pox that Legacy had last year and just look at those fat legs and bottoms!
More feedings! That is Little Bit up front. This is some kind of bird that Samson has brought to the nest.
The feedings are averaging 30 minutes a session – that is a far cry from when these two were ‘wee ones’ and could only eat a couple of flakes of fish at a time.
The eaglets spend between 75-80 days, typically, in the nest before fledging. The first 35 or 40 days are spent eating and growing. We sure see that. The second half their flight feathers come in and they work on skills, such as wingersizing, to help them after they fledge and playing pinecone which helps them learn to grip with their talons.
We are entering week 3 (days 14-21) for both of these eaglets. You will see some changes. The natal down will disappear from their heads last. It might look like they have mohawk hair cuts. Pin feathers will begin to grow in. You will also notice that Gabby and Samson fill up the eaglets even more so that their crops often look so big they can hardly move. It is an exciting time for these babies. At the end of week 3 they will look less like little fuzzy babies and more like eagles.
The feathers will grow and cover their ears, too. It is so exciting – and, at the same time, a little sad. They are so cute when they are wee.
If you haven’t been watching Samson, Gabby, 26 and 27, these wee ones are growing fast. Here is a link to the streaming cam:
Thank you for joining me today. Take care everyone. See you soon.
Thank you to the NEBald Eagles and the AEF for their streaming cam where I took my screen captures today.
The Lost Words is a book by Robert MacFarlane, Fellow at Emmanuel College, Cambridge. Its focus is on the words that the editors of the Oxford Children’s Dictionary removed. Its 128 pages, 27.9 x 37.6 cm in size, are gorgeously illustrated with the watercolours of Jackie Morris, writer and illustrator, who lives in Pembrokeshire, Wales. The missing words that concerned MacFarlane are the following: acorn, Adder, Bluebell, Bramble, Conker, dandelion, fern, heather, heron, Ivy, Kingfisher, Lark, Magpie, Newt, Otter, Raven, Starling, Weasel, Willow, and Wren. At a time when our focus as adults should be to strive to install the wonder of the natural world and our responsibility to it in the children, why, then, would anyone choose to remove words that are directly connected with our environment.
I mentioned this book awhile ago. I have returned to it many times always admiring the illustrations, such as the images of the Ravens on the forest floor amongst the fallen conkers. Conkers are the fruit of the Horse Chestnut Tree, Aesculus hippocastanum. Horse Chestnut trees can grow quite large. Ironically, the conkers are poisonous to horses and I believe, all other animals. The type of poison is called esculin.
That illustration conjured up a beautiful memory of the time my family spent in England. Up on the gorse was a Conker Tree. We had never seen conkers – it was something wonderful and new. The children played a game with them. First you had to drill a hole and run a cord through the conker and secure it with a nice big knot at the bottom. The children would then ‘conk’ their conkers trying to see whose would break first! It was free entertainment and kept them busy for hours.
The rolling hills with their public paths were marvellous places for the children and the adults to take walks and breathe in the air. We were fortunate to have a ‘gorse’ within 50 or 60 feet from where we lived. It was full of butterflies and birds and the most delicious blackberries. It was a time when children played outside with their mates. No one set in front of the telly or spent hours looking at screens. Bikes were ridden and trees were climbed. In the three years we lived in Lincolnshire, it snowed once. There was about 4 cm on the ground – just enough. Still, everything stopped. Children stayed home from school and anything and everything that could be used as a sled was used to slide down the hills of the gorse. I wonder what all those children would think about the snow in my garden today?
The nice thing about snow is that it can cause people to slow down. To enjoy a cup of hot tea and a book. To stop running around worrying about things that are not always that important, to pause long enough to take in the moments.
It seems like it is rather quiet in Bird World but, is it really? Eaglets are growing bigger by the day all the while their plumage is changing. Thankfully, none are ready to fledge. E19 and E20 spend time flapping their wings as does the Osceola eaglet. Other eagles are incubating eggs. It is not time for Osprey season unless they are in Florida. Diane is incubating 3 eggs at Achieva in St Petersburg while Lena, laying hers a month early at Captiva, will be on hatch watch this weekend. Annie and Grinnell are only dreaming of eyases. Today Grinnell had to tell a 2 year old juvenile female to get off the ledge of The Campanile. Cal Falcons posted a video of that encounter.
Ervie continues to fish call off the barge at Port Lincoln. We can hear him but we cannot see him.
Kincaid is 29 days old today. He is starting to walk. It is so cute to see those first ‘baby steps’. Louis brought in what looks like an egret (or a part of an egret). When it looked like Louis might want to eat some of it, Anna promptly arrived at the nest. To Anna, prey brought to the nest belongs to her and Kincaid, not Louis who brought it! Anna is pretty strict in that regard. Not all female Bald Eagles behave that way. Anna proceeded to try and remove one long leg while Kincaid, with an already large crop, waited patiently.
Kincaid is mimicking what Anna is doing as he grabs the other leg and pulls on it. So cute. Kincaid also keeps himself busy moving around nesting material. These little eaglets learn from watching the adults.
Kincaid is already making attempts at self-feeding.
Kincaid is, of course, not the only one trying out eating by itself. I posted an image of R2 at the WRDC nest a week ago eating a fish. The eaglets of Harriet and M15 are also attempting eating on their own. E20 has become a bit of a pro. It seems like all of the eaglets grew up faster than they have ever done previously. Does it seem that way to you?
At the White-tailed Eagle nest of Milda and her new mate near Durbe, Latvia, the snow has melted. Milda will be laying her eggs about the same time as Big Red in Ithaca, New York – the third week of March – if all goes to plan.
There is more snow forecast for Big Red’s territory. The temperature in Ithaca is 1 C.
What I like about the image below is that you can see the nest cup area that Big Red and Arthur have been working on. In Milda’s nest sprigs of pine with their cones line the area of the egg cup. It is so fascinating watching the couples prepare for the upcoming breeding season. It is so intriguing. I would love to ‘speak hawk’ and sit by Big Red and Arthur when they discuss what needs to be done!
At least five eagles poisoned, one dead, four in serious condition in Manchester Maryland. Was this lead poisoning? or was this something else more sinister to impact all of the birds at the same time? There is an investigation underway.
There is good news coming out of Australia about WBSE 27. You might remember that twice, after fledging, 27 was taken into care. 27 was not taught by the parents to take care of itself. Once 27 fledged, it was taunted and chased by the Pied Currawong. Both times 27 was extremely dehydrated. The last time the Currawong had gathered and had pecked 27s head. When 27 was taken into care the last time, I hoped that rehabilitation would include flight training as well as training for getting prey. This takes longer than a two week stay in a clinic. Some wildlife rehabbers keep birds for 2 years to make certain they are capable of caring for themselves with confidence. It looks like 27 is getting that great training. The news is excellent!
Isn’t she lovely? And – yes – 27 is a she!
I wish that all of the sea eagles that fledge from the WBSE nest in the Sydney Olympic Park would not be harangued by the Pied Currawong. They chase them out of the forest. They never learn to fly or to catch prey. How many of them survive, if any, unless they wind up in care?
The camera is now working again at Port Lincoln. Ervie was on the nest and, at various times, in the shed with Dad. Sometimes he was in the shed alone. I cannot tell you if he had a fish but there was definitely a lot of fish calling.
Checking in on Jack and Diane at the Achieva Credit Union Osprey nest and Jack is busy delivering fish and helping incubate the eggs.
If you are into garden animals and song birds, with a few surprises, you might want to check out Wildlife Kate. She has several wildlife cams and is featured on Springwatch in the UK. Have a look. You might find something really interesting like Yew Pond, or the Kestrel Box, or the Woodland Pond.
This is Woodland Pond. The cameras are live with no rewind. Enjoy.
I haven’t posted anything about the eaglet at Berry College for a few days. Thermal down is coming in nicely. Pa Berry did a great job feeding the little one this morning. B15 is still walking around on its tarsus (not yet with its feet) and doing a lot of preening. B15 is doing great. Missy and Pa Berry are doing a great job raising this baby.
B15 is a sweet little eaglet. You can see how its plumage is beginning to change.
I will leave you with a gorgeous image of Jackie incubating her eggs at Big Bear Bald Eagle nest in California. Fingers crossed for a great season for her and Shadow!
Thank you so much for joining me today. Take care. See you soon!
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Friends of Big Bear, Achieva Credit Union, Wildlife Kate, Cornell Bird Lab and RTH, Berry College, Port Lincoln Osprey Project, KNF, Latvian Fund for Nature, and Sea Eagle Cam FB Page.
