Tag Archives: raptors

Early Friday in Bird World

11 March 2022

The sun is shining down on the snow that blew and fell over night. It is -22 degrees C with the wind chill at -32 C. The birds are arriving early! We are all hoping that spring will be here soon. Yesterday I put out two seed cylinders. If you have not seen these they are fantastic for the birds who have difficulty eating at some of the ‘normal’ feeders such as the European Starlings. Of course, Dyson likes to sit on top of the cylinders and munch away while the Black-Capped Chickadee flies in with the speed of Sharpie getting seeds. I really like the Starlings and the Old World Sparrows, many do not. It feels good to supply them with supplemental food in the winter. My City is nothing but a building site and the habitat where the birds foraged is no longer.

I know someone else who likes Starlings! Ferris Akel has posted a short video of the European Starlings on his deck at the feeders. Have a look.

That is not the kind of action that my daughter is getting at hers! She is taking care of this squirrel and rabbit who seem to have worked out how to help one another and keep the birds away. It is funny and wonderful!

I went to bed worrying about the Captiva Osprey nest.

In my head I kept hearing my grandmother say, ‘Everything works out the way it is supposed to’ with the saying, ‘Change what you can, accept what you can’t, and be smart enough to know the difference.’

There is a huge issue of fish delivery at the Captiva Osprey nest. The last time that the Mum, Lena, and Middle and Little Bob had more than a few bites of fish was 8 March. Big has had all the fish for the 9th and 10th. We are entering the third day. As much as all of us might want to pull a tank of live fish to the dock at Lori’s for Andy and Lena, I cannot do this. This area of Florida is experiencing hot and humid weather. There is no quick fix for the weather patterns that are impacting many nor can I put a halt to the intense competition for food (fish) in this particular area of Florida. In other words, if I am smart, I will recognize that I have to accept the situation and just hope that there is a turn around at this nest.

Well, Andy has brought in three fish so far this morning. They were a Sheepshead, a Lady Fish, and the last one is a Spotted Trout. brought in a big fish. Big has been eating and eating and eating.

Big ate the first two fish. Little and Middle who had to have been starving each kept out of the way.

We are now on the third fish. Big is obviously full. Look at that crop. Lena fed him slow. Good for her. That will allow the other two fish to settle and send Big into a food stupor. Hopefully there will be fish left for Mum and the other two siblings, Middle and Little.

Lena has eaten some bites and given at least one to Middle. Big is keeping Little from going to eat. Let’s wait a few minutes and see if Big will pass out and ignore the others.

No. Big has gone back to the table! We saw this type of behaviour at the Achieva Credit Union last season when Sibling 2 would eat til it was almost sick to keep the others away from the fish.

Lena must eat and so must the other two including Little. The heat will have dehydrated them over the past three days.

It is 11:56 nest time. Big is out for the count and Little is being fed. Middle is looking out to the water. Interesting.

Little Bob is eating for the first time in 72 hours save for a couple of scraps on the 9th. Look at how open his beak is. Oh, I hope this wee babe gets good and full.

Little has been eating for 19 minutes. This is so good. Tears and more tears.

This has been a very good fishing day for Andy. I hope that he continues to bring in the fish so everyone, including Mum, goes to bed tonight full to the brim. There is bad weather coming for the weekend and that will cause the fishing to drop. (See map below). As I finish, there is still fish. Lena is feeding Middle along with herself and more bites for Little. What a relief.

Little ate for 24 minutes. He is ready to have a nice nap. Lena and Middle will finish up the fish.

It is difficult to decide which nests to check there are so many now. If you follow the VGCCO Osprey nest (the Venice Golf and Country Club), they now have two hatches and Denton Homes in Iowa has eggs. I completely missed both of those.

The West End Territory or West End Bald Eagle nest on Catalina Island just makes me smile. It is in a beautiful location and it is the home of Thunder and Akecheta.

In the image below, Thunder is on the nest in the middle. Akecheta is to the left on the tall peak guarding the area.

Akecheta has grown up. He is learning how to feed his babies and he seems to fully understand the importance of working with Thunder to keep the Ravens away from the nest! This is huge.

Yesterday a couple of really good videos were posted. If you have time take a peak. Shadow has been watching the way Thunder feed the chicks. Here we get to see his progress! This is our proud first-time Papa wanting to be involved. It is simply precious.

Lady Hawk took the second video clip:

It looks like the sun is really helping to dry out the nest of River and Obey. River also has the chicks out in front so they can get the warmth of the sun, too. There are fish hiding underneath the grasses for lunch.

River has fed all of the kids several times this morning. Little Bit is getting around so much better today. That warm sunshine is really helping. Life is good at Dale Hollow Lake.

Oh, the nest of Jasper and NE27 is a soggy mess. The rains on the 10th, yesterday, were torrential. Mum Gabby tried to keep her sweet way-too-big-to-brood babies dry! What a fabulous Mum she is, too.

Gabby trying to get a little sleep while brooding the kids.

Today, Jasper and NE27 are still wet and the nest is a soaking mess. Both eaglets have been self feeding.

The parents were in and out feeding the two after leaving them to try for themselves.

NE27 has been self-feeding for some time. He will still remain submissive if the parent is only feeding one, Jasper. But, when he is ready, he will do the old snatch and grab if necessary.

Both eaglets are developing fine. There are no issues save for the weather and it looks like they are in for more rain over the weekend.

Big Red and Arthur were both working on the final touches to their nest on the campus of Cornell University. Arthur was in first with Big Red coming in after and ‘tweaking’ his efforts.

Arthur brought in some greenery.

If you have watched the Royal Albatross nests on Taiaroa Head, you will know that the NZ DOC rangers spray for fly strike. Big Red and Arthur use pine boughs to ward off insects.

The nest as Arthur left it.

He flew back in with a twig – working on the side rails so the little ones do not roll out of the nest cup accidentially.

Arthur is very handsome!

Gorgeous deep brown eyes! looks like he has also had some breakfast or made a prey drop to Big Red off camera.

Big Red comes in a few minutes later to check on the decorating.

She will work and get it all tweaked.

When she is finished, she looks out to see if she can see Arthur with her ‘eyes like a hawk’. LOL.

The weather forecast shows a ‘weather bomb’ headed for Big Red and Arthur’s nest over the weekend with more rain for the nests in Florida and the SE.

The nest of Jackie and Shadow should get a break from the weather this weekend. The strong winds from yesterday – winds that almost blew Shadow off the nest – have calmed today. Thank goodness. That beautiful chick is 8 days old today. Wow. Where did the time go?

First feeding of the day around 05:42. The sun is just coming over the mountains in the distance.

Just look at that little one sitting up so straight and tall. This is the second feeding and there will probably be at least six more today. Jackie and Shadow have done an amazing job with this wee babe. We are so fortunate to be witness to their job, just like Thunder and Akecheta at the West End.

Thank you so much for joining me today. We can all rest easy. Everyone at Captiva has eaten! Take care everyone. Stay safe.

My thanks go to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Friends of Big Bear Valley, Dale Hollow Lake Eagles, Cornell Bird Lab and RTH, NEFlorida Bald Eagles and the AEF, Captiva Ospreys and Window on Wildlife, CNN Weather Tracker, my daughter, Ferris Akel for his video, and Explore.org

Happiness Spilling over at the nest of Thunder and Akecheta

10 March 2022

There is something so joyful about a first time eagle parent and Akecheta sure gets the gold star for staying diligent and being ever so excited today. Akecheta wears a wing tag with the number A-61. He hatched at the Los Pinos nest on Santa Cruz Island in 2016 so he is six years old this year. He also has a silver band on his left leg with his numbers and an orange band on the right. His mate is Thunder and she wears the wing tag K-91. She hatched at the Two Harbours nest on Catalina Island in 2009. She is 13 years old this year. Akecheta has been Thunder’s mate since the 2020 breeding season. They had many problems including Akecheta, at the young age of four, not really realizing the importance of nest security. Eggs were lost to ravens – two clutches – in 2020 and in 2021 issues with eggs in nesting materials. This year is very different so far! In a good way. Akecheta is smitten with those babies and is being devoted to his family both in getting fish and in security. It is beautiful.

There were 3 eggs laid in the 2022 season on 29 Jan, 1 Feb and 5th February. The first two eggs have hatched on the 8th and 10th of March. Looking for the third to hatch on 12 March. Oh, goodness. What a difference in dates! Today the mods were happy to report that E2 had its beak wide open for food at 12:36:02 and that E1 had its first poop shot at 13:04:56. If you read about bonking on this chat, just smile. The nestlings’s vision and muscles are not developed. It is not intentional at this point.

Watching out for the Ravens that are flying around.

Alerting.

Such happiness – two fuzzy babies. Thunder is so happy!

An Eagle kiss between Thunder and Akecheta. Beautiful.

Akecheta is so excited and wants to do everything! Brooding, security, and fish deliveries!

Sweet little baby.

Yes, you are very cute. Look at that hairdo!

Proud Papa. Thunder can hardly get in any brooding time.

Why do some of the eagles have wing tags and not others? The ones with wing tags were part of an effort to reintroduce bald eagles into the region since they were wiped out by DDE prior to the 1980s. Here is a really thorough article on the hacking effort of reintroduction that both Thunder and Akecheta were part of:

https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/chil_eaglecam/wing-bling-reference-chart-santa-catalina-and-san–t11469.html

Everyone is pretty much aware that there are at least 400,000 barrels of DDT that were dumped into the water around the islands. Some of these are leaking. It might turn out that the eagles and their chicks become part of an even greater study as to the continuing impact of this deadly chemical on their chicks and their future breeding.

Today, this family has just put a glow on my face today! I wanted to share that with you. Here is the link to their camera:

Thank you to Explore.org and the Institute for Wildlife Studies for their streaming cam where I took my screen captures.

Thursday in Bird World

10 March 2022

Dyson, Scraggles, Little Red, and Mr Downy were all out in the garden along with the pile of European Starlings and Sparrows plus a couple of Grackles who have returned early. It is cold, -22 but, no snow just bright, bright sunshine. The most interesting book came in the post yesterday. It is Winter World. The Ingenuity of Animal Survival by Bernd Heinrich. It is not just about birds but it is very interesting and full of science that I didn’t know. Originally published in 2003 in hardback. Lots and lots of sound scientific information on how my garden friends survive the winter including the squirrels, the birds and other animals and birds such as weasels and Kinglet’s. I have wondered what all of the Crows eat and there is even a chapter on that. What I have learned is that trees with edible berries are not only beautiful but so helpful to our wildlife friends – including insects – in keeping alive in the cold.

There is a lot to be thankful for and people who are out working to save the lives of the most endangered of our feathered friends. It was wonderful to see a posting about the hatches of the Kakapo. In all, they are doing remarkably well.

As the sun was setting, there were some remarkably loving and tender moments at the Big Bear nest of Jackie and Shadow.

Just look at the crop on that wee babe. Everyone is home sharing dinner together!

The little one was fed really early. The wind at Big Bear Valley is so strong that it almost blew Shadow off the nest! I wonder how good his fishing will be this morning?

Jackie is keeping the wee babe full. Just look at how big this chick is compared to that egg it was squished in last week.

Everyone is sharing a second breakfast together. Lovely.

It also appears that Jack and Diane are not letting the loss of three eggs dampen their day! They have been bringing strips of bark into that nest and on Wednesday were even mating on the nest. Talk about optimistic! We wish them all the luck in the world on what might be a second clutch.

The three eaglets at the Dale Hollow Lake Bald Eagle nest of River and Obey are doing fine this morning. It sure is nice to see the sun shining down on that nest for a change!

The twins are just so much bigger than Little Bit. You can really see that this morning. If it gets caught in the middle of them, it is hard to get out.

I will give River a great virtual big hug. Look at how she is leaning over to feed Little Bit.

Big Red has really been putting the final touches on her nest on the Fernow Light Stand on the Cornell University campus. Her and Arthur have been working diligently between the snowstorms to get it in tiptop shape. Looking good!

At the Captiva Osprey nest there was only one fish delivered yesterday. Big ate almost all of it. Andy has just delivered the first fish of the morning. It is 11:24 and it is small. Already everyone knows that Big will get it all – again. So what is going on? Apparently there have been huge flocks of pelicans flying into the area early in the morning. There is certainly a lot of competition for food. I hope that he will be able to get more fish on the nest today. From the experiences at Achieva Credit Union last year, the other two are still OK. Tiny Tot once went 72 hours without food – about the same size as Little Bob now. But let us all wish for some good fish for them today.

And then there were two! Congratulations Thunder and Akecheta at the West End Eagle nest on Catalina on your second hatch!

This little one probably hatched around 04:00. It will need more rest until it is ready to eat.

I love how Cheta is watching how Thunder feeds the babies. He is going to be really busy supplying fish now that there are two of them – and, of course, security at this nest is paramount.

Just a beautiful Bald Eagle family!

What a lovely way to end the morning – with Akecheta learning how to feed his now two little ones. There is one more egg to go! This family will be very busy if it hatches. If it does we will be looking for that on Saturday.

Take care everyone. Thank you so much for joining me today. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams or FB pages where I took my screen captures: The Kakapo Recovery, Friends of Big Bear Valley, Cornell Bird Lab and RTH, Dale Hollow Lake Eagles, Captiva Ospreys and Window on Wildlife, Explore.org, and Achieva Credit Union.

Late Wednesday in Bird World

09 March 2022

This is a very short check in on some of the nests I have been watching today. There is lots of joy in Bird World this afternoon and some sadness.

At the Captiva Osprey Nest, it is nearing 18:00. Lena and the chicks have had only one fish delivery today. Hopefully tomorrow will be a much better fishing day for Andy. Big got 98% of the fish with Lena, Little, and Middle getting a few scrapes. Mum has to eat too and Lena is starting to look a wee thin. Send those good positive wishes for them.

Little at the Duke Farms Bald Eagle nest is no longer with us. There is one healthy eaglet now on the nest. It has been very cold and the nest was damp. Let us hope that this remaining eaglet thrives and fledges.

I have always joked about River, the Mum at the Dale Hollow Lake nest, reminding me of my grandmother. This afternoon River left the three chicks uncovered for a very long period of time. They needed the sun and that nest needed to dry out. River found a way to do it!!!!!! At the same time, Little Bit got some nice fresh air and got itself up at the table for some food. Tears of joy rolled down.

Not only did Little Bit get to the table but River fed that sweet baby nice chunks of fish. Life feels a lot better.

There is real happiness at the West End Bald Eagle nest of Thunder and Akecheta (Cheta). For the past two breeding seasons, since they have been together, this couple has not had any chicks. This is Cheta’s first baby and he can hardly leave the nest! But he did. He has brought in 4 fish so far and Thunder has brought in 1. I am adding a bunch of images from today. This is the same joy that Jackie and Shadow felt with their little miracle.

Two very proud parents. One very much loved little eaglet.

I love how they look at those fuzzy little balls of life with such tenderness.

The golden glow on the little one who is not yet even a day old. You can clearly see that hammer of an egg tooth used to get out of that shell.

Adorable.

Two very proud parents!

It has been a great day albeit a windy one at the nest of Jackie and Shadow at Big Bear. The chick has been fed and fed – 8 feedings so far and it is just the middle of the afternoon in California. Lena sure would like to have one of those fish that Shadow has been bringing in for her and her kids at Captiva.

One of my readers thinks that ‘Miracle’ would be a good name for this baby. I totally agree!

Here is a short video from a feeding yesterday that Big Bear prepared.

Everyone is waiting as patiently as they can to get news from Karl II, the Black Stork male from Karula National Forest in Estonia, as to where he is on his migration home. Fingers crossed. Many things can happen when crossing desert areas. Wishing the best. I will continue to monitor his progress.

Enjoy your evening. Thanks so much for this quick check in. Take care everyone.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Duke Farms, Dale Hollow Lakes Bald Eagles, Friends of Big Bear Valley, and Explore.org

Wednesday Afternoon in Bird World

09 March 2022

The sky is a bright blue with a few clouds and the sun is pouring down on the birds in the garden. The temperature is -15. Dyson and Scraggles have been chasing one another and Dyson has now lost the back half of its tail. I wonder if that wasn’t the evidence of an injury that I saw last week? No worries. Dyson is fine and fat and is still eating the right mess of seeds that he managed to dump! Mr Downy has been at the suet feeder this morning and there have been 63 Starlings in the mix with the House Sparrows. There are now two Grackles that have arrived. It seems early for them. Spring is definitely coming.

Starlings are incredibly beautiful. Just look at the untouched colours in the bird below. Gorgeous.

Duke Farms has put out a statement about Little.

The little one at Dale Hollow continues to worry me, too. It was spunky and up there with the twins. I wonder if it has gotten sick from the rain and the cold and the damp?

It has literally been the weirdest day at the Captiva Osprey nest I have encountered since Andy and Lena began incubating eggs. Lena flew off. Andy flew in with a fish around 14:00 – the chicks have not eaten all day. He tried to feed them. Lena returned. There was a kerfuffle on the nest and, in the end, Big is eating all of the fish. Little and Middle will likely have to wait, hoping that another comes in before Big gets hungry. Both Middle and Big recognize that Big is the dominant bird on the nest and gets first dibs. Ah,…it was so different a little over a week ago when all lined up and ate together each leaving the table with some food in the belly.

Big Bob ate the entire fish. I do not know if Lena got more than a few bites. It is now 14:54, almost mid-afternoon and the other two remain hungry and hot along with Mum. Oh, I hope Andy can get some good fishing in. Big Bob is so full he would probably ignore a fish if it arrived on the nest right now. Fingers crossed! Maybe Lena will go fishing, too. That would be quite helpful — just like Diane on the Achieva Credit Union nest last year. Diane really saved the day when she started bringing in her catfish.

It is still snowing at the nest of Big Red and Arthur.

This morning the camera zoomed in on the most beautiful Red-tail hawk in the world, Big Red. She is also the most famous – know around the world!

Toni Castelli-Rosen posted the following chart for Big Red’s egg laying today on the Cornell Hawk Cam Chatters FB group:

The West End Bald eagles are really happy today. The male, Cheta, is not know for hanging around the nest and that is all he has done since the wee chick hatched yesterday. Like Jackie and Shadow, this couple had two years without any eaglets because of the Ravens. Let us hope this diligence continues!

Here is the link to this nest if you do not have it on your list:

All is well with Jackie and Shadow. The little one is doing so well and the feedings and fish deliveries continue.

It is good to leave on a nice note. The chick at both the West End and here at Big Bear are strong and well. Andy will get a fish on the nest again at Captiva. His fishing could have been hampered by those in boats. There seems to be a lot of them about today. Those osplets are fine albeit hungry. Andy and Lena are great parents. A really nice way to end in the day in a few hours would be to see Ervie again! Oh, that bird just lifts all our spirits!

Thank you for joining me. Take care everyone. Think spring!!!!! It is coming.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams or FB pages where I took my screen captures: Cornell Hawk Cam Chatters, Captiva Ospreys and Window on the World, Cornell Bird Lab RTH, Friends of Big Bear Valley, Dale Hollow Lake Eagles, Explore.org, and the Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey.

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.

The Ervie Puffer Party

09 March 2022 (nest time)

It could not have come at a better time. I sat staring at my notes about Little at the Duke Farms Bald Eagle nest. Sadly, I wrote down that I thought the wee one would not be with us tomorrow. At one time Big was tramping over Little and even though Little stood up and wanted food, it was not fed. My heart felt like someone had torn it apart. Then, ‘B’ sent me a note. “Ervie is on the nest”. Tears. How many times has that Port Lincoln Osprey brought sunshine to my life? and to yours?

Ervie flew in with another puffer at 13:25:05.

Here comes Ervie! I continue to wonder if Ervie prefers puffers? if they are so easy to catch and he knows where there are a stash of them? or if Ervie only comes to the nest to eat the puffers? perhaps he has developed a taste for them?

If you don’t look too close, you might think that this is just a normal fish.

Ervie worked that fish – which seemed to be mostly tough parts and skin – for at least an hour and fifteen minutes. In the process, several of us noted what had been posted on the Port Lincoln FB page – news about one of the talons on his right foot being missing. It appears that it is growing back in.

One of the chatters was curious about when Ervie lost this talon. Does anyone know how long it takes to grow a whole new talon? They are keratin, just like our nails. Clearly, Ervie’s feet looked a little worse for wear. They must be one of the most important parts of an Osprey’s body – that fine tuned machine where every aspect helps to hunt and retrieve fish. It was reassuring to see it growing back in.

I took some video clips to share with you. I hope you enjoy these. It was such a delight to see Ervie on the barge. I missed him the other day. These moments are so precious. I hope he comes back soon!

Ervie, you are much loved!

Thank you to the Port Lincoln Osprey Project for their streaming cam where I took my screen captures and video clips.

Tuesday Afternoon in Bird World

08 March 2022

I was very concerned about Middle and Little Bob at the Captiva Osprey nest after Big Bob’s bopping. Big has certainly caused a fright in Little Bob that really causes him to hang back now instead of getting up there in front, no matter what, like our sweet Ervie.

Well, a Sheepshead came on the nest and after Big got his fill there looks to still be enough to give a good feed to both Little and Middle with some for mum Lena.

Middle is certainly getting its fill but what about Little?

Shadow and Jackie are such an amazing couple. I love how they chit chat to one another. Shadow has been bringing in lots of fresh fish to the pantry for all three of them to eat.

Jackie and Shadow are such proud parents. They are not only making certain that the little one is fed often and there is plenty in the pantry but also that any would be predators do not get even close to their nest. Very protective of this only little eaglet – their miracle.

Jackie has taken care of the feedings today giving the wee chick a chance to try and eat bigger bites.

Open wide! That little chick nailed that big bite. Four days old almost. Doing great.

Simply adorable. Just look at Jackie’s eyes. Such a very proud and happy mama.

Sooner than we think, this yet to be named eaglet at Big Bear will be branching just like OC9 at the Osceola Bald Eagle nest of Starlight and Skyler in Florida.

At the WRDC nest of Ron and Rita in Miami, the parents have been giving branching demonstrations to R1 and R2.

“Now look. It is really easy! Just do like I am doing. Soon you will be flying!”

Thankfully the nest of River and Obey at Dale Hollow Lakes is drying out. My goodness they must have been inundated with rain. The three little ones, the twins and the baby, are doing fine. From the time they were a couple of days old, River has had them working their legs scooting around the nest. They are all doing really, really well.

If you look carefully, the baby, at the back, has a crop from an earlier feeding.

Still it is going to crowd up to the front with the twins and it is going to get some of that fresh new fish, too.

River is a really laid back Mum. She reminds me of my grandmother. I wonder how many chicks she has raised? She is at least 23 years old so chicks for the past 21 years?? Very experienced! Nothing seems to rattle her.

The snow is melting at the MN DNR nest of Harry and Nancy. Look closely. You can see the tinge of spring green beginning to appear. What a beautiful day. You could hear flocks of geese flying overhead.

I still worry about the youngest one at Duke Farms. It is just so much smaller than the eldest. It has had trouble getting up to the table and, yet, just about the time I am ready to wring my hands, a good feeding comes along.

It is also a really gorgeous day at the Redding Bald Eagle nest of Guardian and Liberty in California. Golden Rays falling down on this nest. They have lost one egg to breakage but, hey. Two healthy eaglets will be just fine.

While eggs are being incubated at Redding and chicks fed elsewhere, Big Red and Arthur continue to work on their nest on the Cornell Campus. This morning Arthur brought in some nice bark to line the nest cup. He worked hard at placing it precisely where he thought Big Red would want it. Of course, when he flew off she rearranged the whole thing! Arthur tries hard. We could be within five days of eggs! That would match the earliest Big Red has laid her first egg. I am realistically thinking another week to ten days.

Talk about working together quickly to save an Osprey. Desy got caught on a TV antenna and the Port Lincoln Osprey group were called into action!

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-03-08/osprey-rescue-bird-of-prey-satellite-tracking/100890852?utm_campaign=abc_news_web&utm_content=link&utm_medium=content_shared&utm_source=abc_news_web

Desy is improving and he now has his own special fresh fish tank in front of Bazza’s house. Apparently Desy, like most Ospreys, prefers eating live fish! This news is good. Ian Falkenberg hopes to put a satellite tracker on Desy once he is ready to be released in the Lough Bay area. It will be a first for Port Lincoln (the tracker on an adult bird) and should provide much needed information on their dispersal.

Sadly, Meg, the Osprey from Thistle Island has been found dead. She has been sent for an autopsy. There were no outward injuries and she appeared quite healthy. My condolences go out to everyone with Port Lincoln Ospreys who work so hard to increase the numbers and care for these amazing birds.

I went back to check on the Captiva chicks. Andy, thank you. Another fish has come on the nest. Big is full. Little, Middle, and Lena are going to enjoy most of this fish. What a relief!

Middle Bob passes out.

Little would like some more but he has eaten well. Lena really needs some fish and she is going to finish this one off. Meanwhile, look at the image above. That is Middle Bob’s fat little bottom sticking up in the centre of the image. Cute. You can also see that Big Bob is really getting those copper-red feathers at the back of his head near the neck.

Wait! There’s another fish delivery and look who is up front!

There is some major crop action going on. And it is a bit confusing with the extra fish on the nest – the one in front of Little Bob above. Lena moves the fish she is working on to the middle of the nest and begins feeding the chicks and eating herself leaving the new fish in the back corner.

Little Bob is at the far end. You can see his head in front of Middle Bob. Big Bob, despite its enormous crop, seems to be thinking of a third or fourth helping.

Lena is feeding Middle Bob and Little is trying to snatch some bites.

At 15:24 Little Bob is getting fed and will have a nice crop just like its sibs. That is wonderful. It has been really hot and Little has often suffered when Big eats most of the fish. I suspect that Little will crop drop shortly.

Andy seems to have good fishing today. Nice to see Little Bob full.

I cannot think of a nicer ending to a blog than having Little full to the brim late this afternoon.

Take care everyone. Thank you so much for joining me. Send all of your positive wishes to the little ones struggling and all those birds migrating to their spring and summer breeding grounds. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams and FB pages where I took my screen captures: Captiva Ospreys and Window on Wildlife, Osceola Bald Eagles, Dale Hollow Lakes Bald Eagles, Redding Eagles, Port Lincoln Osprey Project, Cornell Bird Labs and RTH, WRDC Bald Eagles, the MN DNR, Duke Farms, Explore.org, and Friends of Big Bear.

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.

Late Monday in Bird World

Any worries about the bopping that Big Bob seems to want to inflict on Little Bob as of late should be cast aside. Little Bob is a survivor and he won’t let anything Big does keep him from his favourite fish! At the feeding around 15:00, all three Bobs had enormous crops. Little Bob was the last one to leave the table.

Each of the trio looked like they would just about pop.

Everyone is hot at the Captiva Osprey nest. The chicks are panting to help thermoregulate.

Lena decided to go for a dip in herr own private area of the Gulf of Mexico to cool down. Lena has a pretty enormous crop, too. She went for her dip right after feeding the chicks. One thing Lena seems to really dislike is fish oil on her feathers. She has returned and is trying her best to keep the babies shaded, too.

It’s Monday and the fishing is good.

Meanwhile in Big Bear Valley, Jackie has fed the wee babe again at 13:01. I sat and giggled at the size of the pieces she was offering the eaglet.

Would you like some fish tail, darling?

Or, perhaps this is a better size????

It was quite humorous. I had a feeling, at one point, that Jackie was trying to demonstrate horking to the nearly four day old chick. Horking meaning to eat very quickly a large piece that would otherwise be eaten in smaller bites.

Jackie then settled into feeding the wee one smaller bites til it had a nice crop and was ready for another nap and some more growth.

Adorable.

NE 27 continues to do the snatch and grab rather well. He stole an entire fish from Samson today. 27 was already full, almost to the brim. Perhaps Jasper will get some time to practice his self-feeding if and when 27 gives up on the fish. Meanwhile, this is a short clip (don’t blink) of NE27 walking and doing some wing exercises.

B15 at the Berry College nest of Pa Berry and Missy is the sweetest little eaglet. It still has that adorable face it had when it was wee and a great big curiosity about the world around it. Pa Berry has been bringing in all manner of prey items. A squirrel landed on the nest for breakfast.

It scares the wits out of me when the eaglets look over the rim of the nest like B15 is doing below!

I missed him! Did you? This is the most recent tracking report on Ervie.

Awwww. Would have given anything to see Ervie. Bet I was watching Big Bear at the time.

There was a report of 130 Mallards and 1 American Black Duck at an open piece of water in one of the two big rivers that flows through our City. This one was the Red River. And, yes, they were there. Hard to see as I was scandalously far away and didn’t have my 2x adaptor.

Just before I took off to find the ducks and that small open piece of water, Little Red had been waiting, warming himself in the sunshine, while another Red squirrel had their eyes on his penthouse. Little Red wanted some of the peanuts I put out before Dyson got them but he decided to protect his territory instead.

Dyson, on the other hand, was being a right little trouble maker today. I put out a new square hanging feeder full of a mixture of Butter Bark, peanuts, and Black Oil seed. So what does Dyson do? He creeps through the Lilac bushes and takes a flying leap at it! About 2 litres of seed fell on the ground. What a mess!!!! Dysonnnnnnnnn!!!!!!!!

Dyson saw me watching. Whether or not he was concerned is another story as he sat and stuffed his cheeks for more than ten minutes. Then when I moved to another window, he decided that sitting inside the lilacs and eating his prize seeds was best. He was still going in and out for quite a long time.

As it warms up the squirrels seem to be coming out more. There are rabbit tracks all around the garden so we know that Hedwig is around and the Little Woodpeckers – both Mr and Mrs Downy – have been around most days at the suet feeder. Sharpie even flew through at least once yesterday causing everyone to flee hither and yon. Thankfully the European Starlings have dropped considerably in numbers at the feeders. There are now only about 7 or 8. It gives the other birds a chance to flit in and out including the Black Capped chickadee who visits daily.

I hope that this quick and short newsletter finds you well. Again, most of the bird nests are doing fine. There seem to still be intruders about at some nests and the wee one at Duke Farms still has trouble getting to the table. I am going to hold my breath and check on it and Dale Hollow in a couple of days.

Thank you so much for joining me. Take care.

Thank you to the following streaming cams or FB pages where I took my screen captures: Port Lincoln Osprey Project, Friends of Big Bear, Berry College Eagles, Captiva Ospreys and Window on Wildlife, and Friends of Big Bear Valley.