The line was wrapped around the hallux and talon 3 and over talon 1 at 08:28:31.
But…look now. Tears!!!!
The line is still on the nest but – this is good to know. It appears that the line is off Little Middle’s feet!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Did someone wish for a miracle? or did all of you?
Keep watching. If you see anything regarding line on their talons – including Big, please let me know. Thank you for all your positive wishes and help. I don’t know what happened and I don’t care. Two hours ago I thought Little Middle would surely lose its talon if it could not rid itself of that line. Whew! Little Middle appears to have dodged another bullet.
Take care all. It could turn out to be a good day…oh, BTW. Jasper at the NEFlorida nest of Gabby and Samson has branched this morning while I was watching Little.
Thank you to the Dale Hollow Eagle cam where I took my screen captures.
Wednesday was a day with super highs and lowest lows in the animal world. A group of hunters in the UK chased a Buck for 7 hours straight until it collapsed and died. Seriously horrific. River brought in a beautiful fish for the kids at the nest she shares with her mate, Obey, at Dale Hollow Lake. This is in northern Tennessee bordering Kentucky. It had a hook and fishing line. River broke the line and tossed the hook over the edge of the nest but some line remains and some – not sure how much – is on Middle Little’s foot. I hope it works itself off naturally without cutting into the talons and leg. Poor thing. Little Middle has been through so much. I could not – and still can’t – believe this happened. One of our readers has the e-mail of Al Cerere that started the American Eagle Foundation with its headquarters in Tennessee. Perhaps he can help Little Middle in some way. Thank you, ‘L’ for reaching out to him. Fires are raging the Pigeon Forge Tennessee home to Dollywood and the AEF Ambassador Eagles – and Al will also be busy with this. The wildfire is being monitored and there are plans for evacuation. In the positive column, White YW arrived today to join his mate, Blue 35, on the Foulshaw Moss Osprey Nest in Cumbria. Last year they almost arrived at the same time. So excited. These are Tiny Little’s parents!! It is a great nest but an aggravation as there is no rewind!
Akecheta feeding his triplets always puts a smile on my face! Just looking at them gives me hope.
All is well with the West End triplets this morning, Thursday the 31st.
The triplets at Pittsburgh-Hayes are also doing well. A dry morning has turned, however, into a miserable one and the three will need to stay dry and snug until it passes.
The storm that hit points to the west that is hitting Pittsburgh is starting to blow in Washington, DC where Mr President and Lotus have their only nestling to keep dry, warm, and fed.
There is lots of food but it is difficult to feed a new hatch in torrential rains!
There are storms moving through large swaths of US. The storm and heavy rain at Berry College where B15 has his nest with parents Pa Berry and Missy is just starting.
This morning at 09:17:55 Pa Berry and Missy’s eaglet B15 fledged!!!!!!! Here is B15 at 09:00.
I cropped the image so you can find B15 easier. It is the black silhouette at the top centre flying out of the frame.
Parent is on the nest trying to lure B15 back with a fish for breakfast – nice reward! Send positive wishes that B15 stays for the 4-5 weeks to learn its flying and continue to get prey from parents!
Gold stars go out to Rosie and Richmond. My goodness they have been working hard to get their Osprey nest on the Whirley Crane in the Richmond Shipping Yards fit for eggs. Well done!
Middle and Little (or Little and Mini) at the Captiva Osprey nest are ‘itchy’. Unless they are eating it is extremely difficult to get a good image of both of them standing together!
There is still no news on the cause of Big’s death. That was 15 March. Only 16 days ago. It could be another week or more.
A lesson learned that many wildlife rehabbers know is that if there is a nest where an eaglet needs to be removed so the others thrive, remove the oldest. Not the youngest. Both Middle and Little have done well, getting along perfectly well since the death of Big. I don’t want this to sound callous but it is the thing to remember. Often we think the one that needs food needs to be removed but it is actually the oldest who will do well in care while the young does best on the nest.
A sub-adult or juvenile White-bellied sea eagle has return to the nest in the Sydney Olympic Park. Is this 25, 26, or 27 or 28? They are attempting to identify the bird. This is done, ironically, through the talons I believe.
Sea Eaglet is quite hungry but lovely to see. I wonder if this is not WBSE 27 that went into care twice? Will confirm when anything is posted.
The Black Stork Karl II flew into the Ukraine and instead of heading north headed back south to where it was on the 29th. Did something scare it? Individuals are hopeful that Karl II will go a different route to the west. Fingers crossed.
There is a fish pool at Mindic where Karl II can get food.
I have no information on the situation with regard to Little Middle at the Dale Hollow Nest. Yesterday River brought in a fish that had a hook and line stuck in its side. River removed the hook breaking the line. She threw the hook over the nest. Monofilament line remained and it got on D15 Little Middle’s left foot. This morning at 08:28:09 there is a clear view of the issue. The line, at that time, had wrapped around the 4th toe the hallux needed to carry fish and the third and over the first toe. Last night it was only around the top of the foot. It is tighter. Little Middle ate well last night. I did not see it eat this morning. Here is an image of that line:
I posted the image and the issue on Bald Eagles 101 this morning and send a message to the USFWS at Cookeville, TN.
If you feel so inclined, here are some phone numbers of appropriate authorities to call in Tennessee. Remember that Carol Moore called The Raptor Centre who was to call the USFWS yesterday. I believe this was done. It is unclear if there is any way to access the nest. Some trees are just not safe for someone to climb. It is imperative to remember that this is a human caused issue and, as such, warrants an intervention if, indeed, it is at all possible to do so. What we do not know is if there is any way to access the tree. That said, here are some phone numbers in the area if you feel you would like to add your voice. The Mid-South Raptor Center at Celina TN. 901-685-8827. The Army Corp of Engineers that own the property is 931-243-3135. The Cookeville USFWS is 931-528-6481.
There is no guarantee that anyone will do anything. I was hopeful that this morning Little Middle would be relieved. It is possible that there is absolutely no access to the nest. As one of my falconer friends reminded me yesterday, ‘Nature kicks you right in the gut just when you think everything is going well’. And it couldn’t be truer. Little Middle was clever and eating and Big didn’t bother it yesterday like the days before. Both of them are 31 days old today, 32 if you count hatch. Being gutted is pretty much what it feels like this morning but I live with hope.
Speaking of hope, Cal Falcons has estimated that Annie will lay her 3rd egg tonight around 21:10!!!!!!!!! I can’t wait!!!!!!! Something positive to look forward to.
Thank you so much for joining me today. I wish beyond wishes that I had good news for you about Little Middle. Take care everyone. See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: West End Eagles and the Institute for Wildlife Studies, Pix Cakm, NADC-AEF, Berry College, SF Ospreys and Golden Gate Audubon, Captiva Ospreys and Window on Wildlife, Sydney Sea Eagles at BirdLife Australia Discovery Centre, Anne7 at Looduskalender Forum, and Dale Hollow Eagles.
A big thank you to Carol Moore of Wildlife Matters in Kentucky. She responded to my note about Little Middle. She has reached out to the Raptor Centre who will contact the US Fish and Wildlife Service. A permit is required and they are normally given quickly in a human caused instance. It was within hours for the Captiva Bald Eagles that had fishing line that CROW removed. Let us hope that something can be done to help Little Middle, DH15.
30 March 2022
If you happened to tune in to chat at the Dale Hollow nest after 10:36 when River brought a big fish on to the nest, you will have noticed the moderators talking about the fish hook and line. The hook was in the side of the fish with a long line that ultimately became wrapped around Little Bit’s leg!!!!!!!!!! My hurt sunk to my toes.
What got me was the statements being made that ‘no one would do anything’. According to the moderators the nest actually belongs to the Army Corp of Engineers. But the statements – again made by chatters – included if they go up there to take out the line the parents will not take care of the eaglets anymore. Wildlife rehabbers are often great tree climbers and get to nests that are completely inaccessible by machine. Perhaps there is no one in the area to do this? If you can maintain the camera, though is there not a way to the nest? I am curious why there is not a plan in place should something like this happen. It is a perfectly legal cause to go to the nest.
River has broken the line and taken away the hook but Little Middle is still tangled in line.
How many of you can name an intervention that took place this week that was caused by fishing line? to a nest with eaglets that could fledge? was that intervention successful? If you said Ron Magill at the WRDC nest with R2 you would be correct. R2 fledged, broke the line but still had line. R2 was retrieved and the line removed. Here is the video of its return to the nest.
How many of you can name a non-human caused intervention where the nestlings were away for nearly a week and the parents returned immediately to care for them when they were returned to the nest?
Can you name an Osprey nest in Florida where CROW went up and removed a hook and fishing line last year? Just see how quick it was!
Does anyone remember the two individuals who went out and rescued the adopted chick placed in a nest who subsequently fell into the water? If you said Patuxent in Maryland you would be correct. There are interventions everywhere every day. Fishing line was removed from one of the Alberta osprey nests last summer – I have forgotten which one. The Montana Osprey Project was busy removing baling twine last year from osplets. There are also nests in the wild that have tragedies that we will never know about.
Eagles and Ospreys fall under the same rules. Human caused interventions are allowed but require permission. In terms of fishing line it should be easy. It is a quick fix to save an eaglet’s life. Ask Ron Magill if you don’t believe me!
You probably know of a number of sites where you have seen an intervention. Let me know.
River is staring at the fishing line that is wrapped around Little Middle.
River is clearly aware that these things should not be in the nest. Will she be able to save Little Middle? so its legs are not injured. Send your positive wishes. If you happen to live in the area of Dale Hollow Lake and know the wildlife rehabbers there, you might want to give them a call and see if it is possible for them to intervene.
Last year many of us phoned Patuxent amongst other sites. It was those calls that got action and saved the Osprey in Maryland. II don’t actually ‘get’ the inaction amongst the Dale Hollow group. I am hoping that they just don’t know about the other interventions and what could happen here to help Little Middle.
One of the most wonderful things about birds is the fact that they just carry on. Whether or not they are buried in snow, soaked to the core from torrential rains, or thrown about their nests with huge wind gusts, they just get up and get on with it. They give me hope and most always put a smile on my face. There is a rhythm to their lives that provides us as watchers with hope and solace.
Most love to watch as the parents feed their young – from the tiniest saliva bites for new hatchlings to that third week when the crops get so full they look like they will pop to surrendering the prey on the nests when the babies are self-feeding. Most of the parents give it their all. I cannot imagine for an instant what it must be like to feed four bobble heads and keep them alive. A human who has four infants would find that a huge challenge. It makes me appreciate the birds even more.
All lined up nicely for Mum Thunder. There has not been any discord at this nest. I continue to remind people that the youngest, in the middle of the image below, is four days younger than the eldest. Little Bit at Dale Hollow was three days younger.
Thunder taking care and feeding the triplets.
Thunder and Akecheta are up early feeding the triplets this morning.
Both eaglets at the Dale Hollow nest of River and Obey are are 30 days old today. At 06:48:21 a parent flew in with a sucker, not huge but not a bad breakfast.
Little Middle never knows what kind of mood Big will be in so he immediately begins to move to get away and let Big go eat.
He walks down to the rim watching and listening. The adult has not begun to feed Big. The parent is sitting and watching- not only the happenings on the nest but also in the territory of the nest.
Big has moved over to the fish and on a side that would separate Little Middle from the feeding. The adult is looking around and still not feeding. Middle Little is cautious but this time hurries up along the rim making its way up to the table! Smart. Little Middle waited too long last night and lost out on the fish. He is hungry this morning.
The parent feeds Middle Little all of the first bites. Big does nothing. Just watches.
The adult feeds a tiny portion of the fish to the two and then abruptly flies off at 07:17:58.
Little Middle is working on his balance and does a great PS.
Both eaglets settle down and wait for the parent to return. What a great start to the morning. Is it magic when they turn a month old they become civil? We wait to see.
First time mothers with bobble head babies seem to have some difficulty figuring out the right angle to hold the beak and feed the little one. Last year I thought Anna and the Kistachie National Forest nest would never figure out how to feed Kisatchie! They both got it! And Lotus and the wee one at the National Arboretum Nest in DC will get there, too. It is truly difficult to hit a bobbling target!
It looks like Mr President is asking Lotus how much more fish he needs to bring to the nest!!!!!
It is Wednesday morning and all is well with the new hatchling of Mr President and Lotus. Oh, it is so sweet.
Easy to see the egg tooth – the white bit at the tip of the black beak – that hammered away at that shell. Oh, so clean and white.
Turn your beak sideways, Lotus!
Liberty and Guardian have a couple of cuties that are not having any problems getting down to feeding.
I keep asking Liberty if she would please feed them so we could see. It doesn’t seem to be working! The little ones have had lots of meals on Tuesday with Liberty keeping her back to the camera. Too funny.
I wonder how many are following the Great Horned Owls that took over the Osprey nest near Savannah on Skidaway Island? The nestling has grown in remarkable time. It is just starting to get the tufts on top of its head. No one knows what the actual purpose of the tufts is. Does it help camouflage the owls by breaking up the line of the head? or are they there to show the mood of the owl? Little Grey is alone on the nest except when a parent comes to bring food or feed it. Cornell took a video clip of Dad delivering a duck dinner to Little Grey.
It may be cool in Big Bear Valley but the snow and rain have stopped. Jackie and Shadow did super taking turns brooding and feeding throughout the storm. The chick hatched on 3 March making it 27 days old today.
Yes, you are cute.
Before I forget, the results of the naming contest for Jackie and Shadow’s eaglet will be announced after the area has its spring break. That would be 4 April. Can’t wait!
Abby and Blazer’s eaglets have their juvenile plumage. The sun is setting and sending a soft golden glow on the pair of eaglets being fed this evening. They are never too old to want to be fed by Mum.
The surviving eaglet at Duke Farms hatched on the 24th of February making it 34 days old today if you count hatch days. It is really growing and covered in thermal down with its contour and wing feathers growing in nicely.
Mum and Dad were both on the nest for the feeding as the sun gently sinks into the horizon Tuesday night.
It looks like the Duke Farms eaglet is having fresh squirrel for breakfast on Wednesday.
The triplets at Pittsburgh-Hayes are growing and behaving themselves at meal time! What a nice relief.
Mum is up early making sure everyone gets a good start. This nest will require lots of prey and many feedings to make sure each gets enough.
The parents are old hands at taking care of triplets. They fledged three last year!
Wow! What a difference. Just imagine. Before you blink, those three nestlings at Pittsburgh Hayes pictured above will be the size of Jasper and Rocket at the NE Florida nest of Samson and Gabby! And they will be self-feeding.
Here is a video of Jasper and Rocket enjoying a live fish! It is one of the many lessons the parents teach them so they can deal with all situations in the wild and survive.
All is well with Andy and Lena at the Captiva Osprey nest in Florida this morning. It is getting more and more difficult to tell Middle from Little at this nest. That is fantastic. There continues to be no word on the cause of Big’s sudden death.
In the world of UK Ospreys returning from migration, a super Mum, Blue 35 (2010) has arrived at her nest at Foulshaw Moss in Cumbria. She landed at 13:09. Last year Blue 35 was tired of the two older and much larger siblings eating all the fish and Tiny Little Bob not getting much. There is Tiny Little on the far left.
So Blue 35 pulled a fast one. She fed the two large siblings til they were full and flew off with the rest of the fish. When they went to sleep, she returned to the nest and fed Tiny Little Bob. Tears flowed with joy! With the help of Mum and Dad’s (White YW) great fishing, Tiny Little grew and grew becoming the dominant osplet on the nest.
So welcome back, Blue 35. What a great Mum you are.
I continue to follow the Black Stork Karl II’s migration from the Sudan to his nest in the Karula National Forest in Estonia. Here is the route that he took last spring returning home. His migration pattern is in royal blue.
If he stays to the west and if the fighting and burning are not bad, well, fingers crossed! We want them to stay way to the west of Odessa and Kiev.
There is severe weather coming to parts of the United States that will impact many of the nests that you are watching. If you live in this area, please stay safe and watch for the storm warnings. Send all positive wishes for our birds that are outside in a nest when raging winds, rain, and tornadoes hit.
It has been a good start to the morning at all of the nests. We can’t ask for anything better than Little Middle getting to share a fish breakfast with Big without a single second of intimidation.
Thank you to everyone who worried about our snow and ice. The snow is still here on the ground and it is a dreary grey-white morning but everything is fine. Thank you for being with us this morning. Send all your best wishes for continuing prey and health for all of the bird birds. Also, take care of yourself. See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Cumbrian Wildlife Trust, NEFlorida Bald Eagles-AEF, Looduskalender Forum, Friends of Big Bear Valley, Dale Hollow Bald Eagles, West End Bald Eagles, Redding Bald Eagles, Pix Cams, Cornell Bird Lab and Audubon, CNN Weather Tracker, NADC-AEF, Eagle Country, and Duke Farms.
It is so nice to write a post without any strife at the Bald Eagle nest of River and Obey bordering the states of Tennessee and Kentucky.
A fish arrived at the Dale Hollow nest at 18:54:02. It certainly won’t win any records for its size but it came in just in time for the eaglets to have some supper before bed.
So far, as I am watching this, Big has not bothered to attack Little Middle. Why? Big still has a crop from the feeding at 14:00 by River where he ate the last third of the remaining fish from the morning.
Little Middle immediately got quiet. River reached out to try and feed Big.
Little Middle strikes the ‘Lamborghini Pose’. Did you know that the bullet train was designed using four different bird shapes and that the Lamborghini doors are rumoured to have been inspired by eagle wings?
What is important is that Big does nothing. She is not much interested in food. Ready for a pellet? ate too much earlier? I am sure once Little Middle wants a feeding that she will quickly become hungry.
Little Middle is so good at the snatch and grab.
Big decides it wants some food.
They both eat.
River ate the fish tail at 19:03:50.
Both eaglets have nice crops for heading to sleepy time. Thanks, River!
I am delighted that Little Middle has eaten well before bed. He had a relatively good morning and this just sort of seals the day. Sleep and grow!
Thank you for joining me. It makes me happy to share this good feeding with you! See you soon.
Thank you to the Dale Hollow Eagle Cam where I took my screen captures.
The snow up at Big Bear Valley that had accumulated on Jackie and Shadow’s Bald Eagle nest has now melted. I think they sent it to the Canadian Prairies! The snow is really coming down as I write this – and it had almost melted.
I love the top picture with the baby who will soon be named looking at that fabulous Mum, Jackie.
Jackie and Shadow have seen lots of weather that quickly changes at Big Bear but this is the first time for a couple of years that there has been a baby to protect. So sweet. Nothing was going to move Jackie or Shadow when the winds and the snow came. Lucky little one.
The snow began to quickly melt around noon.
Have you ever noticed that there are piles of fish on the nest the minute a wee one hatches? Thee National Arboretum nest of Mr President and Lotus had seven large fish on it today! Seven. For one chick – and family. Would love to send some of that fish down to Middle Little at Dale Hollow.
Proud parents Mr President and Lotus. That little bobble looks so tiny in that nest!
The single eaglet of Martin and Rosa at the Dulles-Greenaway nest is doing just fine. It is so cute!!!! Eating well and no problems at this nest!
The little one ate and ate…and then ate some more! Tummy is full and the sun is setting. What a sweetie.
Pittsburgh-Hayes now has triplets. They have raised lots of triplets on this nest including last year. Oh, they are so cute lined up to eat!
The Canada Goose on the Decorah unused Bald Eagle nest laid four eggs. she gathered down from her breast to create the nest cup when she finished and she is now incubating.
As time gets close for hatch and jump, I will remind you so that you can watch.
Parents are busy at the PA Farm Bald Eagle Nest. It is tandem feeding for the four! And so far, so good!
The rain, winds, and storm have stopped in the Channel Islands. It is now hot! You can see the eaglets of Thunder and Aketcheta panting to get cool. Dad is trying is best to provide shade!
It is 17:48 on the Dale Hollow nest. There was a fish tail left from the morning feeding and River fed that to Big at 13:54:55. I hope that there is enough fish coming in tonight so that Little Middle has some. He had a crop this morning and can, of course, survive til tomorrow but his growth and health will do better with more feedings, not less.
My last report is about Karl II who is now in The Ukraine. Anne7 is terrific at keeping images and maps going of Karl II’s travels for the Looduskalender Form in English. I am so grateful to her.
If he will fly fast and due north he can get home to Estonia. Please do not go to the east!!!!!!!!!!
This was a very quick check on a few of the nests. Thank you so much for joining me. I see some of you are in bad weather areas. Please take care! See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams and/or their pages where I took my screen captures: Looduskalendar Forum, Dale Hollow Bald Eagles, NADC-AEF, Friends of Big Bear, West End Bald Eagles and the Institute for Wildlife Studies, Pix Cams, Dulles Greenaway Bald Eagles, PA Game Commission, and Explore.org
This is actually more a quick glimpse of late Monday activities in Bird World up to noon on Tuesday.
At 20:57:27 Monday night, you could see an eaglet with the two halves of the egg acting as book marks at the National Arboretum Bald Eagle nest in DC. It is home of Mr President and Lotus. They lost their first eaglet to a tragic accident during pipping so it looks like once the AEF officially announcements the hatch, it is congratulations!
At 07:07, you can get a good luck of the dried fluffy baby. Congratulations Mr President and Lotus. This is wonderful news. May DC9 stay healthy! This is now the historic moment of having a hatchling in the DC nest for the first time in four years.
Oh, you are cute and you are blessed. You will be an only eaglet like Jackie and Shadow’s baby.
Here is a really short video of that hatch.
Jackie and Shadow have certainly had a terrible day with the strong winds, rain and ice pellets.
There is snow on the Big Bear nest this morning but the winds have lessened. Thank goodness. Everyone is just fine!
What a gorgeous landscape!
Samson made the egg cup quite deep the other day knowing that the baby would be snug as a bug when the storm hit. Lovely family.
Amanda777 made a short video of Jackie feeding the baby in the snow.
The rain and the winds stopped on Monday for the West End eagle nest of Thunder and Akecheta. This morning it is beautiful. Someone who knows fish species told me that the red flesh fish that are brought to the nest are Alders. They are apparently quite good if you like to smoke your fish.
How many stared at Annie in the scrape watching for every moment? CalFalcons predicted around 20:10. I hung on waiting for a little longer only to get up later and, thankfully, to a note from ‘B’ discovered that second precious egg of her and Grinnell’s had been laid around 21:18:37. Thank you! Both were clearly visible at 21:41:17 when Annie rose up to display those beautiful deep red eggs.
CalFalcons made a quick video of Annie laying that second egg.
Here are the two eggs this morning! Good thing egg collectors have learned that their actions almost made many bird species extinct in the late 19th century and early 20th. They are beautiful! We will look forward to them being fuzzy white eyases in 33-35 days.
While I was watching Annie I was also checking on Karl II. Oh, bless that Black Stork’s heart! Now if he will continue his north westerly route avoiding the area of The Ukraine…Fingers crossed. Looking forward to having him back on his nest at the Karula National Forest in Estonia.
He spent the night in Motoseni, Romania.
My happiness at Karl II’s route was matched by Obey flying into the Dale Hollow nest at 18:02:32 with a small fish last evening. At 18:02:51 Little Middle went into submission.
Big had finished at least a fish and a half, if not two, one hour earlier. Big could not be hungry!
Watching and watching and listening, Little Middle gets to the rim, head down.
He sits up and looks over hoping, perhaps, that Big wouldn’t finish that small fish! Big did not attack.
Little Middle moves around the nest. Big doesn’t do anything. Is there any fish left?
He gets up there, beside Big.
Little Middle gets his first bite at 18:09:22.
Little Middle got the remainder of the fish thanks to Obey. The tail was gone at 18:14:12. Not a long feeding and not a lot of fish but Little Middle had a crop. Oh, I would love to see this wee one get to eat an entire fish by itself! Talk about a growth spirt.
I loved this image of Little Middle looking up at his Dad. Obey has done some nice feedings for the wee one, holding back, going slower, moving the fish. It is nice to know that Little Middle went to bed with a full tummy.
This morning a really large fish on to the Dale Hollow nest. I cannot comment on what happened prior to 08:14 on the feed as it will not rewind beyond this and I could not check this nest earlier. It appears that the two eaglets were fed half of the large fish with half remaining on the nest. There is no discord between them after 08:14 so maybe there wasn’t any! I live with hope.
It appears that Big ate first and Middle moved in later. That would be my guess based on past experience.
Big is obviously full.
The parent turns the other way to feed Little Middle. Big has moved away already having consumed 1/3 of the big fish. There will still be fish left when Middle finishes eating.
I have included the three images below. It is hard to get a sense of the true difference in size or even the actual size of the eaglets.
It is nice to see them looking out at the big world together. Big has almost lost her dandelions and, of course, Middle Little had his pulled off so he is ahead with that regard.
Little Middle is surely growing and has some nice blood feathers at the tip of its wings coming in. Big has quite a few. Both are doing a lot of preening. Hopefully more fish will come in today – surely there will be!
Everything continues to go well for Andy and Lena and the two Osplets at the Captiva Osprey nest in Florida. Both are healthy and continue to eat well and grow in their juvenile plumage.
Every once in awhile you can get a glimpse of all the triplets at the Pittsburgh-Hayes Bald Eagle nest. It can be tricky though. I have waited and waited with no luck!
The two eaglets of Liberty and Guardian seem to be going through the bobbling head phase. One had a great PS this morning while the other stood up and watched it. Cute. Their rain has stopped and they are drying out.
There was a Great Horned Owl that landed below the nest in the middle of the night. Hope it stays away!!!!!
There are so many nests to cover and Ospreys arriving or not. It is difficult now to keep track of all that is going on. I have not seen any announcements of any of the monitored nest Ospreys returning in the UK since Telyn arrived at Dyfi late Monday. I will continue to monitor that situation.
Thank you for joining me this morning for a bit of a hop, skip, and jump through the nests. We are expecting rain and then 100% chance of more snow – just when we thought spring was coming!!!!!!! I recall actually having snow on the 15th of May one year. Hopefully it will not be that late in 2022. Take care everyone. See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures and video clips: Friends of Big Bear Valley, Dale Hollow Eagles, Cal Falcons, Pix Cam, Redding Bald Eagles, Captiva Ospreys, Looduskalender Forum, West End Eagles and the Institute of Wildlife Studies, and the NADC-AEF.
A wonderful lady from Poland who rescued a Crow and took care of it for 5 months so it could return to the wild asked me how I could stay ‘distant’ and not get involved emotionally in the nests. That was perhaps two years ago now. I hope she still joins us here with the birds. The truth is I often scream at the screen, get upset, yell at particular birds as if I know better than then, can’t sleep at night if a bird is encased in ice, etc.
Most of the time the nests are brilliant but sometimes you meet up with one that simply doesn’t make sense the way the others do. For me, this year, that is Dale Hollow.
At 17:02:41 today, River returns to the nest having been there earlier. She has decided it is time to feed the eaglets even if they are sleeping. Immediately Big gets up – has a leftover crop from the 11:52:51 feeding. Big attacks Little Middle just to make sure it didn’t move up to eat. Even then Big hangs back close to Little Middle so he won’t move up near to the food. Middle Little tucks its head in way under and he stays that way.
In the middle part of the feeding, there is another attempt at intimidation. It is clear from the first part that Middle can still get up to Little Middle’s head.
In the third part, Middle begins to move, finally. River reaches out and gives it a bite of food. Why did she not slow the feeding? Why did she not turn with her head to the rim? It is an easy thing to do – after all, she has done it before. Little Middle could have eaten but it was too frightened. I find this nest to be so sad. Even with 6 fish coming in yesterday nothing stopped Big’s wrath.
Thankfully the weather has cleared at the West End Bald Eagles nest. Thunder, Akecheta, and the three babies are fine! In the image below, Dad is drying off his wings. The babies are in front of him sound asleep.
Everyone is fed.
I yelled at Akecheta last year about his refusal to guard the nest. He was 5 years old and figuring out slowly – very slowly – what his role was. Thunder had faith in him and it has surely been rewarded this year. Cheta wouldn’t let anyone touch those kids of his – and everyone eats. Not one of them has been hungry, left out, or bonked and the little one is 4 days younger than the oldest! They are also very healthy and growing strong. No fear or intimidation just trying to corral curious kids with wooden blockades!
Look at how big and tall the oldest is. Beautiful. Looking out over the sea where she will be flying one day. Too soon.
There is your power couple.
There was a prey drop and a bit of a ritual bonding in the scrape of Annie and Grinnell at The Campanile on the campus of UC Berkeley. Here is a video clip of this ritual….BTW. We are expecting Annie to lay the 3rd egg this evening. Cal Falcons predicts it will be 20:10 scrape time.
Look carefully and you can see the pip progressing in the egg at the National Arboretum Bald Eagle Nest. They say you can hear it peeping now. Mr President and Lotus are not giving a thing away.
It is just miserable at the nest of Jackie and Shadow at Big Bear. The icy snow has turned into rain for now. The nest and adults are soaked to the core.
Poor Jackie. The weather is so bad. Shadow filled up the nest with food, bless his heart. You can see the stacks of fish behind Jackie. Hopefully there is a break to feed the baby who should have a name soon! One of my readers, ‘A’, a teacher who wants to ensure her students are empathetic with wildlife sent in the name ‘Hope’. It is so fitting for this time. I did not mention this while the contest was open but it is certainly what we all must have – Hope.
It is definitely a busy day on the nests. I am going to bring this blog to a close with a look at the female star of the Dyfi Osprey nest in Wales, Telyn, the mate of Idris! These two are so close to my heart. Telyn arrives and doesn’t sit on the nest waiting for Idris to bring her a fish – and he is truly the king of bringing in huge fish. No, she goes off and gets it herself. I sure hope her mate and the others we are missing are home soon. Welcome back, Telyn, Blue 3J. Eat and rest!
Thanks so much for joining me today. You couldn’t hear me yelling at River to turn herself around. It is hard to see one eaglet with a crop eat a fish and a half and the other get a single bite. But…At any rate, take care. It feels like there is going to be lots of news tomorrow. See you soon!
Thanks to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures and video clips today: Cal Falcons, Dale Hollow Bald Eagles, West End Bald Eagles and the Institute of Wildlife Studies, Friends of Big Bear, National Arboretum Eagles and the AEF, and Dyfi ospreys.
I thought that my blog would appear tonight but the day got flipped so it is out by noon but, if there is an evening report, it will be quite late.
The weather in California is not good. The storm hitting the Channel Islands is intensifying while it is yet to hit Big Bear Valley. One with rain and high, high winds – the other with high, high winds and snow.
The weather forecast was dire for Jackie and Shadow at Big Bear Lake with high winds and snow. The wind is currently blowing at 14 mph with a temperature of 38 F.
The winds remain with the snow expected to arrive today.
At 10:47, the weather is better for Jackie and the baby.
Those same winds are hitting the Channel Islands and the nest of Thunder and Akecheta at the West End. In still images you cannot see the wind or hear it but for Thunder, Akecheta, and the trio it is blowing at 29 mph.
The winds turned into winds and rain. Akecheta is hunkered down on those three babies so nothing will happen to them! Please keep this family in your thoughts today and send them positive energy. The storm is, at present, much worse here than at Big Bear.
Here is a video clip I took so that you can see the intensity of what the eagles are facing.
At 09:47:
Akecheta and kids at 10:44. Soaked.
It is raining on the Redding California nest of Liberty and Guardian but so far they seem to be spared the high winds that West End and Big Bear are getting.
It started out foggy for the east coast of Florida a the nest of Samson and Gabby in Jacksonville. The fog will burn off and it is going to be nice for our eaglets, Jasper and Rocket, who are working on wingersizing and getting their balance down perfectly. Both are self-feeding and well branching and hatching is going to come soon.
Jasper hatched on the 23rd of January (04:06am) and Rocket on the 25th (02:24am). Jasper is 63 days old and Rocket is 61.
Note: The information on the streaming cam indicates that the pair are only 21 hours apart but the hatch times listed must then be incorrect. Whatever the date it will be another 2 weeks when we will really be looking for fledging.
At the Dale Hollow Nest of Big and Middle Little, Middle Little is crying to be fed despite 6 fish being delivered to the nest on Sunday, Little Middle got hardly any food after noon because of Big’s intimidations and beakings. River brought a fish to the nest at 06:54:39 but did not feed them. They are both hungry and a little restless.
They look like wooly insulation today.
River arrived at 10:18:14 to feed the eaglets. Big went up immediately. Little Middle observed and then moved to the left of the nest – and River changed her position so she could feed it and Big – separated by her body! Well done, River! Both got to share the small fish and both had crops, not huge but they both ate well enough. Now we need more fish!
River used her ‘eagle eyes’ to notice that Little Middle was moving up and wanted food. See how she turned to face the rim which protected Little Middle from Big.
Did you know that the term ‘eagle eye’ was first used in the 1500s before science understood eagle vision. Eagles have 5x the amount of light cells packed into a square inch. Humans can see at 110 degrees with both eyes, eagles have two foveae (the place in the retina where the cells that sense light are located) in each eye. They can see much better in all directions – including almost 360 degrees of peripheral vision, according to Sibley.
Both eaglets are getting some of their blood feathers – more, of course, on Big.
Some of you have commented about a chat at Dale Hollow. The chat for Dale Hollow appeared yesterday and then today for a bit. According to one of the moderators, it is only on when the cameras are re-booted and probably won’t be on at any regular times if at all.
The eaglets are 28 days old – 4 weeks. Remember when you look at their size that only 51 minutes separates them in terms of hatch time. Big is just huge. You can easily see those wing and contour feathers coming in on Big in the image below. Look at the tip of the wing.
River flew in with a nice fish at 11:50:51.
Notice Big’s large crop from eating almost an entire fish earlier as she moves over to get fed. Little Middle puts its head down.
But wait! Is Big too full? ready to cast a pellet? (they don’t always want to eat them) The adult is stretching out to feed Little Middle! Oh, kiss that eagle!
Big decides it wants some fish, too. But there is no discord. Eventually the adult moves away to the other rim so that the two are divided.
Just look at Little Middle’s crop!!!!!!!!!!! Yahoooooooooo.
Excellent. Little Middle made up for missing much of the earlier fish and winds up with an enormous crop. Well done, Little Middle.
It has been awhile since we had a really good look at the osplets on the Captiva Osprey nest. With the death of Big on the 15th (cause unknown still), the two remaining chicks have thrived with absolutely no discord. Today they are standing and it is seriously difficult to tell Middle from Little.
They are seriously beautiful little Ospreys and it is wonderful for Andy and Lena to continue to have two healthy babies who look like they will fledge without a problem.
Can you tell between Middle and Little? It is difficult. Middle is standing in the image below. Its feathers are a little darker having grown out longer.
Harry is keeping the MN DNR nest full of prey – talk about choice! – for his two wee ones and Nancy. Their weather is so much nicer than in other parts of the US.
It is cool in Ithaca where Big Red and Arthur have their nest with some snow falling on occasion. Big Red and Arthur are incubating four eggs – a first for this nest and a rather rare event even if hawks can lay up to 5 eggs. Ironically, the University of Syracuse RTHs now have four eggs, too!
The same snow that is falling in Ithaca is hitting Pittsburgh and the Bald eagle nest out in Hayes even more. Mum and Dad are brooding three chicks. Stay warm!
There was a pip in the second egg at the National Arboretum nest. Here is an image of the egg during a shift change today and the adult. Will hopefully have good news tomorrow on a successful hatch for Mr President and Lotus.
In the image below, taken at 09:22 this morning, you can clearly see the egg tooth chipping away. Oh, my goodness, fingers crossed for these two.
Here is a recent video of the hatch for Mr President and Lotus as it progresses:
There was some speculation about the Dale Hollow nest when the camera was turned away from the nest. It appears, from comments I saw by the woman who does the videos, that at one time or another – perhaps during that long view – Little Bit was removed from the nest and probably fed to Big. Several of you thought that was the case. Eaglets from other nest also brought on. Good sleuthing. Sad.
Thank you for joining me today. Please take care. See you soon!
Thank you to the following for their streaming cam: Friends of Big Bear Valley, West End Bald Eagles and the Institute of Wildlife, Dale Hollow Eagles, Captiva Ospreys and Window on Wildlife, Pix cams, NADC-AEF, Cornell Bird Lab and RTH, MN DNR, Redding Eagles, and NEFlorida Bald Eagles and AEF.
Jack brings in yet more toys for the kids as Harriet lays the third and, hopefully, final egg today at the Dahlgren Osprey Nest on the King George V River.
Not to be out done by the Cornell Red tail hawks with their four eggs, the female at the Syracuse Red tail Hawk nest has now laid four eggs! Goodness. While we might want to think that this is a prey rich summer, I had a conversation about Avian Flu with someone who is involved in that research. They said that Avian Flu H5N1, the highly pathogenic strain, is spreading like wild fire. Could the extra egg be part of a natural reaction to this? The general consensus is that 1 out of 3 fledglings survive. Are the hawks laying 4 eggs with the hope now that 1 in 4 survives this year with the spread of the flu? It reminded me of a quote on the Looduskalender Forum byIrene Ripperberg: “Clearly animals know more than we think and think more than we know.”
I had hoped that the afternoon would be a good one for Middle Little. While Little Middle did eat, those feedings did not come without enduring the wrath of Big. At 12:06:54 a parents flies in with a piece of fish. Big immediately goes after Little Middle who will get nothing of that prey drop. At 14:19:13 there is a large fish and a small piece left from earlier on the nest. Little Middle moves and Big goes on the attack. LM watches as Big is fed. By 14:26:47, Little Middle is at the rim of the nest moving cautiously. Little Middle gets a bite at 14:29:00 and a few more bites. Big gets up and Little Middle goes into submission. Big ate the rest of the fish and the tail. Little Middle did have a crop, part of which was left from the morning. Obey flew in with another fish at 15:28:58. Middle was where he landed. He gave Little Middle some bites which LM snatched and grabbed til Obey flew off at 15:32:39. At 17:52:47 River moves the large fish Obey brought in earlier and begins to feed Big. Little Middle moves over by Dad who has arrived at 17:54:24 hoping he has some more food. He doesn’t. Little Middle moves over to the rim and cautiously up to River who gives him some bites.
Big appears to be sleeping. At 18:15:27 – only three minutes later- Big goes into an attack. Oh, how I wish that Big would have just slept. There is hardly any food left – it ate an entire fish!
She tries to get Little Middle’s head to inflict the most damage which despite a large crop she does. Little Middle appears to be quite frightened. Big moves up to eat again. Middle Little must move – Big goes on the attack again at 18:16:11 in spite of having a big crop. Big positions herself so that she can grab Little Middle’s head and she twists it.
I had hoped that the beaking was going to slow down. It certainly does not appear to have anything to do with whether Big is full of not. One of our readers ‘BG’ observed that Big has a much more difficult time attacking Little Middle if she has a big crop which she does in the image below. It is hard for her to go over the top of the back anymore. That said, she was surely determined today and shifted to the side so that she could grab Middle’s head and neck which she shook.
While Little Middle is getting bigger and Big is often so full she can’t do anything, Little Middle must be cautious. And we have to hope that much more food comes on this nest. As it happens what is being brought in is enough for Big but barely enough for Little to have lots which it needs now. Both eaglets are 27 days old today – 28 if you count hatch day.
In the image below, Big is trying to go down to the head on the side at a slightly different angle than the image above. She has strong legs and, in fact, could, if she got wild enough, push Little Middle out of the nest. Despite being full, she simply could not sand that River would feed Middle Little a few bites of scrap fish.
Big is huge compared to Little middle. Look at her legs!
River feeds Big as he pushes Little Middle from the back. Little Middle raises its head and Bit goes at it again at 18:16:25.
Little Middle tries to get away by moving up close to River. River feeds Big. Nothing for Little Middle.
I am putting the image below in as a comparison of the size of the two. There remain many ways that Big can harm Little Middle but let us look at the positive. Despite not getting lots of food and cheeping wanting more, Little Middle did eat and did have a crop. He also had a really good PS this afternoon.
I am continually checking on Karl II and his movements curious as to if he can ‘smell’ or ‘sense’ war and not go to his normal watering hole in the Ukraine.
One of the British that travel to The Gambia to monitor Ospreys, Chris Wood, notes that many of the Ospreys arrive and go right to the same tree that they have done in many years previous. Will this also be the case for Karl II that he will, nonetheless, go to his normal spots despite the war?
Karl II is through Bulgaria, almost. Will he continue through Poland up to Latvia? We wait for the transmissions.
The people of Mlady Buky, The Czech Republic, are awaiting the arrival of their two White Storks. This community is the one who saved the father and the three storklets (originally four but Dad selected) by providing food for them last year.
Are you fond of Goshawks? The Goshawk nest at Riga, Latvia has its first egg today.
For any of the Latvian nests, I urge you to subscribe to The Latvian Fund for Nature’s streaming cams. There is no charge. You can do a search on YouTube and then select the nests you wish to watch. You will get a notice if something happens! There you will also find all of the videos of Milda the White-tailed Eagle at Durbe, her trials and joys.
There is a lovely little video of the adults at the Pittsburgh-Hayes Bald Eagle nest doing a tandem feeding. Oh, I just love this when the parents work together to make sure their chicks survive – if at all possible.
I love Red tail hawks and A Place Called Hope posted this today. I wanted to share it with you. If I were a raptor and needed rehab, I would really like to find myself at APCH.
The second egg for Mr President and Lotus at the National Arboretum Nest in DC is 35 days old. I so hope that this one hatches and the chick survives to fledge. It would be wonderful for this new pair. This is 18:13 this evening. Lotus is being very careful when she rolls that egg!
The following was posted a few hours ago. It looks like there is an internal pip happening. Please send your warmest wishes to Mr President and Lotus for a successful hatch for DC9.
R2 was returned to the nest by Ron Magill at the Miami Zoo. The remaining monofilament was removed successfully from its foot. These images were posted on Ron Magill’s FB page:
How wonderful! So happy for R2. He is sleeping on the rim of the nest tonight.
Everything is fine on the Captiva Osprey Nest of Andy and Lena in Florida. The beautiful juvenile plumage is coming in on both Middle and Little. They are growing so fast! Still no news on what killed Big.
Today, Grinnell protected the egg at the Peregrine Falcon scrape in The Campanile while Annie chased off the intruder. Here is a short video clip of that action.
Cal Falcons just posted another. The couple have been busy with intruders.
And before I close, a quick look at the West End Bald eagle nest of Thunder and Akecheta where the trio of eaglets continues to thrive and grow without a second of discord. Remarkable parenting at this nest!
Look at how big they are. This just brings tears to my eyes. Two parents working together got this fantastic result for Thunder and Akecheta.
It looks like Ervie went out to the water. I hope he caught a nice fish! His tracker continues to work and he remains around Port Lincoln. Joy. Now if we only had news of Falky and Bazza.
Life is good at the nests!
Thank you so much for joining me. My blog may not be out til late on Monday. Hopefully the news will be good at Dale Hollow. Take care all. See you soon!
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams and/or FB or Forum: Looduskalender, Latvian Fund for Nature, Mlady Buky Stork cam, Captiva Osprey Cam, Ron Magill, West End Bald Eagles and the Institute for Wildlife Studies, Cal Falcons, Dahlgren Osprey Nest, Pix Cams, Port Lincoln Ospreys, A Place Called Hope, and WRDC Bald Eagles.
