Before I begin what is a much happier news letter, there is something that I need to do. It appeared that Little Bit at the Dale Hollow nest had died. However at 17:47 Little Bit came out of playing possum (I swore the chick was dead).
That movement caused Big to turn around and attack.
The status of Little Bit is unclear. What is known is that Big has not let Little Bit or Middle eat today. The situation remains dire and sad at Dale Hollow. Little Bit and Middle have not eaten since Wednesday morning. I am absolutely amazed that Little Bit is still with us.
Lena had been keeping Middle and Little (or Little and Mini) shaded and in flies Andy with a really nice catfish at 16:13! He looks like he is posing for the camera. Thank you, Andy. We know you are a great provider.
The chicks were hungry and I bet Mum Lena was glad to see a fish. We have to remember that the Ospreys get that hydration from the fish as well as their food.
Just look at that crop!!!!!!! I cannot tell if this is Little or Middle. Oh, looking back over the footage, I think it is Little.
Indeed, Little Bob was still eating at 17:27! Lena has been feeding babies for 1 hour and 14 minutes. Lena will not stop until all are full. She is a great Mum and to be appreciated.
Lena even got to have some nice catfish herself! The two chicks, Little now completely full, are off watching the happenings on the Gulf. They are content. Everyone on this nest will sleep well tonight.
All of us need a giggle after what has happened at the Dale Hollow Nest. I needed something ridiculous. On the chat of the West End Bald Eagles, someone said that Akecheta is being a Poptent. Those babies are being shaded and protected!
It is 15:47 in California and Thunder has just joined the rest of her family.
Akecheta is such a proud papa.
It is 18:51 in Ithaca, New York and Big Red is just coming back to the nest from her last break and dinner for the day. What a fantastic Mum you are Big Red! Did you know that it is extremely rate for falcons or hawks to have siblicide on their nests? It is much more common on eagle and osprey nests.
Big Red is a delight as a mother and I cannot wait to see the pile of critters that Arthur is going to bring to this nest. Sometimes the nest cup is lined with fur. It also gives you a chance to play the game that everyone does on a hawk nest: Name the Prey Item.
Here is a really short video of Big Red laying her second egg.
Mary Cheadle, the force behind the Lock Arkaig FB Group, has created a list of all the UK streaming Osprey cams. I am so grateful to her and I know Mary will not mind if I share that list with you.
Many of us have been wondering where the rest of the prey is for Annie from Grinnell. We haven’t seen anymore. Here is a superb article on the happenings of the Cal Falcons, Grinnell and Annie, for the past few months. Do take the time to read it if you are a fan of these two super peregrine falcons.
These are just some quick looks at a couple of nests in Bird World. The article about Annie and Grinnell is really good. I hope you enjoy it. I cannot imagine that Little Bit will be with us in the morning but I am shocked at the way this chick played possum. Amazing. Still, what you are witnessing is siblicide.
Thank you for joining me. Everything is so good at Captiva. We are blessed. I hope we know what the results on Big’s necroscopy are tomorrow. Take care everyone. Stay safe.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Dale Hollow Lakes Bald Eagles, Cornell RTH, Captiva Ospreys and Window on Wildlife, and West End Bald Eagles and the Institute of Wildlife.
UPDATE: Little Bit played possum. It raised its head at 17:54 and was again attacked by Big. It is unclear as to the status of Little Bit currently. Sadly, it will not – without a miracle – survive the night.
WARNING: I believe it is important to recognize that nature is very cruel and to understand what is happening when you are witnessing siblings kill one another. This blog is about the siblicide that is now happening at Dale Hollow Nest.
River brought a small fish onto the nest around 14:30. The only chick that went up to the table to eat was Big. I initially thought that Big had eaten the entire fish and so, was surprised when River flew off after alerting for some minutes to see a piece left.
The chicks moved from their positions when River flew off the nest. Little Bit moved to the left rim and Middle saw the piece of fish and went over. Middle is too weak and too young to eat it. It was so sad seeming it so hungry and that fish laying there on the nest.
I have actually been watching Little bit to see if it was breathing. Parents come in different sizes with different capabilities. Often young Bald Eagle mothers take some time to figure out how to feed their little ones especially the first chick ever. River is 23 years old. She is an experienced mother.
I continue to ask what is happening on this nest. From what I know, the eagles work to protect their territory above all else. Then they take care of themselves, and then the chicks on the nest.
Middle has moved to the piece of fish and is calling its Mum to please come and feed it.
Middle made a move to lay on the fish and this alerted Big. Big immediately went over to Middle and began beaking it.
When he finished with Middle he went over to Little Bit and began tossing its neck around.
Big stopped. Little Bit was doing some quiet crying. Big went over to the rim and then it turned on Middle again. What you are witnessing is a classic case of siblicide. The older sibling has prevented the two younger from eating through intimidation and physical beaking and neck twisting. It is killing its siblings. In this case these actions appear to be a direct result of lack of enough food for all three on the nest. Indeed, there is barely enough food for one.
Middle moved to the left rim of the nest and has now walked by the fish again and is looking over the nest. Middle seems to be in much better shape than Little Bit.
In the image below Middle has gotten into the shade next to Big. Little Bit is in the heat of the sun. Very shallow breathing.
At 15:47, Little Bit raises its head and cries for food.
Big noticed Little Bit and went over to beak it.
As far as I can tell, Big stopped because it realized that the smallest sibling on the Dale Hollow Lake nest was dying slowly, calling out to a Mum who will not hear it, for food.
Big sibling is hot and bothered today. As you know, at least one parent will be there to shade them especially when they are not able to regulate the temperature themselves.
Did Little Bit ever have a chance? On a different nest, perhaps.
Big Bob went over to Little Bit and then turned again on Middle Bob.
Then he turned on Little Bit.
It appears that Little Bit is barely breathing at 14:27. Big is there, hot and panting hard, to make sure that it doesn’t get up to eat again.
Little Bit had some mini-convulsions at 16:29 and 16:32.
It is 16:44. An adult has returned to the nest and Big has gone over to be fed the rest of the fish. Middle did not bother to go up. Little Bit is barely breathing.
At 16:45, Little Bit actually found the energy to flip a bit – or it was another convulsion. Big immediately went over to make sure that the wee babe did not get to the food.
Big grabbed Little by the neck and tossed it about many times.
Big left Little Bit in the middle of the nest barely breathing. Indeed, I am shocked that Little Bit is still alive. Meanwhile, Middle is at the rim of the nest in the shade terrified.
It is incredible what this wee little one endured over the past hour and a half and is still breathing every so shallow. Big is determined to be the only chick on the nest because the food that is being brought in is barely enough to keep it alive.
It is hard to believe but Little Bit is just hanging on barely breathing.
Big sitting triumphantly over Little Bit. It is 17:10. I do not think Little Bit is with us any longer. Its suffering has surely ended.
We expect all bird parents to be the same and clearly, they are not. I have come to understand that what we have seen on this nest at Dale Hollow is pretty typical for River and Obey. Siblicide has occurred here in previous years. There are gold star eagle families and there are others where circumstances are neglectful. It is likely we will never know what happened in its entirety at this nest to set Big off to try to kill its siblings. We might never know the combined circumstances for the lack of prey delivery or the lack of attention by the mother, River. All I know is that it is terribly sad to see a lovely little chick crying for food while it is dying. At the same time, it is important to call it for what it is – siblicide. This is directly related to the need to survive. Big is the dominant bird on the Dale Hollow nest. With little food arriving, its instincts went into survival gear.
I am attaching a bit of information on a study done on siblicide. I want you to also notice that the individual includes instances of parental neglect. I found this helpful in understanding just how rare or not siblicide is.
If you have made it this far, thank you for hanging in with me today. This is a difficult topic and it is even more difficult to watch live on a screen. I hope that you learned something and I also hope that none of us see the instance of siblicide again this year. Please take care. It has been a rough couple of days at this nest. I am glad that Little Bit is no longer suffering. I hope that food comes on the nest and Middle is not the next victim.
Thank you to the Dale Hollow Lake Eagles for their streaming cam where I took my screen captures.
For more than a week now I haver been wondering what is going on at the Dale Hollow Lake Bald Eagle nest. There was torrential rain and then snow. At the beginning of the season, I saw tandem feedings and was so hopeful that this was another great nest. Sadly, that just simply does not appear to be the case. While other raptor mothers are covering their chicks from the hot sun, nothing is happening at Dale Hollow. Little Bit does not have all its thermal down. Little Bit is also crying out for food. I want to be wrong because you always hear ‘The Eagles Know Best’ but with the case of River and Obey, I am not sure. Did the rain stir up the lake and it is so murky that they cannot get fish? did the snow send the critters underground? At any rate, I am very worried about Little Bit surviving. I do not wish to cause undue alarm but what happened here?
A small fish was brought in to the Dale Harbour nest around 14:30. You can see for yourself what is happening. I suspect that the Big sibling might well eat all of it – and yes, that is what happened.
Are River and Obey eating off camera?
If the fish brought on to the nest is only one of these a day or two, then it is possible that the other two siblings will not get any food. It is so sad. They might well be beyond getting up to the table.
Little Bit is at the bottom of the screen. Both of them know not to get near the food until Big is finished. Little Bit is really suffering today. It has had nothing to eat for approximately 30+ hours and is crying and crying. At any other nest, this wee babe would be getting 8 or 10 small meals a day.
Middle is walking away towards Little Bit.
Neither Little Bit or Middle had any food to eat. Neither made any effort to go up to the table. They are dehyrated and lethargic. The fish is all gone. Big has an enormous crop. Sadly, unless another fish comes on the nest and Little Bit gets fed full, I do not believe this poor little nestling will survive. The middle chick might have a better chance. Are both Little Bit and Middle too dehydrated, too hungry, too tired – and too intimidated by Big – to ever get up to the table again? We wait.
It is a hard reality. The eagles only need one chick to survive. Watching this nest is extremely difficult when we look at the others. I continue to wonder what is going on.
This is the last image I have today of the Dale Hollow Bald Eagle nest. It pretty much says it all. Big is over by River at the opposite side and Middle and Little Bit are together sadly alone, beyond hungry.
In comparison, Thunder and Akecheta were feeding the three chicks on their nest before daylight and several times after.
We can also compare what is happening at Big Bear Valley with Shadow and Jackie. It is 11:55 and the wee only Bob has been fed four times. There have also been multiple poop shots.
The two eagles of Abby and Blaze at Eagle Country hatched on the 11th and 14th of February. Gosh, they have grown and are lookin’ good.
What a beautiful sight at the Duke Farms Bald Eagles. You might recall that the second hatch was so tiny and died. The surviving eaglet is doing very, very well. The nest is full of fish and Mum is there not only shading but keeping the chick warm.
Mark your calendars. Pip watch begins on the 19th for Liberty and Guardian at the Redding California Bald Eagle nest. Last year the couple fledged three lovely juveniles.
Here is the link to the streaming cam at Redding.
There were sure some beautiful images coming out of Iowa at the Decorah North Bald Eagle nest of Mr North and DNF today. Eggs were laid on 16 and 19 of February and we are about a week from pip watch!
The top image is of Mr North.
This is DNF. You can compare her with Mr North above so you can recognize who is on the nest.
A close up of DNF below.
The nest is on top of a White Oak Tree near a small forest area with a stream on private farmland north of Decorah, Iowa. The nest is 17 metres or 56 feet above the ground.
I love how the different regions provide such a variety of nesting materials. In Florida and Louisiana there is Spanish Moss and in Iowa it is corn husks and wheat stalks.
This is DNF on the nest below. She has grey eye shadow.
Here is the link to the Decorah North Bald Eagle nest.
The nest of Martin and Rosa at Dulles Greenaway Bald Eagle nest in Virginia is also covered with corn husks. Wow. The couple laid two eggs. The first on Feb 1 and the second on Feb 4. The first little eaglet hatched on the 13th and is now 4 days old. If the other egg is going to hatch, we should be seeing a pip soon.
Andy brought in some nice fish for the family so far today. In fact, Andy has made three fish deliveries so far today. A Sand Perch at 08:32:40; a Sheepshead at 10:20:31, and this Ladyfish at 14:41:53.
Little (Mini on chat) has a big crop now. Compare with the image above.
These two are doing really, really well. I am quite optimistic for the two of them. There is no news yet on the cause of Big’s death.
If you missed it, there are now two eggs at Cornell’s Red-tail Hawk. One more to go!
There is the beautiful Big Red with her dark morph incubating those two eggs. She will leave the nest periodically to eat. Normally, Arthur will have her meal ready for her off camera.
There are the two precious eggs. The second was laid today.
Here is a close up with markings that was posted on the Cornell Twitter account so you can tell the difference between the eggs.
Big Red is giving Arthur, her mate, more incubation duties! Fantastic. He is a great mate.
Arthur is also very handsome! It will be interesting to see which of the populations of chipmunks or squirrels are the most plentiful on the nest this year.
That is it for my Thursday afternoon report. All of the nests are doing quite well except for Dale Hollow which, sadly, is a tragedy in the making. Thank you so much for joining me. I look forward to having you with me again. Take care.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams or FB pages where I took my screen captures: West End Bald Eagles and the Institute for Wildlife, Dulles Greenaway Bald Eagles, Cornell Bird Lab RTH, Captiva Ospreys and Window on Wildlife, Dale Hollow Bald Eagles, Explore.org, Redding California Eagles, Eagle Country, Friends of Big Bear Lake, and Duke Farms.
Each of us has turned to watching and caring for the birds and other wildlife for as many reasons as there are humans. One of the most commonly cited is ‘The birds bring me joy’. Unlike scientists who try to be arm’s length, most of us have our favourite bird families that we watch. We even have our favourite chicks in the clutch. Certainly I admit to that – Ervie at Port Lincoln was always my guy out of the three. I like the third hatches that survive. They are spunky and creative and, I hope, have facilities for survival in the wild that maybe the eldest who often ate first and the most doesn’t have. It is particularly difficult when we see our bird families struggling. We worry. We cry. My fingernails get shorter.
It is easy to miss what is happening on the Dale River nest. If you look the rewind is only an hour. I wanted to find out what was happening on this nest. Did something happen to a parent? No, both came on the nest around 19:00. So I went to the link in the information under the streaming cam to find out about Wednesday’s feedings.
The Dale Hollow group were able to tell me the chicks had eaten well – all of them once and there was a second feeding in the morning. It was not videotaped so no one was sure if all ate. I also learned something else from Keisha Howell who has been making the videos of the nest and posting them on YouTube. In the early days, DH16 who I have been calling Little Bit, was fed so much for a tiny little chick that it actually balked at feedings. Apparently it still has trouble eating too much food at once. That is good to know. I included the video of the early morning feed in an earlier posting. If you missed that video, here it is:
I would encourage anyone interested in this nest to join the discussion group and ask as many questions as you like. There are very knowledgable people who will be happy to help you. This is how we all learn – by asking questions. And no question is a stupid question! Ever. The link to the group is:
There is concern as the Black Storks and Ospreys move from Africa up to Latvia, Estonia, and Finland that the wildlife will get caught in the war in the Ukraine. There is someone called Ann that is diligently creating maps and posting information on Looduskalender from information provided by the satellite tracker on Karl II. I have cut and pasted the most recent information from this discussion group below. If you would like to check this yourself, here is the link to Looduskalender:
On his fall journey to Africa, Karl II stopped in the Ukraine. There are many nature reserve areas along the shore of the Black Sea around Odessa. You can see from the simple map below the countries that he will fly over to reach a resting spot on the Black Sea. We worry for him, for his mate and for all the others who are making their way home to the Baltic Region.
California loves their Bald Eagle families. I often wondered why some nests were more popular in terms of viewers than others and as one reader, ‘B’ explained to me last week, the eagles are all over the news in California. Californians love their Bald Eagle families – they are celebrities. ‘B’ was referring to Jackie and Shadow at the time. Now it is Thunder and Akecheta’s turn!
I am going to bore you with baby pictures. These are Thunder and Akecheta’s threesome being fed by Dad, Akecheta, this afternoon at 14:43. There are slight movements in each frame. In some you can see their sweet tails and in others you can glimpse their faces. Talk about adorable! I haven’t been able to take my eyes off these three little cuddles since they hatched.
Cheta is taking parenting very seriously this year. He rarely leaves sight of the nestlings.
I believe we have, from left to right: Little Bob, Middle Bob, and Big Bob. Big Bob is longer and ‘lanky’ than Middle Bob who is more round. Being so much younger, Little is just little – but not that little. Gosh, they are cute. The age difference is the same between Little and Big as it is at Dale Hollow. That is interesting.
Oops!
Everyone ate well.
Thunder and Akecheta have been widening the nest cup so that all three can line up to eat. It is far too difficult if it is deep and narrow. Most often the little ones have trouble getting to the front or get trampled in the process. Not here!
The three had a nice fish breakfast Thursday morning. They seemed so sleepy when Thunder got them up for a feed.
There are some really outstanding Bald Eagle parents out there. Cheta has matured since he first had chicks at the age of 4 two years ago. Having lost two seasons he broods, has learned to feed quite well actually, and does security. I am impressed.
Jackie and Shadow at Big Bear are another super couple who also suffered for two seasons and who have just the sweetest little eaglet this year. How many feedings a day? There were eleven. It goes without saying that I wish River and Obey at Dale Hollow Lake would feed their eaglets more. The wee nestlings need less food more often.
Jackie and Shadow’s baby is 13 days old today. Eleven feedings. Look at all the fish on the nest. A Gold Star family.
One of those other Gold Star Bald eagle families is Harriet and M15 at the SWFlorida Bald Eagle nest. Their two this season, E19 and E20 are taking turns going higher and higher in the nest tree as they prepare for fledging. We will miss these two and their antics. They are super healthy and well prepared for living in the wild. Do you remember how excited you were as Christmas approached and hatch at this nest? Now just look at them! They were the first eaglets of the season (on streaming cam) to hatch if I remember correctly.
Both E19 and E20 were enjoying the breeze up on the branches this morning. They look healthy! That is great.
Jasper and Rocket at the NEFlorida Bald Eagle nest of Gabby and Samson are flapping their wings. It is not going to be long until they branch. Two really beautiful eagles – stunningly gorgeous.
It’s a foggy late morning at the NEFlorida nest in Jacksonville. Look at how big these two are. They are waiting for a fish delivery!
Beautiful Mum Gabby keeps watch over the nest with her two 2022 hatches.
Both Middle and Little (or Little and Mini) ate well at the Captiva nest Thursday morning. Andy brought in a fish at 10:29:30. Both were hungry. I continue to say that this is a good sign. Lena even had some nice fish left for her. At the both were full and wanted to watch the people on the fishing boat below.
It is hot in Florida today and all the news in the state is about Avian Flu. I sure hope these four miss that. We should know today or tomorrow the results on Big from the UGA Vet School.
Both chicks are hungry but luck closely at Middle. He wants all the little innards and Lena doesn’t want him to eat it particularly. He has his mouth open wide.
Both of the chicks are well behaved and Lena feeds Middle some first and then goes to Little. Neither are submissive to the other. The nest is very calm.
Middle is full and has gone to the side to see the boats and to get some air. Look he is so hot. Yes. My phone says it is 27 C. One of the hottest days so far.
There is fish left for Lena. She will enjoy the tail of the Sheepshead. You can see Little under her left wing. His feathers re coming in good now.
So cute. The pair of them together washing the boats. Best buddies.
Middle and Little were having some more fish around 12:30 Thursday. Lena is a great Mom keeping them hydrated and shading her ever growing babies.
B15 a the Berry College is up on the perch this morning. Making more and more progress. What a gorgeous bird!
Right on time. Big Red and Arthur now have their second egg of the 2022 season. It was laid at 11:05 Thursday morning.
The egg is wet and soft and Big Red will let it cool and harden before attempting to lay on it or it would break.
The only thing about Big Red that looks 19 years old are her feet.
How gorgeous. If you have never watched a Red-tail Hawk nest then you should join in with Big Red and Arthur. There is a moderated chat with experts that is open a few hours a day. It is amazing what you can learn and the fabulous Laura Culley, a long time falconer, will be on board.
Here is the link to one of Cornell’s cameras on the nest. As far as I am aware, there are only 2 RTH nests on streaming cam in the world. Egg 3 will be expected on the 19th!
There is great news coming out of the Loch of the Lowes nest. Laddie, LM12 arrived first in the UK on the 13th. He was joined by his mate Blue NC0 today. How grand. Both made it home for another fantastic Scottish Osprey breeding season!
Rutland Water’s Manton Bay is being worked on by the female, Maya. She arrived back in the UK on 15 March. Normally her and her mate arrive within half an hour of one another. No sign of Blue 33 yet. It is early days in the Osprey migration from Africa.
Port Lincoln Osprey posted this along with their news on their FB of other Osprey nests and platforms. Everyone noticed that Ervie was missing a claw when he was last on the barge eating his puffer. The posting was on 13 March. I found tracking information for Desy and the Phantom but could not find Ervie’s. He is fine and staying around Port Lincoln.
Have a super day everyone. It is so nice to have you with me. Take care. See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams and/or FB pages where I took my screen captures: Scottish Wildlife Trust and Loch of the Lowes, Google Maps, Looduskalender, West End Bald Eagles, Dale Hollow Bald Eagles, Captiva Ospreys and Window on Wildlife, NEFlorida Bald Eagles and the AEF, SWFlorida and D Pritchett, Cornell Bird Lab and RTH, Berry College, Port Lincoln Osprey Project, Rutland Water Manton Bay, and Friends of Big Bear Valley.
All of the eaglets ate well this morning at the first feeding. The second feeding was not videotaped. So this is a huge relief. Here is that feeding video:
The Dale Hollow Eagle group has their own discussion board at Discord.com. Check it out!
The folks there believe, as I do, that the oldest sibling is a female and the third is a male. I would add on to that the oldest a larger female while the tiercel, the third, the male, Little Bit, is a tiny male. The group believes the middle eaglet is also female. There is three days between their hatching.
The eaglets will be fine til tomorrow for food.
Thank you to the great Discord group for answering my questions so quickly!
Wow! What the morning. The two surviving chicks at the Captiva Osprey nest chirping for fish and Grinnell – finally – bringing Annie a gift of prey!!! You know the only way it could get better is if the Ravens would leave both Jackie & Shadow and Thunder & Cheta alone and if Little Bit at Dale Hollow grew ‘a mile’ overnight.
Peregrine Falcons. If you are new to this species, the female – in this case Annie – expects the male to delivery her prey and prove that he can take care of her and the chicks before she is ever going to lay any of his eggs!!!!! Well, Grinnell finally did that this morning. He had better sweeten the pot with several more nice fat pigeons! I have a feeling that Grinnell was in Annie’s ‘dog house’ for some reason.
CalFalcons did a video of the first prey offering. All of this is part of the mating and breeding rituals of the falcons. Notice how Grinnell is bowed in submission to his mate, Annie.
There will be several more Peregrine Falcon streaming cams coming on line. One of those is The Wakefield Peregrine Falcons in the UK. Here is the link to the camera.
If you are familiar with Ospreys and Eagles you might find it odd that Falcons prefer shallow areas with gravel called a ‘scrape box’ to lay their eggs. The female will ‘scrape’ in the box making a slight indentation for the eggs. These scrape boxes – now on high buildings and skyscrapers – mimic the traditional cliffs where the falcons bred. They have adopted to the urban landscape and are doing well in most instances. There are many challenges for them including traffic, cars, rodenticide secondary poisoning, and windows that rural falcons do not have.
Oh, the two remaining osplets on the Captiva nest look really good today. Here they are with big crops and it is 16:08 nest time. Andy and Lena are decidedly having to adjust the fish deliveries now that Big is no longer with us. Andy came in with another Ladyfish this morning before I went for my walk and Lena had most of a Ladyfish left from an earlier feeding. Even so, both chicks and Lena were full and happy.
I am anything but an expert on H5N1, the highly pathogenic strain of Avian Flu. I have, however, observed younger eaglets die from the virus on the nest and those chicks were not hungry. So the fact that these two are joyfully eating gives me real hope.
Lena went for her spa and returned to feed Middle and Little. Have a look at Little’s crop. I know it is big in the image above but look now. He is going to pass out in a food coma momentarily!
Popping crops is what it looks like.
Yeap. He is out for the count.
That Little Bit at Dale Hollow is really tiny. The difference in size between it and the eldest is quite unbelievable. Little Bit is still alive and has energy to scoot all around the nest. I am having trouble catching River or Obey feeding the three today but the last capture I took of them, Little Bit looks good.
Big has become a ‘couch potato’ of sorts preferring to sleep on the new hay brought to the nest. Wonder what Little Bit sees in the distance?
Will Little Bit be the smallest male eaglet from the region? Have a look at this really short video of it flapping its tiny little wings. What a sweetheart.
Thunder and Akecheta have been taking turns brooding their three chicks at the West End Bald Eagle nest on Catalina Island. I have not seen any new prey on the nest today – just the remains of the Cormorant. It is still early there! 13:52. Plenty of time for several fish to be brought in to the nest. Thunder is brooding so maybe Akecheta is out hunting.
Akecheta is getting better and better at feeding the three and also knows that it is good to saliva feed them as well so they get more hydration. It is really hot on that nest on Catalina Island.
The wing tags were put on as part of a research project so the birds that were introduced to this region could easily be identified. Akecheta still has his; Thunder has lost hers. They are meant to fall off eventually. That project to reintroduce eagles into the area began in the 1980s.
Akecheta shading his chicks from the hot California sun.
Thunder getting a chance to brood her chicks.
The little eaglet at the Big Bear Valley Bald Eagle Nest of Jackie and Shadow has been fed 5 times already. The last feeding was at 13:05 and one fish has been delivered to that nest by Shadow. There are various other items of prey there as well.
I wonder if that little one is hot?
How cute. They all look different. This one is simply a little sweetheart taking care of its ‘eggie’ once in awhile.
It is a beautiful day at Big Bear Lake. Jackie is as gorgeous as ever.
Sad news from the Kakapo Recovery coming today. Lung infections are the major killer of these non-flying parrots. The area they live in is also very damp.
The ‘baby’ at Berry College, B15, is no longer a baby. This morning he completely ate a fish by himself. Missy brought in a squirrel later and fed him and now, late afternoon, she has returned and is feeding B15 some more squirrel. This eaglet is doing great. So nice to see.
Two really beautiful eaglets at the WRDC nest. It is good to remember back when R2 had a really difficult time and we were worried that it would not survive. Look at both of them today. Rita and Ron sure have two gorgeous kids!
The weather is so much better here. The temperatures are around +2 C. The snow is melting and today the light was ‘bright’. I went for my walk determined to triple the distance that I normally try to do. When I finished I had done more than I wanted and, by the time I got to my car, really felt it. There was something wonderful about being out in the woods in the silence broken now and again by the honking of returning Canada Geese.
The resident pair of Bald Eagles was across the lake. I did manage to get their silhouettes against that bright sky.
I wish I could do calligraphy like the beautiful lines of the old bull rushes.
Nature is a much better artist than I would ever be!
The board walk looked particularly lonely today waiting for the ice to thaw.
The nature centre has set up a ‘Winter Bird Feeding Station’ as part of a bequest. What a wonderful idea. There were several benches to sit on, different kinds of feeders, and an illustrative board showing the birds, their names, and a little information about them. It was a nice place to stop and rest but the Black-capped Chickadees did not like me there. They would not come and eat so I quickly departed. Maybe having benches for observers is not a good idea – just food for the birds.
There are other feeders nearer to the building where you enter. Today I only saw the chickadee and the nuthatch. But I want you to notice the cords hanging in front of the windows. I tried to describe them one day. The cords are on wooden slats that are attached to the outside of the windows. They do not bother the view from the inside but they definitely prevent window strike.
I went to check on Captiva and everything is just fine. Middle seems to be finding its way to being the biggest on the nest. He is a beautiful bird. The nest ‘feels’ peaceful. Perhaps Little and Middle are little boys.
You cannot see Little (or Mini)’s head; he is to the right of Lena. You can see its fat bottom and those lovely velvet-like pantaloons. Middle is sound asleep. Lena was calling Andy for another fish delivery before bed. Life on the Captiva nest looks good.
Wish for a lot of fish at the Dale Hollow Lake nest of River and Obey – add to that a tandem feeding by Mum and Dad so that each chick goes to bed full. That would really help Little Bit. The others have their thermal down but it does not have all of its and it really needs cuddling or brooding on the cold evenings.
Thank you for joining me this afternoon. Take care everyone. See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams and/or FB pages where I took my screen captures: Captiva Ospreys and Window on Wildlife, West End Bald Eagles and Institute for Wildlife Studies, Friends of Big Bear Valley, Dale Hollow Lake Eagles, Kakapo Recovery, WRDC, and Berry College.
When I first woke up this morning I was hesitant to check the Captiva Osprey nest. When I finally did I had the sound turned up really loud and all I could hear were the cheep, cheeps wanting more fish! Tears rolled down my cheeks. There was Little and Middle (or Little and Mini) eating what appears to be their third fish of the morning! And they are eating enthusiastically!!!!!!!! Little is eating and eating.
This long silvery fish, a Ladyfish, was being eaten at 11:30. You can see Little’s sweet head under Lena enjoying that fish.
With the disturbance yesterday, Middle and Little had only two fish. They were ravenous this morning. Middle will be 28 days old tomorrow and Little will be 28 days old on Saturday. We will be looking for substantial growth for these two now.
Lena must be so happy to see two seemingly healthy chicks this morning wanting to eat. That is important – they want to eat.
This is an image of the chicks eating an earlier fish.
You can still tell Little from Middle because it does not have the feather growth coming in on the back. Both are doing so well. This is an incredible relief.
Oh, goodness. Lena was thinking that she was finished feeding the Ladyfish but, no. Little wants some more. It is nearing noon on the nest at Captiva and all is well with the world.
It is 11:48, Little is full! Lena is going to get to enjoy some fish and there will be either fish leftover or Andy will take it.
There was a Q and A session yesterday with Connor from Windows on Wildlife. It has been left up on YouTube and might answer many of your questions about what happened with Big at this nest yesterday morning. Here is the link:
There was a hawk attack at the Savannah Great Horned Owl Nest on Skidaway Island this morning. Mum Owl did a great job defending Little Grey.
Speaking of predator attacks, the Ravens at the West End Bald Eagle nest attacked Akecheta at the nest yesterday mid-afternoon. Akecheta bravely defended the nest while Thunder sent the Ravens packing out of the territory. This morning all is quiet there. Let us all hope it stays that way.
Akecheta is now really good at feeding all three of the babies. What an incredible Dad and he really shows he is loving it – all of it!
It is a cold wet damp – what other words are there – chill to the bone – morning at the Dale Hollow nest on the border of Kentucky and Tennessee. I am a little surprised that River is not there keeping the chicks warm since they do not have their feathering to help them keep warm. Little Bit looks really cold. It is actually 12 degrees C with a rate of 94% humidity. Wet.
It certainly looks from the image below that the eldest has eaten from its crop but not Little.
New nesting material has been brought in. Look at the size of Big! This should help, I hope, dry out some of this nest. Little has also dried off and is looking much better.
It is a sunny 10 degree day in Ithaca and Big Red looks quite content incubating her egg. We will be looking for a second one later today.
Big Red got up for a break and we get a peek at the egg. Notice that Arthur and her are really building up the crib rails this year!
Speaking of eggs, what is going on at Cal Falcons?
Annie is on camera this morning.
Has Grinnell given her a prey item? Will there be eggs? Why is Annie late in laying her eggs? Was it the interlopers? the drones? her absence? Grinnell’s injury? We wait to see what will happen with our favourite Bay area Peregrine Falcon couple.
Annie is resting on one of her favourite slippery perches. As she gets closer to egg laying, she will stay closer to the scrape.
Someone is calling Annie at 09:33. She rushes out to the ledge. Grinnell has presented her with a nice pigeon on the ledge. Life is good at The Campanile!
You can see Grinnell’s two ID bands.
Annie is enjoying her present. What a relief! Seeing these two together on the ledge at The Campanile is as good as hearing two hungry osplets on the Captiva Nest.
Cal Falcons caught Grinnell’s first prey delivery to Annie for the 2022 season:
And with that I will say goodbye for the morning. Will do checks on other nests as well as Captiva, Dale Hollow, and The Campanile later today again along with some others.
Thank you for joining me this morning. Take care everyone. It is beautiful weather here and I am heading for a long walk! Much needed after being inside too much this winter. See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Captiva Ospreys and Window on Wildlife, Cal Falcons, Dale Hollow Eagles, Cornell Bird Lab RTH, and Explore.org
It has been a very sad morning in Bird World with the death of what appears to be, now, the oldest chick on the Captiva Osprey nest in Florida. Lori Covert the landowner has contacted CROW, that wonderful wildlife rehabber on Santibel. Permission was given to remove the body of the osplet for testing. CROW arrived and removed Big beginning at 15:21:15-15:21:26. You can see how quick they were to come once they had the OK and how they did not disturb the nest.
Big was 27 days old. He or she would have been 28 days tomorrow.
They do not want to cause any undue stress or frighten the other two on Did Big choke on a pellet? He had been gagging several times this morning. Casting pellets is a natural part of a raptor’s life. What cannot be processed in the crop is compacted into something not unlike a small charcoal pellet. The birds then regurgitate these. Researchers like the pellets because they can study what the birds have been eating. But a pellet or the H5N1 highly pathogenic Avian Flu is on speculation. It appears that Big died after moving up to eat but couldn’t. That was approximately 08:33. I sincerely hope that this is not a case of H5N1 and look forward to the announcement. The other two osplets both ate at 15:40.
Little Bob (Mini on chat) and Middle Bob appear to be fine. They are interested and can eat and that is a great sign!
It used to not unsettle me when an adult or a chick died. Perhaps it is just everything that has happened for so many years catching up with me but I was particularly upset at the loss at Captiva this morning. Thankfully the garden critters were robustly going after the two new seed cylinders that were put out yesterday. Dyson could not decide where to settle. He wanted the oil seeds that had fallen out of a bag on the snow but he also wanted to eat off the cylinder and he was intrigued by the peanuts in the square tray feeder.
Despite his altercation with the cat, Dyson remains pleasantly plump after the harsh winter and the back half of his tail is growing back. Horrah!
The Blue Jay family – OK. One member of the Blue Jay family has returned from their migration today. I could not get the camera quick enough for a photo but I hope to attract it with a cob of corn on the deck. i wonder if it is Junior? Mr? or Mrs? And where do they go?
It was a good day for a walk in the woods. Our temperature is a balmy +2 C. The snow is definitely melting and there is an open water area now at the Fort Whyte Nature Centre. There were three Canada Geese there today!
There were a number of Black-capped chickadees at the feeder and when I arrived the little Downy Woodpecker with the broken beak was just flying away. Too quick for me to catch him but for those of you who asked, it is still alive and eating well out of the cylinder feeder! That is certainly good news.
What I needed was a walk in the woods where it was absolutely quiet. The snow is now wet enough that it did not crunch. All you could hear on occasion was the songs of the birds.
Walking in nature is good therapy.
I am happy to report that all of the eaglets on the Dale Hollow nest have eaten. Little Bit was sure enjoying a fish that had been brought to the nest.
The middle on moved up and got some food, too, after Little Bit. You can see the huge difference in size now between all three chicks. Big just looks enormous!
This was Little Bit sleeping before the feeding over on the rim of the nest. It looks bigger stretched out and was clenching its talons and letting go and clenching them again. Was it catching a fish in its eaglet dreams?
Sweet baby sleeping in the shade. For those of you that do not know, the black dot behind the eye and corner of the beak is the ear. It will get covered with feathers. You might also notice that Little Bit is getting some of its darker thermal down and losing its baby fluff. Looks like a few little feathers poking about perhaps.
I just checked and Little Bit was fed at 16:20. So all is well at Dale Hollow as evening approaches.
Big Red gave Arthur some incubation time today. That is fantastic. She doesn’t allow him much but it is nice to see him so alert taking his turn with their first egg.
Arthur is very handsome.
I don’t think you could find a more gorgeous female Red tail Hawk than Big Red anywhere! She is so stunning with her really dark morph.
Big Red took a dinner break at 17:29 nest time.
Do not worry. This egg is fine. We learned that due to Milda leaving her eggs in almost freezing weather for 5-6 hours. They both hatched. Everything is good. Big Red has been having chicks for 17 years. She is an expert. I certainly am not. LOL. Remember. I wanted to give Rosie and Richmond sticks!
There was a very sweet posting by the SF Ospreys today on their FB page:
I really wanted to dump a lot of sticks for these two down in the parking lot! As many of you know, I look for ways to make the lives of our birds better. Part of that has to do with the elimination of lead in all fishing and hunting equipment. The other has to do with rat and mice poison. Well, look what a Place Called Hope just posted!
At the West End Bald eagle nest, Akecheta brought in a Cormorant to the nest. This came after there was something that looked like an Armadillo. Both were road kill. Thunder decided to feed the three eaglets the fresh fish! The West End nest is doing well.
Shadow and Jackie at the Big Bear Valley Bald Eagle nest are also doing just fine. The little one is growing like a very bad weed.
I checked on Kincaid, too, at the Kistachie National Forest nest in Louisiana. He is wing flapping and showing his preference for some prey and not others but I do not believe that he has branched yet.
That is it for me today. I am still recovering from the loss of Big. Looking forward to the test results. If it was a pellet then we should know that very fast. If it was something else, we will have to wait for test results that can take days.
From all the critters in the garden, thank you for joining us today. Take care everyone. See you soon!
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams and/or their FB pages where I took my screen captures: A Place called Hope, Captiva Ospreys and Window on Wildlife, Friends of Big Bear Valley, West End Eagles and the Institute for Wildlife Studies, KNF Bald Eagles, Cornell Bird Lab and RTH, Dale Hollow Lake Eagles, and SF Bay Ospreys.
Gosh, it has been a busy day and I am trying to play catch up!
The big news of the day is that the internationally famous Red-tail Hawk at Cornell University, Big Red – named after their football team – laid her first egg of the 2022 season. She went into labour about 15:09 and the first reveal of the egg was at 15:11.
The three at the Captiva Osprey nest have eaten well again today. I cannot say for sure but it looks like at least seven fish were brought to Lena to feed Big, Middle, and Little Bob. There were five brought in by 15:30 with two other deliveries at 17:14 and 18:30. The images below are from a feeding that was still ongoing at 18:49 today. The kiddos had already been eating for 20 minutes!
I know i sound like a broken record but I look for their fat little bottoms. Middle Bob, facing to the Gulf, has a fat little bottom. Little is right up at Mum’s beak wanting some more fish!
Middle has passed out in a food coma.
Everyone will go to bed with a crop the size of a golf ball. These chicks are doing well. Big will be 4 weeks old on Wednesday, Middle 4 weeks old on Thursday, and Little will be 4 weeks old on Saturday. All the troubles that plagued this nest with the Crows will be more or less a non-worry after the chicks are 30 days old. They are big enough that the Crows will not bother them. What a wonderful relief. Andy has been working hard to get fish on the nest since the fish drought a few days ago.
As far as I can tell, each of the eaglets at the West End nest of Thunder and Akecheta have eaten well today. If someone asks you who is brooding, if you said Cheta, without looking, you would be right 8 times out of 10. Oh, this new dad sure loves to brood the little ones even on a hot day when everyone is panting to get cool!
Dale Hollow is an on again, off again nest. I have been disappointed that River and Obey are not tandem feeding the three kids. Big is really a bother to everyone. That said Little ate today and so did Middle. Hopefully the dominance issue will fade away like it has done at Captiva once food security is back in Big’s mind. Also River seems to be a bit distracted. I don’t know if there are predators in the area but she has stopped feeding abruptly on several occasions.
It is good to remember that there are third hatches (or second) this year that have had to wait for their big sibling to finish eating before they got anything. The first one that comes to mind is actually Rocket at the NEFlorida Bald eagle nest of Gabby and Samson. Rocket is a great name for this eaglet that became a pro at the ‘snatch and grab’. Rocket was also well equipped for self-feeding and was doing its own feeding on the extra prey left in the nest at least 9 days before Jasper even considered it could feed itself. The other one this year is also Little Bob at the Captiva nest mentioned in this blog. Things can turn around and sometimes they don’t. It is hard to watch but those third hatches that survive a dominant big sibling often have better survival skills for the wild.
I mentioned that a Bald eaglet will grow from being 3 inches to over a metre tall or 3 feet in 3 months. Have a look at how quickly Kakapo chicks grow from this posting by the Kakapo Recovery. The oldest chick is starting to get its beautiful green plumage!
If you missed it, the first confirmed banded Osprey on a streaming cam in the UK (or first Osprey without all that) is LM12 known as Laddie who arrived on the nest that he shares with his mate Blue NC0 yesterday at noon. Isn’t he handsome?
I am also very happy to announce that Karl II, the male at the Karula National Forest Black Stork Nest in Estonia, is still in Africa. His tracker pinged and he is near Khartoum. I am so relieved. I hope that all of the storks remain for the moment in Africa. Perhaps the war in the Ukraine – well, the Storks and other birds stop in the nature reserves in the south of Ukraine near Odessa. Karl II spent much time there. This is a very dangerous place at the moment for wildlife. I don’t need to say another word. I know that each of you understands the concerns of moving through this region to get to the spring and summer homes.
There is something wonderful about being an ‘only child’. You do not have to share your parents or the food with anyone and there is not a big sibling that is going to beak you!
The to be named eaglet on the nest of Jackie and Shadow is simply beautiful and delicate. If you look you can see a black dot behind the eye. That is the ear forming. Feathers will grow over it. This wonderful little one is growing right before our eyes. If it wasn’t for Fiona the flying squirrel that shares the nest and drives Jackie nuts or the Ravens this could well be one of the most calm nests on the planet.
I had hoped to get to a few more of the nests but it is time to call it quits for the evening. The only nest that is having any difficulty is Dale Hollow and I need to look at it more carefully tomorrow. I would love to see a tandem feeding there – a chance to get Middle and Little Bit full to the brim. And quite a lot of fish on the nest with River feeding til all were full…I don’t believe River would pay any mind to me. She has been mothering eaglets for 21 years. I am certainly no expert compared to that!
Take care everyone. There should be more ospreys arriving tomorrow. Who knows? Maybe even Iris will show up in Montana this week. Now that would be a good chance to jump up and down! Thank you for joining me. See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams and/or where I took my screen captures: Captiva Ospreys and Window on Wildlife, West End Eagles, Friends of Big Bear Valley, Cornell Bird Lab RTH, Dale Hollow Lake Eagles, Friends of Loch of the Lowes and the Scottish Wildlife Trust, Kakapo Recovery, and Looduskalendar.
As we all know, behaviours of nestlings can turn on the weather. After seeing the three osplets at the Captiva Nest behaving nicely at meals today, it was heart wrenching to watch the Dale Hollow Bald Eagle nest. Just about the time that everything looked good on the Dale Hollow nest, the oldest of the siblings took it upon itself to make certain that Middle and Little Bit got nothing to eat. In other words, she asserted her dominance. It seems that the recent snow storm probably caused these issues. This is precisely what happened at Captiva. Now that the weather system has passed and lots of fish have been brought to the nest, Captiva has returned to its normal state of calm. I hope that the same happens at Dale Hollow. Little Bit is so small, much smaller than Little Bob at Captiva. Fingers crossed.
Neither of the two smaller siblings got any of that meal. River was feeding and pulling off the bones to feed Big. It looked like the remainder of a Coot.
Thankfully another fish came on the nest. Big was right up there but, Big got full and there was fish left. Hoorah! The good thing about prey items coming in close together when there is a dominant sib.
What really impressed me was Little. When it looked like River was going to give the bite of food to Middle, Little stretched its neck and did a grab. It caught River’s attention! Look at Little in the image below stretching that neck. This Little Bit is hungry and is determined to get some food now that Big has eaten its fill.
Now that Little Bit has River’s attention it is getting some nice bites and a little crop is forming.
I noticed that Little Bit kept looking at the fish and at one point was pecking at it. Is this Little One going to be like Rocket at the NEFlorida nest and start pecking at the open fish on the nest when it is hungry? leading to a really early self-feeding? It certainly stretched that neck and did a grab. Give it a week and we will have a really good snatch and grabber in Little Bit.
There is a breakfast fish left on the nest. It is not clear if there are any fish hidden under the straw. Happy Eagle Dreams everyone.
River returned to the nest and was feeding the eaglets again at 18:10. Just look who is up there at the front. Oh, this is good. Everyone will get some of that fish before bedtime.
It was a whole different story at the Captiva Osprey nest. Andy brought in the 11th fish for Lena and the three kids at 17:26:07. You could almost hear the osplets saying, ‘Oh, please Dad, no more fish. Please, no more fish’. There has to be a point when they are just so full they cannot consider another bite.
By 18:24, all three were passed out in food comas. Think we will see a bit of growth tonight?! Maybe. Hopefully they will sleep well for Lena and Andy. What a day it was. I thought 10 fish was a record but 11! The one thing I did not notice was a lot of recreational boat traffic for a Sunday. Maybe I missed it. Could that and a slight dip in temperatures help Andy fish like this?
It is hard to believe but all of these little eaglets will go from being about 7.62 cm or 3 inches to 91.44 cm (nearly a metre) or 3 feet tall in 3 months. Yes. You read that correctly. Pretty unbelievable. All that prey is turned into eagles the size of the parents.
Life is good over at the West End Eagle nest. Look at those little fuzz balls. So cute. I love it when they put their wings around one another.
Then it switches. The wee one is in there somewhere. There is lots of food on this nest. The parents eat really well and feed the babes til they are full.
Thunder might should have been called ‘lighting’ because that is the speed that she uses when she does a feeding!
Akecheta loves being a Dad. Every time I check on this nest he is brooding. What a great partner you are this year, Cheta.
It is 16:14 on the Big Bear Valley nest. I have never heard or seen wind like this. The gusts have gotten stronger throughout the afternoon. Jackie is hanging on with the baby underneath her. There have been six feedings at the nest today so everything is fine. They are just going to have to hold on – nothing new for Jackie and Shadow. They can handle it.
Oh, the camera could do with a really good wipe at the NEFlorida Bald Eagle nest of Samson and Gabby. Rocket and Jasper are so gorgeous. They have both been self feeding and parents come and go helping out once in awhile. I have not seen any move to branch yet with either Rocket or Jasper.
Gabby loves being a Mum and she is going to enjoy every minute with Jasper and Rocket that she can.
Cheta just doesn’t want to get off the nest this evening!
Have a look at these two! R1 and R2 have grown like weeds!
Right now you can tell R1 who is on the left from R2 because there is a large white patch on his chest. But gosh, if it wasn’t there, it is very hard to tell the two apart. This Papadam chair nest has really worked well. Just look at both of them standing up so straight. They will be up on that branch before long.
Or maybe they won’t branch and will flap on the rim and fly off. R1 is doing a great job of getting some exercise into its wings.
As the sun sets, it has turned out to be a really good day for all of the nests! I am so hoping to have some news about Grinnell and Annie who seem to be in some kind of standoff with one another and of course, our dear Ervie. Wasn’t that a wonderful picture of him in the pine tree? There will be more Osprey arrivals in the UK tomorrow. Wonder who we will see?
Thank you so much for joining me. Take care everyone. Look to the birds for joy in a weary world.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Captiva Ospreys and Window on Wildlife, Dale Hollow Lake Bald Eagles, West End Bald Eagles, the WRDC, NEFlorida and the AEF, and Friends of Big Bear Valley.
