Tag Archives: Rutland Water

Es sleep side by side then struck by GHO…HPAI kills Arizona Condors…Saturday in Bird World

8 April 2023

Good Morning Everyone,

There are many holy days that some of you will be celebrating. As I write, this is Good Friday. Both Ramadan and Passover are with us, and Easter is on Sunday, with Eid al-Fitr on 20-21 of April in Canada. Whatever holiday is yours – even if none of them is – I hope you have had time with loved ones or outside listening to birds. Whatever it is that makes you peaceful and happy.

I promised some images of Missy and Lewis. They love water! The new shower is very exciting. They want to walk all over the wet floor and lick the water from the walls. They are simply fascinated!

Missy is growing. This is a bed for a very large dog. The two are usually inseparable, and to be able to sleep together, they required this 4′ x 4′ bed. Missy’s legs are thick and stocky, and her fur is about 7.5 cm long or 4 inches. She takes up a lot of room in that bed!

‘A’ commented that I had not been my usual jovial self. Oh, she knows my every mood! I haven’t been so happy. Is it the storms and the worry over whether or not any good tress will be left for the Eagles? Is this the beginning of a long series of events that will ultimately destroy their habitat? I worry about the raptors and the impact of humans over the past fifty years of their lives.

At the same time, I try to find the same joy that the Bald Eagle parents at Decorah did. Their first chick hatched and dead in the nest, and a solid second hatch burst into the world. Mum standing there with prey ready to feed it. Life goes on just like spring follows autumn and winter.

Life outside my conservatory window is teeming. Mr Woodpecker has been here around his usual time with the regular troop of sparrows and squirrels. Later, Mr Blue Jay and Mr and Mrs Woodpecker will arrive for their evening meal, and then the Chickadees will come. It is reassuring. Even Little Red is paying more visits, having discovered the suet. Everyone, including the sparrows, needs the fat and head there before going to the Black Oil Seed.

Then this image of Spirit and Jackie popped up on the screen. Oh, what a fantastic eaglet! Watching Jackie, Shadow, and Spirit last year was a blessing. If we get another chance this year, fantastic. If not, I am so glad they are visiting the nest so we can see they are alright. Maybe with HPAI, it is a blessing. We never know. My grandmother used to tell me there is a reason for everything; you might never know why things went one way instead of another.

A link to an exciting moment was sent to me by ‘MB’. Last year a Tawny Owl fostered chicks, but this year, one of her own eggs hatched. Luna is away and we get to see that little owlet come into our world and then Mum arrives. So exciting.

But my mood is also curtailed because of the growing impact of HPAI, now confirmed to be the cause of three condor deaths in Arizona.

https://www.fws.gov/press-release/2023-04/highly-pathogenic-avian-influenza-confirmed-cause-three-california-condor-0

Here is a copy of the 2022 UK Report on HPAI – what to expect and what can be done. This terrible disease continues to impact the raptors and it is good to know a little bit about it and what we can continue to expect.

Report-on-HPAI-in-the-UK-2022Download

Then there are the two struggling nests: Dale Hollow and Achieva and the realisation that the egg Jak and Audacity have been incubating could not be viable. So sad for these two. I continue to wish they could somehow be foster parents. Put DH19 in there and see what happens! Of course, that is sheer lunacy getting an eaglet from Tennessee to California. No one would do it, but I do like to fantasise sometime.

In Canada, the Geese and Raptors are returning to their spring and summer breeding grounds. Sometimes, they pick unusual spots to lay those eggs.

In the UK bird enthusiasts are celebrating the return of the Bittern, thought to be on the edge of extinction.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/apr/06/uk-loudest-bird-bittern-bumper-breeding-season?CMP=share_btn_link

It is so hard to imagine the difficulty that single raptor parents have in finding food and defending their nest. River has had to deal with fishing tournaments and bad weather amongst having at least 25 other bald eagle nests in the area. Today, Friday, has so far been a bad day for the nest with a piece of road kill coming in and DH17 being the only one fed with 18 and 19 pecking. Oh, how I wish she could get a big catfish on that nest. Or two of them but I fear the holiday weekend will hamper any fishing she might do. My heart breaks for her. How long have her and Obey been mates? She is grieving hard and now she is left with three eaglets, not one or two but, three, to care for in very difficult circumstances. I understand that a few from Dale Hollow will go out and search again for Obey.

River will feed 17 first. She needs one of the three to survive, and 17 is big and strong at the beak. She is not allowed the luxury of being able to bring in enough food, perhaps, to keep all three alive. We wait and hope for a miracle. 17 ate again tonight and has a crop. 18 and 19 had nothing that I could see.

It is unlikely that the searchers will find Obey. ‘A’ and I chatted about where birds go to die and what happens after Harriet disappeared. Birds die for many reasons – old age, injury, and disease. Injury would include all manner of collisions with human structures and also with attacks by other birds. I was told once that raptors if they know they are dying, will see secluded places like forests, dense bushes, and tree hollows – just like my cat Duncan wanted to hide when she had rodenticide poisoning. They want to be alone and quiet. Many hoped Harriet would be found injured and taken care of, but her body was not found, and neither has Obey’s. There are reasons for this. Birds are light in weight. Their bodies decompose very quickly if scavengers do not get to them first. We know that carrion eaters quickly find dead animals and consume them – that is their job. Other animals also eat birds and raptors. Even the feathers are eaten by rodents and insects or used for nesting material. I had no idea til I looked at this question carefully that feathers contain calcium that is good for the food chain. That is why we hardly ever see a dead bird unless it collides with our window or vehicle at a specific moment.

I can see that the third hatch at Achieva has not been fed. Chatters say Diane is ignoring it. This is typical behaviour for Diane, who did the same thing in 2021. The difference was Tiny Tot Tumbles, who went without food for 12 days (not straight, but hours added up) and survived to become the dominant osplet on the nest. This little one is not as strong and feisty. Eventually, Diane had to give in, and she fed Tumbles after dark lots of catfish while the others slept. That got Tumbles strong and kept her alive. Sadly, I believe we are in for heartbreak today at this nest. Despite terrible beaking, the third tries to get to Mum, but nothing…nothing.

So if I knew I would be an osplet and could pick a US Mum, it would decidedly be Sally at Moorings Park who feeds til everyone is full and even gets up and feeds the osplets in the middle of the night to help stop the beaking. Sally is a marvel!

Here is Victor stretching. How beautiful. Two osplets, Abby and Victor, will fledge from this nest if nothing untoward happens between then and now. At one time we worried for Victor but, the great parenting meant all the difference to this little one. Look at his cute talons! Can talons be cute?

Blue NC0 is incubating two eggs at Loch of the Lowes. She does well with two osplets. Hoping no more eggs! We lost the third hatch at this nest last year to siblicide. As far as I know, it was the only instance of this behaviour in the UK.

Maya and Blue 33 also have two eggs at Rutland’s Monton Bay Osprey platform.

One of our readers is visiting Rutland today. Oh, how I hope they get to see the ospreys!

Idris and Telyn continue to work on their nest at Dyfi in Wales.

With the death of DH1 and the arrival of strong DH2 everyone waited to see if Deborah Hatchery Mum (DHM) would feed her baby and – of course – she did! What an excellent feeding.

A little fluffy treasure. What a loving image.

Chase and Cholyn’s only surviving egg has hatched! Congratulations Two Harbours!

Fishing line at the nest of the Es in Fort Myers. Will wait to see how this plays out.

Tonight, E21 and E22 are sleeping together in Dad’s spot at the nest tree. What a beautiful sight.

There was concern that the two siblings would be attacked by the GHOs and that is precisely what happened. Here is the report.

‘H’ reports that there were three hits. Despite this, both Es were seen flying around the pasture Saturday morning. All is well.

Everything is A-OK at Duke Farms, too. Gorgeous juvenile feathers and huge feet on those eaglets sleeping next to Mum.

Everything is also fine at the Dulles-Greenway Bald Eagle nest of Martin and Rosa. This would be a good eagle family to be a part of!

One good place to find solace is watching birds incubate eggs. (It can also be terribly boring). They are so dedicated. Big Red and Arthur are no exception and this will be one nest you will want to watch when the pips begin!

The only anxiety I have ever had is the weather, and Big Red can be encased in ice and it is okay. She is incredibly devoted. Three eyases…four eyases. No one goes hungry. She has had only one eyas not fledge and that was K2 who had a beak/jaw issue. She was taken into care but did not make it. That was in 2021. Last year, Big Red and Arthur raised four. L4 is still living and hunting in their territory. (L1 died when it hit a glass breezeway at Cornell and L3 is in care to be released. L2 left the territory and as noted, L4 is still there).

Catching up with Karl II and Kaia. Karl II has crossed over in Ukraine. His battery is only operating at 16%. They are working their way home to Estonia. Safe travels as you enter Ukraine.

Kaia also has a low battery. She has just crossed into Moldova. Waba continues to be in Sudan. No transmissions from Bonus and I am fearing he is lost to us.

Heidi Mc has worked hard on the Mispillion Harbour FB Group, videos, and the history of the nest. The goal was to increase awareness of the ospreys living along the coast of Delaware. Unfortunately, the recent storms have knocked out the camera. Heidi is hoping that the staff will be able to repair it before the Ospreys nest. So, keep checking!

We are still waiting for Iris to return to Hellgate Canyon in Missoula, Montana. Star returned to the Baseball Park the other day, and Louis arrived today. Come on, Iris! We hope you made it through winter. In the UK, Aran and Louis continue waiting for their mates, Mrs G and Dorcha. Mrs G typically arrives before 1 April, but Dorcha often doesn’t arrive until 11 April. Mrs G is the oldest UK Osprey and may no longer be with us.

Louis is working on the nest but Aran has been seen sky dancing so there could be a potential female mate in the area for him. That would be lovely. He is a fantastic mate!

The latest on Murphy and the foster eaglet.

11 April is pip watch for Annie and Lou. Please mark your calendars for the Campanile Peregrine Falcons.

Thank you so much for being with me today. Please take care. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their notes, videos, tweets, posts, and streaming cams that helped make up my blog today: ‘MB’, ‘H’, CBC London, Heather Calk and FOBBV, Robert Fuller, Ventana Wildlife Society, fws.gov, BTO, The Guardian, Dale Hollow Eagle Cam, Moorings Park, LOTL, LRWT, Dyfi, Raptor Resource Project and Explore.org, CIEL, Marti Lord and SW Florida Eagle Cam and D Pritchett, Carol S Rifkin and NEFL and SWFL Eaglecam Watchers Club, Duke Farms, Dulles-Greenaway, Cornell RTH, Looduskalender Forum, Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Terry Carman Live Nest Cams and News.

Late Wednesday in Bird World

6 July 2022

The beautiful day gave way to heavy rain and dark grey skies. Manitoba is water logged.

It was fantastic to have the commentary of someone actually watching Idris catch this fish – it took him 5 tries to pull it out. I do wish the cameras gave us a better idea of the size of some of these amazing catches. The ‘girls’ of Dyfi were appreciative of his efforts.

The three females now take up more than half of that big nest. Eating, sleeping, growing, and getting their flying muscles stronger. Sleeping now!

Hi Dad!

Telyn arrives to feed the girls.

One of Wales Osprey couples – Aran and Mrs G. Mrs G is the oldest osprey in the United Kingdom. She is very dark with a large necklace. Dorcha at Loch Arkaig reminds me so much of Mrs G. I love Aran with his penetrating eyes.

Dorcha has, perhaps, even slightly darker markings than Mrs G.

Louis does not fail to deliver the tea time meal to his Loch Arkaig nest – he is an extraordinary fisher.

Speaking of crops – the female osplet at Loch of the Lowes has quite a large one this evening! Blue NC0 looks tired to me this season. I hope these two fledge and give their Mum time to replenish the weight and fat that she has lost caring for them before she leaves on her migration. The females leave about a fortnight before the others. That is, however, an average as nests can vary greatly.

The two chicks at the Mispillion Harbour Osprey nest were happy when a fish arrived too…what is with feeding them when they are resting duckling style??

Wonder what they are looking at?

Neither of the two appear to be overly hungry. Thank goodness. It looks like a teaser.

At the Boathouse on Hog Island, Skiff brought in a really nice fish. Big was full and Middle and Little got a really nice feeding from Dory. This is just wonderful to see!

In Montana, they are ringing/banding all of the Osprey nests. If I recall there are about 200 along the Clark Fork River. Those who make up the Montana Osprey Project will also test the birds for toxin residues that remain in the water and the fish from the mining around Missoula. Here is an article with some images of the events.

https://missoulian.com/news/state-and-regional/photos-banding-testing-osprey-chicks-at-warm-springs-state-wildlife-management-area/collection_26d264c0-6fdc-5f49-affe-dfb9ed6f19b5.html?fbclid=IwAR3DvEnjnqjvw3G9DQLg8FvyJgk66NbVaumjoGEDkkgyMWR5pSt65-tZHPQ#3

How many successful Osprey nests fledge 4 chicks? Maya and Blue 33 did it two years in a row. This year it is a Kielder nest and there is a short but nice article in the BBC celebrating this great achievement – and it is. Some nests do well with 2 but give them 3 chicks and there are often problems. 4 chicks would keep Mum and Dad busy 24/7. Ironically the literature on siblicide notes that the % of events is higher in nests with 3 chicks than with 4.

https://www.bbc.com/news/av/uk-england-tyne-62016351

Two of the fledglings at the West End nest have locked talons and fallen off the nest! I am not 100% sure who the pair were but I think that it is Ahote on the nest and Sky coming in but – without seeing those bands it is so difficult to be certain.

The talon tumble happened yesterday and as far as I know both fledglings are fine – just their pride wounded a little.

The other fledgling can be seen flying in the distance. The one on the nest is alerting.

The one on the nest goes up and lunges forward.

Talons engaged.

They go down and then without having good footing both tumble down the cliff talons engaged with one another.

There is something very strange going on in Mlade Buky. Bukacek is building another nest! The storklets are watching him. This could get interesting. Does anyone know about this behaviour?

There is Bukacek down below the nest. Some of you may remember that the two engineers that set up the camera and saved the storklets last year when Bukacek’s mate died, did sometimes put fish down in that area. I wonder what is going on??

What is a crop? The crop is a muscular pouch. It is part of the bird’s esophagus and is used to store extra food before going being digested. Often birds will eat and eat and eat – because they do not know when they will find more food. Thank goodness that crop is expandable. Vultures and condors are known for filling their stomach and then eating – if there is enough prey – until their crop is entirely full. Some birds that regurgitate food for their young often use the crop to soften it so the wee chicks can eat easier. Hawks, vultures, condors, eagles, falcons – they all have a crop. Pigeons and doves use the crop to produce ‘crop milk’ – pulverized food – that they feed to their babies.

One of Karl II and Kaia’s storklets today with an extended crop.

Do you live in the UK? Near Rutland? ‘L’ just reminded me that the annual Birdfair will take place on the 15, 16, and 17th of July. Here is the information in case you want to attend. Thanks ‘L’! If you do ever find yourself at Rutland, please go on the water tour. You might be lucky enough to see Blue 33 land one of those huge fish he brings to Maya.

https://gbf.yourticketpurchase.com/events/globalbirdfair?utm_campaign=345240_BIRD%20Zeiss%20Global%20Birdfair&utm_medium=email&utm_source=dotdigital&dm_i=73DM,7EE0,ZVKBA,VB2M,1

This has just been a hop, skip, and a jump to check on our nests. It appears that all of them are doing alright. No strange events – unless I have missed them! In that case, please feel free to let me know.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams and/or FB pages where I took my screen captures: Dyfi Osprey Project, Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Friends of Loch of the Lowes and the Wildlife Trust, Friends of Loch Arkaig and the Woodland Trust, Mispillion Harbour Ospreys and the DDNR, Mlade Buky, Looduskalender and the Eagle Club of Estonia, Boathouse Ospreys and Audubon, Explore.org and the Institute for Wildlife Studies.

Early Friday in Bird World

10 June 2022

One of the nicest things about living on the Canadian Prairies this time of year are the lilacs and the flowering fruit trees. The scent of the lilacs fills the entire garden. There are two other really good things. The second is that the mosquitoes have yet to arrive. Third is – a new bunny is in the garden. It is ever so tiny and sweet. He would fit in your pocket. He is loving those creepers that are just coming up. Nice and tender! They are just slightly different poses. It is so nice to see a new bunny coming to eat the plants!

At 08:40:03, the first hatch, Kana’kini, of Thunder and Akecheta fledged off the West End nest in the Channel Islands. She landed near the transmitter just like Ahote, her youngest brother did. Congratulations!!!!!!!

There she goes!!!!!!!! Ahote and Sky watch as their big sister takes flight. What a wonderful sight.

There is an update on the Black storklets of Jan and Janika’s. It is nothing short of excellent news and is simply brilliant. Urmas and Dr Leivits at the Veterinary School have set up a Black stork decoy that stays with the storklets all the time – like a Mum. Then a ‘step-father’ called Toru comes in at regular times to feed the storklets. You will notice both of these in the images below. The storklets are eating much larger fish now. They are also preening. Just tears! This is the first time that Black storklets have been removed and raised off the nest. I wish Urmas and Dr Leivits all the best – it is wonderful to see these three little ones getting a chance to survive.

Just look at the size of the crops on those chicks!!!!! Every one of them, including the wee baby is doing so well.

The Golden Eaglet, Margit, is adorable. Nothing sort of a real cutie-pie. Margit is the chick of Kalju and Helju. Margit hatched on the 25th of April and today she is 46 days old. The adults have brought in pine boughs and Margit has been playing with them – life on a nest needs some enrichment and some pest control. The pine offers both!

Notice the ear behind the eye and that beautiful black beak with the yellow cere and legs. Take in that deep rich yellow. This is a very healthy eaglet. The down is gone from the head and the juvenile feathers are coming in around the neck and will by next week, I think, be appearing more on the head. Such a beautiful eaglet.

Kaia has just finished feeding the three Black Storklets at the Karula National Park nest she shares with her mate, Karl II. Look at the little one – such a nice crop. They are all doing well. Once in awhile Kaia rolls the fourth egg but nothing more.

Karl II has brought lunch in and the little one did a cute tog-o-war.

I am so grateful to ‘EJ’ for sending me the video link to Dad Kestrels eyases – the last – fledging. This has been a beautiful success story – a collaboration between a human and a raptor – to make sure that the hatched eyases thrived to fledge. Congratulations to Mr Kes and to Robert Fuller.

There are times when you really do wonder if those crops will not pop! Richmond and Rosie are keeping both of these osplets full and fuller at their nest on that WWII crane in the Richmond Shipping Yards.

Iris was on the nest for a few minutes on Thursday. It is always nice to see her! Always.

Last year I discovered that there are ten osprey nests in Finland. The image of the first nest is known as #3. It is located in the West of Finland and in area known as Satakunta. The nests is man-made. It was rebuilt in 2016. The male is Ahti. Him and his former mate, Helmi, fledged two chicks in 2020. Helmi sadly did not return from migration in 2021. Ahti has a new mate named Nuppu. She is four years old having hatched in 2018. The couple have three eggs in their nest for this season.

This is the link to their Ahti and Nuppu’s streaming cam

The SF Ospreys would like you to vote on the final combinations of names for Richmond and Rosie’s two osplets for 2022. Here is the information. It is free. You can only vote once. Why not join in? You will need to cute and paste the URL if it does not work by just clicking.

Port Lincoln Osprey Project put up a beautiful nesting platform on Turnby Island. Ospreys have been breeding there for a long, long time but they have had to make their nests on the ground. This has meant that there has been predation by foxes that go over from the mainland when the tide is low. This new high rise platform is meant to halt the ability of the foxes to eat the eggs! Here are some more images of that magnificent effort by PLO. And it only took the resident ospreys, Marrum and Partney, who have already made some decorating additions and have mated! Sounds like a huge success!

The platform is lowered into position by the helicopter.

The old nest – as much as was possible – was taken onto the new platform for the Ospreys.

Nest accepted by Marrum and Partney!!!!!!

Middle was waiting on the light stand calling loudly. A beautiful fished arrived at the UFlorida-Gainesville nest at 11:21. Just lovely. Both of the fledglings are returning to be fed by the parents while they get much better at flying and landing.

So far there has been no prey deliveries at the ND-LEEF Bald Eagle nest but sadly, something did happen. ND15 – Little Bit’s friend on the nest – branched early this morning. 15 has since returned to the nest and I caught s/he allopreening Little Bit 17. Wish for fish!!!!!!!

What a beautiful site – all five of the White Storklets on the nest beside their Mum, Betty! Bukacek and Betty are doing a heroic job of keeping these five fed and —— I continue to say – with no brood reduction. The wee one is growing well. Fingers crossed.

The wind is blowing up a storm in Wales this morning. Telyn is keeping all of the chicks on the nest and has managed to give them all a good feed! Well done Idris for fishing in that strong wind!!!

The bad winds were also up in Scotland accompanied by rain. No one thought Laddie would be able to get a fish in but he did. Bless his heart.

These male ospreys really impress me. Aran has been out fishing in the strong Welsh winds and has a meal on the nest for Mrs G and the three.

Hats off to Dylan up at Llyn Clywedog! He has been bringing in the fish for Seren and the three. It is rainy and wet and miserable there, too. Check out the crops on Little Bob!!!!!!! This is so nice to see. It appears that the earlier aggression on this nest has calmed down.

It is really bright at Rutland Water. Maya has fed the three Bobs and – look at how much of the nest they are taking up now. There are those beautiful juvenile feathers coming in. 5 weeks old. Gorgeous.

The three eaglets of Marko and Miina are still scuffling and the oldest and middle Bob go at it once in awhile. The nest is in Southern Estonia and there is a fish farm and a river near by. There have been intruders but the couple seem to keep them at bay.

Little Bob may be anxious but he has learned to wait his turn – and then all is well!

Little Bob’s turn!!!!!!!! Being in the back means you don’t get beaked. Smart.

The second peregrine falcon at the Manchester, NH scrape fledged. Congratulations Colum! The time was 05:49:49. In other news, the first fledge, Clem, was picked up by Maria Colby. Clem is said to have just eaten a quail all to himself. Colby is expecting to put Clem back in the nest box on Monday so he can get a proper fledge when it is time.

There is Colum at the end of the perch.

Flapping his wings!

So much happening this morning! The activity on the nests just seems to be amping it up the last few days.

Thank you so much for joining me this morning. Take care all – and have a wonderful day. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams and their FB pages where I took my screen captures: Eagle Club of Estonia, Looduskalender, Mlade Buky Storks, ND-LEEF, Montana Ospreys, SF Ospreys, Saaksilve 3, Port Lincoln Ospreys, Peregrine Networks, UFlorida-Gainesville, Rutland Water, LRWT, Friends of Loch Arkaig and Woodland Trust, Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Dyfi Ospreys, CarnyXWild, Robert Fuller Wildlife, and Dr Leivites.

Tuesday Morning with the Ospreys

10 May 2022

It is a gorgeous morning with the promise of 20 degrees C. There is a blue sky and that tinge of green on the trees. By afternoon many of those leaf buds will be leaves. It is also a good day to go and check on those cute little wood ducks!

I lucked out this morning at the UFlorida-Gainesville Osprey Nest. There was a fish delivery around 10:00. The nest was civil! So, I am going to make a assumption and see how far I can go back. There had to be at least one big fish, if not two, for Big to be nice and let Middle eat first.

Yes, there is a fish that is being fed to the two that comes prior to 06:35. I cannot tell you what happened when this fish arrived. Mum is feeding Middle nicely when I re-wind.

At 07:23:06, the pair are snuggled together in the centre of the big nest. It is hard to tell them apart. The hint is the plumage. Big remains darker than Middle. There is a little more juvenile plumage coming in. Big is bigger but when they are moving around on the nest, it is really difficult to determine who is who. Both are walking well now.

At 09:09, Big is self-feeding on a piece of fish left on the nest.

This is interesting. This is at least a second fish (perhaps there was an earlier one also to the first). Big has no interest in harassing Middle who is obviously hungry and up at Mum’s beak.

Big does come up for food and Middle begins to do his quick grab. There is no attempt to harm Middle, however.

It helps to have Big get caught up in eating a small piece of fish. Indeed, both of the chicks appear to have a piece of fish tail that they are trying to eat.

Mum was still feeding Middle at 10:25.

Now, I would like to rewind to what happened when I wasn’t able to access the camera so that we can appreciate what is happening this morning. I am very grateful for a very detailed report on the nest from ‘R’ who also knows the area well and was able to clarify where Dad goes fishing.

This is a broader map of the UFlorida-Gainesville campus showing several lakes. ‘R’ tells me there is no boating on most of them and limited boating on the larger lake. When I am looking at the reasons for there to be issues of food competition, the first thing I wonder about is the source for the fish. As some of you may realize, in Montana the Ospreys up near Missoula whose nests are on the Clark Fork River are having difficulties – or will – if the high temperatures and lack of snow pack and rain continue. The trout die. Here, this does not seem to be an issue. I did have to giggle. We know nothing about alligators in lakes in Canada that I am aware of – but apparently the lakes in Gainesville have gators and they do eat the odd dog when the walker gets it too close to the shore. Goodness, that would be a shock! As ‘R’ pointed out, the gators should not be a problem to the Osprey.

The nest is located on the Soccer Practice Field. That is the red indicator below. You can see that Dad has a large lake close by and further to the right another. Unless something is killing off the fish in those lakes, access is not an issue. Perhaps temperature is? It is 69 degrees F this morning in Gainesville. A respectable temperature for fishing. Does the temperature impact fish delivery if it gets up in the high 80s? Good question to find the answer.

‘R’ reports that Dad brought in little food on Friday. That evening, that big storm with the high winds that swept through the area and the nests – they were blowing on Captiva – took out the camera. There was on and off camera access Saturday but nothing steady with the camera until Sunday. It is unclear about food deliveries during this time but typically it is difficult for an Osprey to fish if it is a very bad storm. There is also an issue of barometric pressure. Easier to fish when the pressure is falling as opposed to rising. I am going to have to set up a graph and see if this is impacting Dad. ‘R’ was sadly able to report that a few years ago in another storm both of the chicks were knocked out of the nest. How tragic.

The report for Sunday and Monday were not good. As ‘R’ notes, this was probably due to a lack of fish deliveries. Bit was extremely aggressive attacking Middle constantly. Middle tried to position itself to get away from Big but this did not help. At this point Mum is favouring feeding Big over Middle.

The pattern continued to Monday morning – Big being clearly aggressive and Mum favouring Big in the feeding. It was estimated by ‘R’ that Big got ten bites to Middle’s one. Also noted was the fact that Middle went into submission easily whereas last week, Middle was showing some ability to deal with Big’s dominance.  

The factors that are leading to food competition continue to be a lack of fish delivery by Dad, weather, and at least one instance of an intruder that was seen landing on a light near the nest.

I am extremely happy that something has happened this morning to turn this aggressive behaviour around this morning. If it is possible I want to go back and build up a graph checking on the barometric pressure in Gainesville and compare it to the days we know there were good fish deliveries and little. Is this the culprit? or is it intruders? the temperature?

I want to take you to an Osprey nest where – for the past five or six years – there has been not a single problem. That is the Manton Bay nest of Blue 33 (11) and Maya. Three eggs this season. Two have now hatched. I will expect the next one to hatch tomorrow. The eldest hatched last evening and the second is still wet! You can barely see it in front of Big Bob. — A note. All of the Ospreys are Bobs in the UK. The Bob refers to the bobbing head. so it will be Big Bob, Middle Bob, etc.

That is that big fish I was talking about yesterday. The Manton Bay nest is right in the water at Rutland. There is nothing cuter than a day old Osprey chick. Nothing. OK. Maybe a Red-tail Hawk or a Peregrine Falcon.

Big Bob is already eating well.

Maya is a bit like Big Red, the Red-tail Hawk matriarch at Cornell. She wants her babies full to the brim and more. No need for a hungry wiggly baby while one is trying to dry off and get used to having hatched and the other is thinking about hatching.

Brooding and incubating. It will be much easier for Maya when the third hatches. Again, I am not expecting any issues at this nest over food competition. Blue 33 (11) always has the fish on the nest at dawn. If he doesn’t then we should start worrying about him! This is a terrific nest.

Here is the link to the streaming cam at Rutland Manton Bay:

I have not checked any other nests this morning but I will do later today. The sun is bright and it is getting warmer and it is time to do a hike around a lake to check on some ducks and geese.

Have a wonderful day everyone. Thank you so much for joining me. See you soon!

Thank you to the UFlorida-Gainesville Osprey Cam and the LRWT for their Manton Bay cam where I took my screen shots. A special thanks to ‘R’ who educated me in potential fishing sources for Dad at Gainesville and for bringing me up to speed with great detail over the weekend and Monday happenings at Gainesville.

Early Wednesday in Bird World

4 May 2022

Gosh, it was sure nice to end the day on Tuesday seeing the Mum and the two osplets at the UFlorida-Gainesville nest with huge crops.

Food coma for the kids and some fish leftover for Mum! Nice. I really hope that today turns out as good as yesterday for these two.

It really is unclear again what is going on this morning. A headless piece of fish was brought to the nest by the male around 09:00. He did not feed the youngsters. Middle was right up there hungry chewing on the edge of the fish. Once again he is looking around. Is it another day of intruders causing havoc with fish deliveries and feedings? Is Mum off chasing the interloper away?

The chicks ate well and went to bed full. Ideally they are fed more often and early morning would be ideal to keep them hydrated. This is also a nice size fish so everyone gets some.

We wait to see how this sorts itself.

Intruders or interlopers are causing mischief at the nest of Richmond and Rosie, still. Indeed, there were five! They have not let Rosie or Richmond alone this breeding season and soon there will be three osplets to feed.

Miss a day or two and there are more falcons hatching! There are four at the Salisbury Cathedral in the UK. Oh, so well-behaved and cute.

There are now five eyases at the Peregrine Falcon scrape in Manchester, NH. The three oldest all hatched on the 28th of April with the wee ones on 1 May and 2 May. Often all the eggs will not hatch, – but, they did this year.

They will all be fine.

It is 11:16 nest time and there have already been three feedings!

Here is a link to this camera at Manchester.

Nancy has been on and off her perch this morning at the MN-DNR Bald Eagle nest. I have not seen a feeding. There appears to be a little food left on the nest for her and E1.

Lady Hawk did a tribute for Harry and E2 at the MN-DNR nest. He has now been away nearly a full 8 days. Another interloper/intruder is assumed. And another siblicide.

Iris, the oldest Osprey in the world, has an egg. Right now she is just as happy as she can be! Sometimes go off in this fantasy that maybe Louis will actually help her this year and not just feed Star and her chicks at the baseball park.

I wonder what the status of the Clark Fork River is this year? You might recall that last year it was almost dry in places with lots of beautiful trout dying because of the hot water. I would love to give them some of our water if it would help! If only it were that easy.

The two Red-tail Hawks at the Presidio in San Francisco are fine this morning. They are a little itchy and both of them are waiting for breakfast.

Everyone is soaked at the Dulles-Greenway Bald Eagle nest in Virginia. Our tiny eaglet of Martin and Rosa grew and is now self-feeding. Blink.

Prey delivery for the eaglet came at 09:07.

The Pittsburgh-Hayes triplets are drying out after being soggy yesterday like the Dulles-Greenway eaglet.

Spirit is getting almost as big as Mama Jackie! What a gorgeous nest they have at Big Bear Valley.

Do you remember sitting and holding your breath wishing that the egg would hatch successfully after Jackie and Shadow not having any chicks for two years? Now look at her. Spirit did hatch and it was 3 March. She is 62 days old today! Wow. Not ready to fledge but getting there. In California, the average age for fledging is 12 weeks. This also depends on the amount of prey, the sex of the eaglet, and the timing of the hatching.

There is an excellent report on the different times of hatching and fledging for Bald Eagles by latitude. Go to avianreport.com/baby-bald-eagles

One of the eaglets is self-feeding at the West End and doing a pretty good job of it. Looks like Kana’kini to me as she is larger than Sky or Ahota.

River brought a fish in and fed the two eaglets on the Dale Hollow nest. Big is really beginning to flap its wings while sitting on the railing. 66 Days old.

Most of us can’t be in San Francisco on 6 May for hatch day for Annie, Alden, and Grinnell. No worries. Sean and Lynn of CalFalcons will be holding another one of their great Q & As. Here is the information:

We are actually one day away from the first anticipated hatch day at Rutland Water’s Manton Bay nest of Blue 33 (11) and Maya. The window on the three eggs hatching is: Egg 1: 5th to 12th May; Egg 2: 8th to 15th May; and Egg 3: 11th to 18th May.

For those of you that do not know this couple, they are considered super Osprey parents! They consistently fledge all of their chicks. They have been together since 2015 and in six years they fledged 20 chicks – that doesn’t count this year!

It has been drizzly in Ithaca at the Red-tail hawk nest of Big Red and Arthur. Big Red has the four wee ones comfortably under here so they will not get wet. They cannot regulate their temperature yet and this is so important! Warm and Dry.

Fingers crossed for the osplets at the UFlorida-Gainesville nest today. Let us hope that Mum returns to feed the babes soon. (Gosh, I wish these dads would also feed the chicks…it would be so helpful).

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

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures today: Cornell Bird Lab RTH, Pix Cams, Montana Osprey Project, UFlorida-Gainesville Ospreys, MN-DNR, Cal Falcons, Rutland Water LRWT, DHEC, Explore.org and The Institute for Wildlife Studies, Friends of Big Bear Valley, Peregrine Networks Live, Salisbury Cathedral Falcons, Presidio Trust, and Dulles-Greenway.

Late Tuesday and Wednesday in Bird World

12-13 April 2022

We continue to shovel the walkways so that we can put down seed. Then it snows lots more and we do it again!

It is nearing 23:00 on the 12th of April. The RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) are closing all of the major highways in the province where I live. This is unprecedented and will actually be quite helpful in keeping people safe. For at least two days we have known about the historic storm that is due to arrive in a few hours and have been told to stock up on medicines, batteries, candles, food, etc. All of the schools are closed. As for me I am sitting back and waiting and watching the MN-DNR Bald Eagle nest south of me in Minnesota to see how this system plays out with those eagles.

The nest is in a severe thunderstorm watch area. The winds were gusting earlier. I caught a few minutes of the nest as it creaked and swayed.

It is currently raining and the nest is still blowing about but not nearly as bad.

This is the nest Wednesday morning. They have gotten rain but not the snow that we are experiencing that is confusing many of the smaller birds such as the Juncos.

There have been two recent visits of Ervie’s to the Port Lincoln Osprey nest. One was 17:42 on the evening of the 12th (last night). The other was this morning, the 13th in Australia. Ervie arrived and then left and returned with a puffer.

In the image above, you can see the missing talon. Ospreys only have four talons. The image below has caused a lot of confusion. Does the nail on the right top belong to a different foot? or the one with the missing talon?

Is Ervie missing one or two talons? or is one curled under? Everyone is looking very closely at Ervie’s feet.

I wanted to do a quick check of many nests this morning so we can see how they are doing.

The rain from yesterday seems to have stopped. Both Big and Middle Little at the Dale Hollow nest are dry and there are large pieces of fish on the nest. Little Middle had a nice feed earlier, too. So all is well with those two!

This nest has settled down.

This is the Llyn Clywedog Nest of Dylan and Seren. It is gorgeous. Dylan is notorious for bringing back trout to the nest! Sadly, yesterday, a goshawk came and sat on this nest. Goshawks tend to like to lure the Ospreys into the forest where they attack. Fingers crossed that it will not return!

Aran and Mrs G together on the perch first thing on the morning of 13 April. Aran at the back and Mrs G with her really dark face at the front.

Handsome Aran with his fish on the perch at Glaslyn later in the day. Did he bring it for Mrs G? where is she?

Idris and Telyn on the perches at the Dyfi Nest. All is well.

Blue NC0 laid her first egg on April 12 at 18:35. What a beautiful nest at the Loch of the Lowes – so soft and comfy – and personally, one of the most gorgeous sites in all of the Osprey breeding areas.

Laddie LM15 comes to take his turn helping his mate Blue NC0.

CJ7 has been bringing nesting materials into the alternate nest at Poole Harbour. Blue 022 has been seen sky dancing all over the place. I hope he stays at Poole Harbour!

All is well at Rutland Water. Maya is incubating three eggs. Fantastic.

If you are following the UK arrivals, here is a good chart for you.

Thank you to Friends of Loch Arkaig FB Page for posting his chart.

Moving back to North America, the three osplets at the U of Florida at Gainesville continue to do well. Little Bob is still with us! And that is a good day.

Strong winds took out the camera at the West End nest of Thunder and Akecheta on the 12th.

Calmer winds are forecast for the Channel Islands today. That is fantastic. Looks like the view is pretty good from Two Harbours already. That wee one of Chase and Cholyn’s looks so tiny in that huge nest!

Andy has delivered fish. Little (or Mini) is calling for fish in the image below while Big flaps its wings.

Gosh, those chicks of Andy and Lena’s are sure beautiful. They will surely pop the corks when these two fledge! It has been a good year for Captiva Ospreys.

Mr President and Lotus’s chick has a nice big crop this morning. That little fuzzy teddy bear of a shape has sure changed over the past week! No signs of bad weather at the National Arboretum Nest in DC.

It is a little wet and windy in Iowa at the Decorah North nest. I wonder if they are going to get any of the system that is impacting us?

This is an image of Majestic, the Ambassador Bald Eagle for Wildlife Haven, our local rehabber. She has been part of a fund raising campaign because of the Avian Flu. She has been moved indoors where she will be safe. Everyone loves Majestic!

The Manitoba Wildlife Federation is sponsoring a virtual talk/discussion on what is being done about Avian Flu in our province on 19 April at 7pm. Here is the link to sign up. It is free. Since it is virtual and if you are wanting to learn more about Avian Flu, why not sign up?!

Avian Flu Seminar

Hancock Wildlife in British Columbia is having a GoFundMe drive for nests for Bald Eagles. David Hancock is ‘the eagle man’ in Canada. Most of you probably know him. He reminded me today that when he was sixteen years old and living at Blaine Harbour, you would see white buckets on the fishing boats with eagle legs. Yes, the legs cut off. They would be shipped to Alaska for $2 a pair. That was 1954. Sadly, David says that the same attitude of neglect towards the Bald Eagles continues.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/a-new-home-for-our-delta2-eagles-nest?utm_campaign=p_cp+share-sheet&utm_medium=copy_link_all&utm_source=customer

Thank you for joining me today. We are busy trying to take care of the birds that come to our garden as best we can. The squirrels are tucked up warm and no where in sight. Take care everyone!

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Port Lincoln Osprey Project, MN-DNR, DHEC, CarnyxWild, Brywd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Dyfi, Scottish Wildlife, Poole Harbour, Rutland Water, UFL Ospreys, Explore.org, Captiva Ospreys and Window on Wildlife, NADC-AEF, and Wildlife Haven.

Sunday in Bird World

10 April 2022

Hi Everyone. It has been a nice day on the Canadian Prairies. The Dark Eyed-Juncos, that I have mentioned earlier, are descending on lawns all over our City today. It is lovely to have them back with us!

Cal Falcons posted a link to an Instagram feed that features some beautiful images and a lovely tribute to our beloved, Grinnell. Please read the text. Go to the feed to see the images. If you missed this, here is the link:

Cal Falcons also had a super cute image of ‘New Guy’ relaxing on the ledge. Like everyone in Berkeley, I hope – as I know you do – that the rest of the time for hatching and feeding eyases and fledging is completely and utterly boring and uneventful. This Peregrine Falcon nest has had enough drama!

New Guy is really growing on me.

Thought the day could not get any better until it was discovered that both female CJ7 who has been longing for a mate and found one too late last year – and Blue 022 – who became smitten with her – have reunited on the Poole Harbour nest!!!!!

If this couple hatches osprey chicks this year, it will be the first time Ospreys have hatched in Poole Harbour in over 200 years. And that is a big Wow in the Osprey world.

Aran returned as previously reported and him and Mrs G are getting reacquainted. Aran is one handsome Osprey!

Here is the link to the streaming cam for Mrs G and Aran at Glaslyn:

One of the things that I really admire about Emyr Evans and the Dyfi team is the amount of data they collect on their Ospreys. Here is Telyn on the nest.

Idris is unringed. Tely is Blue 5F. Idris is known for his great fishing abilities and his long legs which often earns him the nickname, ‘Daddy Longlegs’. Here he is enjoying a fish on his perch today.

If you look at the chart below, you will see that Idris replaced Monty at the Dyfi nest in 2020. They fledged two chicks and in 2021 they also fledged two chicks, a male and a female, not recorded yet on the chart.

This is a highly recommended Osprey nest to watch with chat. Emry Evans often stops in to answer questions and say hi. Here is the link to the streaming cam.

There are expectations that Blue NC0 is thinking of laying her first egg of the season with mate LM12, Laddie, grew more intense today as she kept close to the nest.

Ospreys have been breeding at the idyllic site for more than 50 years.

No eggs yet. I often think that Laddie could treat NC0 a little better. Last year she proved that she was as good a fisher as he was – if not better – hauling in large fish for the kids as they grew bigger and demanded more.

Here is the link to the camera at the Loch of the Lowes:

Blue 33 (11) and Maya always seem to be ahead of everyone else! They arrive early and get down to business. Their three eggs were laid on 31 March, 3 and 6th of April.

Their nest is often comical and/or sweet. Blue 33 is a great dad. There is fish on the nest at first light for Maya and the kids once the osplets hatch. Here is the link to their webcam at Rutland Water:

It is always a great day when Middle Little at Dale Hollow eats well and has a big crop. That would be today. Click on the streaming cam and Middle Little is looking good.

A big headless fish came in at 13:01:04. The parent did not immediately feed the eaglets but returned at 14:50:37 and fed Middle Little with Big looking on (below).

Middle Little did a lot of snatch and grabs when Big came up to get some nice fish, too.

Middle Little’s crop looks like it wants to pop. All is well.

The Ospreys at Skidaway Island have checked on their nest on and off while the Great Horned Owl raised Little Grey. Little Grey has branched and the Ospreys are anxious to reclaim their nest and start working on it.

As I have always said, Thunder and Akecheta’s triplets just put a smile on my face. This nest has done fabulous this year – no pecking, no fighting, no one scared to eat. Well done!

Thank you so much for joining me today in Bird World. Always good to have you here. Take care everyone. Stay safe!

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams and/or FB pages where I took my screen captures: Cal Falcons, Poole Harbour Ospreys, Brywd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Dyfi Osprey Project, People’s Post Code Lottery and Scottish Wildlife Trust, LWRT, DHEC, Cornell Bird Lab, and Explore.org and the Institute for Wildlife Studies.

Sadness at Captiva … and other Bird World News

15 March 2022

There are so many things happening in Bird World that it is impossible to keep up with the nests. There are also so many nests that have not even been mentioned in my blog. I will try to cover a few different ones, once in awhile. Hopefully you will discover something different and interesting. But I have to start with some sadness that could potentially grow to the entire nest.

This morning it was discovered that one of the three chicks on the Captiva Osprey nest has died. It is not clear which one it is yet as I write. Lori has asked permission to go to the nest and have the body removed so that it can be tested.

All of the chicks were alive at 07:43.

A fish came in and Little who had been up moving sticks was eating.

From what I can tell, it is the Middle chick that I have been calling Middle Bob that has passed. He did not come up to eat as quickly as the others but did try to feed at 08:33.

Andy came in with sea grass to cover the body of his baby.

How sad this is for these two lovely Osprey parents. They will not know what happened to what appeared to be a fully healthy chick. These two have tried so hard and lost chicks to Ravens but to have one die mysteriously is so tragic. My thoughts go out to Andy and Lena. I hope that this is not the avian flu and that Big and Little will be fine and fledge.

However, if this happens to be H5N1 the highly pathogenic avian flu all of these beautiful osplets could perish. We wait to see.

CROW has been given permission to remove the body and is on high alert over Avian Flu. Permission still needs to come from the USFW service. This is such a sad day. Condolences go out to everyone at Captiva who worked so hard towards a successful nest for Andy and Lena this year.

I will admit to not being happy when the Great-Horned Owls took over the Savannah Skidaway Island Osprey Nest. Not happy. The female hatched one chick that is affectionately known as ‘Little Grey’. I have to admit that wee one is cute and is always so happy when the Mum appears on the nest. It will go running for a cuddle. Here is a video of the Mum bringing a Barred Owl to the nest for lunch. Watch Little Grey when it sees its Mum and runs to her. Enjoy!

Some of you will remember that I wrote about Isabella Tree’s book Rewilding and the move at Knepp Farm in Surrey to turn away from modern agriculture practices and return their farm into a place where nature thrives on its own accord. They have set up the only streaming cam for White Storks in the UK. The birds are not always on the nest so be patient. I am hoping to see some eggs soon! You can find this new streaming cam here:

https://www.whitestorkproject.org/live?fbclid=IwAR38_Hoj5djOymLqdGX8cCltvtfkrkMYCf1nFplBFLC6bK-aoH6izrZyquA

Are you a fan of the Dulles Greenway Eagles in Virginia? The nest is located in a wetland area. The first egg was laid on 1 February with the second on 4 February. Egg 1 hatched on 13 March at 08:18.

Oh, this little one is a real cutie pie.

Rosa is feeding the wee one some duck. What a beautiful nest.

There is no history of this couple at the nest. They arrive in 2021 and the information on the streaming cam suggests that Rosa is a first time mother this year. Whatever, congratulations Rosa and Martin on hatch 1! Hatch 2 should be happening soon.

Here is the link to their cam:

Normally Maya and Blue 33 are the first Ospreys back in the UK. To go along with that they usually arrive within half an hour of one another. The first this year was Laddie LM12 at Loch of the Lowes but, the second was Maya! She arrived officially on 15 March, today.

She is in remarkably good shape and begins immediately to work on her nest!

There is another female working with some fairly large sticks, too, and that is Rosie of Rosie and Richmond Osprey nest at the SF Bay Whirley Crane. The Ravens removed all of the twigs from their nest over the winter so there is a log of work today in California. Maya is a little luckier.

I started this blog last evening and to find one of the chicks at Captiva is dead is quite overwhelming. They were so healthy. It is not good to speculate what happened. There could be a number of causes. We normally think of birds having to come in contact with a sick bird or its feces. The chicks have only eaten fish. But, still, everyone is on high alert as this is a very contagious disease. Sadly, Andy or Lena might dispose of the body before it can be retrieved for testing. In the UK, studies have show that they take the body about 300 metres from the nest – if they do not leave it in the chick in the nest to become part of its history.

It is now after noon and Lena has stood over her chicks shading them from the sun including Middle. My heart just breaks for these parents.

On this very sad note I am going to end my blog this morning and watch the other two chicks and their behaviour.

Thank you for joining me. I am so sorry to bring you this sad news this morning. This was not the nest I was worried about! Dale Hollow is. I will check on it, too, later. Take care everyone.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: LWRT Ospreys, Captiva Ospreys and Window on Wildlife, Golden Gate Audubon and SF Bay Ospreys, Dulles Greenway Bald Eagles, and Cornell Bird Lab.

Happenings in Ospreyland?

Oh, it is a gorgeous day on the Canadian prairies. The sky is blue – oh, such a beautiful blue without a cloud. Those, hopefully, will come this week and bring us some more needed rain.

White YW on the Foulshaw Moss nest certainly knows when Blue 463, Tiny Little, wants a fish. My goodness she can cry really loud. You might imagine everyone in the area of the nest could hear her. There is nothing shy about 463 anymore. If she wants something, everyone knows it. And that is the way Dad likes it. Otherwise, he will think she isn’t hungry.

Tiny Little is not subtle that she would like that fish sibling 464 nabbed. She is up to her old tricks – moving sticks, crying, flapping, and staring. Tiny Little is not starving! Yesterday, she had at least 3 of the fish Dad delivered to the nest. She is smart. Bulk up before migration.

When 464 finishes, Tiny Little also does what she is good at – cleaning up all the fish that the siblings leave behind.

The Crow would like it if Tiny Little would leave some fish for it, too.

Blue 463 is gorgeous. No doubt about it – she has grown into a stunning female! This looks like a good image to keep – to compare when she returns to us again in two years time. I am so optimistic about this one and Tiny Tot from Achieva. They are strong survivors.

A really beautiful – and short – video has been posted showing the ringing of two Osprey chicks at a nest in Finland. Have a look. The scenery is stunning!

As many of you are aware, Idris, the male on the Dyfi Osprey Nest in Wales, is super reliable. When he went missing on Wednesday and did not return until the late afternoon on Friday with a sunken crop, everyone became worried about what had happened to him. It was thrilling to see that he was alright. Indeed, he brought in 3 large fish for Telyn, Ystwyth, and Dysnni. While he was away, Telyn delivered fish to the two chicks on the nest without fail. Well done, Telyn!

Ystwyth on the Dyfi Nest eating a really nice fish. There are rumours that Dysnni has migrated but it is unclear if that is true. He has not been seen on the nest for a short period but he could also be getting fish somewhere else. Many birds, once they have fledged, eat off nest. Others like those at Loch of the Lowes always return to the nest. 463 at Foulshaw Moss certainly likes eating there.

Ystwyth eating a fish late Saturday, 14 August 2021. Unknown bird on perch – most likely Telyn.

Aran and Mrs G were seen on their nest in the Glaslyn Valley today together. They are keeping a close eye on that prime real estate!

The gorgeous and formidable Mrs G looking over her territory.

Idyllic.

The Osprey chick at Collins Marsh will get its official name this evening. Fingers and toes crossed. The last time I checked – thanks to so many of you – ‘Malin’ was leading the polling.

‘S’ caught a great shot of Malin getting its third feeding around 1pm today. Three fish before 1pm. We might get to that magical 5 or 6. Fantastic. But look – ‘S’ seems to have solved the mystery of why Collins is shy about delivering fish! Ouch.

Great screen grab, S!

NC0 is still at the Loch of the Lowes Osprey nest in Scotland. She delivered a really nice salmon to the nest Saturday evening. And isn’t that simply a gorgeous view as the golden rays of the sun kiss everything making it look like autumn?

Both of the chicks remain at Rutland Water’s Manton Bay Osprey Nest. Blue 33 is kept busy feeding these two.

Blue 096 with hers.

Often Blue 096 chases 095 off the nest but here he is below enjoying his fish! Nice one.

Nothing posted on the name but Malin has another fish drop and is doing some wingersizing! Thanks Dad, number four.

Thank you to all of you for joining me today. This was just a hop and a skip to make sure everyone on the Osprey nests were doing OK and they are. Doesn’t get any nicer than that. Take care everyone. Enjoy your weekend.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I get my screen shots: Collins Marsh Nature Centre, Cumbrian Wildlife Trust and the Foulshaw Moss Osprey Nest, Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Dyfi Osprey Project, LRWT, Scottish Wildlife Trust and Friends of Loch of the Lowes.

A Hop, Skip, and a Jump through Ospreyland

Several people have written and asked about the third or last chick placed on the Patuxent River Park Osprey Nest 2. Many call that little one the ‘Silo Chick’ since it fell out of a silo and was fostered on this nest at the River til fledging. This little one seemed to have a short run, hopefully, of bad luck as it also fell out of the Patuxent nest as well and was rescued by Katherine Dami and her boyfriend. That little Osprey was so lucky! The flurry of activity around that rescue made me realize that every streaming cam needs to have an active 24/7 emergency number to the local wildlife rehabber or the person who would instigate emergency rescue at the nest. Ah, but back to the topic at hand. Silo chick fledged and has not been seen at the nest. Katherine, when asked, wrote to ‘S’ and said that they had not observed Silo Chick at the nest. Katherine did say that a large number of fledglings have gathered together and were honing their flying skills on another spot in the Patuxent River. So let us all hope that Silo Chick is there! If I hear anything more I will let you know. That nest looks very empty right now. Some fledglings like to be fed on the nest. A good example of that is LM1 and LM2 up at the Loch of the Lowes but maybe these three are being fed off camera.

So far there are only two eggs on the Port Lincoln Osprey Nest in Australia. I am quietly cheering that it remains only two. There are nests, such as that of Blue 33 and Maya at Manton Bay Rutland, that can feed and manage four chicks but, Mom and Dad at PLO will do better if there are only two. It could stop the rate of siblicide on this nest.

Tiny Little our ‘Big Girl’ at the Foulshaw Moss nest snagged herself a nice fish this morning from dad, White YW. After losing one to a bigger sibling last evening it is grand to see her eating away. Indeed, it is always nice to see Tiny Little!

Aran and Mrs G have been staying around the nest at Glaslyn. There was even sky dancing observed. The Ospreys want to seal their bond before migration. I am so happy to see the two of them around the nest. There was a time when Aran was injured and not flying much or fishing that I was concerned that Z2, Aeron, from the Pont Croesor Nest nearby or his siblings including Z1, Tegid, who has a nest in Snowdonia, might be eyeing the Glaslyn nest.

Mrs. G on the nest:

Aran up on his perch.

There has been a lot of discussion about when NC0 will leave the Loch of the Lowes Osprey nest in Scotland for her migration. She is still here and she is fishing – hauling in some nice ones for her two babies who prefer to eat on the nest. This was Sunday late afternoon.

The anticipation and seeing mom arriving with a fish:

NC0 lands it.

LM2 got the fish and ate really fast with older sibling hanging around.

Maya is also still at Rutland Manton Bay – there had also been questions about whether she was still around. Seen on nest with chick around 18:00 Sunday. Blue 33 had just brought in a fish for Blue 095.

The Friends of Loch Arkaig have just announced that the names of Louis and Dorcha’s two male chicks for 2021 on the alternative Loch Arkaig nest will be Aspen and Alder. The names are derived from the two popular trees in the area. They took 45.5% of the votes. Well done!

People have been wondering where Iris is. The cam operator spotted her early this morning, around 9am, on her favourite perching spot on Mt Sentinel. Iris is fine and is enjoying her summer. Worries, of course, continue for the Montana Ospreys as the Clark Fork River water levels are at all time lows. The trout are dying. The New York Times carried an article on this urgent matter. If you don’t have a subscription you might not be able to open the article and I apologize but do try. Just look at the level of the water in the image and the dead trout. So terrifying.

Speaking of Iris, I promised the Montana Osprey Project that I would mention their fundraiser – The Iris Pens – this weekend as a reminder to everyone. Dr Erick Greene has collected a few more twigs and sent them off to the workshop of Richard and Sharon Leigh Miles in South Carolina. The pens are $45 US and that includes postage.

This is Dr Greene with the box of Iris twigs.

This is Richard and Sharon Leigh Miles opening up the box of twigs they received from Dr Greene.

Richard begins by cutting the sticks in their workshop.

Pens get their beautiful shape on the lathe.

This is what the finished ‘Iris Pens’ look like – the colour and patterns will depend on the wood that the pen is made from. Iris spreads her love to various trees and shrubs!

The pens have been made and sold out for the past few years. This year as in other years we wish for Iris’s safe return to us from her migration next spring. If you want an Iris Pen, do so quickly. The original 35 are gone and, as mentioned, Dr Greene has sent some more twigs the birds knocked out of the nest to Richard and Sharon. Follow these directions supplied by the Montana Osprey Project.

1) Send an email to montanaospreyproject@gmail.com2) If your mailing address is in the US, on the subject line of your email, type your full name followed by Pen OrderFor example To: montanaospreyproject@gmail.comSubject: Your Name – Pen Order3) If your mailing address is outside the US, on the subject line of your email, type your full name followed by International Pen OrderFor example To: montanaospreyproject@gmail.comSubject: Your Name – International Pen OrderIf yours is an international order we will get back to you with a few additional instructions.4) The email’s body should include the following information:a) Your name b) Your email c) Number of pens you would like to order.d) Total amount ($45.00 per pen). Shipping is included in this price.e) Your mailing address just as it should be on the envelope. f) Send the email to MontanaOspreyProject@gmail.com5) For those of you who live in the United States, make out a check out to: Montana Osprey Project – Erick Greene(We are not set up to take credit card or Pay Pal orders. Sorry – has to be a personal check or money order)6) Mail your check to:Dr. Erick Greene – Montana Osprey ProjectDivision of Biological Sciences 32 Campus Drive University of MontanaMissoula, Montana USA 598127) For those of you who live outside of the US, send us the email with all of your information, but hold off on sending a check. We will get back to you with a few more instructions.

I can’t wait for mine to arrive.

Thank you so much for joining me today. I am off in search of hawks and ducks this afternoon. It is sunny and warm but we are going to venture out in the heat anyway! Take care all. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I grab my screen shots: Collins Marsh Nature Centre, Manton Bay Osprey Nest and Rutland Water, LRWT, Scottish Wildlife Trust and Friends of Loch of the Lowes, Port Lincoln Osprey Project, Patuxent River Park Osprey Cam 2, Cumbrian Wildlife Trust and the Foulshaw Moss Osprey Cam, Brywd Gwyllt Glaslyn, and the Port Lincoln Osprey Project. I would also like to thank Richard and Sharon Leigh Miles for allowing me to use the information and the images for the Iris Pens and for their dedication to the Montana Osprey Project. A big shout out to Dr Greene for his devotion to the Montana Ospreys. Thank you!

Featured Image are the two 2021 chicks of Laddie, LM12, and Blue NC0 waiting for NC0 to get the fish to the nest. Their numbers are LR1 and LR2.