Samson and Gabby, the resident Bald Eagles on the nest in ‘The Hamlet’ near Jacksonville, Florida have been working on their nest all day. Yesterday, Samson brought in a really nice meal for Gabby – an American Coot. While they are a large waterbird breeding in the shallow marshes, ponds, and wetlands of my province and others in Canada, they are also what is called an ‘all terrain bird’. They are equally at home grazing in water or on the land looking for small fish, aquatic invertebrates, and plants. They can reach 40 cm in length and 70 cm wide. They are black with a white bill, red eyes, and yellow green-blue legs. Notice their lobed feet in the image below. Wow, those are different than Daisy’s!
Here is a video of that breakfast delivery:
I have been spending so much time with Daisy that I have neglected all those other amazing birds that we all love.
Gabby and Samson continue to work on their nest. They have been mating and many hope that eggs will be laid today or tomorrow. Gabby continues to tease everyone!
Samson is delivering another large stick for the walls of the nest.
What a gorgeous couple. Gabby is on the left and Samson is on the right.
The Mississippi River is home to many species of birds. Did you know that there is a live camera? The types of birds vary by the season, the day, and the time of day. Right now there are loads of Sandhill Cranes!
There has been an update for WBSE 27. You might recall that 27 was taken into care twice. The Pied Currawongs were unmerciful to the beautiful fledgling. I am thrilled beyond words for the latest announcement. To my knowledge none of the fledglings over the past two years – 25, 26 (deceased), 27 (in care). and 28 have been trained by their parents to ‘be a sea eagle’ – in other words, how to hunt prey, fish, and have the time to hone their flying skills. Without these skills, they simply cannot survive. WBSE 27 will receive this training and hopefully will emerge a confident bird who can live in the wild.
I have seen no update on Annie and Grinnell and the interloper. We will wait until breeding season starts and see who Annie is with!
The Kakapo Recover posted a humorous cartoon about some of the male Kakapo. I needed a giggle. Maybe you do, too?
Sadly, the time to adopt a Kakapo is over. If you missed it, make a note for next year. Those Kakapo stuffies are really quite sweet and blend in with all your indoor plants.
Daisy has had a seemingly uneventful morning. Her first break of the day and foraging – before sunrise – did not happen because the Ring-tail Possums were crawling all over the nest. She has been sleeping most of the morning. There are lots of birds in the forest but I have not heard the Ravens yet and the cam operator did not find the WBSE on their River Roost earlier but she did capture several sea eagles flying. Fingers crossed. So far the WBSE have not been an issue. So all is well with our wonderful duck. It is 08:29. The Daisy update will be later this evening unless something untoward should happen.
Thank you so very much for joining me today. Take care everyone. See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams or their FB pages where I took my screen shots: Sea Eagles@Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre, NEFlorida Eagle Cam and the AEF, Kakapo Recovery, and Explore.Org