The sun is shining bright and there is a possibility that some of the snow will melt. The garden remains full of Juncos! They are all over our City trying to find food at feeders. People have been posting images of Robins eating suet. Poor things. Their migration should have been a good one without the snow storm! This morning, however, there have been about 30 Crows on my street. It is believed that the Great Horned Owl could be in the neighbourhood. They will escort it out!
At the NE Florida Bald Eagle nest of Samson and Gabby, Jasper fledged this morning at 11:12:49!
Rocket watches as Jasper opens up her wings.
And she’s off! Congratulations.
The UFlorida Osprey nest reminds me of Port Lincoln when you had Bazza, Falky, and Ervie lined up eating.
Dad arrives with a nice fish for breakfast.
Mum cheeps at him to leave moving the fish to the other side. Little Bit is right up front and is getting some of the first bites.
Little Bit just gets itself up to the front. Oh, he reminds me of Ervie!
I took a short video clip of one feeding. This nest – so far – really makes me happy.
Dr Sharpe is going up to fix the West End camera today so that we can continue to observe Thunder and Akecheta’s triplets. One of the eaglets has slipped off the left side. Thunder knows where it is and it is hoped that Dr Sharpe can put the baby back in the nest. Send best wishes their way!
Telyn laid the first egg of the season for her and Idris at the Dyfi nest about an hour ago!
There it is!
Little Middle has been over nibbling on one of the pieces of fish on the nest.
For those of you worried about the absence of the female eagle at the Duke Farms nest, she was in the nest this morning feeding the only eaglet. All is good!
Teo visited the only Osprey nest in Latvia!
Teo has been bringing fish to the nest. Two females have been seen at the nest and there was a mating attempt with one of them but there is no confirmation that either were Teo’s mate, Vita. We wait for her to return from her migration.
Here is the link to the Latvian Osprey cam near Kurzeme:
Wow. They are sure beautiful. Is it possible that we are looking at the difference in size now between the male and female juvenile Ospreys? Little Mini in the back with his long legs and Middle the larger female at the front?
Little Mini took off at 07:40:38 for a trip around the nest. He will take his 2, 3rd, and 4th flights today after fledging yesterday. So far Little Mini flies at 07:40;39, 08:06:57, and 08:07:59. you can go back and rewind to see this magnificent bird get the air under its wings.
Middle is watching Little Mini. Look above the palm tree on the right. You can see him.
It is going to be a perfect landing!
There is a theory about males flying first. Since the females are bigger 1/3, it takes longer for all their feathers to grow in compared to the males. Therefore, the males tend to fledge earlier.
Little Mini wants to fly again and again. Both chicks would like a big fish delivery, too!
Here is the link to their camera:
Karl II and Kaia are happy to be reunited in their nest in the Karula Forest in Estonia. They are so beautiful. Last year Karl II and Kaia raised three storklets to fledge from the three eggs that hatched.
Here is the link to their nest:
Suitable trees for nesting are becoming a real issue for all manner of bird species including Eagles, Ospreys, and Black Storks. Here is an article about this issue in Estonia. This is one of the reasons that many, including David Hancock at Hancock Wildlife and Ron Magill, Miami Zoo, are looking at alternative artificial nests.
Do you watch the Osprey nest of Alma and Ossi in Finland? Nesting materials are arriving.
Alma and Ossi have raised eight osplets to fledge since 2017. Here is a link to their streaming cam:
There is absolutely so much happening that it is impossible to keep up with all of the changes. While I am watching one fledge, another could be fledging on a different nest! It is a crazy time – but a good one.
Thank you for joining me this morning. All of the nests look good. Take care. See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures and video clips: UFlorida at Gainesville Ospreys, NEFlorida and the AEF, DHEC, Captiva Ospreys and Window on Wildlife, Eagle Club of Estonia, Duke Farms, Dyfi, Latvian Fund for Nature, and Saaksilive.
I have had several letters asking about the three little ospreys in Gainsville, Florida, what is happening at the Venice Nest, and do I watch the Pink Shell Osprey Nest in Florida. The last one is easy. No, I don’t watch the Pink Shell Nest. I am aware of what has happened and what is happening at that nest. Tragic.
OK. Let’s move on to the University of Florida Osprey Nest on the light stand in the ballpark at Gainesville. In fact, there is a ball game going on today. The Dad has also been spending a lot of time on the nest while the female would like him to go fishing. So far there are still three little Ospreys with us. Of course, anything can happen.
If you are watching this nest, please note that the youngest one will eat much less fish than the eldest. We just want the eldest to leave it alone, let it have its few bites, and grow big and strong.
Here are some images from today. They are not in chronological order but the time stamps are on most of them at the top right corner.
That certainly is a lovely nest with a deep nest bowl.
They sure are cute. Let’s hope Big Bob is nice.
Turn around Little Bob!
The third chick at the Venice Golf and Country Club has had a private feeding today and a fish has just come in. There continues to be bonking from the eldest but, chick three is not starving nor is it being beaked to death. Lots of fish need to come on the nest and hopefully things will all calm down in a week. I am cautiously hopeful.
The third hatch was having a private feeding. Fantastic. Oldest sibling did try to stop this feedng but, instead goes into a food coma. The time is 19:29. Little Bob wanted more fish when the feeding was over but…it did get fish and that is important.
Harriet is so beautiful in the soft glow of the sun as it sets on the nest on the King George River. Harriet has been re-arranging some of the toys Jack has brought in.
Jack has arrived to see if Harriet would like a break before night sets in.
The second egg has pipped at the Denmark White-tail eagle nest! Excellent news.
Cal Falcons posted a video of the ‘New Guy’ bringing Annie a daytime prey gift. Annie was very happen to accept it and New Guy promptly went to incubate! What a guy!
Lotus and Mr President make really cute eaglets!
Meanwhile at the Northeast Florida eagle nest of Gabby and Samson, Jasper and Rocket are still with us! The camera is either foggy or has suffered from a PS being washed off by the rain.
Jasper hatched on 23 January followed by Rocket on the 25th. Jasper is 77 days old today if you count hatch date with Rocket being 75 days old. Beautiful babies.
Rhett and Scarlett are wanting their nest back in Savannah. Or is it Rhett? Can’t tell but it seems Little Grey just sat and watched. Not sure what the GHOW adults will think but hopefully it will all work out with Little Grey moving to another tree.
The Majestics at the Denton Homes Bald Eagle Nest have their first hatch.
There has been a bit of angst between the oldest eaglet and the youngest on the MN-DNR nest. They had some bad weather and being only 8 hours from where I live, they could get the heavy snow that is coming. I hope Harry keeps that nest full of fish for Nancy and the kids.
Little Bob getting a nice feeding today.
The storks in Europe are beginning to work on their nests. Here is Florentine delivering materials to his nest in the oak forest near Lodz, Poland today. What a beautiful bird.
Iris, the Queen of American Ospreys, believed to be the oldest osprey in the world looks down at her nest before the light snow begins in Missoula, Montana. She might wish she had stayed in her winter home for a few more weeks! This has been a long hard winter.
That is a very quick round up for some of the nests. There is so much happening with the return of the Ospreys in the UK. In fact, there are only a handful of UK ospreys that have not returned. They include Aeron Z2’s mate, Blue 04: Louis at Loch Arkaig and his mate from last year; Tegid Z1’s mate at Welsh nest ON4, and a couple at Kielder Forest.
My blog will be late on Monday – probably late afternoon or early evening. Thank you for joining me today. It is lovely to have you here with the birds. Take care!
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams and/or FB pages where I took my screen captures: UFL Ospreys, VGCCO, Dahlgren Ospreys, NADC-AEF, NEFlorida and the AEF, Denton Homes, MN-DNR, and Cornell Bird Lab and Montana Osprey Project.
I have tried desperately to get an image of both of Little Middle’s legs since I took my walk in the woods. This is the best I could do. At 11:34:26 Little Middle is facing the rim. He moves to the right but the footage of that .79 seconds is not there. At 11:35:15 Little Middle is facing the right – the gap did not allow for a look at that left leg that was having problems with the monofilament line cutting the flesh yesterday. It continues to be hard to get a clear look at the legs and talons.
The first image was taken at 08:22. The line is around the talons of the left foot. Cannot see if the line is anywhere else. It appears that Little Middle is not pulling the nesting material behind him anymore. Whether or not that is a good thing is not known. Where is that long piece of monofilament?
This image of Middle Little attempting to walk standing up was taken after noon. The talons appear not to have the line tightly around them on the left foot. This is good. The right foot appears to be clear in this instance.
These images were taken at 15:48. I tried to blow them up as best I could. The right leg and talons appear alright to me.
The toes on the left foot are not would tight like yesterday. It appears there is still line on toe 2 and 3.
I want to thank each and everyone of you that wrote in concerned about Middle Little. ‘L’ has been speaking with Al Cerere, the founder of The American Eagle Foundation, which has its home in Tennessee where this nest is. Al is no longer the Director but he cares about eagles, is extremely well respected, and can get action. He returned ‘L’ phone call and asked this afternoon how long the line has been attached to Middle Little, the age of the eaglets, and the height of the tree. This is excellent. Through the help of Paul Kolnik with the Bald Eagles 101 FB group I have been put in contact with individuals in the area but on the Kentucky side that might have some leverage. Another wonderful sleuth, ‘L’ has gotten me the numbers of the State Ornithologist in TN. Ron Magill at the Miami Zoo is among the several dozen individuals that have been contacted. I remain hopeful – that Mother Nature will get that line off or that an intervention can occur.
Today, the FB group for the Dale Hollow Eagles posted a message. It was copied and sent to me by ‘C’ who lives in Belgium. It said: “”Dale Hollow Eagle Cam. If someone acted to help one baby, both babies would most likely die or the nest would be abandoned by the parents. Let the experts handle the situation. I know it can hurt to see one of the babies die, but it happens.”
I would really like to know the experts that they are quoting!
There are many FB groups connected with nests that have nothing to do with the owner or operator of the camera. A good example is the Cornell Red Tail Hawk cam at Ithaca. The FB group is run by a group of people that love Big Red and Arthur. They have no influence at all as to what happens on that nest. I know – I do their puzzles. Toni Castelli-Rosen lives in California and she is the administrator of the group! We post about the nest comings and goings but we have no influence on anyone. So, it is difficult to know in what capacity that message was posted. Even some of the chats connected with cameras have no one associated with the nest moderating them – for example, Achieva Osprey in St. Petersburg, Florida. In the situation we find ourselves in with regard to River and Obey’s nest and eaglet, it is always best to let the real eagle experts figure out how best to handle this. I am a little shocked that the people from Dale Hollow immediately believe that this is not something that can be undertaken!
In instances such as this, it is best to rely on what you have seen with your own eyes in terms of deciding whether the message is true or false. We have seen rescues on many nests including the Captiva Osprey to obtain Big’s body for testing, at SWFlorida where Harriet returned quickly, at Captiva Bald Eagles where it was fishing line, etc. Each was successful. Ron Magill took the monofilament line off R2 at the Miami Zoo nest last week!
By luck, I found this today when I began to search who had control over the camera and the nest. It is very informative.
I remain hopeful that one of the leading experts on eagles will have some influence to get help for Little Middle OR the line will come off on its own. I know that none of us would want to endanger the life of any bird.
The young male that is trying to woo Annie might be around. She is looking up. Last night he brought her what looked like a nicely plucked pigeon. She did not accept the prey gift. Perhaps she is still trying to decide – accepting the prey is akin to making a lifetime commitment!
Annie is so beautiful. I continue to try and write a tribute to Grinnell and I find I am having a hard time separating the two. It was always ‘Annie and Grinnell’.
We wait to see what Annie decides!
The youngest eaglet on the NEFlorida Bald Eagle nest of Samson and Gabby, Rocket NE27, branched this morning around 07:57.
Everyone is preening at the Captiva Osprey nest of Andy and Lena!
Such good camouflage on the nest, too, in case of predators. The osplets are too large for the Crows to bother and it looks like Andy and Lena are going to fledge two lovely birds this season. Isn’t it wonderful for them? Still no word on the cause of Big’s death.
DC9 is barely hatched and already this little fluff ball that was mostly ’round’ yesterday is getting elongated! DC9 hatched on 28 March.
Happiness is always checking in at the West End Eagle nest of Thunder and Akecheta.
These kids are all spread out today!
I will continually report on the spring migration of Karl II because of his satellite tracker and the locations that he must fly through. I am grateful to Anne7 from Looduskalender Forum for posting this information. I don’t think she will mind that I share it with you.
I am waiting to find out how tall the tree is for the new nest at Dale Hollow. I know nothing might come of it but Al Cerere is asking the right questions and if someone can help, he can get things moving. I owe you big time, ‘L’. Thank you for pressing on to get in touch with him. At the moment River is on the nest calling Obey to bring in a fish.
Thank you for joining me today. Thank you to all of you for your efforts and your positive wishes for Middle Little. Take care of yourselves. See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams or pages where I took my screen captures: Dale Hollow Eagle Cam, Looduskalender Forum, NADC-AEF, NEFlorida Bald Eagles and the AEF, Captiva Osprey Nest and Window on Wildlife, West End Bald Eagles, and Cal Falcons.
One of the most wonderful things about birds is the fact that they just carry on. Whether or not they are buried in snow, soaked to the core from torrential rains, or thrown about their nests with huge wind gusts, they just get up and get on with it. They give me hope and most always put a smile on my face. There is a rhythm to their lives that provides us as watchers with hope and solace.
Most love to watch as the parents feed their young – from the tiniest saliva bites for new hatchlings to that third week when the crops get so full they look like they will pop to surrendering the prey on the nests when the babies are self-feeding. Most of the parents give it their all. I cannot imagine for an instant what it must be like to feed four bobble heads and keep them alive. A human who has four infants would find that a huge challenge. It makes me appreciate the birds even more.
All lined up nicely for Mum Thunder. There has not been any discord at this nest. I continue to remind people that the youngest, in the middle of the image below, is four days younger than the eldest. Little Bit at Dale Hollow was three days younger.
Thunder taking care and feeding the triplets.
Thunder and Akecheta are up early feeding the triplets this morning.
Both eaglets at the Dale Hollow nest of River and Obey are are 30 days old today. At 06:48:21 a parent flew in with a sucker, not huge but not a bad breakfast.
Little Middle never knows what kind of mood Big will be in so he immediately begins to move to get away and let Big go eat.
He walks down to the rim watching and listening. The adult has not begun to feed Big. The parent is sitting and watching- not only the happenings on the nest but also in the territory of the nest.
Big has moved over to the fish and on a side that would separate Little Middle from the feeding. The adult is looking around and still not feeding. Middle Little is cautious but this time hurries up along the rim making its way up to the table! Smart. Little Middle waited too long last night and lost out on the fish. He is hungry this morning.
The parent feeds Middle Little all of the first bites. Big does nothing. Just watches.
The adult feeds a tiny portion of the fish to the two and then abruptly flies off at 07:17:58.
Little Middle is working on his balance and does a great PS.
Both eaglets settle down and wait for the parent to return. What a great start to the morning. Is it magic when they turn a month old they become civil? We wait to see.
First time mothers with bobble head babies seem to have some difficulty figuring out the right angle to hold the beak and feed the little one. Last year I thought Anna and the Kistachie National Forest nest would never figure out how to feed Kisatchie! They both got it! And Lotus and the wee one at the National Arboretum Nest in DC will get there, too. It is truly difficult to hit a bobbling target!
It looks like Mr President is asking Lotus how much more fish he needs to bring to the nest!!!!!
It is Wednesday morning and all is well with the new hatchling of Mr President and Lotus. Oh, it is so sweet.
Easy to see the egg tooth – the white bit at the tip of the black beak – that hammered away at that shell. Oh, so clean and white.
Turn your beak sideways, Lotus!
Liberty and Guardian have a couple of cuties that are not having any problems getting down to feeding.
I keep asking Liberty if she would please feed them so we could see. It doesn’t seem to be working! The little ones have had lots of meals on Tuesday with Liberty keeping her back to the camera. Too funny.
I wonder how many are following the Great Horned Owls that took over the Osprey nest near Savannah on Skidaway Island? The nestling has grown in remarkable time. It is just starting to get the tufts on top of its head. No one knows what the actual purpose of the tufts is. Does it help camouflage the owls by breaking up the line of the head? or are they there to show the mood of the owl? Little Grey is alone on the nest except when a parent comes to bring food or feed it. Cornell took a video clip of Dad delivering a duck dinner to Little Grey.
It may be cool in Big Bear Valley but the snow and rain have stopped. Jackie and Shadow did super taking turns brooding and feeding throughout the storm. The chick hatched on 3 March making it 27 days old today.
Yes, you are cute.
Before I forget, the results of the naming contest for Jackie and Shadow’s eaglet will be announced after the area has its spring break. That would be 4 April. Can’t wait!
Abby and Blazer’s eaglets have their juvenile plumage. The sun is setting and sending a soft golden glow on the pair of eaglets being fed this evening. They are never too old to want to be fed by Mum.
The surviving eaglet at Duke Farms hatched on the 24th of February making it 34 days old today if you count hatch days. It is really growing and covered in thermal down with its contour and wing feathers growing in nicely.
Mum and Dad were both on the nest for the feeding as the sun gently sinks into the horizon Tuesday night.
It looks like the Duke Farms eaglet is having fresh squirrel for breakfast on Wednesday.
The triplets at Pittsburgh-Hayes are growing and behaving themselves at meal time! What a nice relief.
Mum is up early making sure everyone gets a good start. This nest will require lots of prey and many feedings to make sure each gets enough.
The parents are old hands at taking care of triplets. They fledged three last year!
Wow! What a difference. Just imagine. Before you blink, those three nestlings at Pittsburgh Hayes pictured above will be the size of Jasper and Rocket at the NE Florida nest of Samson and Gabby! And they will be self-feeding.
Here is a video of Jasper and Rocket enjoying a live fish! It is one of the many lessons the parents teach them so they can deal with all situations in the wild and survive.
All is well with Andy and Lena at the Captiva Osprey nest in Florida this morning. It is getting more and more difficult to tell Middle from Little at this nest. That is fantastic. There continues to be no word on the cause of Big’s sudden death.
In the world of UK Ospreys returning from migration, a super Mum, Blue 35 (2010) has arrived at her nest at Foulshaw Moss in Cumbria. She landed at 13:09. Last year Blue 35 was tired of the two older and much larger siblings eating all the fish and Tiny Little Bob not getting much. There is Tiny Little on the far left.
So Blue 35 pulled a fast one. She fed the two large siblings til they were full and flew off with the rest of the fish. When they went to sleep, she returned to the nest and fed Tiny Little Bob. Tears flowed with joy! With the help of Mum and Dad’s (White YW) great fishing, Tiny Little grew and grew becoming the dominant osplet on the nest.
So welcome back, Blue 35. What a great Mum you are.
I continue to follow the Black Stork Karl II’s migration from the Sudan to his nest in the Karula National Forest in Estonia. Here is the route that he took last spring returning home. His migration pattern is in royal blue.
If he stays to the west and if the fighting and burning are not bad, well, fingers crossed! We want them to stay way to the west of Odessa and Kiev.
There is severe weather coming to parts of the United States that will impact many of the nests that you are watching. If you live in this area, please stay safe and watch for the storm warnings. Send all positive wishes for our birds that are outside in a nest when raging winds, rain, and tornadoes hit.
It has been a good start to the morning at all of the nests. We can’t ask for anything better than Little Middle getting to share a fish breakfast with Big without a single second of intimidation.
Thank you to everyone who worried about our snow and ice. The snow is still here on the ground and it is a dreary grey-white morning but everything is fine. Thank you for being with us this morning. Send all your best wishes for continuing prey and health for all of the bird birds. Also, take care of yourself. See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Cumbrian Wildlife Trust, NEFlorida Bald Eagles-AEF, Looduskalender Forum, Friends of Big Bear Valley, Dale Hollow Bald Eagles, West End Bald Eagles, Redding Bald Eagles, Pix Cams, Cornell Bird Lab and Audubon, CNN Weather Tracker, NADC-AEF, Eagle Country, and Duke Farms.
I thought that my blog would appear tonight but the day got flipped so it is out by noon but, if there is an evening report, it will be quite late.
The weather in California is not good. The storm hitting the Channel Islands is intensifying while it is yet to hit Big Bear Valley. One with rain and high, high winds – the other with high, high winds and snow.
The weather forecast was dire for Jackie and Shadow at Big Bear Lake with high winds and snow. The wind is currently blowing at 14 mph with a temperature of 38 F.
The winds remain with the snow expected to arrive today.
At 10:47, the weather is better for Jackie and the baby.
Those same winds are hitting the Channel Islands and the nest of Thunder and Akecheta at the West End. In still images you cannot see the wind or hear it but for Thunder, Akecheta, and the trio it is blowing at 29 mph.
The winds turned into winds and rain. Akecheta is hunkered down on those three babies so nothing will happen to them! Please keep this family in your thoughts today and send them positive energy. The storm is, at present, much worse here than at Big Bear.
Here is a video clip I took so that you can see the intensity of what the eagles are facing.
At 09:47:
Akecheta and kids at 10:44. Soaked.
It is raining on the Redding California nest of Liberty and Guardian but so far they seem to be spared the high winds that West End and Big Bear are getting.
It started out foggy for the east coast of Florida a the nest of Samson and Gabby in Jacksonville. The fog will burn off and it is going to be nice for our eaglets, Jasper and Rocket, who are working on wingersizing and getting their balance down perfectly. Both are self-feeding and well branching and hatching is going to come soon.
Jasper hatched on the 23rd of January (04:06am) and Rocket on the 25th (02:24am). Jasper is 63 days old and Rocket is 61.
Note: The information on the streaming cam indicates that the pair are only 21 hours apart but the hatch times listed must then be incorrect. Whatever the date it will be another 2 weeks when we will really be looking for fledging.
At the Dale Hollow Nest of Big and Middle Little, Middle Little is crying to be fed despite 6 fish being delivered to the nest on Sunday, Little Middle got hardly any food after noon because of Big’s intimidations and beakings. River brought a fish to the nest at 06:54:39 but did not feed them. They are both hungry and a little restless.
They look like wooly insulation today.
River arrived at 10:18:14 to feed the eaglets. Big went up immediately. Little Middle observed and then moved to the left of the nest – and River changed her position so she could feed it and Big – separated by her body! Well done, River! Both got to share the small fish and both had crops, not huge but they both ate well enough. Now we need more fish!
River used her ‘eagle eyes’ to notice that Little Middle was moving up and wanted food. See how she turned to face the rim which protected Little Middle from Big.
Did you know that the term ‘eagle eye’ was first used in the 1500s before science understood eagle vision. Eagles have 5x the amount of light cells packed into a square inch. Humans can see at 110 degrees with both eyes, eagles have two foveae (the place in the retina where the cells that sense light are located) in each eye. They can see much better in all directions – including almost 360 degrees of peripheral vision, according to Sibley.
Both eaglets are getting some of their blood feathers – more, of course, on Big.
Some of you have commented about a chat at Dale Hollow. The chat for Dale Hollow appeared yesterday and then today for a bit. According to one of the moderators, it is only on when the cameras are re-booted and probably won’t be on at any regular times if at all.
The eaglets are 28 days old – 4 weeks. Remember when you look at their size that only 51 minutes separates them in terms of hatch time. Big is just huge. You can easily see those wing and contour feathers coming in on Big in the image below. Look at the tip of the wing.
River flew in with a nice fish at 11:50:51.
Notice Big’s large crop from eating almost an entire fish earlier as she moves over to get fed. Little Middle puts its head down.
But wait! Is Big too full? ready to cast a pellet? (they don’t always want to eat them) The adult is stretching out to feed Little Middle! Oh, kiss that eagle!
Big decides it wants some fish, too. But there is no discord. Eventually the adult moves away to the other rim so that the two are divided.
Just look at Little Middle’s crop!!!!!!!!!!! Yahoooooooooo.
Excellent. Little Middle made up for missing much of the earlier fish and winds up with an enormous crop. Well done, Little Middle.
It has been awhile since we had a really good look at the osplets on the Captiva Osprey nest. With the death of Big on the 15th (cause unknown still), the two remaining chicks have thrived with absolutely no discord. Today they are standing and it is seriously difficult to tell Middle from Little.
They are seriously beautiful little Ospreys and it is wonderful for Andy and Lena to continue to have two healthy babies who look like they will fledge without a problem.
Can you tell between Middle and Little? It is difficult. Middle is standing in the image below. Its feathers are a little darker having grown out longer.
Harry is keeping the MN DNR nest full of prey – talk about choice! – for his two wee ones and Nancy. Their weather is so much nicer than in other parts of the US.
It is cool in Ithaca where Big Red and Arthur have their nest with some snow falling on occasion. Big Red and Arthur are incubating four eggs – a first for this nest and a rather rare event even if hawks can lay up to 5 eggs. Ironically, the University of Syracuse RTHs now have four eggs, too!
The same snow that is falling in Ithaca is hitting Pittsburgh and the Bald eagle nest out in Hayes even more. Mum and Dad are brooding three chicks. Stay warm!
There was a pip in the second egg at the National Arboretum nest. Here is an image of the egg during a shift change today and the adult. Will hopefully have good news tomorrow on a successful hatch for Mr President and Lotus.
In the image below, taken at 09:22 this morning, you can clearly see the egg tooth chipping away. Oh, my goodness, fingers crossed for these two.
Here is a recent video of the hatch for Mr President and Lotus as it progresses:
There was some speculation about the Dale Hollow nest when the camera was turned away from the nest. It appears, from comments I saw by the woman who does the videos, that at one time or another – perhaps during that long view – Little Bit was removed from the nest and probably fed to Big. Several of you thought that was the case. Eaglets from other nest also brought on. Good sleuthing. Sad.
Thank you for joining me today. Please take care. See you soon!
Thank you to the following for their streaming cam: Friends of Big Bear Valley, West End Bald Eagles and the Institute of Wildlife, Dale Hollow Eagles, Captiva Ospreys and Window on Wildlife, Pix cams, NADC-AEF, Cornell Bird Lab and RTH, MN DNR, Redding Eagles, and NEFlorida Bald Eagles and AEF.
The image below pretty much says how the day has gone for Little Middle (notice my new nickname for DH15) at the Dale Hollow Bald Eagle nest. I do not have the time stamp but it was mid-afternoon. River had fed the kiddos all of the food on the nest. You can almost hear the two siblings comparing their crops – Little Middle insisting that his is ultimately larger because he is so much smaller than Big!
It has not been a day without its troubles, without Middle Little striking the submission pose to protect its head when Big would get up to eat. But, so far, it has been nothing like yesterday at all.
At 16:56 Obey? arrives with a fish. Big and Middle Little are too full to even think about having any bites of that fish.
Obey takes the time to aerate more of the nest.
Obey? begins calling and flies off. River? returns with a small Sucker.
At 17:11:46 s/he tries to feed Big.
Nope. Too full. Little Middle turns to face parent for a feeding but, ultimately, he is too full. Big does not even acknowledge that Little Middle is moving by the fish. Talk about a 360 degree turn.
Parent begins to bury the fish in the nest. By 17:24:25 Little Middle is ‘thinking’ about fish and drops its crop a bit. But Little Middle is just thinking and not eating. At 17:43:52 Little Middle moves over by the fish and does a couple of pecks at it.
It is now 18:09. The nest is calm.
There are two fish (Suckers) on the nest and whatever else River has hidden. Neither of the two eaglets are interested in eating. So, how to have a happy nest? how to stop intimidation? Keep the fish coming in for several days in a row. Are we beginning to turn the corner at the Dale Hollow nest? Gosh, I sure hope so!
River is looking at them and she knows bedtime is coming. Will she try to feed the pair again?
Yes. At 18:36:51, River unzips the large Sucker at the top right of the nest.
At 18:37:07 River offers the first bite to Little Middle. Is this a mistake?
Little Middle wants to move around to the other side of River. Good move. River feeds Big.
Smart. If Big gets mad, Little Middle is protected by being on the other side of Mum.
At 18:48:25 Little Middle takes a chance and moves up between Mum and Big. What is he thinking???!!!!!!
Goodness. Little Middle gets some bites and also reaches down and eats some of the flakes of fish off the nest. Talk about brave! Whoooooaaaa.
Wow. That worked out. Little Middle is totally stuffed and walks away from the feeding area at 18:53.
You could set an alarm by Obey’s regular 19:00 visit to check on the nest. He must be happy with what he sees – two full healthy eaglets.
The feeding is over. There is one fish hidden and half of the large sucker remaining for tomorrow morning. Sweet eaglet dreams everyone. It has been a good day at Dale Hollow.
Other Nests: There is a pip in the first egg at Decorah North for Mr North and Mrs DNF. That pip started at 12:46. Just after I was thinking that the Cal Falcon scrape of Annie and Grinnell was secure, Annie flies off to hunt or something and Grinnell entertains one of the five juvenile females that are trying to entice him. Grinnell, behave yourself! BTW. This is not normal behaviour and ‘B’ suggested today that Grinnell has not been the same since his injury 29 October. I agree. This scrape is certainly better than the old soap operas that used to be on the telly that my Grandmother watched!!!!!! There is also a pip in the second egg at the MN DNR nest of Harry and Nancy.
Parents at Pittsburgh Hayes are doing great with their two wee ones. Dad hauled in a massive fish after the following video was posted.
Jasper and Rocket at the NEFlorida nest of Samson and Gabby are still home, still self-feeding, and still adorable.
The two little ones of Liberty and Guardian on the Redding Bald Eagle nest need a bath! It is not clear if it was a coot or a duck but they are now being fed one of the organs. They have not injured one another – it is just the feeding!
Thunder brought in a really nice fish to the West End Bald eagle nest. The trio lined up nice and straight and very polite for their feeding.
At the Captiva Osprey Nest Lena is using her peripheral vision and is really hoping that Middle doesn’t hit her with a PS.
Lena has moved over because she knows that Andy is incoming with dinner. The kids are excited to see a fish on the nest.
Martin has at least 5, perhaps more, super large fish on his nest with Rosa at Dulles-Greenaway. Wish he could courier a couple of those over to Dale Harbour.
And if you want to imagine a spread in hatch days, these are the dates for Big Red’s eggs: March 14, 17, 20, and 23. Yes, the difference from egg 1 to 4 is 9 days.
Arthur would really like Big Red to move so he could have a turn incubating those precious eggs.
It has been a good day! Thank you so much for being here with me. Looking forward to seeing you soon.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Cornell Bird Lab and RTH, Dale Hollow Eagle Cam, West End Bald Eagles and the Institute of Wildlife, MN DNR, Pix Cams, Dulles-Greenaway Eagles, Redding Eagle Cam, Captiva Ospreys, and NE Florida Bald Eagles.
I am a night owl and not generally up before 07:00. This morning I wanted to check on the status of the Dale Hollow nest. In all the sadness there, it is good to pause and to continue to thank all those amazing ‘bird’ mothers and dads out there. Over the years I have seen them separate chicks, get their mate to help with tandem feedings, and go fishing or hunting themselves to ensure that there was ample food for all on the nest. I am desperately trying to understand the ‘root cause’ of the issues at Dale Hollow that have taken us to this morning. River has come into the nest alerting and Big is still attacking. Rain started at 10:17.
It was a beautiful morning on the Gulf of Mexico at the Captiva Osprey nest in Florida. Lena was up waiting and trusting that Andy was going to get a fish on the nest for Middle and Little (Little and Mini). Andy did not disappoint!
The chicks are full and Lena is going to go for her bath to get off all the fish. Middle and Little look great!
At the NEFlorida Bald Eagle nest of Samson and Gabby, breakfast has arrived. Jasper is being fed and Rocket is self-feeding. If you are new to this nest, the eldest, Jasper once demanded to be fed first and tried to keep Rocket from eating. Rocket became an expert at the ‘snatch and grab’. Rocket even took fish from the parents and was a pro at self-feeding early. Rocket learned great survival skills.
These two have not branched yet but that stage of their development is coming soon.
DG1 has had a few feedings already this morning at the Dulles Greenaway Bald Eagle nest in Virginia. Martin even took a turn at feeding the chick while Rosa had a break.
This little one is alert and ready for some more fish!
There is a second egg but time for pip is passing. Maybe this little one DG1 will be an only child.
There are three eggs being incubated at the Pittsburg Hayes Bald Eagle nest and this week we are on pip watch.
Are you a teacher looking for resources to teach about Bald Eagles? The Pittsburgh Hays Bald Eagle nest has posted a link to the Audubon Resources. Not a teacher? Have a peek. We are never too old to learn!
The US Steel Bald Eagle nest was built in 2019. Eaglets have fledged from that nest in 2020 (1 fledge) and in 2021 (2 fledges). There are two eggs being incubated on this nest and Dad is on duty this morning.
At the White-tailed Eagle nest in Matsalu National Park in Western Estonia, the breeding couple are on the nest. Last year, two eggs were laid. The first on 20 March and the 2nd egg on the 24th of March. Both chicks died. Cause of death was confirmed to be H5N1, the highly pathogenic Avian Flu.
The White-tailed eagles are extremely rare in the Balkans and it is hoped that this nest is successful in fledging little eaglets this year. Here is a link to the camera:
Milda is at her nest in Durbe Municipality near the city of Liepaja in Western Latvia.
Milda has a new partner this year after losing her long time mate, Raimis, last year after she had laid her eggs. Her new mate, Mr L, and Milda bonded last year. I hope that he is of good help to her and that this nest also has successful fledges this year. There are many interlopers and both eagles have been on alert today.
Everything is great at the West End Eagle nest of Thunder and Akecheta. The three sleepy heads looked around when it was time for breakfast! Like what, is it that time already!?
The to be named chick at the Big Bear Valley nest of Jackie and Shadow is 15 days old today. It is doing really, really well. It is good to keep in perspective the size of this chick compared to DH16, Little Bit, on the Dale Hollow nest. There are stressors on the little ones that cause a lack of feather development or lines in the feathers. This wee one is getting 8 or 10 feedings a day and is extremely healthy.
Big Red is patiently incubating her two eggs in the shade on the grounds of Cornell University campus in Ithaca.
That is it for me this morning. Every nest that we are following is doing well except for Dale Hollow. I really hate to see the Little Bit suffer. Nature is not kind. I hope to have some new Osprey arrivals for you late this evening. There is still no word on the cause of Big’s death at Captiva. We wait for the results.
Take care everyone. Thank you for being with me today.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Looduskalendar, Captiva Ospreys and Window on Wildlife, Cornell Bird Lab RTH, Pix Cams, Friends of Big Bear Valley, West End Bald Eagles and the Institute of Wildlife Studies, Latvian Fund for Nature, The Eagle Club of Estonia, Dulles-Greenaway Bald Eagles, and NEFlorida Bald Eagles and the AEF.
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.
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.
It was sure easy to fall asleep Friday night after the tide turned, so to speak, at the Captiva Osprey nest. There were five fish deliveries on Friday. Mind you, one of them was about the size of a sardine and lasted 3 minutes but the last one coming in at 15:21:01 filled up the entire family. It did not just go to Big.
The weather might not be so great tomorrow but today was a good day. Little Bob (they call him Mini on the chat and call Middle Bob Little) crop dropped and then went back up to the table to get some more food. Good for him. He has really suffered the last few days. Little Bob winds up with a nice crop, too. Huge actually.
At one point, they were all lined up being nice like the good ole’ days.
On Saturday morning, Andy brought in a whopper of a fish, headless, at 07:31. Lena fed the chicks slow and that fish wasn’t finished for a long time. Little Bob (Mini for chat followers) was intimidated but once he got over there – after the other two were full – there was food left for him and Lena.
It is interesting how Little Bob sometimes keeps his distance from the fish. He used to get right up to Mum.
Lena is looking good today. She was very thin and sunken yesterday morning. One really has to hand it to her. She often has to deal with long droughts but the chicks are still alive and seemingly doing good.
It was family meal time at the Big Bear Valley nest of Jackie and Shadow. Just look at how big that nestling is! That egg looks wee in comparison now.
Some bites for Mum and then one for the little one.
Have a giggle! This is too funny to miss!!!!!!!!!
Early Saturday and the wee one has been fed at Big Bear – twice! There should be no bad weather at any of the nests in California.
It looks like the two eaglets at the West End Bald Eagle Nest on Catalina Island are going to have catfish for dinner.
The Wildlife Institute also uses ‘the name the eaglet’ as a good opportunity for fund raising. Here is that information for the West End babes:
It is a really fine Saturday morning in California. I could take images of proud parents Thunder and Akecheta all day long. They are two of the most photogenic eagles I have seen.
Did you know that Cheta began courting Thunder when he was three years old?
Gosh they are a beautiful couple with one of the most stunning landscapes for a nest I have ever seen. Just look at them. They remind me so much of Jackie and Shadow and certainly their success parallels that of Jackie and Shadow and both have beautiful territories that were devastated by DDT.
Thunder and Cheta will be a lot busier later. The third egg has a pip. It was officially seen at 08:19:59.
The three at the Dale Hollow Lake did good yesterday. Little is getting fed! Sometimes it seems that it doesn’t so watching this and seeing it happen live was good.
Here is a short video of River bringing in a fish and feeding all three chicks!
Dale Hollow has gotten hit by the snow storm that is plowing through a huge swath of the US for the weekend. Not worried about Mum and Dad but Little Bit. Fingers crossed there is fish under that snow and Little Bit gets a good meal.
As predicted, this same snow storm is hitting the nest of Big Red and Arthur in Ithaca, New York.
The surviving eaglet at the Duke Farms Bald Eagle nest is doing very well. It was flapping its wings around the nest bowl all afternoon.
This is Duke Farms Eagle nest this morning. Mum and chick are covered in snow.
B15 is all tucked in and trying to keep warm at the Berry College nest of Pa Berry and Missy. B15 is well equipped now to thermoregulate but gosh, it might be nice to cuddle with Mum.
They don’t have snow but they are getting the torrential rains at the southern end of this system at the NEFlorida Bald eagle nest of Samson and Gabby and their two eaglets, Jasper and Rocket. It is really going to take some Florida sunshine to dry out this soaking nest. They have rain and more rain!
Others are working on nests like Rosie and Richmond and Jack and Harriet at the Dahlgren Osprey nest. It is wet there, too, but now snow today. There is a long way to go but they are making headway. It is another thing on the Whirley crane where the Ravens dismantled Rosie and Richmond’s nest and now they are taking every stick they bring in! Crazy.
Here is a video of Richmond and Rosie working on their nest – furiously working!
That is a look at what has been happening at only a handful of the nests out there to watch.
Thank you 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: Friends of Big Bear Valley, Explore.org and the Institute for Wildlife Studies, Captiva Osprey and Window on Wildlife, NEFlorida Eagles and the AEF, Duke Farms, Berry College, Dahlgren Ospreys, Cornell Bird Lab and RTH, the DHEC River and Obey.
