Writer, Conservationist, Activist, Bird Lover
The American Eagle Foundation held a fundraiser. Individuals paid $5 to be able to vote on the name for Samson and Gabby’s youngest eagle of 2022. There were five names to choose from and the winner is…
Rocket is symbolic of the space programme and launches near to the NEFlorida Bald Eagle nest. It could also be that NE27 will fly ‘like a rocket’!
The eldest was given the name Jasper because it hatched during the named storm that hit the area, Jasper.
11 March 2022
The sun is shining down on the snow that blew and fell over night. It is -22 degrees C with the wind chill at -32 C. The birds are arriving early! We are all hoping that spring will be here soon. Yesterday I put out two seed cylinders. If you have not seen these they are fantastic for the birds who have difficulty eating at some of the ‘normal’ feeders such as the European Starlings. Of course, Dyson likes to sit on top of the cylinders and munch away while the Black-Capped Chickadee flies in with the speed of Sharpie getting seeds. I really like the Starlings and the Old World Sparrows, many do not. It feels good to supply them with supplemental food in the winter. My City is nothing but a building site and the habitat where the birds foraged is no longer.
I know someone else who likes Starlings! Ferris Akel has posted a short video of the European Starlings on his deck at the feeders. Have a look.
That is not the kind of action that my daughter is getting at hers! She is taking care of this squirrel and rabbit who seem to have worked out how to help one another and keep the birds away. It is funny and wonderful!
I went to bed worrying about the Captiva Osprey nest.
In my head I kept hearing my grandmother say, ‘Everything works out the way it is supposed to’ with the saying, ‘Change what you can, accept what you can’t, and be smart enough to know the difference.’
There is a huge issue of fish delivery at the Captiva Osprey nest. The last time that the Mum, Lena, and Middle and Little Bob had more than a few bites of fish was 8 March. Big has had all the fish for the 9th and 10th. We are entering the third day. As much as all of us might want to pull a tank of live fish to the dock at Lori’s for Andy and Lena, I cannot do this. This area of Florida is experiencing hot and humid weather. There is no quick fix for the weather patterns that are impacting many nor can I put a halt to the intense competition for food (fish) in this particular area of Florida. In other words, if I am smart, I will recognize that I have to accept the situation and just hope that there is a turn around at this nest.
Well, Andy has brought in three fish so far this morning. They were a Sheepshead, a Lady Fish, and the last one is a Spotted Trout. brought in a big fish. Big has been eating and eating and eating.
Big ate the first two fish. Little and Middle who had to have been starving each kept out of the way.
We are now on the third fish. Big is obviously full. Look at that crop. Lena fed him slow. Good for her. That will allow the other two fish to settle and send Big into a food stupor. Hopefully there will be fish left for Mum and the other two siblings, Middle and Little.
Lena has eaten some bites and given at least one to Middle. Big is keeping Little from going to eat. Let’s wait a few minutes and see if Big will pass out and ignore the others.
No. Big has gone back to the table! We saw this type of behaviour at the Achieva Credit Union last season when Sibling 2 would eat til it was almost sick to keep the others away from the fish.
Lena must eat and so must the other two including Little. The heat will have dehydrated them over the past three days.
It is 11:56 nest time. Big is out for the count and Little is being fed. Middle is looking out to the water. Interesting.
Little Bob is eating for the first time in 72 hours save for a couple of scraps on the 9th. Look at how open his beak is. Oh, I hope this wee babe gets good and full.
Little has been eating for 19 minutes. This is so good. Tears and more tears.
This has been a very good fishing day for Andy. I hope that he continues to bring in the fish so everyone, including Mum, goes to bed tonight full to the brim. There is bad weather coming for the weekend and that will cause the fishing to drop. (See map below). As I finish, there is still fish. Lena is feeding Middle along with herself and more bites for Little. What a relief.
Little ate for 24 minutes. He is ready to have a nice nap. Lena and Middle will finish up the fish.
It is difficult to decide which nests to check there are so many now. If you follow the VGCCO Osprey nest (the Venice Golf and Country Club), they now have two hatches and Denton Homes in Iowa has eggs. I completely missed both of those.
The West End Territory or West End Bald Eagle nest on Catalina Island just makes me smile. It is in a beautiful location and it is the home of Thunder and Akecheta.
In the image below, Thunder is on the nest in the middle. Akecheta is to the left on the tall peak guarding the area.
Akecheta has grown up. He is learning how to feed his babies and he seems to fully understand the importance of working with Thunder to keep the Ravens away from the nest! This is huge.
Yesterday a couple of really good videos were posted. If you have time take a peak. Shadow has been watching the way Thunder feed the chicks. Here we get to see his progress! This is our proud first-time Papa wanting to be involved. It is simply precious.
Lady Hawk took the second video clip:
It looks like the sun is really helping to dry out the nest of River and Obey. River also has the chicks out in front so they can get the warmth of the sun, too. There are fish hiding underneath the grasses for lunch.
River has fed all of the kids several times this morning. Little Bit is getting around so much better today. That warm sunshine is really helping. Life is good at Dale Hollow Lake.
Oh, the nest of Jasper and NE27 is a soggy mess. The rains on the 10th, yesterday, were torrential. Mum Gabby tried to keep her sweet way-too-big-to-brood babies dry! What a fabulous Mum she is, too.
Gabby trying to get a little sleep while brooding the kids.
Today, Jasper and NE27 are still wet and the nest is a soaking mess. Both eaglets have been self feeding.
The parents were in and out feeding the two after leaving them to try for themselves.
NE27 has been self-feeding for some time. He will still remain submissive if the parent is only feeding one, Jasper. But, when he is ready, he will do the old snatch and grab if necessary.
Both eaglets are developing fine. There are no issues save for the weather and it looks like they are in for more rain over the weekend.
Big Red and Arthur were both working on the final touches to their nest on the campus of Cornell University. Arthur was in first with Big Red coming in after and ‘tweaking’ his efforts.
Arthur brought in some greenery.
If you have watched the Royal Albatross nests on Taiaroa Head, you will know that the NZ DOC rangers spray for fly strike. Big Red and Arthur use pine boughs to ward off insects.
The nest as Arthur left it.
He flew back in with a twig – working on the side rails so the little ones do not roll out of the nest cup accidentially.
Arthur is very handsome!
Gorgeous deep brown eyes! looks like he has also had some breakfast or made a prey drop to Big Red off camera.
Big Red comes in a few minutes later to check on the decorating.
She will work and get it all tweaked.
When she is finished, she looks out to see if she can see Arthur with her ‘eyes like a hawk’. LOL.
The weather forecast shows a ‘weather bomb’ headed for Big Red and Arthur’s nest over the weekend with more rain for the nests in Florida and the SE.
The nest of Jackie and Shadow should get a break from the weather this weekend. The strong winds from yesterday – winds that almost blew Shadow off the nest – have calmed today. Thank goodness. That beautiful chick is 8 days old today. Wow. Where did the time go?
First feeding of the day around 05:42. The sun is just coming over the mountains in the distance.
Just look at that little one sitting up so straight and tall. This is the second feeding and there will probably be at least six more today. Jackie and Shadow have done an amazing job with this wee babe. We are so fortunate to be witness to their job, just like Thunder and Akecheta at the West End.
Thank you so much for joining me today. We can all rest easy. Everyone at Captiva has eaten! Take care everyone. Stay safe.
My thanks go to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Friends of Big Bear Valley, Dale Hollow Lake Eagles, Cornell Bird Lab and RTH, NEFlorida Bald Eagles and the AEF, Captiva Ospreys and Window on Wildlife, CNN Weather Tracker, my daughter, Ferris Akel for his video, and Explore.org
Let’s have some fun first thing!
Ah, you can really enjoy a birder’s sense of humour and their love of music with this video of some Red-winged Blackbirds taken by Ferris Akel:
There is super news coming out of Cal Falcons. Annie and Grinnell’s 2020 fledgling Sequoia has a mate! This is just wonderful news. Here is the announcement.
So how far is San Jose from the scrape box in San Francisco? How far did Sequoia travel in her dispersal?
The wonders of banding birds can give us this kind of information.
This is really good news. Did I say that twice? or three times? The population of Peregrine Falcons in the Bay area is returning.
The Dale Hollow Eagle nest looks like it needs more straw! Reminds me of the wet and muddy nest of the storks at Mlade Buky in The Czech Republic. Obey has delivered lots of fish and he stepped in and helped River with the trio.
The little one at Duke Farms got a really good feeding and both of the chicks had a nice crop. Hoping that this wee chick gets much stronger and does well. This nest fledged two last year.
There is plenty of time for more feedings at Big Bear (it is 15:00) but, already, Jackie and Shadow have fed the little chick 9 times. Ten is about normal for this age – 4 days old. They eat such a little amount. Jackie can continue to increase the size of the fish flakes and the length of the feedings. Next week, we should be seeing fewer but longer feedings as the chick grows.
Shadow came in before bedtime and seems to have brought one of his famous sticks and placed it very near the little one to the left. Shadow is certainly thinking about crib rails!
Some images from Tuesday morning at Big Bear. The wee chick has already been fed at 05;35 06;35, and 07:29 – all by Jackie. Shadow has been in and out. A Red-tail hawk has been buzzing around the nest keeping everyone alert.
Jackie and Shadow and their ‘miracle’ baby are making all the papers and televisions stations it seems.
I know that the storks are beginning their migration northward to their spring and summer breeding grounds just like the Ospreys are doing. You can see the route that the birds migrated to Africa in the late summer of 2021 below. It goes through Belarus and the birds stop over at various places in the Ukraine including spending much time on the Black Sea. Somehow I thought if I willed them to take a more westerly route they would but, of course, that is simply being nonsensical. Karl II is on his way home and this is what he will be facing.
The map below shows Karl II’s routing in royal blue that he took in the early fall of 2021 get to The Sudan.
The top map shows the different nature reserves that the storks rest and feed at clearer than the second image which shows Karl II and Pikne’s routes for migration south in 2021.
Karl II spent much time on the Black Sea resting and eating. This is currently a war zone.
The last update was on 4 March. It is believed that Karl II is in a desert area north of Sudan and is out of GPS range.
Karl II is a Black Stork whose nest is in the Karula National Park in Estonia. He is equipped with a satellite tracking GPS and is ringed. His number is 715R. His mate is unringed Kati. Last year they fledged three storklets. The oldest was the male Udu, the middle was the female Pikne, and the baby boy was Tuul. Both Udu and Pikne migrated successfully. Sadly, Tuul was lost.
If you want to follow this fabulous and much loved Black Stork, please go to the Looduskalendar Forum that is following his migration home. There are also good discussions and images of the terrain where the birds are staying. Here is the link:
There were heavy rains at the nest of Gabby and Samson near Jacksonville. Gabby did the best she could to keep Jasper and NE27 from getting too wet.
Gabby flew off later and Jasper and NE27 are preening. Looks like the weather is improving. Poor wet babies.
These two are growing and walking and self-feeding, well E27 is doing a great job. Jasper is still in kindergarten stage. Gorgeous eaglets. Samson and Gabby make beautiful babies.
Both Harriet and M15’s eaglets have branched. E19 is 10 weeks and 1 day old and E20 is 10 weeks old today putting them right at the beginning of the fledge range. Will they fledge today? Probably not. Hopefully they will wait for another week or more developing their branching skills.
Do you follow the West End eagles on Catalina Island? There is a pip in the first of the three eggs!
Here is the link to the cam:
Things are really beginning to pick up! In the UK the first official sighting of an Osprey returning from winter migration was today. The fish eagle was flying over the Loch of Clunie in the south of Scotland in Perth & Kinross. They are coming home!
Little and Middle Bob have learned to steer clear of Big Bob. This morning they let him eat, then they started eating and he got a second wind. Probably 90% of the fish went into Big. I would hope that Andy will get another fish on deck so that the two others can eat if Big finally passes out in food coma. In the image below, Big is getting his second wind and Little and Middle have moved away and not challenged for food.
At 11:25 Big passed out and the other two rushed up to get more fish! Oh, thank goodness! It is hot and these two need food. Big has dominated the nest since the weekend making life miserable for the other two.
Lena is working hard to find some meat on the skin of the fish that is left. Little Bob is hungry and still does not have a crop.
That is the quick summary of the early morning nest review. I hope that you have a wonderful day. Take care everyone. See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Explore.org, Captiva Osprey Nest and Window on Wildlife, SWFlorida and D Pritchett, Dale Hollow Lake Bald Eagles, NEFlorida Bald Eagles and the AEF, Friends of Big Bear, the Looduskalender Forum, Google Maps, and Ferris Akel Tours.
Any worries about the bopping that Big Bob seems to want to inflict on Little Bob as of late should be cast aside. Little Bob is a survivor and he won’t let anything Big does keep him from his favourite fish! At the feeding around 15:00, all three Bobs had enormous crops. Little Bob was the last one to leave the table.
Each of the trio looked like they would just about pop.
Everyone is hot at the Captiva Osprey nest. The chicks are panting to help thermoregulate.
Lena decided to go for a dip in herr own private area of the Gulf of Mexico to cool down. Lena has a pretty enormous crop, too. She went for her dip right after feeding the chicks. One thing Lena seems to really dislike is fish oil on her feathers. She has returned and is trying her best to keep the babies shaded, too.
It’s Monday and the fishing is good.
Meanwhile in Big Bear Valley, Jackie has fed the wee babe again at 13:01. I sat and giggled at the size of the pieces she was offering the eaglet.
Would you like some fish tail, darling?
Or, perhaps this is a better size????
It was quite humorous. I had a feeling, at one point, that Jackie was trying to demonstrate horking to the nearly four day old chick. Horking meaning to eat very quickly a large piece that would otherwise be eaten in smaller bites.
Jackie then settled into feeding the wee one smaller bites til it had a nice crop and was ready for another nap and some more growth.
Adorable.
NE 27 continues to do the snatch and grab rather well. He stole an entire fish from Samson today. 27 was already full, almost to the brim. Perhaps Jasper will get some time to practice his self-feeding if and when 27 gives up on the fish. Meanwhile, this is a short clip (don’t blink) of NE27 walking and doing some wing exercises.
B15 at the Berry College nest of Pa Berry and Missy is the sweetest little eaglet. It still has that adorable face it had when it was wee and a great big curiosity about the world around it. Pa Berry has been bringing in all manner of prey items. A squirrel landed on the nest for breakfast.
It scares the wits out of me when the eaglets look over the rim of the nest like B15 is doing below!
I missed him! Did you? This is the most recent tracking report on Ervie.
Awwww. Would have given anything to see Ervie. Bet I was watching Big Bear at the time.
There was a report of 130 Mallards and 1 American Black Duck at an open piece of water in one of the two big rivers that flows through our City. This one was the Red River. And, yes, they were there. Hard to see as I was scandalously far away and didn’t have my 2x adaptor.
Just before I took off to find the ducks and that small open piece of water, Little Red had been waiting, warming himself in the sunshine, while another Red squirrel had their eyes on his penthouse. Little Red wanted some of the peanuts I put out before Dyson got them but he decided to protect his territory instead.
Dyson, on the other hand, was being a right little trouble maker today. I put out a new square hanging feeder full of a mixture of Butter Bark, peanuts, and Black Oil seed. So what does Dyson do? He creeps through the Lilac bushes and takes a flying leap at it! About 2 litres of seed fell on the ground. What a mess!!!! Dysonnnnnnnnn!!!!!!!!
Dyson saw me watching. Whether or not he was concerned is another story as he sat and stuffed his cheeks for more than ten minutes. Then when I moved to another window, he decided that sitting inside the lilacs and eating his prize seeds was best. He was still going in and out for quite a long time.
As it warms up the squirrels seem to be coming out more. There are rabbit tracks all around the garden so we know that Hedwig is around and the Little Woodpeckers – both Mr and Mrs Downy – have been around most days at the suet feeder. Sharpie even flew through at least once yesterday causing everyone to flee hither and yon. Thankfully the European Starlings have dropped considerably in numbers at the feeders. There are now only about 7 or 8. It gives the other birds a chance to flit in and out including the Black Capped chickadee who visits daily.
I hope that this quick and short newsletter finds you well. Again, most of the bird nests are doing fine. There seem to still be intruders about at some nests and the wee one at Duke Farms still has trouble getting to the table. I am going to hold my breath and check on it and Dale Hollow in a couple of days.
Thank you so much for joining me. Take care.
Thank you to the following streaming cams or FB pages where I took my screen captures: Port Lincoln Osprey Project, Friends of Big Bear, Berry College Eagles, Captiva Ospreys and Window on Wildlife, and Friends of Big Bear Valley.
06 March 2022
The first hatch at Big Bear Valley, the nest of Bald Eagles Jackie and Shadow, has had five feedings so far. The first was at 05:51 followed by 07:57, 09:06, 10:15, and the last one, just finished, at 13:24. The wee one is doing so well and already looks like it has doubled its size in just three days (or nearly). The wee chick did its first poop shot (ps) at 10:15:59 demonstrating that all of its plumbing is working.
The eagles are restless today. Jackie is currently being very careful to roll that second egg. With the wet straw in the egg cup, it is difficult to tell if there is a pip or a pip and a crack.
Here are some images from the Big Bear nest of Jackie and Shadow from the late morning to early afternoon for you to enjoy.
Shadow helped Jackie with the feeding at 10:15 and took over brooding and incubation duties much to his delight. Shadow will remain on the nest until Jackie returns at 13:19. They will then both feed the wee chick.
Both adults have been staring at the chick and the egg and moving ever so slowly around the nest. I love how they back off the egg and chick so they can see them. They could, so easily, step all over everything if they got off incubation/brooding by moving forward. If you watch, they are ever so careful with their big feet and talons.
Oh, what a big yawn!
Do you see anything like a pip or a crack on this egg?
Both help with the 13:24 feed. You can hear the Corvids in the background. That must frighten Jackie and Shadow alerting them that they have to be ever so careful about coming and going from the nest – making sure that someone is always home.
The chick is eating much bigger bites than yesterday. Look how big it is compared to the egg. That is how much this wee babe has grown in 70 hours.
The nestling eats small pieces of the meat or fish along with saliva from the parents and juice from the prey items. This provides much needed antibodies and nutrients as well as electrolytes. Electrolytes keep our bodies balanced, in terms of fluids and in terms of salt and sugar. if you have dehydrated animals, electrolytes are given like an IV to rehydrate. They are essential for a healthy system.
This chick is getting fed approximately 8-10 feedings each day.
Such a good baby.
The egg has been rolled several times. Did it pick up wet and dirty straw that has clung to it so that we think it is a pip or a crack? I wonder. Big Bear has not announced a pip on the second egg.
Adorable. Jackie is such a proud Mama. She takes over from Samson and lets him have a much needed break. Meanwhile, the weather is just so much better than yesterday.
Other Bird World News:
The Pied Cormorant is still hanging around Dad’s perch at the Port Lincoln Osprey Barge.
The trio at Captiva Osprey nest have been enjoying a nice afternoon fish that arrived sometime around 14:15.
Everyone will stagger away with a nice big crop and be rehydrated. They are hot in that Florida sun.
The two nestlings at Duke Farms Bald Eagle nest are doing just fine.
Anna and Louis have been spending a lot more time with Kincaid over the last week. It will not be long til this 8 week old eaglet is branching and before we know it, Kincaid will fledge. These are adorable parents. It has been a real privilege watching them take care of Kincaid.
Jasper and NE27 continue to do well. NE27 is so far ahead of Jasper on the self-feeding but slowly, ever so slowly, Jasper is catching on. I hope that we have a name for NE27 this coming week. That would be super. Beautiful eagles out of the NEFlorida nest of Samson and Gabby.
Just a few hours ago E20 branched up to the Veranda at the SWFlorida nest of Harriet and M15. Now both eaglets have branched. It will not be long until these two fledge.
Lady Hawk caught the branching in a short video:
Thank you so much for joining me for this end of the day nest check on Sunday. Everything is fine. Our sweet Ervie has not been back to the barge and continues to hang out around the North shore. I hope he is enjoying every mouthful of fish that he catches. Oh, the joy he brought us. I wish he would just take a quick fly over to the barge and hang out for a bit. I bet you do, too. Take care all. See you soon!
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Friends of Big Bear Valley, NEFlorida Bald Eagles and the AEF, Captiva Ospreys and Window on Wildlife, KNF Bald Eagles, and Duke Farms.
2 March 2022
Annie’s return to the Campanile warmed all of our hearts. A ray of sunshine in a weary world. I imagined that the researchers at CalFalcons were completely dumbfounded when they looked on the screen and saw her sitting on the ledge. We have seen female eagles disappear for a day or so right at the height of breeding season but this is not common in falcons. Thanks to ‘B’ who sent me the note about Annie’s return, we have an interview with CalFalcons about how it felt to see her return and what might have prompted her absence.
Mark your calendars. Cal Falcons will have a live Q & A session on Annie and Grinnell on 4 March at 2pm nest time. Here is the link. You can set the timer as a reminder. This should be a really interesting session.
The osplets at the Captiva Osprey platform have had their morning fish at 09:32. You can count on Little Bob to be right up front at the table – a mini-version of Ervie! Little Bob will do well in the world.
There is some condensation on the camera and their appear to be boats and some other animal ? in the water under the platform at times. This must make it difficult for Andy to get fish.
There’s our Little Bob right up front. Good for him.
The fish actually arrived several minutes before Lena started feeding at 09:32. It was very difficult to see the size of the fish or the species. All continue to do well.
Nearly 4000 people are watching and waiting for any news on a pip at the nest of Jackie and Shadow at Big Bear Valley.
Beautiful Jackie at first light.
Oh, I so hope these eggs are viable.
Shadows wears the same tight black jeans as Samson. Look at him. What a cutie. He would very much like some incubation time. I don’t know if Jackie is going to give in!
Pa Berry and Missy’s eaglet is walking strong and has most of his contour and wing feathers coming in or in. What a beautiful little eagle B15 is. S/he has been amusing itself by playing with one of the feathers in the nest.
B15 has really been working its wings lately – getting those muscles stronger and stronger by the flap.
No matter how big they are, thee aglets still like to be fed by a parent. Self-feeding is hard work when you are first learning.
Speaking of self-feeding. Remember when we worried about how dominant Jasper was at blocking NE27 from eating? We know that NE27 became the Little King of the snatch and grab. This morning a fish was delivered to the nest. NE27 went over to feed itself. Jasper sat next to it watching – not having a single clue how to go about eating. Jasper also did not beak NE27. I was thinking Jasper might be hoping that NE27 would feed her!!!!!! LOL.
Lots of preening with the first glow of the sun in the morning at the NEFlorida nest of Samson, Gabby, Jasper, and soon to be named NE27.
Beautiful image of our hero.
This is one beautiful eagle. Reminds me a lot of Legacy.
I couldn’t decide whether to cry with joy or laugh at loud. NE27 will be able to take good care of itself when it is out in the world. Yesterday, NE27 did not hesitate to steal food right out of Gabby’s talons. It was hungry and she was ignoring it and just feeding Jasper. I shouted ‘hoorah’ when that happened.
In the image below it looks like Jasper is wondering what in the world 27 is doing.
NE27 has learned to turn its back to Jasper, hold down the fish with its talons, and pull. This is an amazing little eaglet. And look at those beautiful wing and contour feathers coming in with the thick grey thermal down underneath.
Gabby is keeping a watchful eye. It won’t be long before 27 grabs the fish out of the talons again!
I have not been checking in on them but the WRDC nest with Ron, Rita, R1 and R2 seems to be just fine. We are going to have a lot of eaglets branching and fledging around the same time. At this point in time, I am not certain who is who on the nest.
Ron is feeding one of the chicks after the other was self-feeding.
I believe it is R1 self-feeding.
It is 2 degrees C and partly cloudy in Ithaca, New York. Our favourite Red-tail Hawk couple, Arthur and the Queen of RTHs, Big Red, are working and working on their nest. Since the problems at the Achieva Osprey nest with the squirrels and the eggs falling down into a dark abyss, I have noticed that there are layers of soft material alternating with twigs so as to build up a strong and tight nest cup on this light stand where…in two weeks, we could have eggs!!!!!!! I will be deliriously happy as will thousands of others.
You can see how much this couple has been doing. That nest is nice and deep now with a well defined egg cup.
Here comes Arthur. He is an amazing mate for Big Red. As this couple moves into their 6th year being together and their 5th breeding season, Arthur has proved that he is really up to the task.
Putting on the brakes. Once I was privy to watching Arthur flying through the buildings at Cornell to catch some prey. He was like a jet going between and around the buildings. Very impressive.
Arthur carefully arranges the twigs as he thinks Big Red would like them. She will, of course, come and finish the fine tuning and decorating.
The birds carry on with their lives. They give me solace and hope.
Thank you for joining me today. My granddaughter is coming over later and the plan is to cook for her. You might not well hear from me until tomorrow unless something extraordinary happens – like a pip at Big Bear! Take care everyone. Stay safe.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Cornell Bird Lab, Captiva Osprey and Window on Wildlife, NEFlorida Bald Eagles and the AEF, Berry College, the WRDC Bald Eagles, and Friends of Big Bear Valley.
It is -10 C on the Canadian Prairies on a day that can only be described as white. There is no colour in the sky and while I had anticipated including images of a different landscape due to melting, well, that hasn’t happened. The snow appears to be melting from the inside of the snow banks and tunnels slowly – which is a good thing! Today and for several days this week, we will continue having yet more of the white fluffy flakes. It has – weather wise – been a winter we will not forget for a long time.
I have been reading Mark Avery’s blog. Avery spent his life working with the RSPB in the UK and is an outspoken defender of ‘nature’. He was their Conservation Director for 13 of the 25 years he worked for them. I will include the link to his blog at the end. The current topic is ‘Alternatives to grouse shooting’.
Avery also includes a short list of books he has read and their reviews at the bottom. One of those was The Consolation of Nature. Spring in the Time of the Coronavirus. Three nature writers – Michael McCarthy, Jeremy Mynott, and Peter Marren – keep a ‘nature’ diary running parallel with happenings with the pandemic for the period of spring 2020. They begin with the astronomical beginning of spring on the 21 March running through 31 May when summer begins. (Meteorological beginning of spring is 1 March). My interest in this book is the emphasis on the healing aspects of nature and how, during the beginning of this horrific virus, people turned to nature for solace. All of us watch bird cams. Did you know that in the UK from the period 23 March to 31 May 2019, there were 20,407 page views of bird cams. During the early period of the pandemic this increased to 433,632 views! It was a similar situation at Loch Arkaig where 400,000 people watched Louis and Aila raise their three osplets. Indeed, it was an amazing year for nature as we isolated ourselves. Few if any planes, few if any cars. When we stopped, nature thrived. “Fish returned to the canals of Venice, no longer churned up by tourist boats. In parts of northern India, the Himalayas became visible for the first time in thirty years as air pollution fell. Baby sea turtles made it safely to the water on Brazilian beaches empty of sunbathers, joggers, and dogs. Wild boar and deer came back into car-free European cities.” As the authors demonstrate, some of those events were significant including “a colossal fall in the carbon dioxide emissions” driving climate change. While the coronavirus spring brought many human losses and great stress, nature gave each of us hope and comfort.
It is a remarkable little book. I highly recommend it but, even more so, I recommend that you begin keeping your own diary of how much joy our beloved birds bring to your life – or it could be the animals or the plants in your garden or a green area you visit. In years to come, it will be a treasure, I promise.
Many of us have never looked back after first watching our bird families on the streaming cams. By watching the daily lives of these families struggling to survive sometimes, we have learned much and it is hoped become more empathetic and prone to fight for a better environment for all of us.
Our first family up this morning are the Captiva Osprey family of Andy and Lena and the three Bobs. Lena was up at day break calling Andy to bring in a fish. She is incredibly loud and Andy could have heard her if he had been in Fort Myers!
I picked the image below not for its compositional beauty but because this morning for the first time, we can clearly see the difference in development between Big Bob and Little Bob. Look at the top of their heads. Little Bob, on the left, still has his soft light grey down. Big Bob has lost his. Soon his head will look like it has been dipped in a pot of black oil with a few copper flecks at the bottom. Big Bob is entering the ‘Reptilian Phase’.
While Lena wanted that fish before 07:00, it was, in fact, delivered at 08:14:39. It was a live Sheepshead.
Lena had a bit of a time with that fish – getting it opened and not flipping about on the kids. Big and Middle Bobs are right up there when she begins feeding. You will see that Middle Bob also has a greasy black Reptilian head like Big Bob. Little Bob is just waking up. Get up there Little Bob!
Little Bob is definitely our ‘Captiva Ervie’. It didn’t take him long to get the sleep out of his eyes and get up under Lena’s beak. Look at him stare at the fish. At least for today, we can easily tell Little from the other two if the trio are in a clump.
Lena was really hungry. She fed the kids for more than an hour and then finished off the fish and ate the tail at 09:49. All of the chicks were passed out in a food coma.
Andy returned hoping there would be some fish left just as Lena swallowed the fish tail! The chicks woke up and were thinking about a second feed. Too late! Big Bob did root around in the nest for scraps eating them as he found them. Wow. That is fantastic.
Lena is currently busy keeping the osplets cool by shading them. She is also hoping that Andy will ring another fish in!
Cornell Bird Lab put together a 15 minute video of Big Red and Arthur frantically working on their nest on the Cornell Campus this morning. It is much better than any still captures I could show you!
Squeezing some of the somber in with the joy, HH3, one of the Hilton Head Island Trust eaglets has died. HH4 is fighting for its life and hanging on by a thread. The test results to determine the cause are not ready yet. The adults are being monitored closely and the Birds of Prey Centre has brought in the Clemson University Vet School to help with the determinations as to cause.
There was a lovely kerfuffle at the NEFlorida Nest of Samson and Gabby this morning. It was fantastic, actually. Jasper (NE26) was eating all of the food. This has been the typical pattern for these two. This morning it was the same- NE27 is on the left with its head down and Jasper is at the beak getting all the food.
NE27 moves closer and does the old snatch and grab and horks all of the remaining prey! He was hungry and was tired of waiting. Way to go 27!
Jasper has been doing a lot of standing and wingersizing. She is definitely getting much more stable on those legs.
Gabby and Samson sure make beautiful babies. I just love the pantaloons on Jasper.
The more I watch the Dale Hollow nest the more I am loving this family. Obey comes in to check on River and feeds her. That reminds me of Blue 33 feeding Maya at the Rutland Osprey nest. Then River and Obey feed the chicks in tandem. The life experience of these two eagles, well into their 20s in age, really shows when dealing with the health and welfare of their chicks. Just wonderful. The third egg is 36 days old today and it is almost hatched!
Another tandem feeding this morning.
Continual aeration of the nest cup to keep it soft and bring oxygen in.
River feeding the twins.
Oh, just look at them. They are so cute, fluffy, and a little chubby. Perfect!
There are currently more than 3,044 persons watching and waiting for a pip at the nest of Jackie and Shadow in Big Bear Lake, California. The eggs were laid on January 22 and 25. That makes them 34 and 37 days old. The average time for pip is between 34 and 40 days so we are still right in the sweet spot for hatching. Good luck Jackie and Shadow! Your fans are cheering.
It is difficult to avoid the news. My heart goes out to any person caught in a conflict zone. It is difficult to avoid the war zones in Africa where our birds migrate to for the winter and now, as they begin to return to their homes in Latvia and Estonia, many have historically spent time eating and resting in the Ukraine. This is the map of Karl II’s family migration this past summer. Many of the other birds that migrate to Africa follow a similar route. Wildlife suffers irreparable harm, like ordinary citizens, in times of war.
Here is a detailed study of wildlife in conflict zones and the need for conservation. It is a good first read to understand the challenges that nature and wildlife undergo when there is war. I hope that you are able to open it.
https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/am-pdf/10.1002/fee.1433
I will close as we wait for a pip at Big Bear and the final hatching at Dale Hollow with a closeup of Dad at the Port Lincoln Osprey barge. Dad spent considerable time on the ropes yesterday. I cannot help but imagine that he was hoping to catch up with Ervie and see how he is doing. You can certainly tell where Ervie gets his good looks from!
It has warmed up to a balmy -8 C. Serious spring weather and I am off to get more bird seed and go for a much needed walk. Please take care everyone. Thank you so much for joining me today.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams or FB pages where I took my screen captures: Port Lincoln Osprey Project, Dale Hollow Bald Eagles, Captiva Ospreys and Window on Wildlife, NEFlorida Bald Eagles and the AEF, Cornell Bird Lab, Friends of Big Bear Valley, Bald Eagles 101 FB, and the Latvian Fund for Nature Forum.
24.2.2022
The Kakapo Recovery are having a t-shirt fundraiser. They posted the following information on their FB today:
There are male and female styles and sizes range from the smallest to 2 or 3 XL. Shipping from New Zealand is reasonable should you wish to help out!
There are lots of chicks and where there are infertile eggs they are being swopped with fertile ones so some of the mothers get a chance to rear a chick. Let’s keep our fingers crossed for that number of 201 to climb! It looks like it could be a good year for our non-flying parrots.
The tracking for Ervie indicates that he did visit the Port Lincoln Osprey Barge sometime yesterday. He was most likely checking to see if Dad was there so they could have a visit. No one spotted him on camera so maybe he landed on the wheelhouse.
Early Friday morning, nest time, and the barge is full of pigeons hoping to find leftovers. They certainly do a great clean up job for Mum!
The Mum at Duke Farms gives everyone a peek of the fully hatched chick 1 at 14:28. What a little fluff ball. So tiny!
It has been a really good day at Captiva. It is 17:46 and Lena is waiting on Andy to bring in the dinner fish. The three osplets still have crops from the earlier feed. All is good!
Gabby and Samson continue to demonstrate branching to Jasper and to be named NE27. Today the two eaglets were kept full to more than full. They have grown so fast. Time seems to go by in a blink. Just a few days ago it seemed they were only tiny fluff balls like chick 1 at Duke Farms today.
Oh, I love that beautiful glow over the nest in Jacksonville, Florida as the sun sets on Gabby, Samson, Jasper and NE27.
NE27 is going to clean up every bit of that fish! Sweet eagle dreams.
Lady Hawk did a great video of Samson bringing in this large carp for the eaglets. Listen to them cheeping. So cute. Gosh these two are just darlings.
There is snow and sleet falling on the nest of Bonnie, the GHOW, whose nest is on Farmer Derek’s land. The area extending from there over the Mississippi River and into Ohio are set to get quite a bit of precipitation.
This is what the Mississippi River Flyway Cam is showing. Looks like snow to me! The snow is really blowing around creating what we call ‘white out’ conditions at times. A white out is literally when you cannot see anything in front and beside you but snow. Highways and roads disappear. People do try to drive on it. They often wind up in the ditch on the opposite side of the road. Not recommended. You cannot even see approaching cars.
The female, Nancy, at the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Bald Eagle Nest near Minneapolis is getting snow as well. This nest fledged two great juveniles last year. Harry, the male, was only four years old and it was his first breeding attempt with Nancy. This year he looks much more like a mature Bald Eagle. Very handsome.
Checking in on the Iowa Bald Eagle nests, there is wet snow coming down on the Denton Home’s nest. No eggs there yet.
There is snow at the Decorah North nest of Mr North and DNF. If you look carefully you can see Mr North high up in the tree. What a beautiful sight.
When the city gets too much for me – as it often does – my mind moves to a cottage at the edge of a forest full of wildlife. This is so beautiful and serene. All you can hear is the snow falling and the wind. There is a creek in the background.
Mrs is keeping the eggs nice and warm and dry.
The other Bald Eagle nest with a streaming cam in Decorah also has snow. No eggs yet and no one on the nest. Right now I can hear lots of geese honking. My goodness they are super loud!
Here is the link to this camera. You might catch the geese flying in also at dusk.
The snow has not reached Pittsburgh but the wind is sure blowing at the Pittsburgh-Hayes Bald Eagle nest tonight. Mum is trying to keep those eggs warm and dry in that cold. With their 7000 plus feathers, the eagles are well equipped to ride out the cold, the snow, and the bitter winds. Regardless, I just ache for them.
The sound of those honking geese reminded me that Ospreys are moving north out of African towards Europe and the UK. A number were reported entering southwest France today. With all the snow here and in other places it is hard to imagine but the birds will be making their way home. In a month there should be Ospreys on a nest or two in the UK. I am counting on one of my favourites, Blue 33, and his partner, Maya, arriving at Rutland first. We wait to see!
In San Francisco, Richmond has been on and off the Whirley Crane nest in the shipping yards anxiously awaiting the arrival of his mate, Rosie. Those two are going to have a lot of work when she gets here. Just look at that nest. Maybe Richmond should take a page out of Louis’s book up at Loch Arkaig and start work before she arrives. Richmond, that would be a very sweet thing to do!
Dyson and Scraggles have been playing in the seeds and snow so they are both fine. The 50 or so European Starlings that visit the nest for food have been perching in my neighbour’s trees. Today they both got a gift certificate for two car washes. My goodness those birds can poop! Little Red has been busy. We did not see our chickadee today but it might have arrived, with or without its mate, while we were off for our walk. It felt good to get out in the fresh air.
Thank you so much for joining me. All the nests are doing quite well. It is comforting. Take care. See you soon. Saturday is pip watch for Jackie and Shadow at Big Bear. Don’t forget.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams or FB where I took my screen captures: Window on Wildlife and Captiva Ospreys, NEFlorida and the AEF, Port Lincoln Osprey Project, Kakapo Recovery Project, Denton Homes, Explore.org, Stewards of the Mississippi, MN DNR, Farmer Derek, Golden Gate Audubon, Pix Cams, and Duke Farms.
2.23.22
We have a terrible problem in our neighbourhood. But, before I begin, let me say that for most of my life, I have had a cat or two or more. My Dad had a ‘warm’ spot for animals. Today he would be known for feeding feral cats and caring for them. More often than not, we adopted the strays, fed them, and found homes for the kittens. He taught me that they deserve love and respect as he went about rescuing puppies abandoned and starving cats. In other words, I grew up loving animals and am particularly fond of cats. I have not had a cat since last July when my dear Honey died of kidney failure. I do adore them.
Honey was a Sorrel Abyssinian. We rescued her from an apartment where she had been locked in for a month with no one home. She was amazing. She was a lap cat and loved to be into everything that was happening.
Our City has a by-law that cats must be kept inside. It was instigated so that the large feral cat population in the City would decline. The problem is that certain people do not adhere to the by-laws and, of course, no one does anything about it if they don’t. So that is the very back story to today.
The bird feeders were full and one of the small squirrels -either Dyson or Scraggles- was eating away in the square feeder when I left to go and get the produce for the week. Everything ‘seemed’ fine. When I returned an hour later, there were few birds at the feeders. I decided to refill the one for the Starlings. They do love the Meal Worms and Butter Bark for some reason. When I did, I noticed fresh blood under the Black Sunflower feeder and frozen blood in the centre of the square feeder where the squirrel had been. Something injured one of the squirrels while I was away. It was not Sharpie – he only takes a Sparrow once in awhile and there were no feathers flying about. The cats are the likely culprit. You will often find me chasing them away from the feeders. I could not see blood anywhere else. Did the cat actually carry the squirrel away? or did the squirrel escape? We wait to find out. I have looked everywhere for clues and nothing.
None of the squirrels are in the garden not even Little Red and there remain few birds. Events like this are traumatic for them. They can smell the blood and might not know what happened but they would not that something was harmed. Sadly, the wildlife rehabbers will not take squirrels for fear of rabies. So we just hope that whichever squirrel was harmed, it heals properly. It is normally Scraggles that gets in the way of the cats. He is called ‘Scraggles’ because of his shaggy tail and torn bits of fur when he came to the garden more than half dead a couple of years ago. He sat and ate black oil seed for days hardly moving and in a few weeks he was looking good. Fingers crossed for whoever is injured. Please send your warm wishes!
Why am I telling you this when I know you keep your cats inside? Because cats are the major predator to birds at feeders, bunnies, and squirrels. While people believe they need to be outside, most vets will tell you that cats are safer inside watching the wildlife from the window. They will not get injured, hit by a car, lost, or become prey to something larger. Spread the word to those that do let their cats roam.
Bird behaviour is very interesting. You might have read my blogs mentioning Jennifer Ackerman. She is the author of The Genius of Birds and The Bird Way. I picked The Bird Way up again last night to read through a section and was reminded how good Ackerman’s writing is on the topic. So if you are looking for insightful books on our feathered friends and why they do what they do, when they do it – these are excellent choices.
The pattern of feeding at the Captiva Osprey nest is holding. Three good feeds in the morning with the last of the three around lunch time and the first right after dawn. The final feeding – the fourth – is around 16:00. Andy arrived with the fish at 15:56 and by the time Lena got it and the chicks were situated they were right at 16:00. You could almost set your watch by this nest.
One of the things that keeps chicks from having food competition is stability. This nest is regular and stable. Fantastic. There are no surprises. No long period without food save from the last one to the morning feed.
Turn around Little Bob!
Andy is being very vigilant.
The feeding lasted for forty minutes! Lena filled up those chicks so full but, remember, this will be their last meal for the day if the pattern these two adult Ospreys have been following holds. One of the chatters commented that, “Minibob’s got a crop so full that it’s not just getting fatter it’s getting longer as well!” (BJ). That is always good to see.
You can see a bird flying behind the palm tree. There are predators around the nest. It did not go unnoticed by Andy and Lena. Andy is being careful. No one will harm his family if he can help it.
The trio are slowly falling into a sleep coma. There was no fish left for Andy and even Lena didn’t get a lot. The osplets are demanding more and more each feeding as they grow. They will all be entering their second week by the end of this week and that is a big growth period for nestlings.
Andy is off to get his fish. Lena might be wishing he would bring in another one so she could have some more fish, too. Meanwhile she is trying to get the full and sleepy puddle of chicks settled.
Big Bob is not being very cooperative! Get to sleep Big Bob.
Finally! It is a cuddle puddle.
Spring is in the air for all of the California Condors at San Simeon and The Pinnacles. Ventana Wildlife Society just posted this beautiful image with an announcement of a Zoom session. You might want to check it out. I have attended several of these. They are free and very informative.
There is a pip at the home of the Duke Farms Bald Eagles!
Here is the link to their camera. I saw the announcement on FB but the view from the cameras is not good enough for me to get an image capture.
One of our readers, ‘S’ from Latvia reports that the swans are returning. They have been flying over her house and foraging in the nearby fields. Isn’t that wonderful. Next week I will include a discussion on all the nests in Latvia and Estonia – White-tailed Eagles and Storks – that you can watch. Eggs will be laid on some of the nests, such as Milda’s around the beginning of spring. It gives me hope – hope that warm days are coming.
All of the nests are doing well. NE26 and 27 ate so much today they could hardly walk! I have not seen Ervie but his tracker shows he is exploring the area around the bay where the barge is located. Hopefully we might get a glimpse of him, soon.
Take care everyone. Thank you so much for joining me today. See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Window on Wildlife and Captiva Osprey Nest and Duke Farms.
22 February 2022
The three osplets at the Captiva nest of Andy and Lena continue to do well. Their first meal of the morning came at 06:52:18 when Andy brought in a nice sized catfish. Although the two older siblings are bigger and eating more at each feeding, Little Bob seems to be doing fine. Here is a collage of images from this mornings fish and feedings.
That catfish got whipped around the nest bowl. The osplets are going to need to learn to duck when a fish comes in! This one had its head one and Lena struggled with it before feeding them as all of the Mums do with the catfish.
Everyone had some breakfast. Little Bob got himself turned around the right way!
It is 08:59 and the trio are eating again. Andy has returned the fish to the nest.
Lena is also struggling with the skin of the catfish. It is not yet suitable for the chicks. And Little Bob is really hungry this feeding!
Everyone had some fish and they will be nice and full and ready for a nap.
Lena ate everything including the lovely fish tail and skin. Nothing is wasted on an Osprey nest.
You should not worry if you tune in to watch Lena and Andy and their family and there are no fish on the nest. First, Andy is an excellent angler and secondly, if they leave fish on the nest it attracts predators. Those predators have killed their babies in the past. This family is now working very hard for that not to happen this year. Andy may also have a stash where he puts fish as well. But, do not worry if there is not a pile like you might see on a Bald Eagle nest – there are reasons for that not to be the case here at Captiva.
NE26 and NE27 are still waiting for a breakfast delivery. It is after 09:00 and Gabby and Samson have them in training for self-feeding. Here are some images of the two of them from this morning. The first one is synchronized preening. Those pin feathers coming in are very itchy.
Oh, you just have to feel sorry for them.
These two are now completely covered with dark thermal down except for a few remaining dandelions on the tops of their heads.
The last remains of the natal down. It is hard to believe but in a week they will be covered with feathers coming in.
Sleepyhead.
There were two feedings at the WRDC nest of Ron and Rita in Miami. R1 and R2 are covered with juvenile feathers. They are steady on their feet and their wings are as wide as the nest now. They self-feed and the adults also come in and fill them up. The feeds so far have been at 06:49 and 08:44.
I don’t know if it is just the camera angle but this nest looks very precarious at the front side.
E19 and E20 at the nest of Harriet and M15 are spreading their wings and sitting on the rim of the nest as well as working on their self-feeding. They are the oldest of this group of eaglets followed by the pair at the WRDC nest.
Visitors to the nest area can see the eaglets above the sides of the nest peering out to the world.
Sleeping duckling style.
The first breakfast for Kincaid at the Kisatchie National Forest Bald eagle nest of Anna and Louis was at 06:49.
At 08:21:20 Louis arrives with a small fish. Kincaid immediately grabs it and wants to self-feed but is having some difficulty. He is going to need some help unzipping this fish. Kincaid is getting the same lessons that NE26 and NE27 are having – let him try and then Mum or Dad will come along and feed. The chick will observe how they open up the fish and hold it with their talons.
Anna arrives and begins to feed Kincaid.
While Anna is feeding herself and Louis (Anna loves to eat), Louis arrives with another fish and begins to eat it on the nest.
Louis is known for his excellent angler skills. Last week he brought 20 fish to the nest in a single day. I wonder if he is going to try for 10 or more today?
Big Red and Arthur have been flying in and out of their nest on the Fernow Light Stand at Cornell University this morning. They are making quick work of the 2022 nest. Greenery is even beginning to appear.
Here is Big Red landing at 09:34:26. She is in really good shape to be a 19 year old hawk!
Big Red is watching for Arthur.
She flies off and Arthur flies in with more twigs. Now Arthur is peering out looking at Big Red.
They are going back and forth delivering materials. I wonder if this will go on all day?
Big Red and Arthur are adorable. Arthur is lining the nest cup with soft foliage.
This feverish pace is making me wonder if they might have eggs on this nest the middle of March. It is looking good. Stay tuned!
Port Lincoln has posted an update for Ervie. He was hanging around one of the local coffee shops yesterday. They are really hoping that people will take lots of images of Ervie and submit them to them so they can put them on their FB page.
Dad visited the PLO barge yesterday at least twice. Sadly, he never connected with Ervie. There is always today! It looks to me like Ervie is not moving out of the main area around the barge.
Thank you so much for joining me today. There is no snow for us but we are once again in an extreme cold warning area with -30 C temperatures and bright sun. Take care! See you soon. I hope that each of you have a wonderful day.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams or FB pages where I took my screen captures: Port Lincoln Osprey Project, Window on Wildlife and Captiva Osprey Nest, NEFlorida and the AEF, WRDC, KNF, Cornell Bird Lab, and SWFlorida and D Pritchett Family.
