Tag Archives: San Jose City Hall

Mini Picks Fights, M3 fledges…Friday in Bird World

30 June 2023

Good Morning Everyone!

I got up early – it was cool for a change and not so humid and headed to Fort Whyte Alive. It has been a few days since I walked around that trail checking on the little ones and oh, was it good, to get out and get some exercise. What is that phrase? “Use it or lose it!” I remember a surgeon telling my mother that after she had broken her hip and it was all pinned…she did not want to get up. Well, she did when she realised that laying there might mean spending her entire life like that. Thank goodness.

The cutest Little Red wasn’t afraid of anyone walking by.

There were little ones around. Here are some images of them..and their proud parents. There are not many families and it was such a delight to turn a corner and encounter a family out foraging.

Hooded Merganser chicks! There were 18 of them at the final count.

The Canada Goose family with four chicks is doing fine. The males always follow behind, keeping the little ones in line! The rain has provided much-wanted new grass for everyone! And no worries, that chick is wet from the recent rain – is not ill!

The giggle for your morning continues to come from the Loch Arkaig nest. Gosh that chick is a character. Thanks, Geemeff.

Mini missed out on breakfast which must have caused her to be a little grumpy. Then she had a nice feed of fish around 11:42 before the Bigs came over and Mini moved away…she would definitely have linked more fish. Our girl is so skinny. She really needs to bulk up with the weight but it is difficult with the three Bigs. Well, Mini started staring at Three after puffing herself up…and then…

Despite having some fish, Mini’s crop is hollow and it is very hungry. This chick – as I will keep saying – needs fish to ‘bulk up’ for migration. Note the ‘thick’ legs and toes.

‘R’ reports that Mini picked another fight in the afternoon. Mini is hungry! Watch the video again and see how she puffs herself up to look bigger—perhaps sizing out the siblings. She needs to eat…and today, like other days, has been slim pickings. At 20:32, Mini finally – in desperation – grabs a bite meant for a larger chick. That bite was all Mini got. The fish was gone. This nest desperately needs more fish so that Mini can get a nice big crop…she is so thin.

When Ferris Akel was on the Cornell Campus Thursday evening, M3, the third hatch of Big Red and Arthur for the 2023 season fledged from the light tower to Rice to join the two other siblings who had previously fledged. Congratulations. Stay safe, sweetie.

The little one at the MN Landscape Arboretum nest had a few feedings on Thursday. Not much fish and adult female eating often and not offering, often off the nest for long periods not protecting the chick from the weather…makes me ache.

A nice fish came on the Collins Marsh nest and both chicks and Mum ate well. Nice.

Only Bob at Cowlitz PUD had a nice fish feed before tuck in Thursday night! In fact, this little one had several nice fish dinners on Thursday…and just look at it grow.

Oyster Bay continues to flourish.

The camera pixellation is not so defined as others but it is easy to see that both of the chicks – Kewok and Naika -on the Seaside osprey nest in Oregon are thriving this year.

It has been a good day at the Boulder County Fairgrounds Osprey platform and oh, Little is getting a private feed right before dinner. I so wish this was Little Mini eating…

Massive chicks – three of them at Carova Beach North in the Outerbanks.

The trio at Wolf Bay in Alabama are bigger than Mum…

In Finland, you will remember that the female went missing on nest #3. The father continued to bring fish filling the nest but the chicks were too young to self feed. One died and two were taken into care. There is now good news on two fronts. The two chicks taken into care are doing so well that they will be placed as fosters in other nests. And the Dad did a 30 minute sky dance for a new female and has even delivered fish to her. She could not find a better mate than Tuulos.

There are two chicks for Beau and Hope at Newfoundland Power – Snow Lane Platform.

Several fish for the duo at the Clark PUD nest in Washington.

Blue 022 comes in and checks out the supplies at Poole Harbour and returns with a nice fish and then another one so the chicks have a big tea before bed.

The ringing of the two osplets of Idris and Telyn is available on YouTube: (414) RINGING 2023-YouTube. For some reason it will not allow me to embed it for you. Those chicks were a female weighting 1920 with Darvic ring 7B3 and a male at 1515 arms with ring 7B4.

Everything is fine at the Llyn Brenig.

Laddie makes sure everyone is fed before they are tucked in for the night – and now, they are waiting for the breakfast fish!

One of the Great Spirit Bluff fledgling Peregrine Falcons was killed by an owl on the 22 June. That was Alice P58. All of the others, Thomas B59, Kami P59, and Jaycee P60 are still alive (do not believe the rumours they have all died).

‘H’ found some worrisome news about WBSE 30.

There are now three chicks at the Patuxent nest..if you go your eyes do not need to go to the doctor! There is a foster placement at the nest.

‘H’ checked on two other nests on Thursday – Fosythe and Kent Island.

Forsythe had already had three fish in the afternoon, with a feeding at 1412.  “I decided to observe their behavior to determine how well the chicks had been fed throughout the day.  They both waddled up to Opal, and ate peacefully side by side.  No sign of aggression.  Verdict: they had plenty of fish throughout the day.  ‘Big’ obviously had that feeling of ‘food security’, as you say.”

Kent Island: “I am aware of at least 4 large fish brought to the nest by Tom.  The fourth delivery was at 1522.  The chick was well fed.”

‘H’ also recommends a season tribute to the SW Florida Eagle Cam by LizM- again I am getting blocked but the title is (414) A Season to Remember Season 11-You Tube. It sure was a bittersweet year at SW Florida!

Mini is not the only one wanting fish. Soledad has been waiting for a prey delivery for over a day!

I need to go and check on Mini before I post this. I am so worried about Mini. She needs fish – a really good feed. My concern is that the big ones just take the fish now and leave nothing.

Well. Mini is being brilliant and staying close to the right side of Mum so that whenever a fish comes in, she is at the ‘good eating spot’. The others appear to be more interested in wing-flapping this morning, which is good. Mini ate from 0625-0636, then pulled at the leftovers on a bone at 0757. She eats again from 0853-0906. There appears to be not a lot of fish on those bones – Mum and Mini cleaned them up quickly. Hopefully, Mum is also feeding Mini faster, so it gets more before the others come around. Please wish for fish for Mini today!

Telling Mum she wants fish!

Eating.

Pulling on that bone.

Thank you so much for being with me today. Wish for fish! And take care of yourself if you are out in the heat. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their notes, videos, and postings that helped me to create my blog today: ‘H, Geemeff, R, T’, Geemeff and the Woodland Trust, Ferris Akel, MN Landscape Arboretum, Collins Marsh, Cowlitz PUD, Seaside, Boulder County FG, Outerbanks, Wolf Island, Finnish Osprey Foundation, Newfoundland Power, Clark PUD, Poole Harbour, Dyfi Ospreys, Llyn Brenig, LOTL and The Wildlife Trust, Australian Raptor Care and Conservation Inc, Patuxent, Forsythe, Kent Island and Explore, SK Hideaways and SJCH Falcons.

How some Osprey parents avoid siblicide…Thursday in Bird World?

8 June 2023

Good Morning Everyone,

Oh, it has been relatively quiet in the garden. In fact, eerily quiet. There has been no sign of the feral cats that visit this end of the neighbourhood, the birds have seemingly disappeared, and only Dyson and Co. have been coming for peanuts, along with a few Sparrows and Wrens. Is it the heat? I wonder. Lewis and Missey ‘decided’ that they would no longer allow me to trim their nails without putting up a big fuss. Well, guess what? Both carriers out; they went in out of curiosity and zipped up and off to the nail trimmer! They were both in such shock. Lewis howled as if I was pulling those toenails out, and Missey was a darling then, on the way home, they were both angels. No more nails for scratching one another – well, til they grow out.

We will start with some sad news that Alo, 45D, from the Bald Canyon Eagle nest has died. This eaglet swallowed a fish hook and line and underwent surgery under the care of the IWS. Completely unnecessary.

I thought that would be the only death but, no…sadly I woke up to news from ‘H’ and ‘SP’ that Rosie and Richmond have lost their only osplet this season to unknown causes. Our hearts go out to this devoted couple.

And then there are balloons…seriously. This one has a happy ending, thankfully.

As all of you are aware, Osprey nests can be a feast or famine. One day there will be six or seven fish deliveries and the next day, it might be only one. Weather and intruders contribute to these fluctuations. We remain grateful to the wildlife rehabbers that rescue and give the little ones a second chance (sometimes third and fourth).

One nest that is flourishing with four Osplets on it is PSEG’s Patchogue platform on Long Island. It is remarkable because of the difference in size between the first two hatches and the fourth, little Mini. Somehow I doubt if anyone seeing this nest for the first time believed there was any hope for little Mini and yet, here we are on the 7th of June and little Mini is growing and growing. What is the secret?

As we have seen, osplets get brooded and ‘normally’ have their last fish delivery about an hour before the sun sets. Yes, there are exceptions – the midnight feedings at Moorings Park in Naples, Florida, taught us that this year. But imagine, four osplets full or partially full at bedtime waiting for another 8 or 9 hours before another meal. They are hungry!

On the Patchogue platform on the morning of 7 June 2023, the male delivered four fish before 0850. Those deliveries were at 0545, 0642, 0711, and again at 0850. I do not know how much fish little Mini got at 0545 feeding but at the 0642 feeding, Mini was right up there and there was fish left for Mum. At 0711, Mini is eating alone, a private feeding from Mum. By 0725, Mini has a huge crop and Mum moves the fish over to the other side of the nest to feed the others if they want to eat. Mini is first up at the table at 0850 and is still eating at 0934. Then the others eat some.

0725 and little Mini has a big crop.

Private feeding. Fish 4. Mum has fed chicks for more than three hours with all these deliveries.

At 1004 others eat.

1043. Little Mini is preening.

1114: Little Mini and the bulging crop.

1204. Little Mini in food coma. What a lovely sight.

There has never been an attempt not to feed little Mini despite its small size in relation to the others. Everyone gets fed and Mum makes an extraordinary effort to check and see and moves the fish around the nest to assist in feeding all.

‘M’ sent me two really cute screen shots of Little Mini standing up to one of the big Bobs. My goodness, this fourth hatch has got nerve!

1549. Mini is right up there eating!

1856 and Little Mini is up there with a huge crop! Oh, the haze from the fires burning in Canada. Dreadful for all.

There is another fish at 1936. Little Mini gets itself right up under Mum’s beak and intercepts a piece of fish meant for Big. Now Little Mini already has a big crop – Big took exception and beaked Mini who went into submission. Mini did not need to eat and did not need to create the aggravation. All big ones and Mum enjoyed that nice big trout. Nite Mini!

One thing that is happening is that little Mini is in a period of rapid growth that requires much more food while the older chicks are beginning to taper off. They eat more but less often. This might help little Mini. What does appear to be working is that fish are getting on the nest in plenty early in the morning – perhaps the fishing is easier? – and this appears to have a calming effect on the older siblings causing them to be food secure and less aggressive (not that they have ever been very very aggressive on this nest with all the fish Dad brings in and the equitable feeds by Mum).

A nest that has a problem with differentiation in feeding is Achieva (and Severna). As of Wednesday afternoon Middle has been rescued by Birds in Helping Hands. He was underweight and well…I can only imagine how good that fish is going to taste to him.

Big eating the fish on the nest..Big was very aggressive – the nest lost one chick to siblicide/starvation and Middle was on the verge. So thankful to those people who helped — you know who you are.

Want to thank Birds with Helping Hands? Send them a donation. That is how they manage to stay afloat.

Middle grounded.

Middle in the carrier on the way to rehab and a second chance at life. What a shame it would have been for this beautiful bird to starve to death. It was noted that Middle was not critically endangered of starving to death as so many are and he should be back and fit – having enjoyed meals without having to fight big.

Shelley Vickery contacted me Wednesday evening. Penny, the rehabber, says that Middle “should be just fine”. Isn’t that fantastic news?!

Please consider a donation – every dollar helps, no matter how small. We must support those that get out there and answer our calls for help.

Go to: birdsinhelpinghands.org

‘H’ sends me word from a view nests that we have been monitoring. At Severna, Big got all of the early fish. Then “The next fish was brought at 1330, and feeding commenced 1333.  Middle was on the other side of Olivia, and Olivia maintained her position for once.  It was a 16 minute feeding and Olivia distributed bites evenly.” Thank heavens! Middle had another good meal at 1438. Oh, keep it up Mum!

At the Patuxent II nest, H reports, “This is the nest of three osplets where there had been some aggression, although no bird has been kept from eating at the feeds I have observed. Feeding from 1316 to 1434.  I observed no aggression at all.  All were very well fed.  #2 had to wait his turn simply because of the strange configuration of that nest bowl.  Mom just couldn’t reach #2.  But at 1341, #2 started to get fed as others dropped out.”

‘H’ sent a good report on some of the changes at Forsythe Osprey nest and the new aggression towards the small osplet during meals – something that has not happened previously. “Fish 0912, feeding 0913 to 0927.  Mini in front row beside Little.  All got bites, no one touched Mini.  Mini ended up in a food coma. 1011 fish, feeding from 1013-1052.  Prior to the start of the feeding, Little beaked Mini and Middle, Mini tucked, Middle beaked back.  Little beaked Big, and Big beaked back.  At the start of the feeding Little beaked Middle again, Mini was still in submission.  Mini had a hard time getting up to the food line through the wall of the three older siblings, went around the other side away from Little and waited.  By 103842 Mini got its first bite, Big and Little dropped out, soon followed by Middle.  So Mini had a private feeding until 1047 when the others started to come back.  By 1048 Mini was in a food coma. 1222 fish, feeding from 1223 to 1232.  When the fish arrived, before the feeding started, Little beaked at Mini pretty roughly.  After the feeding started, Mini stayed back, nevertheless, Little turned around and beaked Mini on 4 different occasions.  Mini never made it to the food line.  After that feeding was over, Little beaked Mini at 1350, 1355, 1358 and 1403.  I don’t know why Mini stayed close to Little and didn’t seek a safe spot beside Big or Middle.”

The feedings really depend on Mini being able to stay away from Little who appears to be a very aggressive third-hatch female. ‘H’ notes that Mini got ’52’ bites on the Thursday morning feed because it was buffered by Big and Middle away form Little.

The latest report from ‘H’ on the Forsythe platform is really interesting. “All lined up  [3,2,4,1], so I thought, good, Mini stay away from Little.  But due to the sheer size of Middle and Big reaching for bites with Mini in between, Mini got squeezed out to the back row (nothing intentional).  When Little saw Mini, Little went on a mission to punish Mini.  Little went to the back row, and beaked Mini intermittently from 1449 to 1454.  Finally Big saw what was going on and reached back and beaked Little, so Little moved away!  Finally at 1500 Mini was up between Big and Middle again and was able to eat.  At 1503, Little tried to get back into the feeding and Big beaked Little, keeping it away, seeming to protect Mini, I kid you not.  So, Mini got fed, and probably ended up with more bites than Little.  If Little had just stayed in the original feeding line and not focused on beaking Mini, she would have been better off.”

Laddie LM12 delivered a whopper of a fish to the Loch of the Lowes Nest – late. Finally Middle gets to eat. Both osplets had full crops at the end of the feeding and even Blue NC0 got some fish.

Only osplet at Cowlitz PUD is still looking good. I sure hope some big fish come to this nest…that water area needs to be stocked!

Needed to check in on Victor and Abby. I think this is Victor screaming for a fish and then chowing down on one…talk about fantastic parents!

Oyster Bay osplets look like they are doing OK.

The trio at Outerbanks also look healthy with clear shiny eyes. I have not been able to ascertain about the equity in feeding but right now, each looks healthy.

Two babies at Seaside are looking good, too.

How much food the third hatch is getting at Barnegat Light is unclear. The two big ones did not allow it near to a nice big fish at the late feeding and I have not watched this nest closely but it did eat well at an earlier one.

Oh, just look at that Bob stand up for its fish at the Dyfi nest of Idris and Telyn!

At Glaslyn, Elen is feeding the chicks and Aran is on the branch with another fish!

Two years ago, CJ7 of Poole Harbour only dreamed of having a mate and osplets. Then a very young Blue 022 stopped by the nest. It was too late in the season and everyone hoped he would return. This is their second year for raising chicks and they have three adorable little osplets.

Tucked in tight for the night.

Big Red and Arthur are starting to get the Ms to be interested in self-feeding. M1 took on a chippie today and did well. The others will not go hungry during this period. Big Red will continue to feed them. Very different than an osprey nest!

All done.

San Jose City Halls little falcon sure is loud. Had a nice meal in the morning and – well, I don’t blame it – I didn’t see later prey. Screaming for food at noon! Hopefully a later meal.

Still screaming at 1525.

Locations of Waba and Bonus on 6 June.

Dmitri’s Storklet is growing and doing well…gosh, there is good news out there in Bird World.

Pi, one of the trio at the Dulles-Greenway Bald Eagle nest, was doing so well, she was released back into the wetlands to be fed and trained by her parents, Martin and Rosa. The metal you see around the tree is a raccoon protector.

Angel and Tom’s surviving hawklet now has a name – Deyani (Great and strong). Beautiful. ‘A’ writes: “Great name for RTH5. It was lovely to see Tom feeding Deyani yesterday – as I mentioned, it was more a matter of Tom pulling bits off that squirrel and Deyani grabbing them. Tom looked a little shocked the first time the hawklet grabbed dad’s bite from him, but then Tom continued with his work on the squirrel and eventually actually deliberately gave the hawklet some bites. I felt like a proud auntie.”

Fires are raging. No Arctic ice. Temperatures are rising and the situation at nests such at Achieva who are suffering from a severe drought are set to see this pattern continue. Nests burned, raptors dead…

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jun/06/too-late-now-to-save-arctic-summer-ice-climate-scientists-find?CMP=share_btn_link

As-smoke-darkens-the-sky-the-future-becomes-clearDownload

One of my favourites, Bill McKibben on the haze…Thanks ‘B’!

I-can-see-clearly-nowDownload

Thank you to everyone who has sent e-mails worried about me and the wildfires. That was so sweet and so very kind. We have haze but it is not nearly as bad as other parts of Canada and the US. So far the recent rains have helped.

Thank you for being with me today. Please take care of yourself. Send your good wishes to our nests. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to create my blog today: ‘A’, ‘B’, ‘H’, ‘L’, ‘SP’, IWS, SF Bay Ospreys, Holly Parsons and The New Zealand Herald, PSEG, Achieva Credit Union, Birds in Helping Hands, Severna Ospreys, Forsythe Ospreys, LOTL, Cowlitz PUD, Moorings Park, Outerbans 24/7, Seaside Ospreys, Conservancy Conservation of NJ, Dyfi Osprey Project, Bywyd Gwylld Glaslyn, Poole Harbour Ospreys, Cornell RTH, SJCH Falcons, Bird Map, Dmitri’s Storklet Cam, Dulles-Greenway Eagles, Gracie Shepherd and Raptors of the World, The Guardian, and The New York Times.

Featured Image: Chicks being fed by Daisy at Barnegat Light.

Tuesday in Bird World

6 June 2023

Good Morning Everyone,

The humidex in Winnipeg, Manitoba was 38 degrees C. The temperature on the deck was 39 C at one time in the afternoon – not sure what that does to the figures the weather station is releasing. It is simply hot. There is little movement in the garden – some sparrows flitting in and out to get in the shade and eat some seed. No squirrels. No Blue Jays. No Crows. Not even a single feral cat. It is clearly not the time of day – afternoon – to be going out to check on ducklings and goslings. Someone sent me this photo. Sadly I do not know who took it but it is supposed to be goslings in our City crossing the asphalt. My gosh…those poor feet. Asphalt gets super hot in this heat.

Around 1900 a much anticipated five-minute downpour will make everything more humid, but it was so heavy the plants will appreciate the moisture!

The garden has been virtually empty. A few House Sparrows, a couple of squirrels came out around 1700 and a single Blue Jay. The heat impacts all of us even if there is fresh water and food waiting.

I am finishing off the newsletter for Tuesday late Monday but will check through my mail for any news and on a few of the nests…it is convocation for the granddaughter tomorrow morning. A nice day to celebrate and take the gang for a lunch before our lives return to normal.

On the radar! I am astounded when anyone takes a saw to a tree during breeding season. Every country should regulate the cutting down of trees and that means small ones, too that have nests of song birds. Mr Woodpecker no longer comes to the feeder because my neighbour cut down the ‘dead tree’. Gracious. It could have waited. Woodpeckers love dead trees – and this person even feeds the birds.

Oh, don’t we love those times when the Eagles take the little RTHs for lunch and wind up raising them as their own. I am sure you have all seen the nest that is now raising two RT hawklets. Precious. Look at its big sibling! Bald Eagle parents are doing well with these two…so interesting.

I have been watching the Patchogue nest closely as well as Loch of the Lowes. Laddie LM12 has not been seen since he brought in a small goldfish Sunday evening. The chicks are hungry and I am wondering if Blue NC0 will go and fish. She is a good fisher but her hormones are still in the brooding stage. Something has been going sideways at this nest and it could be intruders. No fish all day on Monday. Send your warm wishes.

Here is the weekly report from The Scottish Wildlife Trust on LOTL. Gives some good insight into how well the nest was doing and now another hiccup.

Osprey-Diary-at-Loch-of-the-Lowes-Week-11-Scottish-Wildlife-TrustDownload

At the Glacier Gardens nest of Liberty and Freedom, little Hope is growing.

There is growing concern that the male, A59, at the Duke Farms Bald Eagle nest is missing and presumed injured or deceased. He was banded in NJ in 2000 making him 23 years old.

That sweet little eaglet at the Decorah Hatchery nest in Iowa is grown into a beautiful eaglet waiting for its turn to fly.

The Patchogue Osprey platform sponsored by PSEG on Long Island continues to astound me. That said, I want to say that this nest could turn. Mini was shut out of the last two feedings on Monday evening – at 1801 and 2022 because Big attacked.

Mini was eating at 0900, eating again at 1106 and had an enormous crop from a fish delivered around noon – which he was fed for approximately 30 minutes! When you have a male that delivers fish almost every 2 hours that are a good size with no visible intruders – wow…even a tiny fourth hatch has hope. And so should we even if Big, on occasion, rears its head.

1230. Most of the fish remains – Mini has a huge -huge -crop and Mum will get some nice fish, too.

Siesta time.

Right now Mini is doing just fine. The Dad is a Daddy Door Dash with those fish. Mini had several private feedings once the big ones were full. Around 1426 one of the Big ones ‘looked’ at Mini and I wondered but Mini stayed fixed by the fish. It was mostly gone when it was his turn but he did get some and then at 15:17ish Dad hauls in another big one. Mini is eating at 1542 and has a crop, still fish…what a nest!

Mini is going to look ‘thin’ – he is eating. It is the stage of development the little one is in. He is growing like a bad weed, thankfully. Those wings are more than twice the size they were a week ago. Still tiny compared to the big siblings but if these parents can keep this up – well, Mini…you just might helicopter and fly!

1425:

1428:

1542

Big intimidating Mini. He has to walk over…this is not good. The rule is: Never look the older sibling directly in the eyes. It sets them off. You can see that Mini has a crop from the earlier feedings. Right now, all is good. He has eaten, and crop dropped and eaten some more—one day on this nest, one day at a time.

Middle was having a rough time of it at the Severna Osprey nest on Monday. Big reminds me of Zoe because she can just consume fish like she is Dyson the squirrel sucking it up and never getting full. Middle finally did get some morsels around 1504. If another fish would come on quickly, a big one, he could get some more food…this nest is like night and day to Patchogue where the osplets top eating when they re full and the others can get some fish.

‘H’ notes that Middle got a few bites at another feeding. Middle will be very hungry today. let us hope that the fish start returning to this nest.

Things are just fine at the Outerbanks 24/7 nest. Everyone gets fed.

Still looking alright at Cowlitz PUD.

It is hard to say what is happening at Oyster Bay PSEG because Mum loves to block the view when a fish is delivered. Babies are tiny and she gets back to brooding them right away. Temperature at the nest is 65 F.

The two tiny osplets at Seaside appear to be doing alright. Lots of heat shimmer coming on that camera.

All appears well with Duke and Daisy at Barnegat Light in NJ.

‘R’ sent me the forecast for Florida and there is no rain predicted for the St Petersburg and the Achieva Nest. It has to be dire there with the drought. Big and Middle waiting on the nest for a delivery…waiting and waiting. Will the osprey have to migrate north if the droughts in Florida continue along the SW coast?

Blue 022 watches his chicks as CJ7 feeds them.

Lots of fish and fat little Bobs at the Dyfi Osprey nest in Wales of Idris and Telyn.

Aran is an excellent provider. The two little Bobs are doing well for his first season with new mate, Elen.

Louis has been breaking all manner of breakfast fish arrival records for Dorcha and their Only Bob at Loch Arkaig.

As the sun sets in western Scotland, Louis has another fish on the nest just in case anyone is famished.

Dorcha was hit by the Tawny owl last night. The osplet is alright! Thanks Geemeff.

We always need a giggle…this time it is thanks to Richmond at the SF Whirley crane nest he shares with Rosie.

Blinked and the Llyn Clywedog Bobs grew up! What a beautiful place to hatch and a reservoir that gets stocked with 40,000 fish every year.

Lou and Annie tried to have some private time but…they got interrupted.

Both Hartley and Monty delivered prey to a very loud eyas! What a crop. Now smile. This scrape has had a complete turnaround. That is Monty’s shadow with Hartley feeding the chick.

If someone tells me that they are absolutely 100% certain that the third hatch at the Evergy Topeka Falcon Cam is ‘healthy’, I will scream.

The feather development is entirely delayed. Will the feathers coming in caught in the sheaths ever break loose? Will the eyas get help if they don’t.

Lots of chatter about who is feeding Dale Hollow 17. It does look like a male that showed up after Obey disappeared has been providing fish. At the end of the day, it is just good that this eaglet is eating well. Hopefully River will have another mate. Maybe she will rebuild this nest, maybe not. DH17 looks good.

Black storks growing big and strong.

The Dulles-Greenway Bald Eagle nest of Martin and Rosa has completely collapsed. It fell down completely during a food delivery to Flora who slipped and fell and took it down with her. She could be heard. Parents are calling her. She has fledged. Send good wishes.

The Audubon Centre for Birds of Prey continues to take in raptors caught in glue traps. This post explains what must be done to release the poor birds caught in these traps – the behind-the-scenes work that the rehabbers do—thinking of a donation? How about a case of Dawn?

Ospreys like nests with a clear view – on top of dead trees, on power poles, on light stands. They have adapted to humans taking over their territory. Sunnie Day posted a great article on a solution to the issue of nests on lighting platforms. Have a look! I think a lot of places and, in particular, ball parks and university athletic fields, could learn from this story.

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Thank you so much for being with me today. Take care all – continue to send your best wishes off to all the birds. Nests are like being on a carnival ride this year – joy, fear, up and down and sideways. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their notes, videos, posts, and streaming cams that helped to make up my newsletter today: ‘H’,Geemeff, ‘R’, ‘SP’, Sydney Wells and Bald Eagles 101, Nick Beres NC5, LOTL, The Scottish Wildlife Trust, Glacier Gardens, Raptor Resource Project and Explore.org, PSEG, Severna Ospreys, Outerbanks 24/7, Cowlitz PUD, Seaside ospreys, Barnegat Light and Conservancy Wildlife of NJ, Tampa Bay 168 Hour Forecast, Achieva Credit Union, Poole Harbour Ospreys, Dyfi Osprey Project, Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Friends of Loch Arkaig and the Woodland Trust, Geemeff and Friends of Lock Arkaig and the Woodland Trust, SF Bay Ospreys, CarnyXWild, SK Hideaways and Cal Falcons, SK Hideaways and San Jose City Hall Falcons, DHEC, Maria Marika and Black Stork Ciconia Nigra FB, Dulles-Greenway Bald Eagle Nest, Audubon Centre for Birds of Prey, and Seattle Parks and Recreation.

Osprey eggs, DH18 update…Tuesday in Bird World

2 May 2023

Good Morning!

The sky is blue, and the sun is bright this Tuesday morning on the Canadian Prairies. By tea time it will be 15 degrees C. This should really bring on the budding of the leaves and hopefully, we will be seeing some green shortly. Everyone in the City is preparing for the arrival of the Baltimore Orioles – stocking up on grape jelly (they like any flavour, actually) and oranges to help them after their long journey. They fly what is known as an ‘ancestral route’ through the Central Plains of the US down to Florida, the Antilles, and then to their final destination in the marshes of Southern Brazil returning to us in May. It is a long journey, 8-11,000 km (5-6800 miles). They are meeting many challenges due to the changing patterns in agricultural production and irrigation, loss of habitat, and climate changes. These guests will be a welcome addition to the garden family. They stay for about 8 or 9 days and fly north to their breeding grounds for the summer.

Your first smile for the day is brought to you by the students of the Hurst Lodge School in Montana – we missed Osprey Week but we can still enjoy their performance!

Monday evening a moth has gotten into the house. This gobsmacks Missy and Lewis. Lewis got so tired of jumping up and down chasing it that he had to nap…all stretched out. Earlier in the day, Missy and Lewis had also been napping in their Big Dog Bed..always together except in the ‘cat tree’ house. There is no longer room for both of them inside!

First, the latest update on DH18. I am so saddened to hear that an infection has been found but, glad it was and is being treated. We wait to see how our warrior is doing in a couple of days. I know that none of us will give up on DH18. His young life was full of tragedy that none of us would want to go through – lost his dad, lost his sibling, was beaked and starving at times, and then trapped with monofilament line cutting through its legs and causing tremendous pain.

If you see wildlife whose lives are endangered by monofilament lines or baling twine, you must contact the proper authorities immediately. Do not hesitate. We will never know why those watching at DH denied that the fishing line injured the eaglets. All we know is that through dedicated hard work and the efforts of hundreds of people, these two eaglets have a chance – one on the nest with River and the other with the AEF. We hope that DH18 will be released and live in the wild…along with its sibling DH17.

We all know the captivating story of Murphy and the Eaglet. ‘B’ sent me an article out of The New York Times today and it is a good one about Murphy. It isn’t long and I urge you to read it til the end. I can gift articles so please copy and paste the link. The author says, “We fail to understand the creatures who share our ecosystems because we assume they are nothing but bundles of instincts.” I wish more humans understood that all living things are sentient beings. The world would be very different, indeed.

tps://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/01/opinion/murphy-eagle-rock-baby.html?unlocked_article_code=C0NC7KXrItFJ3nP31LqrjicRndEnDVp9sfIua3biiLRQ155Rauw3gBdy1rU7V-QZkhEcamsCx3ZwdP6fAzngaXNAqQcdoRgVQw-hS306a1NHlys2x1G0uDsqatuHWANg2d4qxWknvedOg8DX3sE26d1_z4FvKEZr2pxrFPwmlvhMk9AEauVyVVxlwUBIH4zXJTmn93T3r-STgABY8WCnRb2PlXZi1HWWiEqepcHNNR-Jjijq12d4eMXSHMbEo1vMGm7KlarRk39uWdanOOPk8bcrtI2GB4P1YeIUZBl97r29_4hKZ-brILDoG4nxglajP7u9fvF8UdCyoR0_8KkIeQ&giftCopy=0_NoCopy&smid=em-share

Thanks to those great BOGs we still get to see what E22 is up to around the Fort Myers Bald Eagle nest on the Pritchett Property. The departure of E22 will be so bittersweet.

Bella and Smitty’s only eaglet is doing fine. Smitty brought in four big fish for them on Monday.

‘H’ reports that Kent Island has its first Osprey egg of the season!

‘H’ also reports that Dory up at the Boathouse might be sitting on her first egg. This is exciting! And there is that egg.

Over in the UK, the third egg has arrived at Loch Garten.

Aran continues to deliver his huge fish to Elen at Glaslyn. Oh, you are so handsome, Aran – but, what is important is that you can catch big fish!

Sasha Dench and her team from Flight of the Osprey have been in The Gambia and are driving through Morocco trying to find Blue 4K. He was located earlier and should now be in the UK breeding but where is he?

‘A’ remarks about Tom and the new baby…”Tom returns to the nest around 2.06 pm this afternoon (1 May) – check out the darling little baby from 2:04:12 onwards. Again, Angel is forced to leave the baby on its own. Tom later brought a small opossum to the nest and Angel made it very clear to him that he was not to touch the baby at this point, just bring it food! So Tom has done well today. He has managed not to kill or injure the hawklet and he has brought food. Now that’s what I call progress”. Let us all hope that this progress continues.

‘A’ continues: “Based on his actions this afternoon, I think Tom has got the message. He is delivering prey, and he has watched Angel feeding the baby. I think he is learning fast. And yes, it is a precious darling little thing (and so was its sibling). Angel is being super protective of her baby. When Tom brings the second opossum, she vocalises constantly until he leaves the nest. She remains firmly on top of the chick. She is teaching him. Gee that second opossum is huge. No wonder it provided four feedings and still there are nestovers. “

Excellent news. I am so glad there is food and that Angel is being super protective Mum although the possum family might not be happy about losing its babies. This single surviving hawk let deserves the best of care by Mum and Tom needs to keep that pantry filled – to try and ensure this one survives regardless of its DNA.

There were several fish brought to the nest at the Achieva Credit Union today. The one around 1800, which Diane brought in, was a blessing. Big Bob self-fed off another fish while Diane fed Middle. Oh, this is grand! Today was a good day on the Achieva Nest. With the drought, we can be grateful.

Harry is such a great provider and he also has the advantage of a stocked pond at his doorstep – compared to Achieva. Abby and Victor have been well cared for…is it possible they might never ever want to leave home?! It seriously feels that they are always eating fish! That pond is going to need a good restocking.

Talk about beautiful osplets. I wish the plumage would stay the same when they are adults.

Remember Friday, 5 May. The banding of the Cal Falcons. They are so cute and are getting pin feathers…flapping cotton balls. Thanks SK Hideaways.

At San Jose City Hall, Hartley found the leftover egg from last season and thinks maybe it should be incubated too – in addition to the four he is already incubating! Our giggle of the day. Thanks, Hartley and SK Hideaways.

Missy Berry flew to the nest with a fish for B16. She wasn’t there…they must have found one another because B16 returned to the nest with the fish. Well done! Lots of training going on out there for these fledgling Bald Eagles. Thanks Bel-A-Dona.

The DNA testing has returned for Ron and Rita’s eaglets at the WRDC. R4 is a male and the testing was inconclusive on R5 and will be re-done. Thanks, ‘H’.

Did anyone else notice Big Red looking down, listening, and moving slightly differently at 1838 Monday evening? Pip watch is coming!

Big Red got up and left the eggs around 2000. No pip yet.

This morning at the change over…I am getting excited.

And a bit of a giggle – Big Red getting that egg cup just right.

In Latvia, the two White-tail Eaglets of Milda and Voldis continue to thrive. Wonderful!

‘L’ sent me a photo of the Canada Goose family that lives hear her in the Carolinas. Look how protective they are. Geese are amazing parents. Thank you, L.

The two books I am currently reading are about geese, particularly Pink-footed Geese, Barnacle Geese, Greylags, Brants, and Bean Geese. They are The Meaning of Geese. A thousand miles in search of Home by Nick Acheson and Wintering. A Season with Geese by Stephen Rutt. I must admit that I find Wintering quite a delight to read. Rutt’s writing style sucks you into his burgeoning love for these large flying creatures. It is his discovery and fascination that keeps you turning the pages. Acheson’s book is excellent, too. It is a diary of his year spent with the geese weaving in their history, the science, the challenges of climate change for our feathered friends. Both, however, deal with the migration from the Siberian Tundra or Iceland and Greenland of these beautiful creatures who land in Scotland or Norfolk beginning in September to spend their winters in the UK. Highly recommended.

“grey lag and pink footed geese” by Nick Goodrum Photography is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

Thank you so much for being with me this morning. Take care everyone. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their notes, pictures, videos, posts, tweets, and streaming cams that helped make up my blog this morning: ‘B’, ‘L’, ‘H’, ‘A’, ‘S’, Geemeff, Hurst Lodge School, AEF, The New York Times, SW Florida Eagle Cam, NCTC, Explore.org, RSPB Loch Garten, Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Conservation without Borders, Geemeff and Conservation without Borders, Window to Wildlife, Achieva Credit Union, Moorings Park Ospreys, SK Hideaways and Cal Falcons, SK Hideaways and San Jose City Hall, Bel-A-Dona and Berry College Eagle Cam, WRDC, Cornell RTH, Latvian Fund for Nature, and Openverse.

First-time falcon dad wants to feed his egg, Louis at home with Dorcha…Monday in Bird World

10 April 2023

Good Morning Everyone,

Thank you for all your letters and holiday wishes. Each was very much appreciated. It is so kind of you to think of me!

It is 1800 Sunday evening, and my garden is teeming with Dark-eyed Juncos and House Sparrows. Mr Blue Jay has been for a visit, as has Little Red and Dyson & Gang. I can hear the Crows in the distance as gulls fly overhead. It is remarkable how spending time in the light or stepping away from a nest for 24 hours can refresh your mind and body. Missy and Lewis have voted that I write the blog in the conservatory where there is light! It was not that long ago that 1800 would have meant darkness. Twenty-six Ring Billed Gulls flew over like they do every dusk from spring through to fall when they depart. On the Red River Flyway, more than 400 American White Pelicans flew north. Spring is wonderful!

Both Mr and Mrs Downy came to the garden several times today. They always come right before dusk, no matter how many visits they have made earlier. I am a wee bit sloppy about getting the suet into the holes, but, hey, they seem not to be annoyed.

e-Bird reports from Saturday said that the Dark-eyed Juncos were arriving in our province. On Sunday, more than two dozen were in the garden flitting about. Oh, how grand. Just love these little ones.

The first Hibiscus blossom of the year arrived yesterday! So far, Lewis and Missy have left it alone. They often like to sleep in this pot after I water them. I never knew cats loved the water so much!

Correction: The GHO strike on the Es took place NOT during the day. Lady Hawk’s time fooled me and ‘A’. Thanks, ‘H’ for the head’s up! It seemed so unlikely but, there have been battles with eagles and owls during the day time. The first that comes to mind is Bonnie and Clyde taking the nest from the young eagle couple at Farmer Derek’s three years ago.

We are one day away from hatch watch at Cal Falcons and only Annie and Lou know if they can hear those little eyases chirping away getting ready to burst out of those shells. Mark your calendar! While we have been told that the 11th is probably hatch day here are some figures from Cal Falcons based on past hatch times.

Annie and Lou have made the LA Times! Well done.

Remember! There will be the annual Q & A session and celebration on YouTube with Cal Falcons on the 11th. Here is the information.

Wonder what it feels like to lay that first egg? A very young male still has his juvenile plumage and probably a first-time young female falcon at San Jose City Hall. SK Hideaways caught their reaction to their first egg! Please watch this super-edited video. It gives us some insight!

The female appears to later ‘shade’ the egg.

The young couple bond in their scrape. We wait to see how all this plays out.

Our young dad is ready to feed his baby – even in the shell! This is going to be very interesting!

There were two fledges on Sunday. B16 from Berry College and Ringo from the Webster Texas nest. Congratulations!

There are five eggs at the Manchester, New Hampshire, scrape! The couple has been together for 9 years, and last year they hatched and fledged five. ‘SP’ says the chicks are banded but the male and female are simply known as Mum and Dad. Here is the link to their camera and there are the five from last season. Adorable.

There is nothing more adorable than little pink beaks reaching up from white fluffy bodies to be fed.

Ringo flew strong and in the video on FB by Paul White, you could see her fly way out into the background near the water feature. Brilliant.

‘JL’ asked: “I was wondering if you could comment on aggressive/submissive behaviour sometime. On the SWFL nest, I’ve watched E22 become the aggressor, and E21 turn submissive. It was almost an overnight change (even before E21 left). I suppose the question is, why did 21 allow the change to occur? I noticed the same with the Sea Eagles (29 and 30), with 30 becoming more assertive before 29 left.”

We have all witnessed various levels of aggression on the nests. This ranges from the bobbleheads fighting it out in those first few days to the extreme aggression where a sibling is killed. Dominance ‘play’ is often seen but is not dangerous to any of the nestlings. It is when there is fear for survival that really aggressive behaviour comes in. Research reveals that deadly aggressive behaviour can happen on a nest that is full of prey. Just what causes one bird to turn against another in that situation is a matter of conjecture. Is it DNA? is it toxins that drive aggressive behaviour? is it a particular growth stage that spurs the attacks?

A sibling has never died of siblicide on Harriet and M15’s nest. Never. They have beaked each other, making chatters concerned, but that was dominance play. Both eaglets, E21 and E22, are now similar in size and have fledged. 22 gained confidence and, if I am correct, grew a little while 21 was away. We do not know their genders, although I thought they were the same sex because the fighting and dominance/submission has not been extreme. 22 had control of the nest when 21 returned and wanted to keep that position. ‘E21, you are not going to boss me around anymore!’ In the end, we know that they became beak and branch buddies. All is fine. M15 took good care of them; amazing. You will begin to see how remarkable his parenting was as the saga at Dale Hollow unfolds.

WBSE 29 and 30 were both females. Females are much more aggressive towards little males. So again, it could have been a confidence matter, testing the ‘waters’ of who is dominant at WBSE like it was when 21 returned. In neither case, there was never cause for any concern over the health and welfare of the other eaglet in these two instances.

Concern continues to grow for Mrs G as she is ten days late from her normal arrival time to Glaslyn.

Meanwhile, Aran has been sky-dancing for an unringed female that came to the Glaslyn nest. He has fed her a fish in the nest and he must be understanding that Mrs G is not returning. A new era at Glaslyn could be starting.

Meanwhile, Dorcha has returned to Loch Arkaig and is waiting for Louis to return from his adventure around the loch so they can begin their 2023 breeding season.

Dorcha begins work on the nest just like Louis did last week. Hey, Louis, come home!

Louis home. Both arrive at the nest with a fish as the wind blows strong. And do I hear ice pellets?

In Latvia, a Mallard attempted to land on the nest while Voldis is incubating his and Milda’s eggs. That duck didn’t even get a chance to land! Hatch watch coming soon. Hoping this will be a good year after two tragic ones for our beautiful WTE Milda whose nest is near Durbe in Latvia.

In Decorah, precious DH2 gets a feeding.

Martin and Rosa’s three eaglets continue to do very well at Dulles-Greenway.

There are three eaglets at Bald Canyon. I have noticed a tiny bit of beaking between 1 and 2. 3 was out of the way and did get fed. Relief.

One much adored eaglet at Two Harbours that will be well fed and loved by parents, Chase and Cholyn. For those that do not know, Cholyn is Thunder’s Mum. (Thunder is the mate of Akecheta at the West End).

Everything looks A-OK with Big Red and Arthur!

‘T’ sent her vote for photo of the day…Bluff City eaglet with a crop the size of a tennis ball!

Maya has laid her third egg of the 2023 season at Manton Bay! Blue 33 has been by her side. What a couple!

Yesterday Iris arrived home to her nest at Hellgate Canyon, Missoula, Montana. She is the matriarch of American ospreys and is believed to be the oldest living osprey in the world.

Her first mate there was Stanley and they raised multiple chicks to fledge. Then Stanley passed and Louis came on the scene. Louis has always had another nest at the baseball park. It has been nothing but sadness for Iris and Louis. Lin Lawson gives us the history, in case you did not know it. This will provide some background as to why people get upset when Louis comes to the nest with Iris. Things will not change so do not get upset. They will mate, Iris will lay eggs, the eggs will get eaten by the Crows, and then Iris will spend her summer eating fish and growing strong. There will be no starving osplets on the nest to worry about. And that is a good thing.

DH17 and DH18 ate well and went to bed with full crops. River is trying the best she can. She is followed to the nest by intruders that land and stay there. DH17 is 38 days old, and 18 is 39 days old. DH19 was 32 days old when it died of starvation. We send good positive wishes to River. This situation is tough, and there is no guarantee that any of the eaglets will survive. Diane and Jack were both at the Achieva Nest. Diane fed Big Bob and left Middle Bob in submission without any fish. Later Diane went fishing and brought in one of her nice catfish, and Middle ate for at least 30 minutes. There is a drought in the St Petersburgh area, and all of the water is very low, causing fishing to be difficult. Send your best wishes to this nest.

Reports are coming in that the much loved Finnish Osprey, Salli, has been electrocuted in Iraq on her way home from her winter grounds.

Thank you so very much for joining me today. Take care, everyone. Have a great beginning of the week. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their notes, videos, posts, and streaming cams that helped make up my blog today: ‘A’, ‘H’, ‘T’, ‘SP’, ‘JL’, Geemeff, Cal Falcon Cam, LA Times, SK Hideaways and San Jose City Hall Falcons, San Jose City Hall Falcons, Peregrine Networks Live, Colleen Hayman Orange Australia Peregrine Falcons, Paul White and Webster TX Eagles, Jackie Morris and Friends of Dyfi Osprey Project, Dailypost.co.uk, Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Geemeff and Friends of Loch Arkaig and the Woodland Trust, Latvian Fund for Nature, Raptor Resource Project, Dulles Freeway, IWS and Explore.org, Cornell RTH Cam, Bluff City Eagle Cam, LRWT, Montana Osprey Project, Lin Lawson and Osprey Friends, and Dale Hollow Eagle Cam.

Is V9 the winner? and other news for Thursday in Bird World

22 December 2022

Good Morning Everyone,

It is still freezing. The last time I checked it was -26 degrees C. The furnace is working over time. But I am out of the parking pad and someone is coming to clear all of the snow so I won’t get stuck in there next time there is a blizzard. Tomorrow is the day to make sure that the birdseed and the cat food are topped up so that there is plenty to take all of the garden friends along with Missy and Lewis into the new year. I do not know about you but, I dislike crowds immensely, hate malls even more, and hope to get out and home before many wake up in the morning. Fingers crossed.

It is the day after the Winter solstice. A long time friend sent this to me and I want to share it with you – even if it is a day late.

A Winter Solstice Blessing

May you find peace in the promise of the solstice night, that each day forward is blessed with more light, that the cycle of nature, unbroken and true, brings faith to your soul and well-being to you. Rejoice in the darkness, in the silence find rest and may the days that follow be abundantly blessed. (Source unknown)

Bird World has gotten very quiet for the past few days. The only action that is happening is at the nests of Gabby and Ron where there remains some question as to which of the visitors each of them might choose. SuperBeaks is just steady as you go. This nest will go on my must watch list of eagle nests for next year.

Now at Northeast Florida. Too many visitors to follow. Too many discussions over who is who or if one is old enough to mate, etc. There is plenty of evidence for 4 year olds fathering healthy chicks including Harry at the MN-DNR nest in 2021 and again in 2022 before he disappeared. Is it possible Gabby might not have a mate this year? Of course it is. We should sit back and relax. It is a learning opportunity.

The camera has been down. There is another camera that the AEF have access to while the cameras we use to see the nest are down. Well done Gabby and V9. I gather they are friendly and working on the nest. Great news. Now if he can prove that he can keep intruders away, bring fish, and be truly a grand mate for Gabby — well, there could be little eaglets popping their heads up at this nest in the new year. Hopeful.

There is news of Rita requiring a little more removal of the wing. It is not clear if this is the tip that was removed several days ago or a new surgery. I am trying to clarify. It is certain that she will not fly again and they are looking for a permanent home for her. And this brings me to a problem that we all must consider every time we want a bird to be an ambassador or an educational bird —— they must have a place to go. That place has to have funds to feed and care for the wildlife they have. Many places are just over run with raptors and other birds. So when you consider making donations, please do keep this in mind. The costs involved are high and almost without exception these facilities work on a shoe string through the generosity of volunteers and donations.

Meanwhile Ron seems not to have settled on a new mate yet and appears to not like at least one of the females coming around.

In San Jose at the City Hall, Sequoia, the son of Grinnell and Annie, is calling his mate! This is just so wonderful. While it never makes up for losing birds, it is sure nice to see ones that we have watched from hatch to fledge begin their own families.

For those of you that love Peregrine Falcons and want to know more, here is a hefty book that has come out. Mark Avery wrote a good review in his recent monthly blog and this is part of his report, “This is a monumental book about what is regarded as the fastest animal on the planet (or flying over it). At over 500 pages, and amply and attractively illustrated, this is a tribute to and reference source about a marvellous bird. The brilliance of this bird is well captured in many of the photographs but the text is full of information about Peregrines from everywhere in the world where they occur. Chapters cover falcons in general, an introduction to this species, flight, diet, breeding behaviours and characteristics, movements, friends and foes and population numbers and trends. It feels like an encyclopedic coverage and the book is packed with information, but information delivered in a very palatable form.”

Speaking of falcons, Indigo is still being fed, still hiding food in the scrape and having Mum, Diamond, take it! Indigo has also started something unusual. Bringing grass into the scrape box! Goodness.

The SuperBeaks nest is wonderful. I am so glad that several readers asked me about them. I have had several giggles. While we have been frustrated not being able to see the eaglets, ‘S’ admits that we are getting a reprieve from worrying about them, too. We aren’t sitting and counting the bites this one or that one gets. We just sit and watch PePe bring in large fish and Muhlady feed the bobbleheads. We cannot even seen any beaking! It is actually quite nice. By the time we can see them clearly all of that will have passed!

There is a wee little head showing in the top image.

Both Pepe and Muhlady are on the nest vocalising.

Have not seen Jackie or Shadow at the Big Bear nest today but, there were a couple of Crows (or are they Ravens – difficult to tell) visiting trying to find any leftover bits of fish. Jackie and Shadow were there on Tuesday working away.

Here is a very short compilation for the winter solstice with recent images of the eagles at Big Bear – our adorable Jackie and Shadow.

The GHOs have been after M15 at the SWFlorida nest again – and, of course, since their nest is on the same property, we can expect an increase in this behaviour. Do the Eagles bothered the owls? Probably not. Maybe they should!

Cornell has put out its season highlights from the Royal Cam nest at Tiaroa Head. It opens with OGK doing a sky call – so get the tissue box. What a grand mate and dad he was. Last seen in mid-May (19 May I am told). We will forever miss him as will his long time mate, YRK, who will, perhaps, find another mate and raise more chicks. We will have to wait and see. And it could be a very long wait.

I know that many of you have wondered what happened to Mahlala, the Red tail hawk raised by the eagles on Gabriola Island. Their eaglet Junior, you will remember, was electrocuted on a power pole. I found this announcement today re their FB presence: “UPDATE: 12 20 22 GROWLS Eagle Nest Cam (Gabriola Rescue Of Wildlife Society). This FB Group is temporarily paused for 168 days. An admin paused this group on July 30, 2022. Group activity will resume on January 15, 2023 at 3:00 AM“.

No one knows why the FB was abruptly paused.

As for Mahlala, there are a large number of Red-tail Hawks in the general area. She was not banded so it would be difficult to tell her apart from any other unless you had clear identifying features which we don’t because the camera images were not clear. Did she return to the nest? Maybe GROWLS will tell us when they come back to life!

I posted an image of L4 that was taken during the Ferris Akel Tour last Saturday. Here are other images from this morning’s Cornell Hawks Twitter feed. It is nice to see the juvenile still doing so very well. That is a nice crop – and still in Mum and Dad’s territory without problem.

No. 21 The Red List. The Woodcock

Oh, look at that image. The eyes set way back on their head allow them to see predators when they have their long beak thrust into the ground hunting for food. They have short legs and are rather ’round’ compared to other birds.

Males perform a remarkable ‘sky dance’ on spring and summer nights, in a high, twisting flight, with chippering, twittering, bubbling sounds. These sky dances attract the females who will mate with one of the males. The males – like Daisy the Duck’s mate – take no part in the care of the eggs or the hatchlings!

Audubon Society says, “Downy young leave nest a few hours after hatching. Female tends young and feeds them. After a few days, young may begin probing in soil, learning to search for food. Young can make short flights at age 2 weeks, fly fairly well at 3 weeks, independent at about 5 weeks.” So not like ducklings or goslings that are precocial – able to care for themselves after 24 hours of hatching.

“Woodcock vintage drawing” by Free Public Domain Illustrations by rawpixel is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

There are Woodcocks that are resident in the UK and there are others, several hundreds of thousands, that fly from Finland and Russia – a distance of some 3000 km, to over winter in the UK. They arrive during the first week in November. They like damp woodland where they nest in a feathered scrape on the ground. There are stories of the Woodcock carrying their chicks between their legs and body in their feet if danger should arrive. There are also stories of them carrying a stick in their mouth when they fly over the ocean to the UK so if they tire during their flight they have some wood to land on in the ocean.

Many feed at night thrusting their long beak probing around in the soil – their heads go up and down so often they have been compared to ‘sewing machines’. They fine worms and Beatles and suck them up like spaghetti. Can you imagine? I would love to see one.

British writers such as Drayton, Shakespeare, and Milton used them as a metaphor for ‘foolish love’.

“Woodcock Scolopax rusticola” by Peregrine’s Bird Photography is marked with Public Domain Mark 1.0.

The threats for the Woodcock vary from geographical location. In the US, fires are burning up habitat, climate change is drying up the wetlands, spring heat waves are driving the chicks from the nest, and heavy rains are endangering the eggs and the nests altogether. In all areas, habitat loss is driving a decline in populations. In the UK, those threats also exist along with the legal hunting of the Woodcock which begins on 1 November despite their being on The Red List. Wild Justice has asked the government to change the date to 1 December to try and help protect during the breeding season!

Two recent short articles from The Guardian are quite good.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2008/jun/08/birds.woodcock?CMP=share_btn_link

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/jan/06/country-diary-claxton-norfolk-birds-woodcock-snipe-wigeon?CMP=share_btn_link

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

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams, their notes, their posts, and videos that make up my screen captures: Cornell Hawks Twitter page, Superbeaks Bald Eagle Cam, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, Mark Avery Book Reviews, San Jose City Hall, Openverse, NZ DOC and Cornell Bird Lab, FOBBV, San Jose City Hall, WRDC, and the NEFL-AEF.

Rita is standing up! Zoe screams for fish, Anna laid an egg…and other news in Bird World

1 December 2022

I can see the lights from the Toronto airport. It was snowing and blowing in Winnipeg and now raining here. Strange to see everything ‘brown’ instead of ‘white’. It is quite ‘strange’ being in an airport! One word of advice: if you can travel with a small carry on, do so. It is a nightmare at the larger airports with the new self-baggage check in. Huge line ups and the same for security. But, I feel privileged to be able to have a short holiday in a wonderfully warm and beautiful place with birds and see my son and daughter in law. It has been far too long!

Speaking of ‘white’, before I go any further, have you ever seen a white eagle? Well, the folks in Oklahoma, where I grew up, are certainly checking their eye sight!

I want to thank everyone that sent me notes so I had them when I landed. First up was ‘H’ and ‘S’ with the good news that Rita has had her surgery and she is standing up!!!!!!!! Now seriously. Standing up. What a strong eagle she is! I am sure we can all shed a few little tears or break out into a huge smile. By, gosh, we need some good news in Bird World. She is still in guarded condition but the surgery itself went well.

The Orthopaedic surgeon said the surgery could not have gone any better. Tears. This is fantastic news at a time when we sure need it!

Tonya Irwin has been keeping a log and it seems that Louisiana is still ahead of Florida in terms of Bald Eagle eggs laid. Today, Anna added to that list with the first of the season’s eggs at the E-1 nest in the Kisatchie national Forest near Alexandria. Congratulations!

At the time of writing this blog, this is the latest news on Samson from the AEF.

There has been no sighting of Alden either but, there is other good news. Annie and Grinnell’s daughter, Sequoia, has a mate at the San Jose City Hall and guess what? They have a streaming cam. Is it possible that we will get to see Annie and Grinnell’s ‘grandeyases’ hatch and fledge? Wouldn’t that just be amazing? When everything seems so dark, there is always light trying to get through.

There is a lot of news coming in but, before I go any further, there has been a question from a very worried watcher of the SWFlorida nest of Harriet and M15. ‘R’ would like to know why Harriet is not incubating her egg? That is such a great question. What Harriet is doing is called delayed incubation. She will lay her second egg in 3 days from the first. If she started ‘hard’ incubation immediately when the first egg was laid, the first hatch would have an enormous advantage over the second hatch. By waiting to start hard incubation until the second egg is laid, the eaglets will hatch much closer together in time – sometimes within an hour or two of one another -and while they will bop one another, it is not usually deadly. They hatch and are closer in size.

In addition, Harriet and M15 do not have to worry about the egg freezing in the Florida sunshine and they have a stocked pond for prey and it appears that there has not been a time of food scarcity at this nest (please correct me if I am wrong).

There are advantages to starting incubation immediately. David Hancock of Hancock Wildlife in British Columbia, Canada has consistently given two reasons why immediate incubation might be practiced. They are: 1) to protect eggs from predators such as Crows, Ravens, Raccoons, etc.; and 2) the eagles want to ensure that at least there is a chance of one surviving during a time of food scarcity. The idea Hancock says is that it is much better for the eagles to have one chick survive than no eaglets at all.

Do not worry. Harriet and M15 know precisely what they are doing. As I said, their eaglets will cause us great grief during the ‘rock ’em, sock ’em’ days but, in the end, the pair normally develop into best buddies. In fact, most of us will grieve for their going off to find their own way in the world probably to never see one another again.

That amazing fledgling Osprey from the Tweed Valley, Glen, is just getting more and more news coverage. If you are trying to figure out where you have heard his name, well, let me remind you that Glen also landed on two different cargo ships and took rides, he flew through a large area of hydro lines and landed on a the roof of a fruit factory in Portugal where he was believed to be dead. But, nope. Not Glen. He flew out over the Atlantic Ocean for 36 hours solid flapping his wings until he found a small island to land on. He is now in Morocco. Glen deserves all the news coverage he can get. What an adventurous life this young man has had and he isn’t even near a year old!

If you do not know about Glen’s adventures on the two fishing trawlers, please start your reading here. You will be delighted you did!

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-south-scotland-62967646

So grateful for all the coverage of this amazing young Osprey. Sacha Dench is going to have to add more segments to her programme, Flight of the Osprey, for the BBC. This chap might even deserve his own show! I honestly don’t think I have gotten so excited about the migration of a male Osprey since Ervie didn’t migrate!

At the Port Lincoln Osprey nest, Dad brought Zoe a nice little fish at 10:00:13. ‘A’ says that she can always tell when Dad is coming because Mum ‘does her talon dance’. I watched for that – she does, back and forth on the talons, wings flapping, moving out of the way so Dad can land. Well, Zoe is perfecting or has already perfected that talon dance along with her fish prey screaming. My goodness she is loud. I bet Fran Solly can hear her across the lagoon without having the sound on the streaming cam. Zoe start about a minute and a half before Dad lands with the fish.

We will continue to grieve for little one, Rubus. At the same time, we must also celebrate the falcon fledgling that Xavier and Diamond are working so hard to train so it can have a full and productive life like Sequoia.

Indigo certainly as a ‘voice’! He flew in and chased Xavier out of the scrape a few minutes before returning with his breakfast. Here is a short video clip of Indigo coming into the scrape with prey at 0700.

This is the latest update from Cilla re Rubus. So very sad but, reassuring that the little fella did not suffer.

Thank you so very much for being with me. Send all your good wishes out to Rita as she recovers, to Ron who may or may not know what is going on, to Gabby who waits for Samson and to Annie who might not yet know Alden is missing. So much is happening — and here I thought there might be a lull until eaglets start to hatch at the end of the month. Bird World is always full of surprises. Take care everyone. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their messages, posts, videos, and streaming cams where I took my screen captures and video clip: ‘S’, ‘H’, ‘G’, Port Lincoln Osprey, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, Conservation without Borders, BBC, Raptors without Borders, Sharon Pollock and SWFlorida Bald Eagles and D Pritchett, Tonya Irwin and Kistachie National Forest Eagle Cam Fans, Gretchen-AEF, Salsa Bird and Bald Eagles Live Nest Cams and Birds, Holly Parsons and Orange Australia Falcons, and Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation.