Tag Archives: Scottish Ospreys

Update on SE30 and other news in Bird World

18 October 2022

Good Morning Everyone,

The sky is a beautiful royal blue, not a cloud in sight and it is -7 on the Canadian prairies. On Thursday, we will warm up by 21 degrees C to a balmy +14. I cannot wait! I can hear the Crows but, I cannot see them. The Blue Jays are already finding corn and the Dark-eyed Juncos are still in Canada. Meanwhile, despite the break in the weather which will be wonderful for checking duck numbers in the city, it is time to get all the winter closed organized, put up the garden hose, and store the summer deck furniture.

Making News:

The birders on the ground, the bogs, near the Discovery Centre really need a great pat on the back. Thanks to them we have been able to keep up with SE 30 since s/he fledged. It is fantastic. Just look at this beautiful juvenile. SE 30 looks to be doing very well, indeed. Here is the latest announcement:

I really hope that SE30 is getting their own prey and we do not see them hungry in a couple of weeks on the sidewalk. Send this wonderful fledgling all the good wishes that you can!

Floods in the State of Victoria, Australia are causing havoc for wildlife.

Native wildlife flee flood waters across northern Victoria – video | Environment | The Guardian

From the Bookshelf:

I realized that I should create a link to a book list for everyone who is searching for books on different species. I promise to do that over the winter. The latest questions have been about books on Ospreys – questions about general knowledge books and others more specific. ‘H’ gave me a poke and reminded me about one on migration that she had just read. So here goes a few good books on Ospreys to get you started.

I have two books by Alan Poole on Ospreys. They are excellent reference books. The first is Ospreys. A Natural and Unnatural History published by the University of Cambridge in 1989. There are no beautiful colour photos – it is all black and white. The second is Ospreys. The Revival of a Global Raptor published in 2019 by John Hopkins University Press. The second book is much more up to date in terms and has made use of technological advances in studying raptors to bring our understanding up to date on their lives.

One of favourite books on Ospreys is by Roy Dennis who has spent the last 60 years re-introducing raptors to England (and various sites in Europe such as Spain). His book, A Life of Ospreys, of 2009, is very good.

The book that ‘H’ wants me to mention to you is Belle’s Journey. An Osprey Takes Flight by Rob Bierregaard. As ‘H’ points out it is not just for children and the reviews say it is loved by those from 9 to 90. The book follows a fledgling osprey with a satellite tracker to her winter home so it is about migration and its challenges. Extremely well written and easy to understand.

A book by David Gessner, Soaring with Fidel, is written on the back of Belle’s Journey and offers us even more insight into the migration of the Ospreys from the NE US who winter in Brazil and Columbia. It was this book that has prompted me to want to take that journey to Cuba to sit on top of a mountain with thousands of Ospreys flying overhead. Gessner is a charismatic writer and it is not boring science which one can easily get tired of reading. Like Bierregaard, Gessner weaves the science in like a parent sneaking cough syrup to a child and they didn’t know it.

Gessner wrote a second book, Return of the Osprey. A Season of Flight and Wonder. Equally well-written but this one focuses on the breeding season, not migration.

I know that many of you are fans of the Chesapeake Bay nest. Inside An Osprey’s Nest. A Photographic Journey through Nesting Season takes you up close and personal with a newly mated pair of Ospreys. Their eggs fail. Will they accept foster chicks? It is a moving narrative with incredible pictures.

If you can get your hands on a copy, The Scottish Ospreys from extinction to survival by Philip Brown is excellent. It was published in 1979 and, like the first Poole edition, has mostly black and white illustrations. It is an excellent historical account of the demise of the Osprey in the UK and the reintroduction efforts that have been underway by individuals such as Roy Dennis.

Lady of the Loch. The Incredible Story of Britain’s Oldest Osprey by Helen Armitage tells the story of Lady who lived to have 20 breeding seasons in Scotland. It gives special insights into the challenges of the birds, banding, etc. I thoroughly enjoyed it but, it is a book about a special Osprey in a special area of Scotland. If you are looking for general knowledge, get the second book by Poole first.

There are many others some written to celebrate a notable male bird such as Monty or the history of Rutland Water and its Ospreys. I will include that in the long list for everyone.

Nest News:

The Melbourne Four are really keeping the two first time parents busy. All of them are capable of getting up and down out of the gutter and today, when I checked, there were only three near the scrape. I did, literally, hold my breath til that little head appeared. ‘A’ loves the sound of the eyases ‘stomping’ down that metal piece of the ledge because it means that they can now get into the shade. ‘A’ might be happy but the parents appeared particularly bewildered at times today.

Poor Dad got down in the gutter with them. Just think. These two didn’t have one eyas to deal with in their first season as parents. Oh, no. They got four…lively, healthy, fat little bottomed chicks. It is perfect.

The parents must have decided that they need to bring in more pigeons. The kids had pigeon at 0646. When next I checked, Mum had come in with a pigeon and was feeding them at 1014. They had just settled down and Dad comes in with ‘something’. The time was 1031. I hope someone identifies this prey. It was big. It is so odd watching the falcons attach the prey to one taloned foot and hobble down to the scrape. It was not clear if the eyases would get up to eat but, they did. They are literally just ‘eating machines’ right now growing bigger and bigger every day.

At Orange, a Starling showed up at 0624. It was the parrot that came in at 0941 that caused the most excitement. We are going to start calling Rubus ‘Rubber Neck’. My goodness Xavier makes Rubus work for his dinner. He jumps and stretches and squeals. Meanwhile, Indigo just sits there occasionally raising her neck and sometimes taking food out of Rubus’s beak. She is unphased by his antics. What a live wire Rubus is. ‘Full of vinegar’ my grandmother would say rolling her eyes thinking of all the mischief he will be getting into.

At Port Lincoln, the day was rather calm. A large fish came in early – at 0748. It was followed by a much smaller fish at 0954.

At Port Lincoln, Dad brought in a total of six fish for the day. That is a lot of fish! Just look that the crop on Big.

Middle also has a crop. Yippee. I hope that Mum was able to get enough fish for herself. It is so hard to determine that when she is so busy feeding these two growing osplets.

Rubus and Indigo ate well. The Melbourne Four could have had more prey but, the osplets were stuffed. In all it was a good day in Australia yesterday. The Melbourne Four can now easily move up and down the gutter to the scrape so they can get into the shaded area if Mum is not about.

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

Thank you to the following for their posts and/or streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Amazon, Sydney Sea Eagle Cam FB, Port Lincoln Ospreys, 367 by Mirvac, and Charles Sturt Falcon Cam.

A quick hello and brief news in Bird World

As I was driving out of Winnipeg it seemed like a good idea to give you a sense of the area where I am going to look for Bald Eagle nests.

My first stop is at Gimli, Manitoba on the West side of Lake Winnipeg. Lake Winnipeg is said to be the 8th largest freshwater lake in the world. With all of the rain and the storms this past spring – and the flooding – the lake is beginning to claim some of the land along the shore. I am headed to Hecla Island to count Bald Eagle nests but, there will be a problem. The Bald Eagles traditionally nest along Black Wolf trail – on the shore! But with the flood the area along the trail is still wet, according to the park ranger I spoke to yesterday. Trees have fallen and nothing has been cleared and he tells me he is afraid of what he will find. So instead of a lot of juvenile Bald Eagles, it seems there are tonnes of cygnets this year.

My first stop is Gimli. Gimli is also known as ‘New Iceland’. The citizens of Gimli make up the second largest population of Icelanders outside of Iceland. They are very proud of their Viking heritage.

There is a small harbour at Gimli with lots of gulls hoping for some fast food leftovers. This is a Ring-billed Gull, a very common sight in southern Manitoba. White head and underbelly, grey wings, black tail, yellow beak and legs. They are named after the black ring at the tip of their bill.

How to cause a flurry of gulls? A large order of unsalted fries.

There is a small marina.

As I walked along the pier – in the midst of babies crying and children giggling, there was a very distinctive sound. Kip-Kip-Kip. You would have known it immediately. High up in the sky was an Osprey! It was soaring looking for a fish in the shallow waters.

It turned and headed to my left – far away – to start its dive. What a wonderful welcome. I hope that the sight of this magnificent raptor is a good omen!

There is good news in Bird World today. As I was loading the car, ‘CE’ sent me a message that Titi had fledged. That is the best news. Now the fears of the Goshaw getting this beautiful osplet are lessened. Time 13:33 10 August. Fantastic! Thanks CE.

The Janakkalan nest is empty tonight.

It has been raining at the Port Lincoln Osprey barge. Mum needed a break and Dad came in to take over the shift just a couple of minutes ago at 11:07 nest time. Mum has been very careful to keep that precious egg dry.

A beautiful image of our Little Bit 17 sitting on his perch on the shores of the St Joseph River.

As we near the start of migration, it is nice to see that Iris still visits her nest and is still keeping it in tip top shape – just like she is. Iris is the oldest Osprey in the world at 28 or 29 years. It is not known where she winters but many suspect it is in south Texas.

The Sydney sea eagles still like to spar! Notice the two big crops. I do not really have any concerns for these two. Each one seems to hold their own. SE30 is spunky, for sure.

The big news is Titi’s flight today. The body of 1C1 was removed from Loch Garten. It had been a really sad scene with the adults just staring at their little one wondering what in the world happened. Hopefully the tests will tell us.

Mrs AX6 feeding her surviving fledgling today.

Thank you for joining me for this unexpected post. Take care everyone. I hope to have some more local images for you tomorrow.

Thank you to the following for their posts and their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Friends of Loch Garten, Loch Garten RSBP, Sea Eagles @Birdlife Australia Discovery Center, Sydney Olympic Park, Finnish Osprey Foundation, Montana Osprey Project, ND-LEEF, and Port Lincoln Ospreys.

Late Friday in Bird World

15 July 2022

If you did not see the presentation and discussion about the care that US Steel eaglet 4 (USS4) is getting at the Tamarack Wildlife Centre in PA, then please go to my earlier blog this afternoon and have a listen. As I noted, at 14:52 in the discussion, the lead wildlife rehabilitation officer at Tamarak is addressing the life skills that USS4 will get and -require- before he can be released. That includes a lot of work with prey. Yes, by all weights and measurements, USS4 is a ‘he’ but they sent away a blood sample for DNA analysis to be sure. I was ‘blown away’ by their investment and it is what we all dream Little Bit 17 will have before he is released. Here is the link to get to the earlier blog that has the interview.

https://wordpress.com/post/maryannsteggles.com/58064

This is one of the best videos that I have seen showing the Whirley crane nest of Rosie and Richmond and the juveniles flying. Brooks is doing really well and Molate even managed to do some hovers. You can see Richmond and Rosie, too. Really hope that Molate is doing better. He sure enjoyed his fish.

At the Osoyoos Osprey nest, Dad has been delivering fish – four this morning. Thank you, Dad. Mum is doing her best to keep the two little ones cool. It was a good morning for this family.

It is 34 degrees C in Osyoos and it is forecast to get hotter. Keep all of these nests in the heat wave in your positive thoughts. We don’t want a repeat of 2021 when chicks were dying of sun stroke or jumping off nests so they did not roast to death in the Pacific Northwest.

It is 30 degrees C in Winnipeg and we have a heat warning and it is currently 30 degrees C in Canmore, Alberta where the chicks and their Mum are hot – but that 4 degrees C means these are just a little cooler than Osoyoos.

Gosh, the Boathouse Ospreys are cute. Sometimes when they are asleep it is hard to tell who is who. Dory is trying to keep her babies cool just like Mum at Osoyoos.

Have you noticed how expressive Osprey faces are? They are such individuals. I would love to know what the conversation is on the Mispillion Harbour nest!

Here are some shots from the Dyfi Osprey nest in Wales in the late afternoon. Pedran fledged at 51 days old, slightly earlier than the average, at 15:05. It was a perfect take off and Telyn even escorted her daughter back to the nest. Telyn looks so tiny next to these three big girls her and Idris raised this year. One more to fledge. They will spend their time working those wings to get strength and eating and eating to put fat on their bodies for their first long migration. They normally do not catch their first fish until after they have left the natal nest.

Blue 553 fledged from the Llyn Clywedog Nest at 05:27. Well done, two down, one to go. The osplets have certainly started decorating the pine to the left of Dylan and Seren’s nest a little early!

Did you know that raptors often chose a nest sight – if vacant – by the amount of PS on everything. The more PS, the more prey and the healthier the chicks will be.

There was storm, rain, and thunder when LR0 at the Loch of the Lowes nest of Laddie and Blue NC0 decided to fledge today. That was really something unexpected.

Is it just me or does the female at the Janakkdan Osprey nest in Finland look better today? Both of the osplets had a lot of nice fish before bed. No worries for them. Positive wishes for this family.

All four of the White storklets (not little anymore) are doing so well at the Mlade Buky nest of Bukacek and Betty. Just look at them. They are as big as their parents. What a delight.

Discussions are underway as to who will get the transmitters on the Karula National Forest nest of Karl II and Kaia. It seems that Bonus, one of two surviving storklets of Jan and Janikka, who was taken to the clinic to be raised and then adopted at the Karula nest will be one of the recipients.

I would hope that Urmas and Dr Madis V of the Estonia Medical University would be very happy with their intervention to save the surviving storklets of Jan and Jannika. It was a bold experiment that worked — and underscores what we need to do to help our wildlife. The fish basket has been a real help – possibly a life saver. When other nests like Osoyoos are only getting little fish and it is hot, is it not possible to supplement them? After all, climate change has been caused by humans…it just makes sense to do what we can, when we are able.

‘EJ’ sent me a link to a great video about an eagle that would just not give up – the drive to live was so robust. Add this to your playlist for Friday night or the weekend, it is really uplighting! Thanks EJ!

It feels pretty good in Bird World this afternoon. Molate is eating well and he did some hovering. Perhaps his only problem was Brooks was getting too much of the fish. Let us all hope so. The chicks in Finland are eating and to me — not a vet — the Mum ‘looked’ better. Let us hope for some cooler temperatures at all the nests who are suffering from heat and keep all of those in care in our warm thoughts.

Thank you for being with me today. Take care. See you soon!

Thanks to the following for their posts, their videos, and their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: SF Bay Ospreys and Golden Gate Audubon, Osoyoos Ospreys, Fortis Exshaw, Audubon Explore.org, Mispillion Harbour Ospreys and the DDNR, Dyfi Osprey Project, CarnyxWild, and Friends of Loch of the Lowes and the Wildlife Trust and the Wildlife Foundation of Utah.

Ervie fishes with Dad, Fledge at Mispillion, and more

12 July 2022

Ervie. Bazza Hockaday caught Ervie fishing with Dad! He posted images of the two of them together on the FB Page of the Port Lincoln Osprey Group. Now, how wonderful is that? I am so excited. Ervie can fish with dad and not feel so rejected..he just can’t go on the nest near Mum! Remember how Ervie and Dad used to sit in the ‘shed’ and chat? Seriously, tears of joy!

Dad above and Ervie below with the tracker.

@ Port Lincoln Ospreys and Bazza Hockaday. 10 July 2022

The newsletter that I get from the Cornell Bird Lab is carrying an article on neonics, a pesticide, that is having a deadly impact on our songbirds. Have a read. Also consider, however, the fact that the ‘Green’ herbicides and pesticides used on lawns are toxic. Take, for example, the neighbour who wants the weeds killed so that they can put down a matt and then put on wood mulch — the ‘Green’ spray was toxic — it killed the weeds. They did not know that they could simply use vinegar.

Neonic Nation: Is Widespread Pesticide Use Connected to Grassland Bird Declines?

The three Ls (L3 is in care) are flying as almost as good as Big Red and Arthur. They are learning more and more about catching their own prey and in 2-4 weeks they will leave the territory of Big Red and Arthur and find their own place in the world of hawks. So thankful for Suzanne Arnold Horning who takes her camera to the campus each day and allows me to share her images of Big Red and Arthur’s family with you.

One of the Ls hunting in the pine trees. Big Red and Arthur have been moving them around to various parts of the campus for prey drops and hunting. Everything they do are lessons for the kids -. Once the Ls leave the territory, Big Red and Arthur are going to enjoy a much needed rest. We will then see them back on the nest checking things in the late fall or early November. Time definitely passes too quickly!

L4 – we worried and worried and it turns out he loved to climb over his siblings to get to Big Red’s beak – totally unafraid – and was one of the first two to catch prey and become an official juvenile. Here he is on top of a small shed stalking something and stretching.

L4 – cutie pie.

Ferris Akel just uploaded his tour of the Red-tail hawks at Cornell from last weekend. Here you go!

The storklets on the Mlade Buky nest of Bukacek and Betty are big! No wonder Bukacek was working on a second nest. No room for him and Betty!

Urmas and Dr Madis V’s experiment to raise the storklets of Jan and Janika continues to go very smoothly. Karl II has brought food in. Bonus watches the others and begins the same ritual to cause Karl II to be able to regurgitate the fish. Everyone looks nice and healthy on this nest and we know from the postings that both Karl II and Kaia have found the fish basket left for them by Urmas.

The storklets are losing their white natal down and those lovely black feathers are coming in. Bonus is in the front with the two metal rings.

At 13:30 ‘H’ reports that one of the ospreys on the Mispillion Harbour nest fledged. It was a beautiful first flight returning in about a minute and a half. Congratulations to everyone and to you ‘H’ who has watched this nest like a wonderful auntie and kept us informed. Now…when will the next one fledge?

There he goes!

Louis and Dorcha’s two osplets are being ringed at Loch Arkaig at this very moment! There is the proud mama Dorcha with the two before the banders arrived. Dorcha flew around at the arrival of the humans and her and Louis are now perched on a tree waiting for everything to be finished so they can get their chicks back! Will there be one big girl??? and a boy?

The camera is turned off and will come back on line when the ringers are finished.

The chicks of Louis and Dorcha have been ringed but no word about gender, weight, etc. Will post tomorrow when I hear.

Fledgling 554 is enjoying her freedom as she stares at us from the perch at the Llyn Clywedog Osprey nest of Dylan and Seren. 554 was the first osprey to fledge in Wales for the 2022 season – yesterday.

554’s other siblings are flapping their wings now, too….will there be a rush on fledging?

Idris has brought in 3 fish in three hours. Those three big girls will each have their own fish at the Dyfi Nest this evening.

It was a gorgeous day in the Glaslyn Valley. Mrs G looking over her nest full of osplets no doubt so happy that this season went superbly.

Since last year many of us have wondered what the fate of CJ7 would be. Would Blue 022 return? would they bond? would they have chicks? They did bond, they did have chicks….the nest was so deep that we could only get a glimpse of them. Now, here they are staring at us. Just gorgeous osplets. Congratulations – you two are famous. Right, you don’t care. Just clean up the environment so that Ospreys can have lots of non-toxic delicious fish, clean air, safe migration, and wonderful nests. Oh, right..and stop the shooting of Ospreys. Gotcha. We are gonna work on that.

Dory watches over three sleeping little ones on the Boathouse Osprey nest on Hog Island. Just look at how well their plumage camouflages them and how much copper/orange they are getting on the nape of their necks. So lovely and content.

Meanwhile, in California, Rosie continues to supply Brooks and Molate with goldfish. This is number 8!

To the delight of everyone Annie and Alden continue to pair bond in the scrape at The Campanile every other day it seems. This was yesterday.

If you missed it, Mama Thunder made quick work of that juvenile intruder yesterday. Here is a 40 second clip of the action at the West End Bald Eagle nest:

Lillibet wondering where Victor is in the middle of the night at the Fraser Point nest of Andor and Mama Cruz.

It is going to take a few days for the blood work to come back on Victor and for all other tests to determine what is causing him to lose his balance and not be able to fly. Here is an edited post by Dr Sharpe.

Thank you so much for joining me today. Both Little Bit 17 and Victor are getting fantastic care and as someone joked – “There will be a run on Costco trout, I want to eat what Victor is having!” Cute. Take care everyone. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cam and/or FB pages or blogs where I took my screen captures: Suzanne Arnold Horning, Ferris Akel Tours, Mlade Buky Storks, Eagle Club of Estonia, Mispillion Harbour Ospreys, Friends of Loch Arkaig and the Woodland Trust, CarnyXWild, Dyfi Osprey Project, Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Poole Harbour Ospreys, Audubon Explore.org, SF Ospreys and Golden Gate Audubon, Cal Falcons, Port Lincoln Osprey Project, Bazza Hockaday, Explore.org and The Institute for Wildlife Studies.

Brief News in Bird World

7 July 2022

Do you remember holding your breath whenever the Highly Pathogenic Avian Flu H5N1 was mentioned? I recall looking at the falcons on The Campanile and the eaglets in the Channel Islands and just hoping that it would not land on those islands and wipe them out. Very very sad news is is coming out of the UK. H5N1 is in the north of Scotland and Shetland but today Coquet Island said that every chick on each of the 1964 Sandwich Tern nests has been killed by Avian Flu. Tragically, they believe that it will also wipe out every Roseate Tern as well.

Coquet Island is off the east coast of the UK just a little north of Newcastle-upon-Tyne in Northumberland.

“Coquet Island” by Grand Mookster is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0.
“Royal terns, Sandwich terns, Least terns, Forster’s Terns, Caspian Terns and Black Skimmers taking flight on the Gulf Coast, North Beach, Fort De Soto Park, Saint Petersburg, Florida” by diana_robinson is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.
“Roseate terns/ Palometas” by USFWS/Southeast is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

Suzanne Arnold Horning – thankfully – has her camera with her just when she needs it. She caught the 3 Ls on a fence at Cornell today.

Can you tell who is who?

Lancer has been playing with sticks on the nest…often the Red-tail hawks will play with pinecones to help with their eye-talon coordination. This is a very cute video of Lancer having some fun. It reminds me of the Finnish Osprey couple pulling on their fish!

As well as being asked if the females ever go fishing for the osplets, I am often asked if the males ever feed their chicks. Many do! This is Aran at the Glaslyn nest today feeding his triplets.

Awwww. They finally lined up.

The beautiful Glaslyn Valley – home to Aran and Mrs G.

It is that golden glow of evening on the Dyfi Nest. Idris has brought in a nice fish for the end of the day and Telyn is busy feeding those three growing bigger girls. The weather is nice just like it is at Glaslyn.

Oh, Dorcha is feeding her big girl and boy their last meal at Loch Arkaig. It looks like she had a nice weather day – well, deserved.

The cam operator caught two of Dylan and Seren’s chicks close up. Oh, they are gorgeous. There is a third – it hasn’t gone anywhere! Just sleeping between the two. We do not need any more excitement in Osprey Land this week. Seren has also been fishing – bringing in some nice fish from the reservoir when she thinks Dylan hasn’t provided enough. Go Seren!

At the Boathouse on Hog Island, Skiff brought in a fish. It looks like Little Bob – Peanut to some – is getting another private feeding. ‘H’ mentioned to me the nautical names given to the trio – schooner, Skipjack, and Sloop. So Little Bob or Peanut is really Sloop. Did they intend for him to be a small anti-submarine warship from WWII or a sailboat with a single mast?

Big ones are full enough and Sloop gets some nice fish all by himself. I continue to praise these first time parents. They are doing fantastic.

If you have been watching the Cornell Kestrels in Wisconsin, there was a fledging frenzy today. Here it is if you missed it. All four took flight.

A few days ago ‘L’ asked about Malena and Klepetan, the White Storks who had their nest on the roof of Stjepan Vokic’s house in Croatia. Malena had been shot by a poacher and left to die. Vokic rescued her and Malena lived with him for 28 years. For 19 of those years, her mate Klepetan flew from South Africa to Croatia. The couple raised 66 White Storks to fledge with the help of Vokic.

Surprise! I found a book, Malena and Klepetan. A Love Story on Wings by Jillian Marie Shea.

The author puts several quotes in the front. One says, “You must write for children the same way you write for adults, only better.” That is the nacre of this book!

The book is rightfully dedicated to Stjepan Vokic – who would win my vote for Gold-level Interventionist. “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” A good reminder that we have the capacity to give our feathered friends a second chance– if we will only reach out and do it – because, like Malena, so many of their tragedies are due to us.

It’s a feel good book – for all of us!

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

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Cornell Bird Lab, Explore.org and Audubon, CarnyXWild, Friends of Loch of the Lowes and the Wildlife Trust, Friends of Loch Arkaig and the Woodland Trust, Dyfi Osprey Project, Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn, and Suzanne Arnold Horning.

Late Sunday in Bird World

26 June 2022

There is not a lot of news in Bird World today. The rainy cold weather continues for our osprey families in the UK.

Normally ringing in the UK occurs between 35 and 42 days, not after. Fledge watch for these chicks will begin on day 52.

Blue NC0 desperately wanted to keep her chicks dry and they wished to be under Mum but…alas, the pair are just too big. They are 38 and 36 days old.

Thankfully the weather did let up towards the end of the day.

The wet cold windy weather continues at Loch Arkaig. Dorcha is desperately holding on and trying to brood her big chicks too.

Mrs G looks miserable at the Glaslyn nest.

Interesting that the Dyfi nest of Idris and Telyn seems to have escaped some of it. They will be ringed this week.

Everyone was preening their wet feathers at the Llyn Clywedog Nest of Dylan and Seren. The chicks are 35 days old. Ready for ringing.

The worst place in Wales had to be at the nest at Llyn Brenig. Mom LM6 is trying to keep them dry and there is dad LJ2 who has arrived with a fish.

It was blue sky for CJ7 and Blue 022 at Poole Harbour. Just look at him – he is three years old and is a first time dad. What a great family these two are to kick off the dynasty that will grow in the area!

Maya is a proud Mama. Just look at her and those three big healthy girls! My goodness. We wondered if they would survive the flapping fish but they did and wow. They are 48 days old. Can you believe it but in four days we will be on fledge watch for these big gals.

The two osplets at the Boathouse on Hog Island are growing! Looks like Dory has been better at the feeding and Skiff is getting the fish on the nest. Cute. They are so tiny. They have a long ways to go to be ready for migration.

Just look at the size of the fish that landed on the Mispillion Harbour Osprey platform! That should fill up those two and keep them from fighting! Thanks to Eagle Eyes ‘H’ it appears that bottle in the plastic bag turned out to be a vodka bottle. ‘H’ has watched the chicks use it for a pillow – she says, ‘Who knew a Vodka Bottle could be a pillow?!’ I am just glad that it is not a mesh bag or wire!

I received a nice letter from ‘C’. If I ever implied that an Osprey should go to battle with an eagle of any kind – I did not mean to. I have wondered what would have happened at the Cowlitz PUD nest if the egg cup had been deeper and if Mum could have pancaked along with the three chicks. But, no – not to fight with it. The talons of Ospreys are for carrying fish – not fighting. Because of this their nests with those lovely chicks become prey. I could not find anyone who had seen an Eagle attack an osprey nest and the adult stayed but I did wonder. As ‘C’ says, ‘Ospreys are peaceful in relation to an eagle or an owl.’ Indeed! Ospreys do not attack other raptor’s nests either. They are very gentle birds except with one another! Thanks, ‘C’!

At the UFlorida-Gainesville Nest, Big and Middle are pretty much matched. Middle gets the fish and in the end Big takes it away. They are both healthy! I caught Big with ‘snake eyes’ this morning.

My last nest is that of Little Bit 17. I went to count goslings and ducklings today and kept my fingers crossed that there would be no bad weather and the nest would be in tact. It is – and there should not be any rain or anything else until Friday. Little Bit was resting in the sun when I got home.

I am sad to announce that there were fewer goslings and ducklings north of where I live. The locals told me that the geese and ducks were there and had their nests and the two Colorado Lows came through and they all abandoned the nests and flew further north. Wow. I don’t blame them.

Two geese had a gosling each.
Killdeer

Thank you for being with me today. Take care everyone. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: ND, LEEF, UFlorida-Gainesville Ospreys, Poole Harbour Ospreys, Mispillion Harbour Ospreys, Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Llyn Brenig Ospreys, Poole Harbour Ospreys, LRWT, Dyfi Osprey Project, CarnyXWild, Friends of Loch Arkaig and the Woodland Trust, LOTL and Scottish Wildlife Trust, Explore.org and Audubon.

Friday in Bird World

24 June 2022

Stormy weather with hail and strong winds in the south of our province meant that I am home earlier than planned. How nice! I get to check on some of our favourite birds and that is always a wonderful thing (unless something awful is happening).

This was a super cell caught at noon posted by Manitoba Storm Chasers.

Remember that I said that Blue NC0 was a good fisher? I have watched her go out fishing for three years. She left this morning and came back quickly with a meal for her and the chicks – they are older now and there is less of a threat of predation.

Now why did Blue NC0 go fishing? Her mate, Laddie LM12, spent the morning keeping 5 different intruders away form the nest. There is that word that is becoming haunting – ‘intruders’.

This morning both Lindsay and Grinnell Jr returned to The Campanile. It is a rare event and one that is to be celebrated – all chicks being together at the same time. Cal Falcons posted a lovely video of that visit. Those babies are doing so well ——- rabbit_moon_rising and others have posted fantastic photographs of aerial prey drops between Alden and the kids. Check out the Cal Falcons FB and Twitter pages.

The adults at the ND-LEEF nest continue to do great in feeding Little Bit 17 and 15. I have seen no word on 16. Sadly, the nest is continuing to break away. Will it hold out until Little Bit can fledge safely – not a forced fledge but on his own? He is 80 days old today. We really need about another 7-8 days. Positive wishes, please!

More of the left side breaking and on the right where the rim was it is all ready to collapse at any moment. Will the weight take the rest of it tumbling? Oh, I hope people are close by to help!

Little Bit and 15 are such good mates. Eating the fish together.

The remains of a very large sucker.

Several hours later, and Little Bit 17 is up on a very safe branch! 17 has officially branched already but this is so good because of that nest moving away. If you look at the image above, it will not take much for the right side to fall away completely. I hope that Little Bit is imprinting his exit route if that nest collapses. After spending time on this branch, he jumps back to the nest. So if he hears the nest giving way surely he will jump up to the branch. Oh, surely.

Oh, Little Bit. Stay safe!!!!!!!!

I seem to have not mentioned the Kakapo lately. Every time I put on their cute t-shirt and go out in the garden, I think of them and how much is done to try and protect their numbers and the cost of it. Helping wildlife is a good thing to do, whenever and however you can.

Kakapo are parrots that do not fly – sort of. They live on only a couple of islands and wear transmitters that need changed each year. I believe there are now 194. Last year it was 208. Staff change their transmitters annually and do wellness checks year round. Those who need care are flown to Dunedin, near Taiaroa Head, for help.

They are cute! Here is a link that was posted to help raise awareness of these flightless birds and their funding needs.

https://www.google.com/search?gbv=2&hl=en&q=kakapo&sa=N&start=18&ndsp=18&tbm=isch

Gosh. I blinked. They were wee babies and I was worried about their feedings and now Big Bob at the Llyn Brenig Osprey nest is standing up on its feet!!!!!!! Not yet steady but wow. So happy. They lost one chick and the weather was not grand but wow. Nice.

Oh, the weather can turn so nasty so quickly. I don’t think I would ever visit Wales in June because of all the rain and cold blowing winds. (Oh, that also sounds like Manitoba!). Poor Mum!

The winds are up at the Dyfi nest of Idris and Telyn. Telyn is out on the perch with the chicks in the nest. I wonder if she will join them? That perch is really bouncing around.

Oh, my goodness. The wind is tearing through the Glaslyn Valley with great force. Mrs G is really hunkered down with the trio tonight. Just look at her determined face. Poor Mum. Those babies are too big to be brooded. Send positive thoughts to all these nests.

The weather is not that bad at the Rutland Water’s Manton Bay nest of Maya and Blue 33. The wind is up a little bit. You can see it from the windblown look of Maya’s nape of her neck.

It’s 22:12 at the Loch Arkaig nest of Louis and Dorcha and all is well. They are just that further north that the day camera is still on.

It looks like it was an alright day on the Mispillion Osprey Nest on Delaware Bay. The chicks are flapping their wings and getting those muscles strong. Hard to see if Mum has done any more decorating. I don’t think so today.

Oh, and what a beautiful sight – three little Bobs enjoying their fish at the Boathouse Osprey nest on Hog Island, Maine. It looks like Dory has figured out the feeding!

I just love this phase of Osprey development. Being good, eating well for Mum, no beaking. Adorable. Just look at Little Bob…precious.

Only Bob at the Patuxent River Park nest 1 has a charmed life. He doesn’t have to share any of the fish with anyone but Mum and Dad.

I have a love-hate relationship with Goshawks. They have been known to lure Osprey parents off the nest into the forest where they kill them. (They do the same to other birds as well, mainly Corvids). Then they return for the chicks. In fact, Llyn Clywedog was just bothered today by a Goshawk intruder.

The trio of little hawklets at the RSPB nest in Abernathy, Scotland are certainly growing and getting stronger on their legs.

Liberty and Freedom have growing eaglets up in Alaska. Lots of food brought to the nest – no one is hungry!

It has been a couple of days since the Summer Solstice but, I don’t know about you but I am having some ‘Spirit Withdrawal’. Sure miss seeing this beauty on the nest all the time. Cali Condor caught her visit!

If you are having Red-tail Hawk withdrawal – and it is easy to do – Ferris Akel posted the highlights of his tour the other evening when he got all of them on camera. Much appreciated, Ferris!

It was nice to catch up with our feathered friends. Thank you so much for joining me. Take care. Stay safe. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams and/or FB pages and videos: Ferris Akel Tours, Cal Falcons, ND-LEEF, Friends of Loch of the Lowes and Wildlife Trust, MB Storm Chasers, Llyn Brenig Ospreys, Dyfi Osprey Project, Bwywd Gwyllt Glaslyn, LRWT, Friends of Loch Arkaig, People’s Post Code Lottery, and the Woodland Trust, Mispillion Ospreys, Explore.org and Audubon, RSPB, Glacier Gardens, and Friends of Big Bear Valley.

Summer Solstice in Bird World!

21 June 2022

In the northern hemisphere, this is the day when the earth is tilted at its maximum to the sun – the longest sunny day. It has been pitching down rain and now….the sun is shining bright and the temperatures have dropped from the blistering 38 to a mere 20 C. The birds are active and the air conditioning is turned off. Nice. Today I will be sorting through all the things that were in Little Red’s penthouse looking for tomato cages. With the heat and the rain, the tomato plants are almost as tall as I am – seriously. But, let’s see what is happening with our birds, first.—–Oh, and now it is clouding over again and the torrential rain is back. Goodness. I sure hope our City imported a lot of Dragon flies this year to eat those mosquitoes.

The Canadian celebrities continue to be the little hawklet who is living with the Bald Eagles on Gabriola Island in British Columbia. Malala is very cute – and one lucky Red-tail hawklet. Of course, he thinks he is an Eagle! Doing well. Branched the other day. Can you imagine? This wildlife rehab group just put up the camera a few months prior to the eagles arriving and now they are the talk of Bird World? This is a good interview by CBC radio.

https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/as-it-happens-the-monday-edition-1.6495076/an-eagle-snatched-a-baby-hawk-for-dinner-then-ended-up-adopting-it-1.6495246?fbclid=IwAR2T_4Mhw4tgXNvli_SHd6xDPlr1aMWUOx1q-QsoBwDbH3Ef8p9nb7KN0rw

The fledglings at the UFlorida-Gainesville Osprey platform continue to return to the nest for food and sometimes just to have a quick rest. Gosh, these two are doing really well after a very rocky start on this nest. They are waiting for the tea time fish drop!

What gorgeous birds these two have turned out to be. They know where home is. I wonder if they have been trying to fish on their own yet?

I was able to get some more information about the history of the Mispillion Harbour Ospreys. The woman at the DuPont Centre is not certain that this is the same couple that were on the nest when the camera was installed. Lynn Pussey said, “We’ve generally had good success with our nest, with 2-3 successful fledgelings each year. The only exception to that was 2017 when we lost one chick early on to siblicide and the other two to illness. This year was odd because we had 4 eggs but only 2 hatch. But those two are healthy and growing. Other than that, we usually see all eggs hatch and all chicks successfully fledge.”

 

I wonder if these chicks will be prone to bringing bright coloured material to their nests in a few years?

Little Bit 17 at the ND-LEEF nest just proves that being small is not a hindrance when you are confident. Mum landed with something – I could not see it – and Little Bit mantled right away. One of the big siblings came and took a little piece but Little Bit held on and ate ‘it’! So impressed. 17 is so quick – just like the hawklet in the Bald Eagle nest at Gabriola Island.

Here is Little Bit 17 mantling and hanging on to its food. Take that 16!

Bukachek and Betty’s four White Storklets at Mlade Buky were ringed this morning.

Whatever was happening at the Loch of the Lowes dissipated yesterday when Laddie delivered 7 fish. He has already gotten a good start to this morning and Blue NC0 and the chicks are very happy. They should be ringing these two osplets soon.

The Welsh sunrise is really beautiful. There is always a soft pink glow over the Glaslyn Valley and the nest of Aran and Mrs G.

Aran has been letting out intruder calls in the afternoon around 15:50 but it didn’t stop him from getting Mrs G and the kids a nice fish.

101 votes have been cast guessing the gender of the three osplets at the Dyfi nest of Idris and Telyn. It is a record. GGB is still out ahead with 40 of those votes! We will find out next week when they are ringed. So happy for the interest in this great Osprey family in Wales.

As KG and I said on the chat – the guessing of the genders adds a bit of fun to ringing day — it does. We can all use a smile these days.

It was a beautiful morning at Loch Garten. Mrs AX6 is looking good. She is a great mum.

Later in the day you can see the unviable egg and the two little Osplets.

Just look at those three big females with their bling at the Manton Bay nest of Blue 33 and Maya. I would sure welcome some of that sunshine!!!!!!! It is interesting. At Manton Bay there was no aggression this year — three females. At Port Lincoln Osprey barge last year, no aggression — all males. It is often when you have a female chick with males where you see all the beaking. Females require more food because they have to grow 1/3 larger and they are often very aggressive. Think ND16 at the LD-LEEF Bald Eagle nest.

June 20 was Bald Eagle Day in the US. I forgot. For all who celebrated, belated Happy Eagle Day!

Mr President has brought in two fish already to DC9 Takoda this morning! This is the second delivery. Everything is going as it should. Takoda fledged and is returning to the nest to be fed while getting those flying muscles strong — and take off and landings improved.

As the sun comes up on the Channel Islands, Sky is home alone at the West End nest of Thunder and Akecheta.

It isn’t long until Sky is joined by his younger brother, Ahote. Everyone is waiting for Akecheta to bring in some fish for breakfast. And never fear, Kana’kini is somewhere around the island and will no doubt fly in hoping to get some fish, too.

Chase and Cholyn’s Lancer has been getting some good air and doing some high hovering in the past few days. She is sure a beautiful eagle!

I am really glad that Kaia was not successful in eliminating one of the three healthy chicks on the Karula Forest Black Stork nest. They are all doing well and Karl II just brought in a heaping load of fish for them. What is interesting is watching them now as they stimulate the feeding by doing a special wing flap and lowering and raising their heads. So cute! And they are so nice and fat. These are doing super well and food does not seem to be an issue!

Jan and Janika’s Black Storklets in the care of the Vet Clinic were ringed. They should be moved to the forest enclosure soon – they are thinking 24 June. Today they are 30 days old. How lovely – so grateful to those folks who made it possible for these three to survive.

This morning Lindsay returned to The Campanile and she is chasing a moth! Look at the influence of Alden – both Lindsay and Grinnell Jr love chasing moths. So cute. It is also nice to know that both are safe and doing well. They certainly are loud!!!!!!!!

It continues to pour – just like the monsoon rains in SE Asia. Incredible. I am going to turn the AC off and get a sweater. The thunder is rolling and the temperature has really dropped.

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

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams and/or FB pages where I took my screen captures and their videos: Cal Falcons, Liz M and the EMU, Eagle Club of Estonia, Mlade Buky Storks, Explore.org and the Institute for Wildlife Studies, NADC-AEF, LRWT, Friends of Loch Arkaig, People’s Post Code Lottery and the Woodland Trust, RSPB Loch Garten, Dyfi Osprey Project, Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Mispillion Harbour Osprey Cam and DDNR, Friends of Loch of the Lowes and the Scottish Wildlife Trust, UFlorida-Gainesville Ospreys, and the ND-LEEF.

Late Tuesday in Bird World

14 June 2022

I want to start this newsletter off with something wonderful! At the Redding California Bald Eagle nest, Sentry and Star are both on a high branch of the tree. Sentry has found his way home to Liberty, Guardian and Star who has yet to fledge. This is fabulous news!!!!!!!!

The weather in California is beautiful.

The bad weather returned to the Canadian Prairies and thus, also, to the MN-DNR nest of Nancy and E1. The tree is twisting around in the heavy winds at the moment and rain is pouring down.

There are floods in Montana and, we should check on Iris and her nest at Missoula. Iris did not spend the night on the perch or the nest that I could see. There is a wee bird that has made its home and nest under Iris’s big one. Can you see it?

The waters in the Clark Fork River are said to be rising. There are floods in various parts of Montana which means that it is difficult for the Osprey to catch fish. No wonder Iris did not want to share her fabulous catch yesterday with an intruder. Iris is simply amazing. There she is holding that precious fish and fighting off the intruder at the same time! Bless her heart.

The weather is quite bad at the Charlo Montana platform. (For Ospreys but occupied in March by geese…and not aware of current occupants, if any).

There are birds singing at Dunrovin!

Harriet continues to sit on her eggs even though they are well past the day to hatch. Swoop is supporting her. We wonder as do the folks at Dunrovin when they will quit hoping for their miracle.

Why do eggs not hatch? Dunrovin in their newsletter listed the following causes: cold weather, high humidity, lack of food, lack of egg fertilization. They noted that like many places it has been a very cold and wet spring in Montana.

The camera is still down at the ND-LEEF nest. It is 96 degrees at the nest – perhaps more higher up. Thoughts go to Little Bit 17 who desperately needs food (as do the other two but less so than 17).

The tea time feeding at the Loch of the Lowes left Middle and Big with gigantic crops. There was clearly enough fish for three. But we need fish for four – Mum has to eat, too.

Before Little Bob at the Loch of the Lowes was fish begging to Blue NC0 before she tucked them all in for the night. He first looked to see if Big Bob was in a food coma. He was. Little Bob is smart.

It would have been the perfect time for a fish to arrive. Little Bit would have had his fill along with Blue NC0! Sadly it was not to be.

Blue NC0 stood waiting and waiting for a delivery. Finally, everyone is in bed.

They are a beautiful couple – CJ7 and Blue 022 at the Poole Harbour Osprey Platform. Blue 022 brought in a nice big fish for CJ7 and the three Bobs at 21:08. These are first time parents making history in Poole Harbour. There have been no ospreys hatched in Poole Harbour for 200 years.

Know what? They are doing a fantastic job!!!!!!!!!

All is well at the nest of Idris and Telyn in Wales near the River Dyfi. Bobs are well fed and sound asleep. Another great Osprey couple. This is good news…we need all the good news we can muster. Good night Telyn. Good night Bobs. Good night wherever you are, Idris.

Gracious. Look at the crop on Mrs G!

Louis delivered a real whopper to Dorcha and the two surviving chicks at Loch Arkaig. What a monster. Everyone is going to eat well – a good time for it to come on the nest. Hopefully the weather will start giving this nest a break.

Middle Bob looks sassy!

The sheep are bleating. Aran is on his perch and the kids are asleep. It looks like Mrs G is going to go into food coma, too!

Notice the grass growing in the nest. In Finland they have noticed that grass growing in the Osprey nests actually helps hide the chicks from predators. Quite interesting.

At Rutland, the three osplets are fast asleep and Maya is going to take some time to enjoy some fish before lights out, too. Looking forward seeing these three ringed any day now.

The Bobs are still quite small compared to those at the Loch of the Lowes but everything at RSPB Loch Garten with Mr and Mrs AX6 and chicks seems fine.

It is 21:30 at the Llyn Clywedog nest in Wales – the nest of Dylan and Seren and the three Bobs. Seren is giving Dylan grief and telling him to go and get some more fish. Meanwhile the Bobs have eaten very well today. It takes a lot more fish to feed these fast growing large Bobs – and Mum.

Did you know that there are less than 1500 ospreys in the whole of the UK? That includes juveniles, too. There are a little less than 100,000 in the US. I hope to find out the distribution in the US. There are many in the US and the Cape area in the NE area of the US.

At the Manchester NH Peregrine falcon scrape, Clem was returned this morning. It looked like she wasn’t going anywhere for some time and then – she fludged again.

Colum, one of the males, is at the nest now. Little Colby fludged too but photos of him doing well have been posted on the groups FB page.

Lindsay and Grinnell Jr were ‘loafing’ earlier this morning and now I can only find one of them playing hide and seek. Fledge watch is on.

Alden is doing some ‘loafing’ too. Once those two chicks fledge he is going to be even more busy! So glad he signed up for all of this. You are fantastic, Alden.

Gosh. Do you remember when Alden had no idea how to feed a chick? maybe he had never seen one! – most likely.

Both fledgling ospreys from the UFlorida-Gainesville nest were having a fish dinner at 18:00! Lovely. These two have figured it out perfectly. Fly and get your wings strong. Learn about landings and take offs. Fly to the nest and be fed by Mum and Dad. When you are ready, 60 million years of knowledge will have you catching fish without realizing it….if there are fish to be caught.

They are gorgeous!

Oh, those three Black storklets of Jan and Janika are doing fabulous in rehab care at the Vet Clinic. The plastic decoy mother fell into the nest and the chicks were delighted!

Notice also that a couple of times they work to stand on their feet not walk on the ankles. It will not be long til they are standing and walking. Lovely crops. So healthy!

Today has had some really good news. We will continue to watch the Loch of the Lowes nest as well as wait for word of the ND-LEEF nest and Little Bit 17. Did I saw it was 96 degrees on the ground at the nest – hotter above! I hope 17 got some food.

Thank you so much for being with me. Lots of fledge watches – Star at Redding, Star at West End, the Cal Falcons, L4 at Cornell, National Arboretum, etc. The list is long! Take care everyone. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I grabbed my screen captures, for their FB postings and for the videos uploaded: Liz M and EMU, Peregrine Networks, Cal Falcons, Friends of Redding Eagles, UFlorida-Gainesville Ospreys, Friends of Redding Eagles, MN-DNR, Montana Osprey Project, Owl Research Project Explore.org, Dunrovin, Friends of Loch of the Lowes and Scottish Wildlife Trust, Poole Harbour Ospreys, Dyfi Ospreys, Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn, LRWT, RSPB Loch Garten, Scottish Woodland Trust, Friends of Loch Arkaig and People’s Post Code Lottery, and CarnyXWild.

Late Saturday and early Sunday in Bird World

28-29 May 2022

Saturday was an incredible day for a long walk at the nature centre. Thankfully individuals have donated benches in their loved one’s names and they are scattered about the trails. Much of Ft Whyte has been covered with water and there are areas that are more wetlands than anything else. Those are the interesting places. The Red-winged Blackbirds and the Yellow-rumped Warblers seemed to love eating the seeds? of the bull rushes. It was a fascinating day. Way across the lake were two adult Double-breasted Cormorants and nine juveniles. The Cormorants make their nests on islands or in the tops of trees or platforms. Normally there are 5-7 eggs that are incubated for 25-59 days. This couple seems to have hatched 9!

They were at a great distance and the sky was getting very dark. Not touched up but a lovely scene.

The usuals were around – beautiful Yellow Warblers, American Goldfinches, the Yellow-rumped Warblers, and a Downy and a Hairy Woodpecker.

What a striking difference between the male Red-winged Blackbird and their female mates, below. She is having a wonderful time gleaning for insects and seeds on the ground.

This female American Redstart flitted around the Cattail branches. She was very difficult to photograph! She was hovering around the pools of water foraging for insects.

The Canada Geese are still incubating. No one seems to know when the eggs are due to hatch at Ft Whyte! (or not anyone that I could find).

You often see evidence of the woodpeckers presence but, most times, you do not actually see them. So to see both a Hairy and a Downy over by the songbird feeding station was quite a treat.

A female Hairy Woodpecker.

The female Downy Woodpecker.

In fact, today was a fun day because so many of the female birds were out feeding. What a joy!

I had hoped to head out today, Sunday, but right now it is raining. The birds in the garden are not happy! Hopefully the sun will come out later for them and they can dry off and I can go for my walk.

Sadly, Saturday was not a good day on the ND-LEEF nest. The lack of prey coming to this nest is becoming highly problematic. The two older siblings have figured out how to self-feed. Little Middle 17 had an advantage when they didn’t know how to do this! There was someone on chat that made a comment that Little Bit 17 had some food from Dad last evening – a heron?? I did not see it. Perhaps some of you did. My notes indicate 48 hours without substantial food. Let us hope that the fish get on the nest tomorrow and are plentiful. In fact, one of the older siblings – I do think it is the Middle one 16 – attacked Little Bit today and Mum flew down from the branch and intervened. We need fish on this nest quickly. Send all positive thoughts to Little Bit 17.

Two fish have so far come to the ND-LEEF nest on Sunday morning. The second one right before 10:58 when Mum flies down and feeds 17. Originally the fish was left on the nest but no takers and Little Bit seemed reluctant to eat it. He is staying back in the part beyond the camera. After a few minutes Mum comes down and takes the fish. Little Bit eats. Then in a few minutes 16 steals the fish. How much did Little Bit get? It isn’t clear but when 16 stole the fish, there was only about half of it left. I know Little Bit can eat fast – he has had to. Let us hope he got enough and that another fish comes and then another. We need to get out of this bad loop on this nest. 16 continues to attack Little Bit. 16 is one nasty bird.

If you are at all sensitive, I would not watch this nest for a few days. Let it sort itself out. I am very concerned about the level of hunger and the attacks by 16 on Little Bit.

The eyases on the Red-tail Hawk nest of Big Red and Arthur are changing by the day. Those juvenile feathers continue to grow and grow. Watch their tails. It is best if they have 5 or more dark tail bands for fledging.

That is little L4 showing off his beautiful wings. Big sister is in front. It is awhile til fledge from the look of the tails!

At the UFlorida-Gainesville Osprey nest, Middle was busy eating a really nice fish. And guess what? He did not share!

This nest is so civilized now. If you just tuned in you could never imagine that the third hatch died from siblicide or that the Middle chick had been beaked and stopped from eating. It is a lovely nest to watch.

Middle was making some headway 9 minutes later. It is hard for the osplets to figure out how to hold the fish down and unzip it at the same time. They need to watch Mum carefully when she digs her beak into the skin and pulls hard!

Both of the osplets have been eating on the UFlorida-Gainesville nest Sunday morning. Each has had a turn at a fish and there are fish on the nest if you look closely – well, pieces of them. These two are healthy and doing so well.

As the sun went down on a beautiful Saturday at the Loch of the Lowes, Blue NC0 was feeding the three nestlings. I am cautiously hopeful for this third hatch. It is a nice strong little one.

It was so windy earlier in the day that Blue NC0 was literally blown off the nest.

It is Sunday morning and Blue NC0 and the trio of Bobs are waiting for Laddie to deliver a fish!

Laddie came through – of course, he did! They have all eaten well and Little Bob felt like he wanted to start a fight. He is a little toughie. LOL. You can see the plumage changing on Big Bob.

Telyn had gone for a break at 0503 and Idris flew in with the breakfast fish two minutes later. He thought he was going to get to feed the Three Bobs but, no. Telyn had a different idea. Gosh, they are so cute…I wish they would stay this soft grey downy chick for awhile longer before becoming a Reptile-Dinosaur showing their DNA chick.

It is quite amazing how quickly they get stronger. Adorable. Nice dark bands around those eyes.

The Dyfi Osprey Project created a video log of the hatching.

Aran and Mrs G now have two Bobs at the Glaslyn Valley Osprey nest. One more egg to go!

These two look like they will be a hand full.

CJ7 and Blue 022 have already made history by laying the first osprey eggs in a nest at Poole Harbour in more than 200 years. The eggs were laid on 23, 26, and 29th of April. That means that the first egg is 36 days old now. I am thinking pip watch in a couple of days?? This morning CJ7 ate her fish off the nest so no hatch yet! Gosh this is going to be a difficult nest to see those historical hatches!

Oh, those three Bobs on the Manton Bay nest of Blue 22 and Maya are getting huge. It seems it was only yesterday that we were worrying that the flapping Perch had killed one or both of the nestlings. It was 13 days ago!

This is such a good nest. A fish is right there when Maya gets the chicks up in the morning. It must surely help to have a stocked lake that is free from leisure vehicles and people.

You can almost hear Maya saying, “Oh, please, just have one more bite.”

Maya looks like she is in shock as Blue 33 arrives with a fish.

And what a fish that was!!!!!!!!!! Oh, gosh, is it going to land on the chicks?

All lined up like the Osprey lads at Port Lincoln last season. No need to fight over food on this nest – everyone is fed regularly til they are full. Would love to send this fish to Little Bit 17.

Blue 33 also brought in some nesting materials this morning and dropped them over the chicks. The look on Maya’s face was priceless!

After Blue flies off, Maya turns and looks at the camera. My goodness she is a beauty.

I haven’t mentioned them for awhile – shame on me. There are three osplets in the Osprey platform at Cape Henlopen State Park in Lewes, Delaware. They are doing fine and from their heads you can see they are now moving into the Reptilian phase.

Bukachek and Betty have five White Storks this morning in their nest in Mlade Buky, The Czech Republic. Everyone is so excited. There is one more egg to hatch.

Here is an adorable video of the six storklets at the nest of Jan and Janika!

There are wee ones on the nest of Karl II and Kaia, too. With all the nesting material it is hard to see how many.

It is rainy and blowing at the MN-DNR nest. Nancy has gotten food on the nest and E1, Harriet, continues to do very well. Hopefully Nancy will have a new mate next year. So many of us still miss Harry. What a real shame to lose him – he was only 5 years old. Just starting his life really as an adult. And what a wonderful mate he was while he was with Nancy!

There are way too many nests! And too many things happening. There is Annie looking up at us at 05:53 this morning in San Francisco. She is asking you to pick ‘nice’ names for the two chicks that her and Alden have raised. Suggestions stop and then there will be a vote…it seems that there will not need to be a run off for the name of the male. Grinnell is running away with the numbers! How could it not be Grinnell, seriously?

To suggest a name go to https://calfalcons.berkeley.edu and click on the Facebook tag. Scroll down a few entries and put in your desire names. Suggestions end on the 30th with voting starting immediately for the finalists once they are listed. They are giving us a short time so do not delay choosing your favourites of the short listed. I will try and remind everyone, too.

Take care everyone. Have an absolutely fabulous Sunday. Thank you for joining me today. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Cal Falcons, MN-DNR, Eagle Club of Estonia, Mlade Buky White Storks, Osprey Webcam for Cape Henlopen State Park, LRWT, Poole Harbour Ospreys, Brwyd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Dyfi Osprey Project, Friends of Loch of the Lowes and the Scottish Wildlife Trust, UFlorida-Gainesville Ospreys, Cornell Bird Lab RTH cam, and ND-LEEF.