31 January 2024
Good Morning Everyone,
It is summer – just joking – but Tuesday was an amazing day to stand outside and sniff the fresh air. The snow is melting in areas where the sun shines, and the streets are full of puddles. Sadly, some people are not aware that if they drive like Ayrton Senna, they will splash everyone in sight! One of our local nature centres is having a contest to guess the arrival of the first Canada Goose, and we are getting ready for one of the major festivals in our city, Festival du Voyageur. I wonder if there will be any snow or if it will be too warm for the international ice sculpture contest? I love the Maple Candy – pouring hot Maple Syrup over clean snow. It is delicious and stiffens up like the best taffy.
I had tea with my best mate today and outside her window was a doe and fawn. Got the doe right before she was going to crunch a munch one of the plants. There are 8 deer that live in the park. In the spring, my friend has a pond and there is at least one pair of ducks that make it their home. It is lovely to visit and get to see them.
I am glad that this deer is not being hunted. For several years we have been taking about the disastrous effects of lead poisoning in our raptors. Hunting, fishing, military weapons all contribute to the high death rates. Hunters kill the deer and clean out their innards, leaving those in the field full of lead shot. The raptors or carrion eaters feast on this and they can die.
The wildlife rehab that took care of our little sweetie ND17, Humane Indiana Wildlife, has a sad story for us – with lots of information. Please spread the word to anyone you know that hunts and fishes that they should not be using lead in any form. Educate them nicely as to why. Be your best persuasive self.
Oh, gosh, golly. We have the first egg of the 2024 season in the Channel Islands. Thunder laid it today and that precious egg was seen at 1539. Congratulations!
And a big shout out to Dr Peter Sharpe, who retired, took the transportation – the car, the boat, climbed up the cliffs – and installed a fanatic camera!
I wonder how long it will be until Thunder’s parents, Chase and Cholyn, lay their first egg at Two Harbours.
At Sauces, Jak and Audacity are hopeful and working away. They should be an inspiration to all of us to never give up!
There is chirping at Eagle Country for Abby and Blazer. We will have a hatch soon! You can clearly hear that gentle cheeping…how exciting. This one may have hatched by Wednesday morning.
There is not a lot of bird news. A huge male eagle, quite a handsome fellow, landed on Gabby and Beau’s tree today. Thanks ‘J’ for the image captures.
Gabby just kept on incubating that egg. Today is day 39.
E23 is working on standing steady, using its wings for balance. There were several hiccups on Tuesday, but the little one is determined. E23 is also working its wings and looking over the rails to what lies beyond the nest and the Pritchett property. A huge fish came into the nest, but E23 was not hungry, having a large crop that had lasted most of the day.
Cal and Lusa had big crops, too! It isn’t easy to see them in the shade of the nest tree now. Those gorgeous and shiny espresso juvenile feathers blend in well with the dark shade. But check out those feet – look at that deep, bright chrome yellow. Clive and Connie’s eaglets are extremely healthy. This is the colour you want to see on the feet of all your raptors. Look and remember.
My goodness. After the ‘fish drought’ at the WRDC nest, you would think fish were falling from the sky. The nest had no less than two large whole fish today along with a bird. R6 appears to be doing just fine. Hopefully he got rid of any human garbage (aka the nappy) when he cast that very large pellet.
The WRDC issued the following statement on Tuesday, the 30th. A very thorough and reassuring post on the happenings at the nest.
You can now see both eaglets at the John Bunker Sands Wetlands nest. The first hatch is doing quite well and is much larger than the second one. I sat and yelled at Mum to feed it mid-afternoon after it woke up and wanted food. She kept feeding the big one and herself. If you are watching this nest really close, please let me know how the wee one is faring. BTW. The sound at this nest is first-rate. You can hear the little squees quite clearly. They are so cute.
If you haven’t marked your calendars, pip watch for Jackie and Shadow begins on the 29th of February. That is 35 days. In the past, Jackie’s eggs have hatched between 38-39 days. Hold your breath. Let’s all send the most positive wishes we can to our Big Bear couple.
I missed posting the news so thanks, Geemeff. Bluff City had its first egg on the 28th.
If you are looking for Owlvira, it appears that she has made her nest this year in a nearby hawk nest and not the nest she used in 2022-23.
If you are having ‘Owl Withdrawal’, I suggest you keep an eye on Bonnie and Clyde at Farmer Derek’s nest. These two kicked out a young pair of Bald Eagles several years ago to raise their first two owlets – Tiger and Lily. Today, they have been heard hooting and mating and Clyde brought Bonnie a food gift at 18:28 on the nest.
Clyde is in the nest cup. Look at that great camouflage!
In Latvia, the White-tail Eagles are returning. What a joyous occasion. The YouTube video for the 30th of January is from the Kemeri National Park. It is the third largest park in the country with numerous water features and lakes. 57% of the area is covered by forests – these are two perfect considerations for the White-tail Eagles when looking for food or nesting sites.
Did you know that there are five different types of eagles that live in Latvia? They are the Golden Eagle which is the most common. Then there. is the Short-toed that breed in Latvia. Sadly, many are shot when migrating to Africa over Malta. The Lesser-Spotted, and the Greater Spotted along with the White-tailed. The White-tailed Eagles are the largest and are easily identified by their entirely white tail. They eat fish and water fowl – the latter of which – caused the HPAI outbreak in 2022. Some charts also identify the Osprey as an eagle in Latvia so you will see titles like ‘Six types of eagles live in Latvia’. I do not include Ospreys with eagles but some do!
My favourite Latvia White-tailed Eagle is Milda. I watched her nest when she was with her late mate, Ramis. She is now bonded with Voldis and they fledged two eaglets in 2023. Milda arrived at her nest in Durbe County on the 30th of January, too!
Sally is beginning to look a little ‘eggy’ at Moorings Park but, as of 1900 Tuesday the 30th there was no egg. Sally and Harry spent time at the nest on Tuesday.
The Royal Cam chick is really growing! We can clearly see it during feedings.
Checking on Annie at The Campanile. She was calling from the scrape. You could see her on the ledge cam and then from inside the scrape. I am waiting to see if this new mate shows up. No. Annie left the scrape at 1701.
More Hen Harriers were illegally killed in 2023 than at any other time. Outrageous.
Thank you so much for being with us today. Please take care! We hope to see you soon.
Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog today: ’Geemeff, J’, Humane Indiana Wildlife, IWS/Explore, Eagle Country, NEFL-AEF, SW Florida Eagle Cam, Window to Wildlife, WRDC, John Bunker Sands Wetlands Eagle Cam, FOBBV, ETSU Eagles, Owl Cam, Farmer Derek, Cal Falcons, LDF, Trine, Moorings Park, Lady Hawk, Cal Falcons, and Raptor Persecution UK.