Tag Archives: Sydney Sea Eagles

A new supporter for the Albatross? has Mrs G left for migration…early Friday in Bird World

9 September 2022

Thursday was truly a bit of an uneventful day mostly spent waiting on a parcel delivery that came much, much later than anticipated! It was a good time to just watch the garden to see what was happening. For Dyson fans, she is back to her normal self since having the babies. She was flying off branches today, landing on the deck, grabbing peanuts and running so fast I could not catch her on camera! Two of the Crows alerted me to the presence of the cat under the bird feeders. My goodness, they are quite remarkable and were given ‘extra treats’ – cheesy sausages – for their good work in protecting the rabbit and the songbirds. It has also been quite in Bird World, pretty much. These images have been shot quickly through a screen!

The Crows on the line cawing very loudly and looking at the cat below the feeders.
The culprit – a well fed pet!

In the Mailbox:

A couple of days ago, ‘B’ asked which gender migrated earlier – males or females? I have spent time asking Osprey experts and have uncovered some preliminary data using the Dyfi charts. It seems that gender is always discussed with regard to fledging but is only a footnote when it comes to migration. With a very small sample, males are 75% more likely to migrate first than females 90 days and under.

The chart below is of the Dyfi chicks. So those who fledged at 90 days, 75% more males than females. As you can see the older the chicks get, there are more females that take longer in the nest to migrate after fledging. I cannot assume that this is the same for other nests but, for now, this is the clearest data chart I have found for us to interpret. I will be looking for others in the days to come.

‘L’ wrote to me about the new climate bill in the US. The Audubon Society had posted an article on the 12 ways that it will help birds – and other wildlife. Thanks for sending me that article, ‘L’. I am certain others will find it of interest, too.

https://www.audubon.org/news/12-ways-inflation-reduction-act-will-benefit-birds-and-people?ms=policy-adv-email-ea-x-engagement_20220908_advisory&utm_source=ea&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=engagement_20220908_advisory

Making News:

The Osprey lost at sea that hitched a ride on a boat is making news in Scotland.

https://www.scottishdailyexpress.co.uk/news/uk-news/boaty-mcboatface-rescue-osprey-lost-27938175

Mississippi Power is putting up some Osprey Poles. How wonderful! Maybe they will place some more nests and other utility companies will follow suit. Sitting on the Canadian Prairies it is easy to imagine the number of Ospreys that might choose to winter along the Gulf or in the Gulf States.

The Royal Albatross and the campaign to change the long line fish trawling practices may have a new champion in King Charles III.

Nest News:

Based on their size and weight, the wildlife rehabber believes that Big Red and Arthur’s L3 and L4 are both female! Nice. That explains a lot about L4’s behaviour in the nest — not afraid of anything, just barreling over the others to get to the beak. Is it possible they were all females?

L4

At the Osprey nest of Aran and Mrs G in the Glaslyn Valley in Wales, all three of this years fledglings have joined the 100 Club. This means that they have been on the nest for over 100 days and counting before migrating. Today they are 106, 105, and 102 days old! Aran might be wondering if everyone has decided to over winter.

This was early Thursday morning. Mrs G is in the second photo. It was the last seen of her. The time was 08:58. If she isn’t hiding down in the Oaks or trying to fool us, Mrs G has now left for her migration. She took a piece of fish off one of the fledglings just to top up her tank! If you have left Mrs G, safe travels, lots of fish, and return again next spring – you remain the oldest osprey in the UK and what a lovely group of offspring this year!

Idris continues to deliver fish to Padarn. It looks like some are very happy to stay in Wales!

Padarn this morning. She is still in Wales!

Louis still has Sarafina fish calling!

The Melbourne scrape seems to be getting a lot of attention lately. First up, the building number is 367 Collins Street. There are now 36.7 members of the FB group. That is an incredible number of supporters. Here is the announcement:

There has been much concern over the incubation time and whether or not there was another male falcon present at the building. Victor Hurley, the chief researcher of the nest for the Victorian Peregrine Falcon Research group posted this today on FB:

The images that I have taken today appear to me to be the same male that has been at this nest since I began watching some years ago. Dad is relieving Mum so she can have a break this morning.

Later the couple were having a conversation.

In Orange, there is heavy rain falling. Diamond watches it from inside the scrape. Xavier has been in and out helping with incubation duties. I hope he is somewhere trying to stay dry.

At the Sea Eagles nest, it was chilly and the two eaglets wanted nothing more than to be able to shrink so all of them would fit under Mum.

Dad brought a little fish in for their breakfast so that Lady could feed the two.

Both SE29 and SE30 are really getting much more steady on their feet and they are spending more time walking on top of this twig nest. That surely cannot be easy!

At the Port Lincoln Osprey barge, Mum has been hungry. Dad has been known to bring in a fish, eat a large portion of it before bringing her a piece. Today he brought her a really nice sized larger fish for her tea. How wonderful. Thank you, Dad! Mum was really excited for that lovely dinner.

Looks like Alden’s funny quirks have rubbed off on Annie who was caught ‘loafing’ on the ledge of The Campanile on Thursday.

Oh, how I love Samson. He was at the NE Florida Bald Eagle nest today waiting for his mate, Gabby, to arrive from her migration. Like Richmond, the SF Bay Osprey, Samson stays in the area of the nest and does not migrate. Both Rosie (Richmond’s mate) and Gabby, do. Gabby is usually home by the 12th of September.

Migration News:

There is information from Bonus, Jan and Janika’s Black Storklet that was fostered by Kaia and Karl II. Bonus remains in Belarus near the Pripyat River where he has been feeding for some time.

Kaia remains in the general vicinity she has been in Ukraine.

Karl II is still believed to be in the area of Kherzov. We now know that the telecommunications in the area is down. Storks should, unless shelled by accident, wish to stay away form the people and there are the many nature reserves in this area where Karl II stayed for long periods in previous years. I am trying to remain positive for him!

Waba has had trouble with the tracker so there is no conclusive report.

From the archive:

Do you know which nest this was? The year is 2020. The older sibling supported the younger. The Magpie helped ‘this eaglet’ when the Pied Curra were attacking? The third image is the last one at the nest.

Thank you so much for being with me on this very quiet Friday in Bird World. Take care everyone. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their posts, videos, tweets, and streaming cams that make up my screen captures: Dfyi Ospreys, Cornell Bird Lab, The Scottish Daily Express, Mississippi Power, Royal Cam Albatross Group NZ, Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Friends of Loch Arkaig and the Woodland Trust, 367 Collins Street by Mirvac, Charles Sturt falcon Cam, Sea Eagles@Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre Sydney Olympic Park, Port Lincoln Ospreys, Cal Falcons, NEFL-AEF, and Looduskalender.

From the Archive Answer: That is SE25 supporting SE26 after its little leg was broken. Lady is feeding both of them. SE26 struggled in the forest after fledging. After 6 days returned to the nest massively hungry and exhausted. Lady and Dad fed SE26. When 26 had recuperated, she flew to the camera branch where she was attacked by the Pied Currawong. A Magpie came to help 26. That is the last picture we have of SE26 in the forest. She flew out, chased by Curra, during the time of a storm and landed on the balcony of a 22nd floor condo some 1.5 km away in Horn Bush. SE26 was taken into care and euthanized, sadly. It was believed the damage to her leg would cause extensive pain and could not be repaired properly. It was a very, very sad day. SE26 was inspirational to all you watched her struggles to ‘be an eagle’…she flew. That is one consolation. What we learned was that the Pied Currawong are unrelenting in chasing the Sea Eagles out of the forest. This has caused extensive difficulties which have been noted in recent years with SE27 going in and out of care and requiring training to fly and hunt prey.

QT will get a name, photos of Victor and more in Bird World

7 September 2022

Good Morning Everyone. The first part of the week has flown by. I hope that you had a lovely long weekend (if you had a holiday) and that Tuesday was good.

The Crows continue to alarm every time “THE cat” comes into the garden and, in particular, when the rabbit is visiting and eating under he bird feeder. Today it happened twice. That bunny doesn’t know he has three guardian angels! How lucky.

Meanwhile Junior, the male Blue Jay, is moulting. Poor thing. He has lost his beautiful crest and he looks so out of proportion. He has finished up all of the peanuts and has decided to try some of the seed spilled when filling the feeders.

At sunset, hundreds if not a thousand gulls flew low to the ground looking for their evening resting area. The sky was simply full of them in every direction moving and looking like a swarm of mosquitoes. Several ‘V’s of Canada Geese could also be seen. The expectation is that the majority of duck and geese migration will take place starting the third week in September. If so, I hope to get some great images for you.

In the Mailbox:

‘G’ wonders how on earth an osplet could get salmonella poison and die? The necroscopy tests have revealed that the Loch Garten chick died of salmonella poisoning. The chick was lethargic several days before dying on the nest. A number of studies and several reports and articles such as “Incidence of Salmonella in fish and seafood” published in 2000 states, “Field laboratories of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration collected and tested 11,312 import and 768 domestic seafood samples over a 9-year period (1990 to 1998) for the presence of Salmonella. The overall incidence of Salmonella was 7.2% for import and 1.3% for domestic seafood. Nearly 10% of import and 2.8% of domestic raw seafood were positive for Salmonella”.

The study was, of course, related to the risk of food poisoning in humans but this would be the same way that osplets would get salmonella is by eating raw seafood that contains the bacteria.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10826714/#:~:text=Nearly%2010%25%20of%20import%20and,and%20one%20shark%20cartilage%20powder.

Making News:

The NZ DOC has done an 180 degree turn and has decided to hold a naming competition for the Royal Cam Quarry Track chick. QT, instead of leaving her with her code name. Here is the announcement:

Some additional images of Victor in the large flight area have been posted by the Ojai Raptor Centre. Oh. Victor is doing so well. I wonder if he is still rejecting the Trout and only wanting to eat Whiting??

Victor is getting stronger every day! Oh, how lucky this beautiful juvenile is to have such good care.

If you are intending to donate and/or purchase some items from the Ojai Raptor Centre’s shop, remember to include that it is for Victor! I might have mentioned that they have included a shopping option for Canada in addition to the US. If you live elsewhere, send them a note and they will set up the shipping. I received the two t-shirts and the tote bag today. They are super!

There is a wildfire in the Big Bear Valley. It is being called the Radford Fire. Many were concerned that it might bring harm to Jackie and Shadow and their nest but they are safe. The fire is on the SE part of the lake. We all love Jackie and Shadow and many of you might have heard about the fire and were worried. Here is that confirmation:

University of Louisiana grounds keepers saw the hawk tangled in fishing line and acted quickly in order to save its life. Remember and spread the word – be responsible. Clean up monofilament line both yours and that of others if you see it. Make the shores, lakes, and rivers safe for the birds and fish.

Nicola Sturgeon, the First Minister for Scotland has announced a draft bill on grouse moor licensing to be introduced in this year’s parliamentary legislation. Many like Mark Avery and Chris Packham have lobbied to end the senseless killing of the raptors on the driven grouse moors. This is a huge step forward and is coming none too soon.

Scottish Government announces draft bill on grouse moor licensing to be introduced this parliamentary year

The Guardian carried an article, “Dark matter and lithium water: 15 big issues poised to affect oceans and coastlines” today. You will already be aware of some of the concerning actions and issues including the dumping of toxic chemicals into the oceans. The example came from Senegal but it could easily have come from large westernized countries! My biggest disappointment was the glossing over – no, not just glossing over – not even acknowledging what will ultimately happen to the sea birds that depend on the oceans for food.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/sep/06/water-issues-oceans-coastlines-marine-coastal-biodiversity

Nest News:

Mrs G and the three fledglings remain at the Glaslyn nest with the male, Aran. They are the only ‘full family nest’ still resident in the UK.

All three siblings lined up waiting for Aran and fish.

Mrs G is hiding!

News coming out of the Dyfi nest other than Idris continuing to feed Padarn is that Pedran, the first fledgling, did not fly straight south from the nest to begin migration but, rather hung around the UK and has been spotted! So remember this – the birds do not always fly directly south but can spend time flying and perfecting their fishing while getting strong! (Note- all three were deemed to be female. Disregard the use of the words he/him below).

Bella has arrived at the NCTC Bald Eagle nest waiting for her mate, Smitty.

An unknown female Peregrine Falcon interrupted Alden’s ‘loafing time’. Let us hope that this is not the female intruder that Grinnell had chased away from The Campanile scrape.

After an encounter with a female intruder at The Campanile, Annie and Alden renew their bond in the scrape.

All is well at the Australian nests. The only one with chicks is, of course, the Sydney Sea Eagles and SE29 and 30 are growing and changing and, like clockwork on the development chart, getting all of their juvenile feathers. It may be difficult to tell them apart soon!

It is incubation duties at the other three nests – the two Peregrine Falcon scrapes at Orange and Melbourne and the Port Lincoln Osprey barge.

Sunny in Melbourne.

Beautiful Diamond.

The sunshine gave way to rain later in the day at Port Lincoln.

Dad eating his portion of fish before taking it to Mum. Thanks, Dad. We don’t want any more flapping fish on those precious eggs!!!!!!

Migration News:

No tracking news for Karl II or Kaia. Karl II is in the most dangerous area of Ukraine at the moment. Their transmitters could be jammed. The only news is of Waba and he is doing fine and has found a small area to fish. We wait.

Memory Lane:

Do you remember these two cutie pies? Who are they? what is their natal nest? and what are the names of their parents?

Thank you so much for joining me today. I will be pulling out photos from the archives for the next week or so to see if we can tell who is who! Take care everyone. See you soon!

Answer to Memory Lane: This is E17 and E18 from the SWFlorida Bald Eagle nest. They were removed to CROW for conjunctivitis and safely returned to Harriet and M15 after a successful treatment. Known for their early sparring the twins became best buddies.

Thank you to the following for their posts, their streaming cams and videos that make up my screen captures: Cornell Bird Lab and the NZ DOC,, Ojai Raptor Centre, Friends of Big Bear Valley, Bald Eagles 101, Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Dyfi Ospreys, NCTC, Cal Falcons, Sea Eagles@Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre Sydney Olympic Park, 367 Collins Street by Mirvac, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, Port Lincoln Ospreys, and SWFlorida Bald Eagles and CROW.

Flapping fish, pip dates and…more in Bird World for Tuesday

6 September 2022

The families are back at work and the children will be in school. There will be no more loud yelps when a grasshopper has been found and checked off the list of treasures in the ‘Nature Scavenger Hunt’ at the nature centre or toddlers trying to pull the tails of the ducks. It will be quiet.

it was 26 degrees C on a sunny Sunday afternoon as I set about trying to find that dear wee duckling at Ft Whyte. Originally there were two. I did not see the second one today either when I went around the final bend but I did find the tiny one sleeping in the sunshine. Now that the water level is falling all manner of little islands are appearing in the ponds. They are nice places for ducks to sun themselves in the middle of the day.

The wee darling even had its eyes closed. You can see the downy fluff on its back. I am so worried that the feathers are not developing correctly – a little bit like Yurruga last year at the Orange scrape of Diamond and Xavier. Will they fill in, I wonder.

Have you had experience with ducklings? Can you offer advice. The little one has grown since I was there a couple of days ago.

Sibley tells us that the wing feathers of the Mallard require 60 days to fully grow so that the duck can adequately fly. This little one is about 3 weeks old or 21 days – the closest I can guess from my visits and seeing it – at the nature centre. We need 40 more days. This duckling will make it. That would be the 15th of October! Help me cheer it on.

This beauty looks so gorgeous in the sun between the springs of plants. I love how the tail feathers are fanned out and look like lace with a beautiful satin blue ribbon trimmed with black and white. Mallards are lovely. The more I see them, the more special they become.

All of the ducks seem to have been eating rather well and filling out. They will need all of that energy for their long flights.

The plants are beginning to change adding some oranges, reds, and browns to the green leaves. The ducks can melt into the landscape if you do not look closely. These three were characters. Just look at their crops, especially the one facing us nearly straight on. Well fed I would say!

Sometimes it is nice to be able to look down and see the gorgeous orange legs paddling – it means that the water is no longer murky. This duck seemed to be smiling at me.

This one was tucked up nice and tight on one of the islands. It took some time to see her.

One of the silliest things that happened today was between two Canada geese. They were both on the boardwalk. On stayed put while I tried, as quietly as I could, to pass. The other decided to walk in front of me going around the corner out of sight of its partner. They then started ‘talking’ to one another. This went on for nearly 6 minutes without either moving to go to the other…I left to go and check on the wee duckling that I had spotted ahead of me. I wonder if those geese are still honking?

This morning I woke to the alarm calls of the three Crows in the garden and sure enough, there was the cat – and the rabbit. They are protecting little Hedwig by calling me out to chase the cat away. I do wish that people would be responsible for their pets.

In the Inbox:

‘J’ wrote to tell me the story of the two Sea Eagles and the fish tail. I had not seen it. ‘J’ said, very appropriately, “It seemed more educational for them both than anything.” I missed this specific occasion and I am terribly grateful that ‘J’ gave me the time stamp because I was able to catch a few minutes of SE29 and SE30 doing some friendly exchanges with that tail – they even got a few nibbles of fish, too!

‘R’ writes: Why do the Magpies continually dive bomb the sea eagles? Anyone who has been watching the Sea Eagles nest in the Sydney Olympic Forest will have seen the most recent attacks by the Magpies on the Sea Eagle nest. There will be others such as Boo Book Owl, too. The Magpies have their own nests. It is believed that there are about 50 breeding pairs of Magpies in the forest. The Sea Eagles are the top predator in the forest. The Magpies have no hope when it comes to a challenge with them but they dive bomb them hoping if they are such a nuisance the eagles might leave the forest. Of course they will not! That said, the smallest owl has inflicted injury to Lady in the past. They are silent when they attack and have hit Lady and hurt her eye. You might also have seen the Great Horned Owls attacking the SWFlorida eagle nest of M15 and Harriet. The GHOWs are formidable enemies to the eagles but Boo Book is so much smaller. Still he can do harm and any of them might want a tasty eaglet for dinner. The sea Eagles must be careful with the owls. The Magpies are a nuisance to the adults but can and do drive the youngsters from the forest when they fledge, like the Pied Currawong do. You will often see larger predators being constantly attacked by smaller birds. The Mockingbirds continually follow Big Red and Arthur on the Cornell Campus.

‘A’ asks: “Why don’t the Osprey parents just kick their fledglings off the nest or stop feeding them?” That is a great question and I am certain that there are a lot of people wondering the same thing. I am going to use the term that is often employed ‘good parents’, if you will excuse me for that. The goal of the breeding season is to raise healthy chicks and to either increase the population of the species or, as one researcher noted, hope to have a replacement for each parent when they die. Not feeding the chicks or kicking them off the nest is counter to all of that. The adults might begin to limit the feedings encouraging independence but the chicks will depart for their own territories or for migration when they are strong enough. When that day comes, nothing will hold them back! Until then, ‘good parents’ continue to feed their chicks as best they can while also building up their own strength. Louis and Idris are great examples. Everyone has left but Sarafina and Padarn. They will continue to feed their girls until such time as they leave. Both are excellent dads. Aran and Mrs G are doing the same. None of the fledglings have left. Fish is continually supplied. Mrs G would normally leave before the fledglings. Let’s keep an eye out and see what happens.

Padarn is one of the most beautiful fledglings I have seen!

Making News:

You may recall that Loch Garten’s Osprey chick 1C1 died after being unwell for several days. It was believed that she had an infection and it was confirmed today through the necroscopy that it was a case of salmonella. It is unclear how the little osprey got salmonella.

Do you know the term ‘war wilding’? Ukraine re-flooded the Irpin River so that the Russian army could not get to Kyiv. What is fascinating to me is that this has created a wonderful wetland for the birds that could last for years creating new opportunities out of war.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/sep/05/warwilding-a-new-word-to-describe-the-startling-effects-of-using-nature-as-a-weapon-ukraine-korea-aoe

The author cites cases where warWilding has been used to create biodiversity hotspots and bring new hope for wildlife such as in Mozambique but, he also tells us how this can be turned against wildlife – when water is drained to cause harm to people and, as a result, to the birds and animals. It is a good read. Check it out when you have time. There is a link to another very good paper within the article on the same topic, if you are interested.

There is a new book, Peregrines in the City by Andrew Kelly and Dean Jones. Do you recognize the scrape? More to follow after I have had a chance to read this book on such an interesting topic!

Nest News:

It appears that there might be only one Osprey nest in the entire UK that has both adults and all the fledglings still at home. That is the nest of Aran and Mrs G in the Glaslyn Valley in Wales.

The sun is just starting to show. You can hear the songbirds, the cows mooing, and the sheep bleating. One chick is already fish calling!

It might have been the one that was calling from the perch as the sun was setting on Monday!

It has been a wonderful year for Aran and Mrs G, one that certainly made up for the loss of their three nestlings last year and Aran’s injury. Everyone is really healthy and getting strong.

At the Charles Sturt scrape box on the campus at Orange, we will be on pip watch for the first of Xavier and Diamond’s eggs on the 29th of September with hatch watch from 1-3 October. Mark your calendars!

Handsome Xavier got some eggie time!!!!!!!!!

If pip watch is the 29th for the Orange Peregrine falcons, then we have to be checking on the Melbourne falcons earlier. I am going to mark my calendar for the 23rd for pip watch at 367 Collins Street!

At Port Lincoln, if all goes to plan, we are less than 2 weeks away from the first hatch!!!!!!!!!! In the meantime, Dad had everyone a little anxious when he brought a live whole fish on to the nest for Mum’s breakfast. Let us all hope that the eggs are OK.

At the Sea Eagles nest, it looks like an eel was brought in – or was it a fish? – at 1330.

In Florida, Samson has delivered at least one stick to start rebuilding the nest in NEFlorida and Harriet and M15 have returned to the SWFlorida Eagle nest in Fort Myers.

Blue 022 fooled everyone. Believed to have left for his migration after his family, he shows up at another platform in Poole Harbour. Is he scouting for another nest after the goshawk attack? or just resting?

Migration:

No tracking news for Karl II. It could be that his tracking signal is being jammed as he is in the location of Cherson (Kherzon), Ukraine. Bonus is still in Belarus near the River Pryjpat. Kaia flew a short distance but remains near the Desna River in Ukraine. Waba is between two rivers, the Buzhok and Slutsch. Please keep this beautiful Black Stork family from the Karula National Forest in Estonia in your warmest thoughts.

From the Book Stack:

Bill McGuire’s, Hothouse Earth. An Inhabitant’s Guide, minces no words when it comes to the destruction of our planet and the inability of anyone to stop the warming. McGuire is Professor Emeritus of Geophysical and Climate Hazards at University College, London. He accepts neither climate deniers or climate doomists and insists that we must be prepared for what is currently happening and for what will come in the future. We have not been able to halt the 1.5 degree C rise in temperature that was thought to be the tipping point. “How Bad can things get?” is a complex and intertwined question surrounding the relationship of the climate, the natural world, and human society and economics. McGuire says, “…what we can be certain of is that climate breakdown will be all-pervasive. Insidiously worming its way into every corner of lives and livelihoods, no one, anywhere – not even the tech billionaires in their guarded redoubts – will be immune” (143). He warns against all of the geoengineering methodologies and climate hakes being proposed including volcanic cooling and the refreezing of the poles. Instead, McGuire is very pragmatic. If we want to limit the worst effects of climate chaos til the end of the century, then there are some things that humans must do immediately: 1) methane emissions is a top priority; 2) the scraping of subsidies for the oil and gas industry; 3) the ceasing of new exploration licenses for gas and oil must stop forthwith; 4) banks must be made not to invest in gas and oil ventures; 5) damaged and desecrated land must be restored by reforestation and rewilding; 6) progressive phasing out of beef and dairy farming; 7) the restoring of peatlands and wetlands – places that store more carbon; 8) cutting back on flying and shipping consumer goods around the planet; 9) massive investment in home insulation and green domestic energy. I note that he questions the cost and value of electric vehicles (replacing world’s 1 billion fossil fuel vehicles, the lithium farming, etc) and focuses instead on green public transportation, journey based car pools, and car shares and more cycling and walking. ————Of course, it is not just humans that are impacting by the escalating heating of the planet but our beloved wildlife – and our dearest feathered friends, many who are struggling now. McGuire says his intention is to frighten people into the reality of what we are facing.

Tomorrow a look at Birds. A Complete Guide to their Biology and Behavior.

Thank you so much for joining me today. It is so nice to hear from so many of you. Stay safe. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their tweets, postings, and streaming cams where I took my screen captures and video clips: Sea Eagles@Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre Sydney Olympic Park, Dyfi Ospreys, Loch Garten RSPB Abernathy, The Guardian, Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, 367 Collins Street by Mirvac, Port Lincoln Ospreys, SWFlorida Eagle Club, and the Birds of Poole Harbour.

Early Sunday in Bird World

4 September 2022

Oh, Good Morning Everyone. I hope this newsletter finds you well and happy.

It is a beautiful holiday Monday on the Canadian prairies. The sun is shining bright but the temperature is not going above 24 C today – a great day to go out and continue checking on the ducks and geese. Autumn is one of my most favourite times of year despite the fact that it leads us directly into winter and is often too short!

Yesterday the Cormorants and American White Pelicans were enjoying time in the shade near the dam at Lockport, Manitoba. The image below is one tiny section. There were more than 60 pelicans and 45 Double-crested Cormorants swimming and drying off in the sun.

If you live in or around Winnipeg, Fort Whyte will begin staying open Wed-Sunday beginning 21 September so that you can watch the Canada Geese arrive in the thousands at dusk. It is an amazing sight. There will be food trucks or you can bring your own picnic. The cafe might be holding its Goose Flight dinners but this is uncertain due to the same staffing shortages that are hitting the hospitality industry worldwide.

From the Mailbox:

‘H’ writes to ask me if I am familiar with moon_rabbit_rising on Instagram? Oh, yes, I am and if you love the Cal Falcons then you need to head over and see Bridgette Ahern’s incredible – and I do mean incredible – images of Annie and Grinnell and their family and now Annie and Alden and their family.

‘D’ wrote as did several others following my UK Osprey postings and information about the female departures: “Are the Dads usually the last to leave the nest?” Yes, the males are normally the last ones that leave the nest. The females usually depart about two weeks prior to the fledglings leaving and then the male stays, eats well getting his strength back, and then departs. There are always exceptions to the rule! I just had a couple of notes from ‘N’ who comments that the nests she normally watches generally have the males leaving first! It is a very poignant moment when the male arrives with a fish and waits – and waits some more – and no one comes to collect it. By now, Louis is wishing that Sarafina would fly in the same way that Idris would like to see Padarn off the nest.

Making News:

There are many times that I am proud to be a Canadian and today, it is so reassuring to see that the people in Callander, Ontario care about their Bald Eagle and its nest!

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/sudbury/callander-bald-eagles-1.6568714?fbclid=IwAR28VsUDKWDWjy5S-uop8h2WKVcyL8DVLdS-cV5llN-id623Kb0QHuE-hvg

If you missed the video that Ojai Raptor Centre posted of Victor flying – here it is. It is also worth a second or third viewing. Victor is doing so well.

Another juvenile eagle – this time caught up in fishing line is saved!

https://www.uticaod.com/story/sports/2022/09/03/eagle-rescue-canadarago-lake/65470809007/?fbclid=IwAR1CnT1OpPF1U68N8_S3q017q5b8WjnF56qr1ElgZt-RgvVTg9E0JePjfpk

The citizens living in the NE of England are demanding answers from the government on why hundreds of thousands of lobsters, crabs, and sea birds wound up on the shore dead.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/sep/03/we-just-want-the-truth-british-coastal-towns-fight-for-answers-over-mystery-sealife-deaths

Raptor Persecution UK is calling out Natural England as being compromised in the handling of the killing of Asta, the Hen Harrier. This is their description of the crime:

“The level of depraved brutality involved in this crime is quite shocking, even to those of us who have become hardened to the relentless illegal killing of birds of prey in the UK. It’s virtually impossible not to look at these images of Asta and imagine the horror she faced at the hands of her killer.

The calculated deviousness of whoever committed this crime deserves the full attention of the statutory regulator, Natural England, and widespread publicity about the lengths these criminals will go to hide their ongoing, appalling violence towards this species and other birds of prey.” After 18 months nothing has been done and birds of prey continue to be killed over the grouse moor hunting estates. It is not just the brutality of the killing of this single Hen Harrier but also the other 72 that have been killed and the lack of accountability that is worrisome.

Natural England utterly compromised on tackling hen harrier persecution

Along this same theme, the Countryside Alliance is waging an all out campaign to get Chris Packham removed from the BBC because of his views about ending grouse hunting and thus, the illegal killing of raptors. If you live in the UK and have a view on this matter, please make it known.

The raptors are moving and Cape May, New Jersey likes to call itself the ‘raptor capital of North America’. See what is happening and why people are getting excited.

Cape May Hawkwatch

A win for all the sea birds comes as a South Africa court refuses to give Shell permission for offshore gas and oil drilling.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/sep/01/south-african-court-bans-offshore-oil-and-gas-exploration-by-shell

Nest News:

It is the 10th anniversary of the Bald Eagle nest at Berry College. Who didn’t love Ma Berry? and who of us did not lose their heart to B15 this season? The Bald Eagle experts take you on a trip down memory lane with the Berry Eagles but, you have to go to the Berry College FB page. They will – despite saying I can embed the link – well, it doesn’t happen! Regrets.

Suzanne Arnold Horning posted some great images of our lovely Red-tail Hawks on the Cornell Campus over this past season on the FB banner! I have not seen a new update on L3 or L4 and in this case, no news is good news.

This is one of the last shots Suzanne took of L2 before his/her migration. L2 has not been seen in a week and so she/he is off to find their own spot in the world. L2 was the first to fledge and the second to catch her own prey. Often noted as being a ‘mini’ Big Red. Beautiful hawk. Soar high and always have a full crop!

Following Karl II’s family on their migration:

Waba is in Ukraine where he has been exploring the banks of rivers for food.

Kaia remains in Ukraine in des Desna near Vovchok. She only flew 47 km – around the area feeding.

Bonus is still in Belarus in the Prypjat wetlands near Makarichi.

There is no current tracking news for Karl II.

Thunder visited the West End Bald Eagle nest in the Channel Islands at 10:38 Saturday morning. Listen to her calls. You will notice another bird flying around – you can just see the silhouette.

The Sydney Sea Eagles did not have to wait until afternoon for their breakfast today. I caught several feedings for these fast growing eaglets. Notice how well behaved they are!

It had rained and Lady is offering some comfortable out of the rain for SE29 and SE30’s heads. Poor things. They are too big to fit under her.

Dad brings in a nice fish. Lady jumps down from her parent branch to feed the wet youngsters.

Dad comes in with another prey item. It looked like a small bird but I am not entirely sure.

Ranger Sharyn posted the following information for viewers of the Royal Albatross streaming cam on Taiaroa Head, NZ after the fledgling of the Royal Cam chick QT yesterday.

It should be relative quiet while birds are incubating eggs but yesterday, there was an intruder at the scrape on the Charles Sturt campus in Orange. Cilla Kinross caught it in slow-motion:

Xavier has spent some time on the ledge protecting Diamond and their eggs.

At Port Lincoln, all is well. Mum is sleeping and incubating the eggs and Dad is down in his shed, a place he spent having some good old’ chats with Ervie. It is the 5th of September with hatch expected in a fortnight (2 weeks).

It is quiet in Melbourne at the 367 Collins Street scrape. Where is Dad you ask? He will be perched nearby – sometimes on the camera.

The amount of detail that people keep on the UK Osprey nests is truly impressive. If every nest in the world had a dedicated group keeping every single detail for each season what an impressive amount of information we would have on the breeding and behaviour of Ospreys. Llyn Clywedog just posted the number and type of fish and what this means in comparison to average deliveries elsewhere. Well done, Dylan!

Peace and Love, the two fledgling Bald Eagles of Liberty and Freedom at the Glacier Gardens nest, were on the natal nest this morning watching the traffic along the road. How lovely to see them.

Thank you so much for joining me today. Please take care. Looking forward to seeing you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams and their posts that made up my screen captures today: moon_rabbit_rising, CBC, Ojai Raptor Centre, Cape May Hawkwatch, Cornell Hawk Chatters and Suzanne Arnold Horning, Looduskalender, Explore.org and IWS, Sea Eagles@Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre Sydney Olympic Park, NZ DOC, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, Cilla Kinross, 367 Collins Street by Mirvac, Port Lincoln Ospreys, Llyn Clywedog Ospreys, and Glacier Gardens.

Featured image is L2 taken by Suzanne Arnold Horning.

Ervie, rare spine surgery for a Bald Eagle and more… Thursday in Bird World

1 September 2022

The temperature in Winnipeg rose to 32 degrees C Wednesday evening. It was unbelievably hot and the birds were making full use of the layers and layers of vines and the thick lilac bushes to keep cool. They would occasionally come out for a drink and a bath.

I saw a photograph of a converted wading pool. It was covered with a coated mesh pulled taut – small enough so that the birds could not get their feet caught and they could not drown in the water. A pump with a sprinkler system was positioned in the centre…it was full of little birds having a party. What a great idea. I have just the place for one of those for next summer so the garden visitors can cool down even more. I wonder if the Crows will try it out? or Dyson?

Making News:

Vet team in Canada performs rare spinal surgery on Bald Eagle, Buddy.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/pei-eagle-spinal-surgery-1.6565558?fbclid=IwAR1JFvPcwTJYalzVwZp7cbqMgJUJI7BFifSdNEY73mcu4E_7ItO2FmDzURo

Did someone say Ospreys do not do well in care? Smedley did great at the Audubdon Centre. Now there is Charley!

https://www.abcactionnews.com/news/region-pinellas/charley-the-osprey-finds-a-new-home-at-moccasin-lake-nature-park-in-clearwater?fbclid=IwAR2BPuhQgSbMuGj2m3EUV2JJijZzEAO_06oKhp1bmX7qa-wB8xYnogWmJLQ

BirdCast has all the information on migration. You can go and find out how many birds flew over your region at any time in the United States. I checked on Minnesota because it is close to Manitoba – gosh I wish this map worked for the entire planet! They also tell you the birds that are migrating.

For your own information, go to birdcast.info

The Stellar’s Sea Eagle was first seen in Newfoundland/Labrador Canada some time ago. It made its way down the eastern coast of the US causing a stir in Maine. It is back up in Canada now! Some images were posted by Wade Jones. It will surely be making the news here again. Everyone was excited — and yet, there are more and more birds ‘far from home’. I often wonder if they are scouts for the species testing out new locations for living.

James Lovelock died on the 26th of July. Trained as a scientist and known as an early environmentalist and futurist, Lovelock suggested in 2007 that “we might actually choose to contaminate land to keep people out and make it safe for wild animals and birds” (quoted in Marren 274). Marren notes that there has been no mass movement to take up Lovelocks suggestion but that areas around Chernobyl and Fukishima Exclusion Zones are showing promise in this regard.

Jean-Marie duPart counted 54 ospreys fishing at the Langue de Barbarie Park. He will travel to the other areas in Senegal shortly. He says the 54 is the same count as he had in June. Thank you Jean-Marie!

Nest News:

So thrilled that the intruding male did not bring any harm to this beautiful Peregrine Falcon family. Annie and Alden continue to bond…and their little delicate kisses are just lovely.

Llyn Brenig says goodbye for the season. It is an empty nest!

https://www.northwaleswildlifetrust.org.uk/blog/kim-and-giuseppe-boccato/their-wintering-grounds?fbclid=IwAR2fo5Cv8K_Ba8nMrEcW5h0DKgg0ovxO-KiFDzBjCHLwFhmADHe6PhgaYQQ

The entire Glaslyn clan is still at home! Mrs G, Aran, and the three kids.

Aran hasn’t lost any talons yet.

Mrs G had her own fish over at the Oak Tree perch. Eating in quiet is important. Mrs G is the oldest osprey in the UK and she has had a busy year with those three fledglings. She needs her strength for her own migration.

Louis is still feeding Sarafina at the Loch Arkaig Nest.

Is Iris still with us? These are the departure dates for past years at the Hellgate Canyon nest in Missoula, Montana. Based on her past history, even thought she has not been seen, it is believed she is still around. Keep checking the nest!

Xavier and Diamond are so cute. Xavier cannot wait for the eggs to turn into chicks. He even brought prey to try and feed them this morning! What a darling. Then he stashed it for Diamond in the corner and she enjoyed it after a full mating ritual on top of the water tower.

Golden sun over the scrape as morning breaks in Orange, Australia.

Diamond flies off for a break.

Xavier arrives with some prey.

Would you like some pigeon?

Decides the eggs aren’t hungry so he will enjoy a few bites before stashing the snack in the corner for Diamond.

Diamond finds Xavier’s treasure.

Xavier loves to incubate the eggies and often, you will have noticed, Diamond does not give him a lot of time. Was it on purpose then that he brought the unprepared Black-faced Cuckoo Shrike in for Diamond’s tea? Imagine the time it will take her to prepare the bird and consume it? Meanwhile Xavier is in Daddyland Bliss.

So what is a Black-faced Cuckoo Shrike? These large grey birds with their distinctive black masks are a protected species in Australia. They belong to the passerine family, eat mostly insects, and are found just about everywhere in Australia.

“2010-08-19 15-10-21 – IMG_0359 Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike” by Degilbo on flickr is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

It is after 1200 noon and I still have not seen any prey items brought to the nest. An adult has landed twice with nothing in the talons? Are there intruders? are the prey deliveries arriving later in the day? what particular reason?

Only one fish was delivered yesterday. Dad brought it in at 1508. Both eaglets were fed, according to my source, but 29 got more than 30. It was thought that Lady might start fishing but she didn’t and the spotters on the ground saw Dad at the River Roost. He flew to the nest and the kids started telling him they needed food. It has happened in the past – “feast or famine” ‘P’ calls it. They had eaten lots but 30 had cast a pellet and its crop was completely empty so the little one was really hungry. It is like their life in the wild but sometimes, worrisome to us watching.

The Sea Eagle chicks are now in week 6 and entering week 7. They continue to develop quite well despite my worries about prey deliveries. I hope this worry is for naught. I have written to my contact. One of the adults is in the tree looking out and I think it is Lady. I hope to find out if there are worries also in Sydney. If you do see a prey delivery from Dad, please do let me know.

During this time you might still see a few of the fluffy feathers. The eagles are doing a lot of preening, wing flapping and sitting and spreading themselves. They are standing slightly more steady and they continue to move the twigs in the nest about. By the end of week 8 – coming soon- they should have all of their juvenile feathers even covering their head, chest, and tail. They will be mantling and attempts at self-feeding will continue.

Dad is on the nest on the Port Lincoln barge while Mum has a much needed break and some fish. We can start counting down now…18 more days!

Ervie is out and about doing what Ervie does! Just look at his travels. Oh, just imagine. You will be one year old soon, Ervie. No balloons but we will make you a fish cake.

Hi there handsome, Ervie.

Your talon is slowly, ever so slowly growing back in but look at that green band. Soon you might be two silvers!

Little Dad watched over his new mate and the four precious eggs at the 367 Collins Street scrape in Melbourne.

In California, the Condor chick in Tom’s Canyon is doing fantastic! I don’t often write about the condors and that is a ‘shame on me’. Just look at how big and healthy this chick is.

Karl II remains in Estonia at the nest getting his strength and having some rest from feeding the four fledglings. Bonus remains at the Priyapat River in Belarus. Here is his tracker and an image of the area.

I am worried beyond belief for Kaia who entered The Ukraine near Chernobyl on the 30th. No updated tracking information for the past two days. Data due at 19:45. Will see if anything comes in. as of September 1, then no word on Kaia after landing, for the second time, in The Ukraine. Waba has sent in no data tracking. Karl II remains in the Karula National Forest in Estonia. Bonus was last in Belarus. Send them your warm wishes on their travels.

Thank you so much for joining me this morning. It is going to be another 32 C day here in Winnipeg which means it could go a little higher. The tropical plants on the deck are doing marvellous. So strange. Take care of yourselves. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams, videos, and posts where I took my screen captures: CBC, BirdCast, Wade Jones, Cal Falcons, North Wales Wildlife Trust, Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Friends of Loch Arkaig and the Woodland Trust, Montana Ospreys, Charles Sturt Orange Falcon Cam, Sea Eagles@Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre Sydney Olympic Park, Port Lincoln Ospreys, 367 Collins Street by Mirvac, Ventana Wildlife, and Looduskalender.

It’s 3 for Diamond and Xavier and Bonus and Kaia were 25 km apart…Early Wednesday in Bird World

31 August 2022

Good Morning Everyone.

The sun is once again shining bright on the Canadian prairies. There is not a cloud in the sky and it is getting hot. By tea time the temperature will have risen to 29 degrees C from the current 22. It is a day to make certain that there is plenty of water for the birds in the garden — and lots of food. The migrants are moving through.

Yesterday, I went for a ride to check the birds in the countryside. The gulls were enjoying the fields that the farmers had just plowed and a single Ring-billed gull thought that it could share my lunch.

There was a quiet stillness over the wetlands at Oak Hammock Marsh. A few geese, a handful of ducks and shore birds were around but nothing like what will begin to happen as September begins. Migratory birds will be landing at dusk and taking off in the early morning hours.

In the Mailbox:

This letter comes from a local friend but, it could be from anyone: “Every time I reach out to help the wildlife, I get told to leave nature alone (in the rudest way), nature will take care of itself. What is your advice?”

I wonder what you would say to this individual?

My advice is to ignore the negative comments. Lead by example. We have destroyed the habitats and, thus, the lives of the wildlife. We poison their water and have caused the oceans to warm. We throw our garbage into their ponds. We have destroyed their food supplies…we shoot them. It is time to embrace caring and understanding. Wildlife – the whole of it – are sentient beings, they have feelings and emotions. They deserve the best we can give them. We need to become selfless and put wildlife first, not ourselves. Putting humans first has caused us to be in the present state we find our planet in. Peter Merren says, ‘Care for Nature begins at home.’

Making News:

The plans to stop two pairs of Bald Eagles from being able to access their nests is causing a lot of outrage in British Columbia. You can sign the petition, too, by copying the link into your browser!

BirdGuides finds many human-induced changes to the environment that are killing the migratory birds. Of these infra-structure, hunting, and earth warming are the top three.

https://www.birdguides.com/articles/conservation/built-infrastructure-hunting-and-climate-change-linked-to-huge-migrato/

Nest News:

The birds are on the move and I found a super guide to Osprey migration. Everything you wanted to ask and were afraid to…It will give you some great insights as to what is happening at all the nests.

https://birdfact.com/articles/osprey-migration

Loch of the Lowes has an announcement:

While Loch of the Lowes is empty, the Glaslyn nest of Aran and Mrs G still has three chicks yelling at Dad to bring in the fish!

Louis has delivered a nice fish to Sarafina at the Loch Arkaig nest this morning.

Idris brought a nice fish to Padern who appears to be the only fledgling at the Dyfi Nest. Paith was last seen at 1700 on the 29th.

I got a little emotional when I saw that Bonus and Kaia were just 25 km apart in Belarus. My heart beat a little faster wondering if it was possible that they would fish together along the shores of the Priyapat River. It was not meant to be…Kaia flew into the Ukraine again and then set a trajectory quickly east. Meanwhile Karl II remains in Estonia enjoying an empty nest (yes, parents do love their children but it is also nice to have some quiet and fish to one’s self). I want to give a real shout out to those that are posting the maps and images on the Looduskalender site for Karl II and his family’s migration. I have included their comments and image notes so you can see where Bonus and Kaia are in the image below.

Moving forward, on the 31st, here are the locations of the individual Black Storks.

The other big nest news is that Diamond has now laid her third egg. It happened at 0525 on 31 August 2022. Historically, Diamond has only laid 3 eggs and for the past two seasons, only one of those has hatched.

You could tell things were happening. Diamond was focused and standing.

Xavier comes into the scrape box and he is so excited!!!!!!!!! Diamond is happy to show him the three precious eggs. The bowing and the rituals fascinate me…oh, to be able to speak falcon!

In celebration, Xavier brought Diamond a very nice breakfast. Now we can get a good look at those three beautiful eggs.

Diamond took a break and Xavier comes into the scrape to incubate the eggies…he loves doing helping out. Diamond does not always oblige him but he can incubate those eggs with the best of them!

“Oh, she’s back….maybe she won’t see me here!”

The Sea Eagles are picking up sticks and 29 is standing stronger and doing some wingersizing. Both are fine.

The light on SE29 really shows off the variation in plumage colours. One year I was thinking that everyone should go to their stylist and ask for a 26…the little eaglet at the time but, this year, right now, it could be a 30. They just get more and more beautiful.

As many know, my first love was hawks. There is nothing cuter than a precious Red-tail juvenile. One of the moderators of the Sea Eagle cam who also was the admin on the Cornell Chatters kept poking me and telling me that I would change my mind the minute I saw a sea eagle juvie. ‘TCR’ you were positively right, of course.

This eaglet just makes me melt. So gorgeous. Talk about clown feet! Whoaaaaaa. Did I hear someone say they would like to cuddle with this cutie pie??? Now before you hold up your hand, just look at those very sharp talons and think about your answer carefully.

This image shows the difference in the back plumage. SE 30 is on the left and SE29 is on the right. Plumage progress is going well for these two.

But if SE30 sits differently, it is hard to tell them apart!

SE 29 flapping those wings! SE30 is watching carefully.

I should warn you…when they both start flapping on that nest -at the same time – you are going to need some worry beads!

Everything is fine on the ledge in the CBD of Melbourne. Dad is really enjoying getting some incubation in the warm Australian sun.

All is well at Port Lincoln. As the month changes from August to September, we are now only two and a half weeks away form hatch. It has just been too long since we have seen a little osplet with its back stripe in a nest.

Just like it was at the marsh, it is pretty quiet in Bird World today. Everyone is on the move, incubating eggs, or enjoying a time not raising chicks and getting strong again.

Thank you so much for joining me this morning. Take care of yourselves wherever you are. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams, posts, and videos which make up my screen captures: vancouverisawesome.com, LOTL Visitor Centre and Wildlife Reserve, Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Friends of Loch Arkaig and the Woodland Trust, Dyfi Osprey Project, Looduskalender, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam at Orange, Sea Eagles@Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre Sydney Olympic Park, 367 Collins Street by Mirvac, and Friends of Osprey.

Eggs, Electrocutions, Migrations and more…Tuesday in Bird World

30 August 2022

Good Morning Everyone,

We are nearing the end of August. I keep saying the month has disappeared and it surely has! It is simply hard to believe. We had a magnificent rain that brought the garden back to life. There is nothing like a good soaking – watering from the tap doesn’t seem to do it. The garden also had a visitor this morning. I know the hawk has been around but, with all of the foliage it is hard to spot him. The new fence has, however, attracted a lot of attention and today it got approved to be the new plucking post! The image is not good. I got so excited that I hit the silly video button on the phone and not the photo. It is also from a distance through a screen -I was hiding in the shadows hoping that she would not see me inside the house taking her photo – hawks have to eat, too.

By now you will have noticed that I have added some sub-titles to my blog. There will not always be questions in the post to answer – that is up to you! But if you are wondering something, ask. I will absolutely not always know the answers but I have friends and colleagues to ask that do and they are happy to share what they know with all of us. There is generally some news and there are always things happening at the nests despite it being quite slow the end of August. I hope also to incorporate a book review section once in awhile —- when there is time to read a new book. I am currently working on two: Birds. A Complete Guide to their Biology and Behaviour. It is excellent so far – a great reference that includes topics such as Anatomy and Physiology, Flight, Food and Feeding, Breeding… The second is After They’re Gone. Extinctions Past, Present and Future by Peter Marren who tackles some of the very uncomfortable truths that we have to face. It is time, after all, to get our heads out of the sand and listen to what individuals like Marren have to tell us. Full review to follow in a few weeks when I have had time to digest and reflect the latter.

In the Mailbox:

‘B’ writes: “I have been watching Osprey nests for years. Why do the siblings attack one another after fledging when they have been nice on the nest?” Oh, this is such a timely question as the nests begin to empty themselves of parents and fledglings in the Northern Hemisphere.

Some of you will remember that the three osplets on the Port Lincoln Osprey barge in 2021 – Bazza, Falky, and Ervie – were sweet to one another as nestlings. Bazza tried a couple of times, early on, to boss Ervie but, even as little as he was, Ervie wasn’t having any of it. So the nest was very peaceful. Then they grew up. They fledged and even became interested in fishing. When Dad would bring a fish, they would descend on the nest and fight – or, rather, let’s use the Australian term, “a dust up” would occur. If you are watching the Dyfi nest of Idris and Telyn, two of the three girls remain in Wales. Whenever a fish comes on the nest, they practically knock each other about to get to that food. This is perfectly normal behaviour. They no longer see one another as siblings but as rivals who might take the only food supply. Soon, they will go their separate ways and no would have been hurt-normally -although Bazza and Ervie did get pretty rough. Please note that the PLO nest had 3 males and the Dyfi had 3 females – same gender on the nest. Same sex nests tend to be very civil after a brief set to at the beginning.

‘S’ sent me some news and included in it is a video/PowerPoint on what to expect at the Royal Albatross Taiaroa Head Colony in September. I know that many of you are fans of the albatross and watch Quarry Track chick, this year’s Royal cam chick, faithfully. I do not cover her but I look in on her. Sharon Dunne does an excellent job of providing all the information needed! This is a great information packet – have a peek. Thanks, ‘S’.

Making the News:

Drought and hydro poles killing off Europe’s White Storks. Only 10% of the hydro poles in Hungary are insulated and yet 150,000 beautiful White Storks are electrocuted each year. This well done video shows the birds, where they live, the deaths, and the fix that is required. It is now time for humans to step up to the plate and take care of the wildlife instead of doing what we have always done — put ourselves first.

And, of course, Hungary is not the only country that has this issue. We saw it in Canada when Junior was killed near the nest on Gabriola Island, in The Czech Republic, and elsewhere.

https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-europe-62690344

A Polish Photographer has been stirring up real interest on the Internet with his image of an Osprey fishing. His name is Krzysztof Stasiaczek and the image was taken in August 2022 in Eastern Masuri, Poland.

Hancock Wildlife Foundation in British Columbia used their GoFund Me and some other private donations to build a new sun-shaded nest for Ma and Dad at Delta 2. Why? Rising temperatures in the area of the nest due to the increased heating of our planet. They released the images today. That is David Hancock with the light blue long sleeve shirt working tirelessly to continually improve the lives of the Bald Eagles…he has been doing this for at least 65 years!

Somehow we all knew that the numbers of Bald Eagles on the Channel Islands is growing – thanks in large part to Dr Sharpe ensuring the eaglets do not tumble into the sea or die under a nest from zinc toxicity.

News is coming out of the Channel Islands Eagle Lovers group that there is the possibility of a new Bald Eagle pair spotted on Santa Cruz! Sauces 2016 hatch A-63, a male named Whisk, has been seen at the old Fraser Point nest with a subadult female of approximately 3 years. Fingers crossed.

A blog by Rosie Shields who monitors the Borders nests in the UK found its way into my inbox today. You might not be interested in these Ospreys but, it is the behaviour of the female that is important. She left a nest with three chicks she was feeding to begin her migration, landed on a nest she had visited before, and sat herself down now for 9 days being fed by the resident male who is willingly catching fish for her. It is always good to learn more and more about the behaviours of Ospreys – they never cease to surprise and amaze me.

WEIRD END OF SEASON GOINGS-ON

Nest News:

Annie and Alden decided it was a good idea to renew their bond in the UC-Berkeley scrape on The Campanile after the sudden visit of a mysterious male falcon. Alden initiated the bonding session. “Annie, do not look at another male falcon. Alden is a keeper!”

Alden was caught loafing in the setting sun last evening. How adorable.

Everyone is sitting waiting really impatiently to see if Diamond will lay a third egg at the Charles Sturt Orange Falcon cam in Australia. Diamond’s average between eggs is 56 hours. The second egg was 57 hours this year. Will there be a third? and will it be on time?

Xavier loves his ‘eggie’ time and Diamond was obliging this morning to let him take a turn.

Xavier left and returned around 0700 with a Horsfield’s Bronze-Cuckoo (IDed by Holly Parsons). Xavier always brings something special on egg laying day. What a sweetheart.

Xavier waits for one and a half hours to incubate those precious eggs…it is caught on video.

Diamond looks pretty contented. Let’s see what is happening in a couple of hours.

There are still only 2 eggs at Orange. It is the middle of the night. If Diamond is to lay a third egg I would surely think that it will come before 0800 on the 31st.

In Melbourne, the little Dad is getting his turn, too and those four eggs look awfully big as he wiggles and squiggles to get them under him. Yesterday he looked down and noticed one was outside!

You can almost hear him saying he hopes the new mate doesn’t lay 5! She could. Keep hoping the population of pigeons is bursting at the seams in Melbourne!

Everything seems to be going well with the Sea Eagles. They are six weeks old and standing sturdier by the day and changing their appearance with those gorgeous feathers coming in.

At Port Lincoln, Dad took over incubation and Mum is enjoying a really nice dinner time fish before tucking it in for the night.

Updates on Tweed’s three fledglings from yesterday’s post.

A Tweet from County Cork with a great photograph of an osprey believed to be Kirk. Fantastic. He has had quite the adventure. Glad Kirk is safely on land. Now to get his GPS coordinates polished.

In the UK, Louis and Sarafina are still at Loch Arkaig. Dorcha was last seen on 18 August and it appears that Willow, LW5, began her journey on the 28th of August.

Louis delivered a lovely Mackerel to the nest for Sarafina today. She has been seen down at the loch attempting to catch a fish, too. Isn’t that splendid?

Louis brought a lovely fish to Sarafina at 16:16:33 on the 30th. She is still with us as of today.

The last sighting of Willow was on the 28th.

Maya is still at the Rutland Manton Bay Osprey platform. She flew in with a fantastic fish this morning at 0619. While many of the females have now departed, Maya raised three very large and strong female chicks with Blue 33. She is taking good care of herself so she is in good shape for migration. Normally we can expect to see her and her mate, Blue 33, back in the UK at the end of March. The first eggs and the first hatches!

Seren, Blue 5F, was with Dylan this morning at the Llyn Clywedog nest looking around their beautiful territory.

It appears that Mrs G from the Glaslyn Valley nest is now on her way south. Aran was on the nest earlier and one of the fledglings was shouting out for a fish.

At the Dyfi Nest, Telyn was last seen on the 25th of August. Pedran left before Mum, and Padarn was still at the nest today. Paith has not been seen on the 30th that I am aware of so it could just be the second hatch, Padarn, and Aran left at Dyfi.

Stephen Basly posted another great image on the Notre Dame Eagles FB Group of our Little Bit 17! It was the 25th of July and is such a great image. I think Stephen worked to get it cleaned up well for all of us. Thanks Stephen!

I have not been able to access Looduskalender today for updates on the Black Storks, Karl II and his family, as they migrate.

Thank you so much for joining me today. It is a gorgeous day here – I hope it is for you, too and that you have been able to enjoy being out in nature, if possible. Take care of yourself. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their tweets, videos, streaming cams, and blogs that make up my screen captures: NZ DOC, BBC News, Krzysztof Stasiazek, Hancock Wildlife Foundation, CIEL Rosie Shields, Cal Falcons, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, 367 Collins Street by Mirvac, Sea Eagles@Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre Sydney Olympic Park, Port Lincoln Ospreys, Conservation without Borders, Dave McGrath, Friends of Loch Arkaig and the Woodland Trust, LRWT, CarnyXWild, Bywyd Gwylld Glaslyn, Dyfi Ospreys, and Notre Dame Eagles.

4 eggs for Melbourne, Victor is moved outside and other news in Bird World…Monday morning

30 August 2022

What happened to August? It seems as if we blinked and it flew by. Despite the heat there is a look about the leaves on the trees and the wilting of the tomato plants despite their being well watered that is alerting us to the end of summer, not just the calendar. There is another 9 or 10 days before the teachers and students are back to their classrooms in Manitoba. It is a reminder that it is time to get a small delivery of firewood. There is something so cosy about a wood fire on a crisp autumn morning and if August is any indication, autumn will be here in two blinks.

The colour of the light and the water of the pond seemed to be taking on the hues of autumn.

The rain started in the early morning hours of Monday and everything has turned green in the garden again…it is raining so hard! And for once, I am so glad to see it! Monday will be a good day for reading the small pile of books accumulating on my desk.

In the Mailbox:

‘N’ writes: “Do all falcons incubate the eggs the same no matter where they live? Do all ospreys?” Oh, what an interesting question! I am not a specialist on incubation, the term used for the behaviour whereby adult birds keep the eggs warm until they hatch. My experience watching the nests of different species is that birds are very individualistic and even within a single species, the attention that they give to their incubation duties varies. I found a paper that actually discusses the different approaches to this important task. It is not a recent one but it is quite interesting. The author covers some birds that are unknown to me but, I believe the findings and the data can enlighten us as to the full answer to your question, ‘N’.

Click to access p0115-p0152.pdf

In the News:

RSPB created an extremely short video about Avian Flu killing the White-tail Eagle chicks on the island of Mull. What is so intriguing is the landscape of the island and the beautiful chicks so alive in the nest. It is clearly not the be all- end all informative presentation but it was nice to see where these eagles live.

Just a couple of months before Avian Flu began killing the White-tailed Eagles on Mull, this beautiful 7 minute video was made showing them on their island setting. Have a watch:

The attempt to rid Gough Island of its House Mouse problem has hit a wall. The eradication of the mice that were biting and killing Tristan Albatross chicks and adults is now being viewed as a failure. Everyone had such high hopes that the island would be rid of these invasive mice but an unknown problem presented itself – the slug. Have a read:

https://www.acap.aq/latest-news/4427-alien-slugs-thought-to-be-the-cause-of-failure-of-the-house-mouse-eradication-on-gough-island

I found an excellent story dealing with the tragedy of the mice and the Tristan Albatross and why the eradication attempt is so important.

https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/news/2022/june/invasive-mice-are-pushing-tristan-albatross-to-brink-extinction.html#:~:text=Invasive%20mice%20are%20pushing%20the%20Tristan%20albatross%20to%20the%20brink%20of%20extinction,-By%20James%20Ashworth&text=Mice%20that%20are%20eating%20the,rodent%20eradication%20programme%20is%20successful.

In his newsletter, David Hancock of Hancock Wildlife just posted the following information about the Delta 2 nest in British Columbia, Canada: “Firstly, both Ma and DM have gone on their migration. Ma was last seen at the Delta 2 nest/territory on July 25th. DM (taking his new role as Ma’s mate very seriously) hung around for another week keeping an eye on things. He was last seen there on August 1st. Thanks to all who donated to the GoFundMe campaign, as well we received a a few private donations which are greatly appreciated. These donations are going to cover the costs associated with the installation of a sturdy new nest pole and two (2) new cameras at Delta 2.”

Nest News:

It is egg 4 for the Melbourne Peregrine Falcon couple on the ledge of 367 Collins Street! Oh, my goodness. Dad you are going to so hope that the pigeon population of the city is very plentiful!

Here is a video of that last egg being laid:

It was a prey drop and a chance for Dad to get himself acquainted with how you have to wiggle around to get 4 big falcon eggs under so they can stay warm.

It is a lot easier for Mum to get those four eggs tucked in tight. Do you think there will be a 5th?

We have a ways to go before hatch for Melbourne and Diamond might not be finished laying eggs. Incubation is a time for the females to rest. It is going to be very hectic if all the hatch at Melbourne! And exciting.

The Sydney Sea Eagles are developing right to schedule. Their plumage continues to come in and they are picking up sticks in the nest and preening. SE29 is standing and walking better each step. They really are gorgeous. The Monday morning feeding saw both 29 and 30 with nice crops full of fish. I have seen no concerning aggressive behaviour on the part of 29 to 30 that would cause me to worry.

We are about 3 weeks away from hatch watch at Port Lincoln. Mum and Dad continue to take turns incubating. That said, Mum will always have night duty and Dad will provide Mum with her meals.

You would think that Mum would be very stiff incubating the eggs all night. Dad has arrived and is nudging her off so he can have a turn. Mum goes away for her breakfast and a break, returning in about half an hour.

You are doin’ good, Dad.

There has been an unknown male visit Annie in the tower.

There is a notable change in the behaviour of the female Ospreys in the UK this year. Normally they would depart the nest about 10-14 days prior to the fledglings leaving on their migration. This year it appears the majority are choosing to remain on the nest while some or all of the fledglings depart. While we will not know the specific reason, I wonder if it is, in part, due to the raising of these large female chicks and the Mums needing more time to get in top shape. Or could it be that prey is plentiful, the weather is nice in the UK, and they just want to be home for a little longer?

Idris, Telyn, Padarn and Paith are still at the Dyfi Osprey nest in Wales as of Sunday the 28th. Idris has stayed on the perch all night. Pedran was last seen on the 11th of August at 0905.

If you follow Tweed Valley, the three fledglings are going in very diverse directions including Glen who remains on the nest. Kirk is in Ireland having flown south and turning back to the land. Tweed is nearing land in Portugal.

Ruthland is updating us on their second hatch at Manton Bay, 1H2:

Tiger Mozone says that the fledglings need good DNA and luck. 1H2 certainly has great DNA. Let us all hope she has some awfully good luck, too.

1H2’s parents, Blue 33 and Maya, along with older sibling 1H1 were all still at the Manton Bay Nest at Rutland on the 27th and there is no news of either 1H1 or Maya departing since.

Seren was on the Llyn Clywedog nest early this morning and Dylan even popped in for a few minutes to join her later.

It is just incredible. Bonus continues to prove that he is a very special Black Stork! He flew from the nest in Estonia and spent the night in Latvia on the 27th. He has now flown through Lithuania and is in Belarus near Minsk. That was a total of 279 km.

Kaia, Bonus’s foster mother, remains in Belarus in the Prypjat Wetlands near Shestovicy.

So what intrigues me is this. If Kaia remains where she has been for the last several days since she flew north out of the Ukraine, is it possible that Bonus might also wind up in the same wetlands? Or will Bonus fly into the Ukraine? and remain there? or turn back north like Kaia? We should have our answer in a day or two.

Here is the distance shown by Google Maps:

Waba has begun the journey also and the tracker shows that he crossed into Latvia from Estonia on 28 August. He then flew a short distance.

I have received word that Karl II has left the nesting area in the Karula National Forest and has begun his migration. More on that to come tomorrow.

Victor has done so well since Dr Sharpe travelled to the Two Harbours nest on the Channel Islands to take him to be treated for zinc toxicity at the Ojai Raptor Centre. He has now been moved out to the big flight area! It just doesn’t get too much better than this until he is released. Wow. Victor. Way to go!

Looking forward to Lena and Andy at Captiva next year? or Connie and her mate? Window to Wildlife posted a 7 minute video about updates changes to the cameras, etc with some lovely pictures of Lena feeding the wee nestlings last year.

Thank you so much for joining me today. Please take care of yourselves. See you soon.

Thank you so much to the following for their streaming cams, their videos, and their posts that make up my screen captures: RSPB, 367 Collins Street Falcons and Mirvac, Charles Sturt Orange Falcon Cam, Sea Eagles@Birdlife Discovery Centre Sydney Olympic Park, Port Lincoln Ospreys, Cal Falcons, Dyfi Osprey Project, Tweed Valley Ospreys, Rutland Osprey Project, LWRT, CarnyxWild, Looduskalender, CIEL, and Window on Wildlife.

A Victor update and more news in Bird World, early Saturday

27 August 2022

Good Morning Everyone!

Friday turned out to be one of the best birding days I have had in my City because of the birds and the three people that I met — and, of course, an Osprey story. No, I didn’t add lots to my life list but, I will add a few when I can get some help doing the IDs. It was hot in the afternoon for the walk at the nature centre. The little Mallard mother that had 11 ducklings still has the 9 she had the other day. She has moved them to a different pond where the water and plants appear to be a little healthier.

In some areas the algae is just stifling the life out of the pond. The geese were all resting in the shade and only the song birds were exerting themselves. In particular, 5 or 6 Black-Capped Chickadees were around the ‘winter’ feeding area. I had the most glorious chat with a woman about the fate of insects and she mentioned a book, The Insect Crisis.

This lovely woman spent a few minutes explaining the concept behind the book – the collapse of the insect population and the shocking collapse of everything from birds to crops. I suspect that almost everyone who reads my blog is aware of the domino-effect that is or will take place as the insects die. The rest of the population has surely heard about what is happening even if they don’t understand it — or worse, choose to ignore it. Why then do people still hire companies to come and ‘kill’ the weeds on their lawn so that it is pristine all the while what they believe the company is using a green chemical is actually toxic! or the spraying of roses and other flowers? the use of pesticides used in farming? It is time to put a stop to these practices and embrace companion planting or the use of certain birds and animals that will weed but not kill the crops or flowers.

All the while we were talking, the lovely lady, perhaps in her 90s, was pulling out sunflower seeds for the Chickadees.

An hour before dusk I went to another site where a Bald Eagle had been spotted. OK. I am not the luckiest birder on the planet – far from it. All I could find were some Mallards resting….

and then, I didn’t hear it but something caused me to look up. There was an osprey flying overhead. My heart stopped for a second. An Osprey – sorry Bald Eagle people but this was fantastic. I have been trying to find the Osprey living in this area of my City and have always failed…and there it was.

It has been a good year to be surprised by Ospreys flying overhead. I only know where one nest is but that is fine…seeing them flying at dusk is very special.

The sun was nearly setting but, just on the chance that the Egrets were landing near the pond on the other side of the City, I took off…

As the sun set, 7 Great Egrets descended on the pond and their night time tree.

They continued to arrive as the sun set lower and lower in the sky. It was just a calm, beautiful summer evening spent looking at a ‘sedge’ of Egrets – a most unusual sight for a Canadian Prairie city.

I am not a wildlife photographer. Let’s be clear about that. There are people who are and two of them spent time with me taking photos of the Egrets, talking about where the birds might be spending their days and the anticipation of the arrival of ‘THE’ Green Heron this year (he was really lost last year when he landed south of our city in a small little river). Quite the celebrity that heron was! Of course, everyone is looking and comparing the ‘kit’ each of us had….I take photos because I love the garden animals and the birds – to show you! So they are taken with love not great technical expertise although there are many times I wish I had that level of talent.

In the Mailbox:

The Ojai Raptor Centre updated Victor’s progress in an e-mail posting today: Just look at this magnificent eaglet. This is a very special day. His zinc levels are normal!!!!!!!!

Here is the announcement from ORC:

Bald Eagle patient 22-635, who was rescued from Santa Cruz Island with zinc toxicosis on July 11, continues to make progress. The most recent test for zinc showed the patient within normal levels. This means the eaglet no longer needs to go through chelation therapy to remove the toxic metal from the bloodstream. The eaglet’s ataxia (lack of balance) seems to have resolved as well!

‘L’ sent me a lovely screen capture she had in her archives of Ma Berry. The year is 2018. Do you know who she is?

Berry College is located in Mount Berry, Georgia. Ma Berry was the mate of Pa Berry until 2020 when she was last seen the 17th of November. Ma Berry had a injury to her left talon – she was easily recognized. She had no difficulties fishing or catching prey with her injured foot. She was dearly loved despite there being a heavy loss to the chicks on the nest. In 2017-18, two eggs hatched with one chick fledging and the other sadly died from falling off the nest. The following year, 2018-19 both eggs hatched again but the chicks died within a week. The following year one egg cracked and the second was not viable. Ma Berry has a huge fan club and as one article at the time said, “There’s been a scandal brewing behind the Cage Center at Berry College.” A new female and Ma Berry had a bit of a stand off. For awhile many worried that Ma Berry had been injured or killed but on the 21st of January 2021, Ma Berry was seen at a lake (again easily recognizable by her injured and twisted foot). She is enjoying her retirement. The new female named Missy had two eggs in 2021. One was not viable and the other baby died – both of starvation and hypothermia. Missy just didn’t know what to do as a Mum. However, this year Missy and Pa Berry fledged B15 – a fine strong eagle. Pa Berry must have been very pleased.

https://www.northwestgeorgianews.com/rome/news/local/new-female-at-berry-eagle-nest-has-observers-buzzing/article_30c90372-3e2e-11eb-85f9-c717a7baead0.html

Three questions came in from ‘G’: What would have happened to the female at the 367 Collins Street Falcon nest? Did she find a new mate? Second question: What is a scrape? The third question: Why do falcons use gravel for nests and not twigs like eagles? OK. Let’s start at the beginning. I have included some images of the male at 367 Collins Street and his mate from previous years below with their four eyases from 2021. You will often hear that Raptors mate for life. From reading the information about Ma Berry above, you will then know that this is not always the case. Some females get usurped from the nest as do some males. Some are injured and die. Some leave and are discovered elsewhere. Some Ospreys have had two mates. A good example is Seren, Blue 5F in the UK. From 2015-2020, she was Aran’s ‘other woman’ at Glaslyn while Mrs G was his primary mate. In 2020 she decided not producing chicks and have a faithful mate was reason enough to pack her bags and leave. She did. She flew to Llyn Clywedog and became the mate of Dylan! So the saying mate for life is not always the case but it is more the standard than anything else. It is presumed, however, that the female at 367 Collins street has died and a new female has taken her place. If this is her first year as a Mum, let us wish both a very good year.

Scrape is the name of the ‘nest’ that Peregrine falcons use to lay their eggs and raise their eyases. Eyas is the proper term for the chick.

Peregrine Falcons traditionally made their nests on cliffs. There the sand and gravel would be gathered and a small indentation made for the eggs so they would not slide out of the nest cup. It is believed that by using this kind of nest insects and diseases that often form in twig nests – especially if it is cold and wet – would, thus, not impact the falcon chicks. That said, there are some stick nests being used by falcons in Poland that have been very successful.

An early morning question from ‘T’: Why aren’t the falcons in Australia sitting on their egg and eggs all the time? Great question! You can see them leaving the eggs in the images below today. Some raptors practice delayed incubation. They will keep the eggs warm for a few hours a day but will not begin 24/7 incubation known as ‘hard incubation’ until all of the eggs are laid. This ensures that there is not such a discrepancy in their dates of hatch. This lessens the chance of siblicide. In addition, many times the eyases hatch within 24 hours of one another like those at Collins Street the last few years.

In the News:

Hen Harriers remain in the UK news. As their populations begin to recover at 100 birds the illegal killing of the raptors remains a huge problem for the reintroduction programme.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/aug/26/more-than-100-hen-harriers-fledge-in-england-for-first-time-in-a-century

In Australia, there is dismay as to the protection of the forest industry and the lack of concerns from some of the wildlife going extinct. In 2022, people are starting to get upset and angry. Will the government respond?

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/aug/25/swift-parrot-recovery-plan-changes-downplay-logging-threat-experts-say

Nest News:

Holly Parsons has posted the links to the four Falcon cameras at Orange along with a link to FAQs. Thanks, Holly! Here it is:

Diamond has been the female at the Charles Sturt Falcon scrape at orange since 2015. Xavier has been her mate since 2016. This means that they are at least 9 years old for Diamond and 8 years old for Xavier. Peregrine Falcons have been known to live for nearly 20 years in the wild.

Diamond is looking out the window of the scrape at Orange. Galahs, a pink and grey parrot, are flying by the tower. Do they not know they would be a remarkable mid-morning snack for Diamond? If Xavier sees them, she will have one!

Later Pied Currawong were observed doing flybys while checking out the scrape box. They eat eggs! Diamond and Xavier are going to have to be vigilant.

There is no hard incubation yet at 367 Collins Street in Melbourne. Does this mean that Mum and Dad Peregrine Falcon are thinking of a 4th?

For those of you who have watched the Melbourne nest in previous years and, perhaps, did not notice or know. This is a new female this year with Dad. My first thought was is it possible that Mum died from trichomonosis like the 4th eyas last year? We might never know – unless Victoria Hurley does, the researcher at this nest.

Dad has the biggest eyes. Oh, such a cutie with one of his prepared pigeons for the kiddos.

It would be very difficult to forget these four. They were incredible. The year before Mum and Dad had 3 girls…they towered over little Dad.

Mum and Dad with the four eyases for the 2021 season. Mum was amazing. She often appeared to be gruff but if you are having to chase after four eyases with independent minds, she seemed to have to be to keep them from falling off the edge of that ledge. Thankfully birds are afraid of heights (or so I am told). Soar high, Mum. You took such great care of your little ones.

The new female shows Dad the third egg early on a misty Melbourne morning. It arrived at 22:18 on the 26th of August.

Oh, I adore the little male falcon at Collins Street. Sometimes he looks like a toy in his cute little pajamas.

A few more images today of Dad and the new Mum taking turns incubating the eggs. You will get to know Dad rather quickly with the thick yellow around his eyes and if he is next to New Mum, he will be quite a bit smaller

Neither Diamond or the Melbourne Mum will begin ‘hard’ incubation until all of their eggs are laid. This is one of the reasons that there is less competition between all the eyases as they are close in size and birth date. Some Ospreys and eagles begin hard incubation immediately and this means that the third catch could be several days difference in size and development than the first.

Just look at SE 29 and 30. 29 is standing so tall with its big crop while 30 is enjoying a private feeding from Lady. Look very carefully at 30 since we can see the top of the head, the chest, the wings and back and – of course those pink legs standing so tall. Weeks 5 and 6 show the biggest change from the fluffy chicks with their down to the stage of an eaglet. There is now down left on the head (maybe a dandelion or two on 30). Dark feathers are starting to show everywhere – they are the most gorgeous espresso brown. The chicks are spending a lot of time preening now as feather growth is said to be itchy (how does a human know that?). They are now able to stand like 29 is doing without the aid of the wing tips. They will begin flapping and might make some attempts at self feeding.

Notice that beautiful light rust that is appearing on both of the eaglets. If you have never seen a juvenile Sea Eagle you are going to be so surprised at how stunning their plumage is. Notice also how those beaks continue to grow long and strong.

Dad was nudging Mum at the Port Lincoln Osprey nest to get up and give him a turn. It was 23:42!

Andor visited the Two Frasers Bald Eagle nest in the Channel Islands. It looks like he now has some time to regain his strength after helping Mama Cruz raise Lilibet and Victor. He certainly must have had a nice lunch!

The streaming cam at the Minnesota DNR Bald Eagle nest is now offline until the 17th of November. Mark it on your calendars. I wonder if Nancy will have a new mate for the next breeding season????

Both eaglets at the Glacier Gardens Bald Eagle nest have now fledged. Congratulations to Liberty and Freedom for another successful year. Believe it or not, the Bald Eagle season will be getting underway in Florida in the next 4 weeks or thereabouts. Goodness.

Kielder Forerst posted that one of the 2022 fledglings, Frankham, is now in Spain enjoying himself on the llobregat River in Catalonia. His ring number is Blue 439 and he was the first to leave Kielder this season. Frankham was from nest 1A where Mrs YA raised the chicks after Mr YA did not return after they had hatched. Congratulations Kielder Forest!

439/Frankham seen in Spain

Did you know that there are 10 Estonian Black Storks with trackers on them this year? Kaia and Karl II along with Waba and Bonus from the Karula Nest are amongst the ten. It is going to get busy once they start moving. Kaia remains near Liaskavicy in Belarus in the wetlands of the Priyjpat River.

A new book, Birds. A Complete Guide to their Biology and Behavior by Jonathan Elphick has arrived on the desk. Review to come.

Have a lovely Saturday everyone. Take care of yourselves. I look forward to seeing you soon….and remember, if you have a question, send it in. There could be 50 or 100 people wondering about the same thing!

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams, posts, and videos that form my screen captures: Ojai Raptor Centre, Berry College and ‘L’, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, The Guardian, Orange, Australia FB, 367 Collins Street by Mirvac, Sea Eagles@Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre Sydney Olympic Park, Port Lincoln Osprey, Explore.org and the IWS, and Looduskalender.

Early Thursday in Bird World

24 August 2022

Good Morning Everyone! Do you feel like autumn is coming? It is chilly in the house this evening (Wednesday), The evening temperatures are dropping on the Canadian Prairies but, it will be 28 C this week during the day. I watched the squirrels in the garden fetching peanut after peanut – storing them away in their nests and around the garden for the winter. They do not remember that there are plenty of peanuts and solid seed cylinders during the winter for them. In a week and a half many of us will be traveling to birding hotspots outside Winnipeg to see the beginnings of the arrival of large numbers of birds from the North. Already there are postings about long lines of Canada Geese flying South. Thursday turns out to be a crisp morning – sweater weather now but that will be shed shortly.

A young Least Chipmunk comes to visit. Least Chipmunks are the smallest of all chipmunks. They have five dark and four light stripes along their sides and three dark and two light stripes on the face. Their fur is orange-brown, and their underside is greyish-white. Their habitat in our neighbourhood was destroyed with the building of large condos and they are finding new places to live.

In the Mailbox:

From ‘P’. “We are always told that Ospreys do not respond well to being in care. Is this true?” The first example that I think of when I hear this question is Smedley, the Osprey with the droopy wing who lived in care for 28 years at the Audubon Centre. One of the care givers at the Audubon Centre, ‘L’ answered the question this way for us: “Many times, people assume Ospreys do not do well in care. They do overcome the nervousness that is characteristic of osprey. They’re known to be the lovers and not fighters of the raptor world but they show the same adaptation, feisty spirit and will to survive as all species do. We have had so many here at Audubon with injuries from the short term to severe long term….adults to juveniles to fledgling. I walked into the clinic a couple of weeks ago and saw half a dozen with hoods on so they stay calm just stood around waiting to be hand fed. You definitely can’t do that with hawks, eagles and owls.”

Many have written to ask what happened to the Osplet on the Finnish nest that was always attacking its mother? As a reminder that was the chick on nest #3. The parents are Ahti (male) and Nuppu (female). FYI: Nuppu had on a couple of occasions taken the fish arrival and not fed the chick which might have just prompted that aggressive behaviour.

Here is that famous video:

That very healthy chick fledged and here is a video of Tuulos returning to the nest to get a fish meal two days ago. Lovely juvenile Osprey. Oh, I hope this one is a survivor – he sure has the drive.

A Sparrow Hawk visited nest #3. As it happens everyone in the Northern Hemisphere is getting empty nest syndrome right now.

In the News:

Worrying news coming out of the UK this morning. A white-tail Eagle on the Isle of Mull has tested positive for Avian Flu. A number of eaglets have died on the nest or right at fledge. This is terrible news for the WTE population. Here is the article on the impact from the RSPB:

https://www.rspb.org.uk/about-the-rspb/about-us/media-centre/press-releases/mull-white-tailed-eagle-chick-dead-from-bird-flu/?fbclid=IwAR0ae5Qd6FSGEI9MFj5zxbPL4bIDracUna3nkCqj-dH7ktFu8CxO6V6cu1g

Port Lincoln Ospreys has made its mark in Australia for its efforts to save the Ospreys. They need no introduction on my blog for their tireless efforts to get platforms up and nests off the shores so that predators do not get the eggs, chicks, or the adults.

They shot the hen harrier. In order that its killing would go undetected, its wings were cut off with the tag and tracker attached to a Crow. It is not know if the wings were ripped off the raptor when she was alive or dead. Her name was Asta. “She vanished from a known raptor persecution hotspot, in an area managed for driven grouse shooting – an industry with an acknowledged filthy history of persecuting birds of prey, and particularly hen harriers, as demonstrated by decades of prosecutions, convictions and endless scientific evidence.” I have never suggested that violence was in any way the right choice in any conflict but I often do wonder what if the individuals who tear the wings off a helpless bird, or shoot an arrow through the head of an innocent goose or other bird or animal were to have the same treatment done to them – would it help stop this inhumanity! I am happy to attach the short blog that explains this story in full. We are at a time when we are celebrating the successful fledge of two hen harriers in the reintroduction programme in the UK. Will they also be shot over a grouse hunting estate ——or can we begin to hope that that archaic sport is pasts its sell-by date?

Hen harrier’s ‘wings removed’ & its satellite tag fitted to a crow in sick ploy to disguise the crime

There are growing calls to ban the killing of wildlife in the United States. Can you hear me saying, ‘thank goodness’! What happens in the US often has a reciprocal impact on us in Canada. Indeed, one of the wetland areas that I visit just sent an invite for a Zoom talk on this years numbers and how this will impact hunting!!!!!! No thank you.

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/how-killing-wildlife-became-a-game?fbclid=IwAR2kwKSzHZXKlUpFN7RqWymrwbqz4WmXO0-40zkmdK3xNNy1YmV6FUik-9I

The BBC is asking people in the UK what it will be like where they live as our planet continues to heat up. I would love to see this for the rest of the world. My concern is – of course – the raptors. Will they arrive earlier? Will the intensification of rain along the coasts cause issues with osplet health and survivability in Wales? The whole story is here:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt-d6338d9f-8789-4bc2-b6d7-3691c0e7d138

Alongside this news I am always asking how can we help our raptors and other wildlife mitigate or adapt? One of my dear friends lives in Singapore and before the pandemic, I visited this area often. Her father was the second President of Singapore from 1971-81, Dr Benjamin Sheare’s. Sheares’s predecessor, Lee Kwan Yew launched Singapore as a garden city in 1967. The idea was carried further in 1992 with the sustainable blueprint, Singapore Green Plan (SGP). This was updated in 2021. Today, half of Singapore is gardens and this is set to increase. Every family will live within 10 minute walk of a green space, cycling areas are being extended while car licenses will only go to clean green aka electric cars. The ash from the garbage collection will be used as an alternative for sand in concrete. Water, green spaces, and even more trees will provide a richer environment for the birds that live in this island City. Further clean ups of the environment will also benefit all of the large raptors that live by the docks and the marina such as the White-bellied Sea Eagles.

https://www.greenplan.gov.sg/

I have been increasingly concerned about heavy metal toxicity in our raptors since Victor tested positive for zinc. As many of you know our world seems to be full of galvanized materials. Yesterday my galvanized chain link fence put here by the previous owner in 1991 was removed. For those of you that have bird cages, last week I posted an article that ‘C’ had sent about the bars being zinc and Cockatiels showing a high level of zinc when tested. ‘C’ has sent me another article on the impact of lead. Thank you ‘C’.

https://rsdjournal.org/index.php/rsd/article/view/12701

Nest News:

In Winnipeg, there are some really late hatches. You have already been subjected to my concerns over the late-hatch ducklings at the nature centre where I walk and at a few other manmade ponds in the City. Last year I was taking photographs of the Cooper’s Hawk fledglings in late June at our Zoo. This year they had to wait for the owls to fledge their owlets (they used the hawk nest) to lay their eggs. The hawklets are so little. There are 5 of them. The crystal ball foresees some sleepless nites come October!

At Glacier Gardens, Peace has yet to fledge. Sibling Love as been flying around, on and off the nest early showing how it is done.

I have a new osprey nest for you with what appears to be a good camera. Put it on your list for next year as it seems the female has already left on migration from Maryland (30 July). The information page includes the history of the nest for the past 2 years.

It is the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge Nest and they raised two chicks this year. Here is all the information:

https://www.friendsofblackwater.org/river-osprey-cam.html?fbclid=IwAR1oRNIiMjuYO8SgfVnAJV-jB-CaEBqLq_cJZ7qzIfgU53igmdIct-0xeuE

You might remember that Harry, the male at the Minnesota DNR nest was injured or died. Nancy had to raise the two eagles alone. The youngest was pushed over the nest by its elder sibling when food was in short supply and had to be euthanized. The eldest fledged. Now there is a new male suitor for Nancy. Lady Hawk caught him in a video with Nancy on the nest.

Rosie was on her perch this morning in San Francisco. Any day she will depart for her migration leaving Richmond behind who will be waiting for her return on Valentine’s Day.

The Birds of Poole Harbour posted a fantastic tweet. The one surviving historic fledgling from the Poole Harbour nest in 2022 was seen in the harbour fishing!!!!!!!!!!

Anyone that has ever watched the Loch Arkaig Osprey nest knows that Louis is quite amazing. Today he delivered two big fish – 9 minutes apart – so that both Sarafina and Willow would have their own. Incredible. Is this a record? Willow on the left and Sarafina on the right — two great fledglings for 2022.

Dorcha, Louis’s mate has left on her migration but Mrs G is still at Glaslyn. She was spotted eating a fish in the trees today. Aran continues to keep the fledglings fed. Today Blue 499 has had at least two very large fish!

Idris is not only keeping Padarn and Paith in fish but also himself as well as chasing off intruders today.

Blue 022 continues to deliver fish to H51 at the Poole Harbour nest. Happiness still abounds at the presence of their own ospreys despite losing one to the goshawk attack. CJ7 and Blue 022 did an amazing job as first time parents…a dream come true for CJ7 who waited several years to find a mate.

It is impossible to see the band but at least one of the female fledglings is still on the nest at Rutland waiting for Blue 33 to bring in the tea time fish.

No worries about SE30 getting enough to eat. Goodness. That crop is so full it isn’t even making a nice soft pillow! You don’t look very comfortable 30!

Lots of Kissy-Kissy going on early in the morning between SE 29 and 30.

When the pair turned around you can see some dramatic changes. Look at the plumage on the heads, the chest, and then notice…some of that incredible rusty brown is showing on SE29 under the wings and moving over the chest. Gorgeous.

Bets continue to be made on when Diamond will lay her first egg. If the number of mating attempts is anything, that nest should be full to the brim this year! Moderators are saying in less than 5 days. That would be 29 August. I will say 28 August. What do you think?

Bonding in the scrape…then mating on the tower and then Xavier returns with a nice juicy pigeon. Doin’ good today Xavier!

Diamond got out quick before Xavier could change his mind and want it for his breakfast.

You did really well Xavier – a nicely plucked and prepared fat pigeon for Diamond.

A video of a prey transfer between Diamond and Xavier.

Suzanne Arnold Horning caught Big Red and Arthur on the Cornell Campus Wednesday evening — and she also spotted L2. So L2 is still living with Mum and Dad in their territory.

Big red is moulting. 23 August 2022
L2. 23 August 2022
Sweet Arthur. 23 August 2022

So many things going on in Bird World but for the Northern Hemisphere, the birds are on the move…while many of us turn our attention to Australia. Thank you so much for joining me today. Please take care. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their videos, streaming cams and posts that made up my screen captures: Finnish Osprey Foundation, Port Lincoln Ospreys, CBC, BBC, Glacier Gardens, Blackwater Ospreys, MN-DNR, SF Ospreys and Golden Gate Audubon, Friends of Loch Arkaig and the Woodland Trust, Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Dyfi Ospreys, LRWT, Poole Harbour Ospreys, Sea Eagles @Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre Sydney Olympic Park, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, and Suzanne Arnold Horning.