Tag Archives: Tiny Little Bob on Foulshaw Moss is holding its own

Oh, for the love of Ervie

It is no secret that my long-term research project on third hatch Ospreys that survive can cause a whole lot of heart ache. The opposite side of that is the sheer joy in watching these ‘thirds’ come into their own. Some suffer much more than others. In 2021, one of the worst was Tiny Tot Tumbles on the Achieva Osprey nest in Florida.

There is Tiny Tot Tumbles beside sibling 1. I often called her ‘Big Nasty Sister’. She is the reason that many people do not like to watch the Osprey nests. That said, sibling 1 stopped a lot of the beating on Tiny Tot because sibling 2 started. That nestling would purposefully eat and eat and eat so that Tiny Tot had no food.

Beaten and starved. It was hard for anyone to imagine Tiny Tot Tumbles surviving. There she is all submissive, literally starving, while the others eat.

What a beautiful bird Tiny Tot Tumbles became.

Elegant. Tiny Tot Tumbles is one of the most striking juvenile ospreys I have ever seen. Before she left the nest, her plumage was super espresso with only the thinest of white scallop revealing she was not an adult. She was smart. She remained on the nest honing her flying skills, getting stronger, learning how to fight off intruders. It is a shame she is not banded but she has a very distinctive pattern on her crown.

At Foulshaw Moss in Cumbria, no one expected Tiny Little Bob to survive more than a couple of days. The weather was miserable and the two older siblings were 4x her size.

The size difference increased. That is how she got the name ‘Tiny Little Bob’ because she was just so small.

I love this image. Tiny Little Bob really wants some of the flounder that Mum, Blue 35 has. She has watched and waited til the older siblings are full. Then she will make her move. She exhibits all of the hallmarks of a third hatch survivor – patience, fortitude, and ‘focused watching’. They can read the nest.

I wish I had this video recorder earlier so that I could have captures Tiny Tot Tumbles ousting the intruders from the nest! Or more of Tiny Little Bob. I did get it in time to show you Blue 463 in the nest. It is the third week in August. All three of the Foulshaw Moss chicks have fledged. White YW is an incredible provider and he will stay until Tiny Little Bob migrates before he leaves. She will be the last one to leave. Smart girl. She really fattened up for that migratory trip. I only hope that she survived. Few British Ospreys have been spotted in The Gambia and Senegal. There are lots without bands along the coast of West Africa but not the ringed British. Where are they?

Tiny Little Bob is banded as Blue 463. She is the bird on the back of the nest on the right. She is food calling. I want you simply to notice how big she is. Tiny Little Bob became the dominant bird on the Foulshaw Moss nest for 2021. She could fight for the fish with the best of them. Most of the time she used her patience and ‘snake eye’ to get the siblings off their lunch!

At Port Lincoln, Bazza aka Big Bob, tried several times to dominate but, Ervie aka Little Bob wasn’t having it. If you have been following me most of the time you will know that when the three males were banded, Little Bob got the sat-pak because he was the biggest of the three. Unlike Tiny Tot Tumbles who missed 12 full days of meals in the first five weeks of her life, Tiny Little Bob made sure he was right up front by Mum’s beak. I don’t think he ever missed a meal and he would certainly stay til he was full. On the morning of the banding, Little Bob had landed the breakfast fish. That probably helped a lot with that weight in!

There is Little Bob in front with his beak wide open. Just look at those little wings. Oh, my goodness is there anything cuter than a recently hatched osplet?

The thing about the third hatch survivors is that they have lived out of sheer willpower and cleverness. I can almost hear Ervie say, ‘I am not taking anything from you, Bazza!’ They become kinda’ street wise. They watch, assess, and attack. Does anyone remember Tiny Little Bob staring down both of her big siblings? They were not going to get anything by her. You might also remember that Tiny Tot Tumbles took on any intruder protecting the nest. She was fierce. That is how they survive — and I believe that they are actually better able to cope out in the world of Ospreys far away from the nest than their siblings.

Ervie sure showed us what he is made of today.

Bazza had the fish and had been eating. Ervie really likes the back portion and the tail. So he is watching Bazza. I could have made this into a video but what I want you to do is focus on the ‘look’ on Ervie’s face and his actions.

Ervie is the bird on the right. Bazza is in the middle with the fish tail. Falky is on the left and is not interested.

Look at Ervie’s eyes and his open beak as he lands on the nest. He is telling Bazza he wants that fish tail now. Ervie means business.

Ervie is twisting his body. He is not looking at Bazza’s face. He is looking at the fish tail.

Ervie moves up and over pushing Bazza’s head. Ervie raises his wings.

Ervie is totally in front of Bazza. Notice that Bazza is not looking at the fish.

Ervie turns his head around. You can draw a line from his eye and beak to the fish. Ervie is completely focused.

He goes for it.

Ervie dives down to get the fish tail.

He has it. He turns his body and raises his wings. Bazza is being pushed out of the way so Ervie can turn.

He’s got it. Wow. Just look at the impressive wings of Ervie.

Ervie moves over to the other edge of the nest where he finishes the fish tail. The entire take over bid took 19 seconds.

Bazza does not seemed phased and Falky probably wishes he were somewhere else!

These three have just been a joy to watch. I wish each of them had been given a sat-pak so that we could watch their lives unfold. I hope that the hydro poles in South Australia have their protective covers placed on them just as quickly as it can happen. The loss of Solly was a tragedy in terms of understanding the dispersal and long term survival of these Eastern Osprey.

I hope that I have not bored you too much with these third hatches. Each is really a miracle and for me, remembering them helps honour the pain and suffering that they went through to live.

Thank you for joining me. Take care everyone. See you soon.,

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen shots or my video clips: Achieva Credit Union, Port Lincoln Osprey Project, and Cumbrian Wildlife Trust and Foulshaw Moss Osprey Nest.

Late Friday and early Saturday in Ospreyland

There is news in Ospreyland, some good and some not so good. I am going to start with all of the good news.

Those who follow and read about Ospreys know that there are certain ‘truths’ that are held dear. These ‘truths’ get passed down through books, Websites, and conversations. One of those is that a male fledgling will ‘always’ return to its natal nest area on its first migration ‘home’. The question is how true is that statement? Is it 90% true or 80% or with all of the unringed birds is it even 50% true? There are always exceptions! It was reported today that Rutland’s Maya and Blue 33’s 2015 male chick S2 has been breeding in the Biesborch National Park in The Netherlands for the past two years. In 2020 S2 and his mate fledged three chicks and in 2021 they have two in the nest. Fabulous news.

Male 022 has been courting CJ7 since he first returned as a two year old from his first migration. Initially, this young male wasn’t quite sure of the ‘process’. What he didn’t know he made up for in enthusiasm. Could he hear everyone shouting “Bring her a fish!” Sometimes he would bring a fish but he would not share. Sometimes he shared. Meanwhile they were mating all over Poole Harbour – seriously, they were. 022 has certainly grown into understanding his role. He has been working on the nest with CJ7 and today he brought her a fish and gave it to her to enjoy – a gift. How sweet. He has done a sky dance for her and now we watch and then we will wait for next spring when everyone hopes that these two will be a couple and raise some chicks. 022’s sky dance was the first seen in 200 years in Poole Harbour. Oh, please let this couple have a nest of healthy chicks next year that fledge! Poole Harbour might announce a holiday in their honour.

The eldest chick has fledged at Foulshaw Moss, Blue 464. The others look surprised! Who will be next? That special moment was caught here on a short video:

Tiny Little has been doing a lot of wingersizing. Will he be next? He is doing a great job and I know that he is going to grow up and be as strong and fierce as Z1, Tegin.

And Tiny Little is clever, like Tiny Tot in the Achieva Nest. Today, he sniffed about and found a piece of leftover fish that the other siblings had forgotten. Tiny Little had a nice little self-feed over in that front corner. He is a survivor.

You can see that he is still Tiny but not as tiny as he once was! What a little cutie. In addition, his eyes are fine. There were some early issues, perhaps from one of the older siblings pecking him about but all seems fine now. Tiny Little is in the clown feet stage!

White YW brought in a nice fish for Blue 35 for breakfast. Guess who was first in line? You got that right – Tiny Little! Go Tiny Little, Go!

Everyone ate and had nice crops and Mom even got the fish tail.

At Loch Arkaig, there appears to be a new couple working on bonding. YP and Blue 152 have been bringing in moss and sticks to add to what Louis did in the early spring while he waited for Aila. It will be grand to have a couple in this nest next year although I have to admit that I wish it were Louis and the new Mrs Louis.

After the heat and the storms the two Osprey nests in Albert, Exshaw at Canmore and the nest at Red Deer appear to be doing well.

This is Exshaw this morning. It is a sunny dry day and the chicks are sleeping after a 5:35 am breakfast.

Legacy is doing fine, growing like a bad garden weed, down in Red Deer:

Good news coming in from Loch of the Lowes is that the first fledgling has returned to the nest and taken its second flight with mom, NC0. The first fledgling at Foulshaw Moss, has also returned to the nest. Well done!

Now for some of the sadness. The concern in Canada’s West is the growing number of wild fires active in the province of British Columbia. Last week 330 were added to a growing list of over 780 fires. The impact on wildlife now and in the future is alarming not counting, of course, the human and property cost. The province desperately needs rain and lots of it.

News has come to me from my friend, ‘T’ that goshawks have taken the lives of two banded Osprey chicks in a single Latvian nest and another chick at a nest in Spain. This is so very, very sad. The chicks were big – already ringed – in earshot of fledging.

“Goshawk” by Andy Morffew is licensed under CC BY 2.0

‘L’ has reported that a fledgling Bald Eagle was killed when it landed on a power line in Dayton, Ohio. This is so very sad because we have known for decades the problems with power lines. There could be a silver lining to this story – the community has spoken to the local power company and they seem willing to do something to their poles so that these tragedies will not happen again. Let us hope that they work fast. There are other fledglings in that nest! Indeed, every power line needs to be ‘bird friendly’. This should be standard practice.

Thank you for joining me on a sunny and going to be crispy hot Sunday on the Canadian Prairies. The news in my garden is curious. After the extreme heat wave, the number of birds at the feeders seems to be less. Strange, however, is the now regular appearance of a dozen or more Blue Jays. We always had 3. Mr Crow and family are not happy about the Blue Jays but they won’t enter the yard to try and escort them away. Perhaps the number of Blue Jays has driven the other birds away — except for Mr Woodpecker and baby. The tiny Downy fledgling was here yesterday! They are always so quick and gone by the time I have grabbed my camera.

Take care everyone. I hope to have news of Big Red, Arthur and the Ks this evening. Stay safe, stay cool. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I get my screen shots: Fortis Albert Red Deer Osprey Nest, Fortis Albert Exshaw Osprey Nest, Cumbria Wildlife Trust and Foulshaw Moss Osprey Nest, and the Scottish Wildlife Trust and Friends of Loch of the Lowes.

Nest Hopping News for 1 July

Juvenile Osprey Blue 096 has fledged from the Rutland Manton Bay Nest of Maya and Blue 33 (11). It happened at 12:12:27 pm.

He looks up.

Wings begin flapping. Blue 095 goes, “oh, not this again! This nest is getting too small for flapping. I wish you would just go away!”

He’s on tippy toes and grabs the wind and…

Blue 096, male chick of Maya and Blue 33 (11) fledges on 1 July 2021.

Jack delivers a breakfish to Tiny Tot this morning. Oh, thank goodness! It is 28 degrees C and the weather service says there is a 40% of a thunderstorm around 5pm in St Petersburg, Florida. Thanks, Jack!

By 9:29 Tiny Tot will have that fish out of dad’s talons and she will be saying ‘Yum’.

There were, to my knowledge no fish deliveries to Tiny last evening. She was really waiting and watching for dad. Turns out it is a small headless fish, a bit of a teaser for our gal who chowed down on that whopper the other day, this morning.

Look at those magnificent wings. Tiny, you are such a gorgeous bird!

Well, one of those nests that I suggested you watch when others get stressful just turned up the noise. Lady Hawk posted a video of the Royal Cam chick going to visit her neighbor SSTrig and the neighbour gets into a big territorial dispute. Taiki is very social and meant no harm but we now know there won’t be any afternoon tea parties with these two. Here is that video:

There is great news coming out of New Zealand. Remember I love this country for the way in which it takes care of its wildlife. Well, today, New Zealand announced that it is putting surveillance cameras on all of its fishing boats to make sure that they comply with safe fishing so that no seabirds are caught as bycatch. Way to go New Zealand!

The landscape at the Glaslyn Nest of Mrs G and Aran in Wales is stunningly beautiful. I admit to dreaming of trees and places where you can look out and see birds and not the concrete of the city. Of sitting and smelling the wet grass and hay and not the petrol fumes of cars. Of disappearing into the wilderness.

Aran and Mrs G are spending more and more time together. Aran is able to fish after his injury in early June but he is still healing. There will be no more chicks this year but the couple was seen bonding. That is fantastic!

Aran brought in a big fish earlier that he was eating. I wonder if he shared it with Mrs G who now has a nice chunk and the tail in her talons. He has provided at least one fish to her that was caught on camera which is a great indication of Aran’s continuing progress in healing.

The two Bobs at the Dyfi Osprey Nest in Wales are enjoying a lovely fish that Idris delivered. Telyn is a fantastic mom but that nest is getting a little crowded. She may have to stand on the rails to feed her babies soon. These two are growing like crazy! You might remember that Dysynni, the male, is the largest male Osprey born on this nest ever. Idris has really brought in some of the large fish. It has been determined that many of those fish actually weigh more than Idris – breaking another myth that Ospreys can only carry a % of their actual weight.

It also demonstrates how much food and the quantity of it matter to the health and well being of the chicks. This is the nest of a super dad – as are many of those in Wales and other parts of the UK.

Meanwhile, over in Scotland, the two Bobs on the Loch of the Lowes nest are waiting for NC0 or Laddie to bring them in a tea time fish. Gosh these Bobs are beautiful. The time has flown by and they will soon be hovering and fledging but, in those very first days, I really wondered if Bob 2 would survive the bonking from Bob 1.

And goodness, I woke up this morning and had to look twice to figure out which of the chicks on the Foulshaw Moss Nest of White YW and Blue 35 was Tiny Little Bob! Which one do you think is Tiny Little?

If you said the one closest to the right looking out, you would be right. She or he is watching for one of the parents to arrive with a fish! As noted from the people who ringed the chicks, they could not determine the gender of Tiny Little from the measurements because of its small size at the time. Rumours had gone around that Tiny Little is, in fact, a female.

Today, the Cumbrian Wildlife Trust put out their announcement about the ringing of these three Ospreys. Part of the celebration is that Tiny Little was the 100th osprey chick to be banded in Cumbria since 2001. That is amazing. Here is part of the text that was posted:

“I’m incredibly pleased that we have ringed another three osprey chicks at Foulshaw Moss Nature Reserve this year. For a time we we’re unsure if the smallest chick was going to make it. It was rapidly being outgrown by its bigger siblings but it carried on fighting for its share of the food from mum and dad. Now there’s not much difference in weight – and it was the smallest one that was the 100th osprey chick to be ringed in Cumbria since 2001! Osprey chicks are weighed by the licenced bird ringer and each chick is given a coloured leg ring. This year we have Blue 462, a female weighing 1.6kg, Blue 463 weighing 1.5kg – gender unknown, and Blue 464, a male weighing 1.6kg”.

Paul Waterhouse, Cumbria Wildlife Trust

I wanted to check in on the little Golden Eaglet in Bucovina, Romania. He has changed so much in just a few days. Most of the white feathers are gone and are now replaced with the beautiful dark black kind of espresso coloured ones for the juveniles.

The female has come to the nest to feed the eaglet. There were lots of bones and scraps of meat left on them. It is unclear to me whether or not the mother has brought in new prey or is using what is in the pantry.

You can look and see the remote mountain area where this nest is located. I continue to hope that the parents are able to find enough prey for this little one to thrive and fledge.

Thank you so much for joining me today. I regret I have no images of the Ks for you – maybe later today. They are off exploring the trees and some of the buildings with Big Red and Arthur. Everyone is fine; they are just not around the nest!

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I obtained my screen shots: Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Cumbria Wildlife Trust and Foulshaw Moss Osprey Nest, Scottish Wildlife Trust and Friends of Loch of the Lowes, Achieva Credit Union, Asociatia Wild Bucovina, LRWT and Manton Bay Osprey Nest, Cornell Bird Cam Royal Albatross and NZ DOC, and Dyfi Osprey Projec. I would also like to thank Lady Hawk for her video clip of the territorial dispute between Taiki and SSTrig.