Oh, everyone is watching for news about Victor so you will already have seen what I posted below – but, oh, Physical Therapy for Eagles. Makes me smile. All of us are hoping beyond hope that they can find what is wrong with Victor so he can be ‘fixed’. That is the key isn’t it: what is wrong with Victor?
What a great little video clip. Chase teaches Lancer to work for that fish!
The Mum at the Jannakadan Osprey nest in Finland was eating a morning fish and appeared to be much better at swallowing. What a wonderful sight. Could it possibly be that the fright for the health of the Mum is over? Oh, goodness,. wouldn’t that just be a blessing!
Thank you ‘B’ for sending me the latest update on Victor that was posted on the Ojai Raptor Centre’s FB page below the image.
Look at Victor having to work those legs.
Victor being held up so that he can work his legs.
“Physical therapy time! ORC staff Veterinarian Dr. Stephany Lewis uses this technique for physical therapy for our raptor patients, as well as an assessment and monitoring tool for animals with neurological diseases. Spinal trauma is extremely difficult to diagnose on avian radiographs, but should be visible on CT scan. The CT scan on this eagle performed at VMSG did not show any evidence of spinal trauma, though further review of the CT is still pending. A West Nile Virus PCR test and a toxic heavy metal blood panel are still pending and we will update as we know more about this case.”
Did you notice that old clean towel with the holes cut through to support Victor? Do not discard your old towels that are clean. Keep them, gather others from friends, family, and neighbours. I kid you not – they are used so much in the wildlife rehab clinics. Then deliver them to your local clinic. They will be ever so grateful!
Dear Victor. So many people are sending you love and support. You can do this little buddy! If you go to the Ojai Raptor Centre FB page they also have some videos of Victor working those legs. Please watch. He is working so hard.
There was also a posting by Humane Indiana Wildlife – not specifically about Little Bit ND17 but all the animals in their care. Take the time to read down closely. I am going to take a giant leap of faith and presume that Little Bit will also be required to have hunting skills and be independent before he is released. That is just terrific news. The staff had never mentioned this but surely it is their intention. Here is their statement on their FB page:
This morning I have another video of that teenage osprey with attitude. It is nest #3 — thanks, ‘S’. I am not sure whether to feel sorry for Mum or just roll in laughter.
Small fish continue to come to the Osoyoos nest – both chicks are eating and Mum got the tail but this nest has to be ‘hungry’. Thanks Dad for all your hard work trying to find fish in this hot weather.
There have been intruders around the Hog Island Osprey platform of Dory and Skiff. The three kids really know how to pancake when someone is around.
It is fish deliveries and practice eating at Mispillion as the two fledglings continue to have some fun flying. This nest has done well. It has been fun to watch Mum decorate. I wish I could send her the sunflower the birds planted for me. I think she would love the yellow.
If you love the Llyn Clywedog nest of Dylan and Seren in Wales, then you know the name John Williams. Last year he did a lot of spotting and driving and figuring to find out where Dylan was getting the Brown Trout if he wasn’t catching them at the Reservoir. He is the person who also gives us some great images of Dylan out fishing sometimes. Here is some more information on John but also the history of the nest if you want to keep a record.
That is brief news this morning. Will be watching for a pip at the WBSE nest in Sydney. It looks like the little one at Chesapeake Bay will be it for Tom and Audrey this year! Grow fast..you are the youngest of all the babies of 2022. Take care everyone. Have a wonderful Saturday. See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams and/or FB pages where I took my screen captures: Ojai Raptor Centre, Finnish Osprey Foundation, Humane Indiana Wildlife, Osoyoos Ospreys, Explore.org and Audubon, Mispillion Harbour, and Explore.org and IWS.
It was really fantastic to hear from ‘B’ that there are super donations going into Ojai Raptor Centre for Victor from the Fraser Point Nest on Catalina Island and for Little Bit ND17 who is in care at Humane Indiana Wildlife. They are much loved not-so-little eagles. Forever grateful to those that work in the wildlife rehabilitation clinics donating their time and volunteering so that the wildlife get the very best care they can have. They do it with love, not for money.
Victor made the newspapers today! California loves its raptors and it is always encouraging to see stories about the Big Bear Valley Eagles – the antics of Spirit and her parents, Jackie and Shadow and those ever adorable Cal Falcons – Annie, Alden, Grinnell Jr and Lindsay.
Again, some of those amazing eagles and ospreys get forgotten when there is a crisis. Takoda is one gorgeous fledgling. Mr President continues to supply him with wonderful fish. Looks like an early morning catfish.
Wonder if Dad will bring in a dinner fish?
Lancer is on the rocks by the Two Harbours nest late this afternoon.
It doesn’t look like there is anyone home at the West End Bald Eagle nest of Thunder and Akecheta.
If you love California Condors, the Condor Cam is up and running and there are Condors in the trees around the site. They are often there feeding on carcasses provided for them by the Ventana Wildlife Society.
Here is the link to the camera in Big Sur:
This is a very quick look at a few nests this afternoon. I have spent the day creating a flight path for the garden birds – and there is a huge mess to clear up. I hope that everyone is well. Check in on your favourite birds. Many are about and still coming to the nests for food. Take care. See you soon!
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams and/or FB pages where I took my screen captures: Explore.org and the Institute for Wildlife Studies, Ventana Wildlife Society, and the NADC-AEF.
With all of the troubles in the Osprey nests, I missed that Chase & Cholyn’s only eaglet of 2022, Lancer, fledged on the 22nd. Here is a video of that first flight!
This is the very latest information from the Pitkin Osprey Nest.
This was one of the original postings if you are not familiar with what happened at this nest.
These poor Mums who have lost their chicks. Just like Mum at Pitkin, Electra at Cowlitz PUD continues to return to her empty nest after the Bald Eagle took all three of her very healthy osplets. Heart wrenching.
There are three beautiful osplets in a nest in the Ramuka Forest in Poland. They are a little older than the ones at the Pitkin Nest. Napi has just brought in a fish for Lotewka and the two chicks. The oldest hatched on 24 May and the youngest on the 26th of May. The oldest is 30 days old today (Thursday) and the youngest is 28 days. They are doing so well. Napi looks tiny next to those big chicks.
I was able to catch a late feeding at the Mispillion Osprey Nest in Delaware. You might recall that Mum removed her pretty yellow mesh and has replaced it now with a bright green-blue ‘something’. I want to say rope but it doesn’t look like rope. Anyone have any ideas? I hope that Mum removes this before any member of the family gets tangled!
When I did my last check on Little Bit 17 and the ND-LEEF nest, Little Bit was fine. Prey had been delivered and so far – fingers crossed – the nest is holding. ND15 had found another branch on which to perch but, to my knowledge there had been no sighting of ND16. When the branch broke that both 15 and 16 were on, both flew away. It had to be quite shocking and traumatic. As many times as I got furious at 16, I really do not wish for that lovely bird to come to any harm.
ND15 has found a strong branch on which to perch.
Little Bit is going to sleep duckling style. I just wish he would move away from that edge. I don’t know if it is lens distortion but it certainly appears to be leaning down as if it could give way. Optical illusion – let’s hope.
The ND-LEEF nest is looking more precarious where 17 was resting yesterday. Oh, I wish Little Bit would find a place to perch on a branch. Little Bit has beautiful wings and in days he is ‘old enough’ to fly but, his tail still seems not long enough.
Dawn is just breaking at the Dyfi Osprey nest in Wales of Idris and Telyn. The three chicks are old enough to sleep in the nest without Mum who is up on the perch with dad. they will be ringed next week!
The wee one – Bobby Bach is what he is called at this nest – will be 4 weeks old tomorrow. Big Bob will be 31 days and Middle Bob is 29 days. Ringing next week – the norm is 35-38 days but not later than the 43rd as they could bolt then. Telyn is giving all of them their lunch. Nice big healthy chicks.
It is a bit of a misty morning at the Loch of the Lowes. I can see the remnants of a fish left over from last night on the nest.
At one point, Blue NC0 was on the nest sleeping. It takes a lot out of the females during breeding season. Cornell Bird Labs estimate that by the times the chicks fledge the females will have lost 30% of their body weight. They also need to replace all that calcium. It is not as easy as it might look even in such a beautiful place. I have mentioned it before but I like to in case someone missed it – no one is allowed around the loch during breeding season, from 1 April to the end of September. That is so there is no disruption to the birds other than other intruder birds!
The two surviving chicks at the Llyn Brenig nest are quite small in comparison to the two at the Loch of the Lowes. Mr AX6 has delivered a morning fish much to the delight of Mum and the two chicks who seem to have really grown over the past couple of days. It isn’t a huge fish and it is alive! Oh, dear. Dad did not take any for himself – maybe because it was so small.
There are three little osplets at the Fortis Exshaw Nest in Canmore, Alberta. The wind is ripping through tonight. Thank goodness it is not as hot there as it is here. Rain is forecast over the next two days. I really hope that Dad can get fish on the nest with the wind and rain – so far he is doing well. The little ones are doing some beaking but this is pretty natural at this stage. We want to see it stop, however!
This is the link to this streaming cam.
Oh, those babies are so tiny at the Hog Island osprey nest in Maine. It is the home of Dory and Skiff. I mentioned the little one’s names yesterday but just a reminder that they are Schooner, Slipjack, and Sloop. Dory is a first time Mum. Fingers crossed especially when there are three!
Oh, they are just soooooooo tiny.
Skiff has brought in a fish for everyone – you can just see the peach and pink from the sun setting over the water. Cross your fingers and send good wishes to this family!
There are three little Bobs at the Osoyoos Osprey nest in British Columbia. Osoyoos is located close to the US border in an area that is known to be one of the warmest spots in our country. Last year the chicks died during the Pacific Northwest heat wave. Fingers crossed for this year.
Aran is such a great fisher. Him and Mrs G have one of the best locations – except for the intruders. Kids were sure happy to see that whopper today…and so was Mrs G – ever anxious to get at it! There will be some for her, too.
Someone asked if the males feed the osplets. Many do! Some of the males really do enjoy feeding their chicks. Some females will also fly out and fish once the chicks are big enough they will not be predated. Blue NC0 at Loch of the Lowes is a great fisher.
Here is Louis at Loch Arkaig feeding the chicks while Dorcha looks on.
The storklets of Jan and Janika are to be moved to a forest enclosure soon. They are still being fed by the remote ‘Dad’ and look at how well they are doing.
The four Windsbach kestrels are still with us. Europe is going through a real heat wave and they are huddled in the corner out of the sun.
They perk up when Mum comes in with their tea time snack!
Ahote arrives at the West End nest of Thunder and Akecheta early hoping to get in line for breakfast before anyone else!
Lancer is at Two Harbours waiting for breakfast too!!!!!!!
Checking on Ervie. His latest tracking shows no visits to the barge. PLO think he has gotten the message that he is not welcome! Did I miss another visit to the nest? Would love to see Ervie! Looks like he is fishing close to the shore. Puffers???
I would like to say that things have slowed down and are uneventful after the past couple of weeks of troubles. The tree at ND-LEEF is very worrying. The staff are excellent and they have been out looking for ND16. I have heard nothing about 16 being seen. 15 has been perched on another branch. It is 17 of course that is the worry. That eaglet fought so hard to live that it would be a real tragedy if the rest of that nest collapses before it can fly. I wish it would get up on one of the branches! Send real positive energy that way! In other news Lindsay has been up on the Campanile and that is a good thing. If you are wondering how long L3 will be in rehab, probably 3-6 weeks plus flight training. They should teach her how to hunt at the same time so that she is insured of success once she leaves the Centre. And they will probably band L3 and we will find out if she is a she or a he.
Take care everyone. I hope that you have a wonderful day. Thank you so much for being with me. It is pretty quiet in Bird World. I will be back tomorrow. See you then!
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams and/or FB pages where I took my screen captures: Cowlitz PUD, Explore.Org and the Institute for Wildlife Studies, Ospreys Online-Ramucka Forest, Mispillion Ospreys and DDNR, Pitkin County Open Spaces and Trails, ND-Leef, Dyfi Osprey Project, Friends of Loch of the Lowes and the Scottish Wildlife Trust, Llyn Brenig Ospreys, Fortis Exshaw, Explore.org and Audubon, Osoyoos Ospreys, Bywyt Gwyllt Glaslyn, Friends of Loch Arkaig, People’s Post Code Lottery, and the Woodland Trust, EMU, Windsbach Kestrels and PLO.
The record breaking rains coupled with our current heat warning mean that it feels like a rainforest on the Canadian Prairies. The songbirds are happy. The lilacs and vines have grown enough that they are providing cooling shade for the birds. The temperature drops tremendously – just like walking into the Bamboo Forest at Arashiyama outside of Kyoto – when you enter their area of the garden.
37 degrees C or 98.6 F today. Heat warning. Winter went to summer with tonnes of rain and flooding. The new normal?
Yesterday L4 was jumping all over the rails just as he had done the day before. The question on everyone’s mind was when is L4 going to fledge? Well, he flew this morning! 07:03:36. L4 landed in the trees across the street taking off from the rail where he loved to dance and jump. Congratulations! Big Red and Arthur have successfully fledged 4 hawks.
Ready…set…
Go!!!!!!!!! And L4 is off to the trees over by the Fernow Building across the street.
Rosie and Richmond’s two osplets were banded yesterday and the banders believe that they are two little boys by the leg measurements. Sweet. Today is the last day to vote on the name pairings! Here is the SF Bay Ospreys announcement:
The little Red-tail hawklet- Malala- that arrived for lunch and stayed to be adopted at the Bald Eagle nest on Gabriola Island (just off Vancouver Island) – has branched and is really growing. Consider its size compared to the eaglets and how fast it is at getting prey. Now think of Little Bit 17. ND15 and ND16 might be big but ND 17 is quick, like the hawklet, as lightning.
Yesterday Thunder and Akecheta’s triplets were on the nest together for awhile. So nice to see the Three Amigos. Beautiful, beautiful juvenile eagles.
Thunder’s sister at the Two Harbours nest of Chase & Cholyn is big and beautiful. Parents are bringing in the fish – there were three yesterday!
Spirit is a regular visitor to her Big Bear Valley natal nest. Her ‘eagle’ eyes see Jackie and Shadow coming in with fish and she is on that nest! Fabulous.
In the first image, Spirit has spotted a fish delivery. She rushes to the nest.
Those parents really have to be careful with those talons. Shadow’s beak is extremely sharp.
Whew.
It did not take long for Spirit to polish that fish off!
Remember when?
Saturday evening Mum arrived on the ND-LEEF nest and fed the three eaglets the rest of the raccoon. ND17 had a nice little crop after – he did appreciate the raccoon! 15 and 16 had some bites and left.
Sunday morning a really large fish was brought to the nest at 08:52. Little Bit 17 stole some of that fish at 09:01.
At 09:14:24 Little Bit 17 grabs more of that fish and rushes over to the rim to eat it while a big sibling stands behind him. I sure hope he got that nice tail portion!
Takoda is still branching – have not heard of a fledge at the National Arboretum nest in Washington, DC yet.
The nest of Aran and Mrs G is really getting to look like part of the field down below. All three of the chicks are doing grand.
Aran flew in with a really nice fish at 13:43! It was a lively one.
Not to be undone by Aran. Idris is on a roll and this morning he brought in a very rare Shad to the nest to the envy of all watching. Telyn was quite happy to take that whole fish and feed it to the Bobs!
CJ7 might be a first time mother but she is a really smart one. She had a nice piece of fish tucked under some nesting materials to feed the Bobs first thing this morning – they were hungry very early.
Blue 022 has proven himself to be a young but reliable Dad – several fish deliveries including this one at 15:47. Blue 022 is flying off and CJ7 is up and ready to feed the babies.
The three Bobs on the Manton Bay nest of Blue 33 and Maya are as big as Mum when she is feeding them. All bets are on for tomorrow (Monday the 20th) being banding day provided a boat and a bander are available.
Everyone is tired after a big meal.
The latest tracking for Ervie shows him staying around Port Lincoln and his unusual haunts. This comes from the 18th. Did he visit the barge?
Other quick news. News is coming from Patuxent River Park. An osplet fell through the platform because a Beaver chewed a large hole. A new platform is going up. Will follow up on this. There was a hatch at the MN Landscape Arboretum Ospreys on June 17 at 08:26:34. A pair of Ospreys landed on the Collins Marsh nest above the old fire viewing tower. I hope they do not stay. This nest needs to be removed and a new platform built with a ladder and a perch! And the pond needs to be stocked with fish for them. The fishing has been hard for Laddie and Loch of the Lowes with no fish delivery so far on Sunday. I sure hope Blue NC0 goes out fishing – the Bobs are too big to let starve!!!!!!! Has something happened to Laddie? If you watched the Decorah North nest, DN16 has fledged. The three Black Storklets of Jan and Janika have yet to be moved to their ‘forest room’. I am told it will be soon. This is the latest feeding video from Liz. They are getting their itchy feathers!
Happy Father’s Day to all those bird fathers out there caring for their mates and their chicks and/or eggs! Here is a lovely tribute from Cal Falcons – grab a tissue! Lindsay and Grinnell Jr are one of the positive things to come out of Bird World this year!
Take care everyone. It is a busy day on the nests with lots of things happening. Thank you so much for joining me today. See you soon!
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams and/or FB pages where I took my screen captures: SF Ospreys, GROWLS, Explore.org and the Institute for Wildlife Studies, FOBBV, NADC-AEF, Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Dyfi Osprey Project, Poole Harbour Ospreys, LRWT, Cornell RTH Cam, EMU and Liz, ND-LEEF, and Cal Falcons.
The Cape Henlopen State Park Osprey nest kept me occupied for a large part of Monday . It is a very complicated situation. There are two intruder birds. They are distinctive in the very thick eye band. One has quite a good necklace and the other does not. Their eyes are close and often look like when we say ‘snake eyes’.
As the sun was setting both of the adult birds were on the nest. You can see their distinctive eye bands that are thick and go right to the shoulder. Except for their necklaces you might want to think they are twins.
One of the birds has some feather damage. It is the one who moved the chicks out of the nest. At first I thought the little chick had its wing caught in the talon but watching the bird try to remove and then in a second try achieve getting one of the bigger chicks off the nest – it was deliberate. She just didn’t have a good hold on that wee third hatch and it is probably – or was – at the base of the platform.
This bird has some interesting feather damage in at least two areas. I hope to get someone who knows about feather issues to examine the photo. It looks like a section around the scapula V on the right has been cut or torn or there are feathers missing. You can see the feather on the right hanging. The bird has flown on and off the nest carrying the chicks but returns quickly so she is just dumping them close by.
It appears that there is a third bird that is around the nest that these two are concerned about and it could be the Mum of the three dead chicks. Of course, this is simply speculation on my part. We have not seen that bird and none are ringed.
There are no adult ospreys on the Cape Helopen Osprey nest tonight, 13 June.
I have received word from ‘A’ and ‘EJ’ that the two intruders were at the Henlopen Osprey nest this morning and at one time a fish was brought and removed. The female intruder has also removed the third dead osplet from the nest. ‘A’ mentions the third osprey that has been bothering me. Is it Mum? is she injured? If it is her – our hearts go out to her. She has sadly lost her entire family.
I remember in an online discussion and chat with Sean and Lynn at Cal Falcons, they mentioned that the problem with the success of reintroducing these species is that there are too many birds. There are territorial fights, etc. Perhaps also it is the amount of habitat loss due to population growth and building, climate change and being able to get adequate food that is also a problem. For the Osprey there is then the issue of trees. Unlike Bald Eagles, Ospreys like to have their nests at the top of a dead tree. So many trees have been lost to deforestation and wildfires and in my community if someone sees a dead tree, it is cut down. Only in the marshes and mangroves do I see them. In South Australia they are busy building platforms in good places for the Ospreys if they have seen Ospreys nesting like Turnby Island. The new platform is up and the Ospreys are already on it along with most of their old nest. Do we need to get building more platforms? And if lakes and streams can be stocked for people to go fishing, what about the birds? It does appear – from many nests – that the success of both the Osprey and Eagle reintroduction programmes have caused issues for established nests – some outright tragedies. There must be some solutions.
Little Bob at the Loch of the Lowes was shut out from the evening feeding. Indeed, he had not eaten all day Monday that I am aware. Both Little and Middle stayed well out of the way of Big and just let him eat. Then Middle went up. By the time Little got up to the table the fish was gone. If this is a problem with Laddie not bringing in enough fish now – then Blue NC0 needs to step up the game and go fishing.
Big ate almost all that fish and has a big crop and so does Middle. Poor wee Bob. They can last for several days. We have seen this on many nests but it is time Little Bob had a good feed. Fingers crossed for Tuesday.
This is Blue NC0 defending the nest and chicks against the intruder.
The situation at the Loch of the Lowes has not improved. There is a ringed intruder and as such Laddie and Blue NC0 are both dealing with that. A fish finally came in at 16:00 but both Little and Middle Bob are getting pounded. Little Bob did not even raise its head and beg for food. There are any number of people worrying about this nest. I will be checking on it later. Some of the Osprey groups are already posting thoughts for Little Bob – he cannot go much longer if he is to live. I do not think he will make it either. So sad. Middle ate yesterday.
I started making a list of all the sadness at the nests this year and will post it later today. It has been a year of tragedy.
The West End fledglings – Ahote and Kana’kini – are really using their wings and learning how to land. Two of the chicks on the natal nest watch one of the siblings (I believe it is Kana’kini) fly off the nest and land on Transmitter Rock.
Perfect landing.
Kana’kini was still on Wray’s Rock Tuesday morning. She had flown there on Monday. Tuesday morning Ahote and Sky were on the natal nest when a fish delivery came in at 05:42. Waiting for Sky to fledge.
Kana’kini and Ahote have since flown off leaving Sky on the natal nest.
At the Two Harbours nest of Chase and Cholyn, Lancer will be 10 weeks old (70 days) tomorrow, the 15th. Cholyn is still flying in to feed their big girl!
There are big storms moving through the area of the ND-LEEF nest. The camera is out of sorts. This could seriously impact any prey deliveries for tomorrow. Little Bit 17 really needs a good meal tomorrow.
The system is going to impact a large area that have nests.
The camera is down because of the storm at the ND-LEEF nest. The eaglets are ND15 75 days old, ND16 74 days old and Little Bit ND17 is 70 days old. It sure would be a shame to lose this little fighter now. What a time to have a storm – backed up with days of little food. My goodness.
I haven’t checked on E1 and Nancy at the MN-DNR nest lately. Nancy made a prey delivery, E1 mantled quickly and was very aggressive to the adult. This is normal behaviour in eaglets getting ready to fledge.
There was a lot of strong winds and rain over night at the MN-DNR. The system is due to be about the same as the one in my city. It will calm down and may begin again. E1 survived it fine – thank goodness.
At the nest of Big Red and Arthur, it appears that the only eyas left to fledge is L4. Little cutie pie. And little cutie pie took advantage of having its big siblings off flying and getting prey elsewhere to eat up two prey items on the nest and get an enormous crop! Sometimes there are advantages to having your other siblings fledge. This might also work for Little Bit if everything came come together to get the parents able to find prey to deliver. I understand that this time of year at this particular nest prey deliveries suffer.
Big Red’s kids do not have that problem. Arthur is excellent at delivering food and Big Red is often hunting herself. They did a marvellous job this year. Amazing.
L4 could fledge. He has 5 going on 6 dark stripes and he is 47 days old. remember the average age of fledge is 46.5 days at this nest.
I love the stretching exercises after the meal. He stretched both sides like this.
The UFlorida-Gainesville Ospreys are not sleeping on the natal nest tonight.
The adults are dropping off fish on the nest and both of the fledglings, Big and Middle, make their way there when they see the parents flying in that direction. Big had the fish and then Middle got tired of waiting and took it. Both had a decent feed. These two are doing fantastic.
It is always good to remember that what you want to see are the chicks being fed by the parents on the nest after fledge. At other times, they will feed them off nest like they did with Little MiniO at Captiva. Often times the fledglings bolt and well, they need to get home. You might recall if you watched the NEFlorida Bald Eagle nest that Legacy (2021) was missing for about six days. She was so glad to find home she didn’t leave for another month!
It is early morning in The Czech Republic and Betty is feeding the four White storklets at the Mlade Buky nest. Oh, look. They are getting their pin feathers. Fantastic. Note: The smallest, the 5th storklet was eliminated on Sunday.
It is also lousy weather in Estonia but Karl II has been out fishing for these babies. Did you know he flies 10 km to get the little fish? It is monitored by his tracker.
Liz did a lovely – and short video (I always appreciate her short videos getting right to the heart of the matter) – of the three Black storklets of Jan and Janika’s in care late Tuesday having a meal. They are doing so very well. I think that you are witnessing an intervention that is going to go very, very well.
All three osplets on the nest of Aran and Mrs G in the Glaslyn Valley are doing quite fine. Just look at that face of Mrs G. I certainly would not want to mess with this Osprey Mum. In the second image all have crops after their afternoon tea time meal.
Idris taking the head off of the tea time fish for Telyn and the three Bobs. There is definitely not a problem at this nest!
Little Bob is in the middle and Telyn has been feeding him – and he will be fed til his crop is full! (or they run out of fish)
Llyn Brenig Ospreys have had their troubles. The third hatch died but the two surviving osplets appear to be doing very well. Let us hope that the horrible weather that has swept through the nests dissipates and gives these families a break!
The two surviving osplets at the Loch Arkaig nest have been enjoying all that nice fish that Louis brings in. The tea time one was a little too close to the lads or lasses but both got fed. Big Bob looks like he could be a problem. Let us hope that he isn’t! There is always fish on this nest of Dorcha and Louis.
They have had their problems up at Llyn Clywedog but it looks like those are behind them. Dylan brought in a huge Mullet for Seren and the three Bobs at 16:00:03. Just look at their crops after their tea.
That is a hop, skip, and jump through the nests with troubles and some of those that are doing so well. Seeing those three at Llyn Clywedog after the fear that Dylan was missing just warms the heart.
Last, Alden delivered what appears to be a pigeon. Annie gets it and this translates into a food fight between Lindsay and Grinnell, Jr. Neither have fledged yet but it is just morning in California! Fledge watch at Cal Falcons.
We may never know what ultimately happens at the Cape Henlopen State Park Osprey nest until we see who is on the nest for the next breeding season. If it is Mum who has been trying to get her nest back, let us hope that she either does so safely or she leaves the territory in good health to find another nest and mate.
I am working on two different pieces for you. One of Wildlife Rehabilitation Centres and their importance and another on the birds that we have lost since last 1 July. It is sadly a very long list. I had hoped to have the one on the rehabilitation centres finished this week but the events at some of the nests took over.
Thank you for joining me. Take care everyone. See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams and/or FB pages or videos that I have captured and used for this blog: Liz M, Cape Henlopen State Park Ospreys, Cornell RTH Cam, ND-LEEF, Friends of the Loch of the Lowes and the Scottish Wildlife Trust, CarnyXWild, Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Dfyi Osprey Project, MN-DNR, Explore.org and the Institute for Wildlife Studies, Llyn Brenig Ospreys, Cal Falcons, Llyn Brenig Ospreys, Eagle Club of Estonia, Mlade Buky White Storks, UFlorida-Gainesville Ospreys, and NOAA.
The rain stopped but the grey skies remained. I went in search of Wood Ducks. Last year there were Wood Ducks everywhere – not this year with the flooding. Well, they are not at their old hangouts for sure. I found 11 at one park and none at another.
It appears to me that the Wood Ducks are now laying eggs on the island since the water has gone down at one of the parks. I also noticed more Canada Geese nests.
What was even more surprising were the lack of Mallards. Mallards are typically everyone at the pond. One couple swimming about and I found another in the forest where the water was still high.
I had so hoped that the ND-LEEF nest would improve today. Little Bit 17 is in the other area of the nest without the camera so I cannot check. Tiny Tot Tumbles went without food for 72 hours and she had less ‘fat’ than Little Bit. We are heading to 72 hours now. I really hope that 17 had some food earlier but without actually seeing it myself, I cannot say for sure. Sad when things between May 16-26 went so well. I want to make one comment. I have seen lots of tiny thirds – more than I want to think about. Each and every one that survived appeared ‘stunted’ at some time during their development. Each with the help of the adults got big – three last year being the dominant birds on the nest at the end. Right now, I just want 17 to survive. Then we will see. 17 is little like Tiny Tot Tumbles at the Captiva nest – he has missed out on a lot of food. She had a total of twelve 24 hour days without food. She fledged and she was awesome. I don’t want to give up hope but not every nest will have success. It is heart breaking when it doesn’t happen. The parents are virtually absent – fishing might be rough. Prey items might not be available. With a road closed, bad weather, and weekend people on the river – there is less carrion and well, getting food can be hard.
So, let’s jump to a nest with three eaglets that have thrived. It is always good to step back and be thankful for the joy! This nest had two bad years and just look. We almost had a catastrophe when one of the eaglets fell down and Dr Sharpe had to come and rescue it. But here they are this morning – the ‘Three Amigos’. Gosh, they are beautiful. I cannot praise Thunder and Akecheta any more than I have and, I really want to shout out Akecheta who grew up this year and found out what it is like to be a dad. He was loving it! Kana’kini, Ahota, and Sky will fledge and I hope we get to see them return to the nest for awhile as they get those flight wings.
Lancer is one beautiful bird over at the Two Harbours nest! Chase & Cholyn have done a great job with this Only chick this year.
Of course, we cannot forget about Spirit – a perfect name for a very high spirited eaglet.
Jackie and Shadow will be proud of their only chick of the 2022 season – a real wonderful hatch. We were all so happy for both of them after two years without having any success. They will be ready to deliver fish to Spirit once she fledges so that she has a brilliant start in life.
I love Spirit and Jackie hanging out together! Is Mum giving her daughter tips?
Here is a short video by FOBBV. Spirit almost had lift off on the 27th.
There are three healthy Bobs getting a nice meal from Blue NC0 at the Loch of the Lowes Osprey nest in Scotland. Yipppeeee.
There are absolutely no hints from Louis or Dorcha about any pips or cracks. These two can surely keep a straight face. So glad the bad weather seems to have moved from Loch Arkaig!
Dylan and Seren Blue 5F are doing fine with their three Bobs. The little one is up there and ready for food once the others are passed out.
Dylan arrives with some more fish and pauses to see how things are going. He has heard a rumour that one of the Bobs got caught up in house keeping and was pulled out of the nest cup. He has come to make sure there are still three – and there are. That little one rolled back in. Chicks are very resilient.
Seren feeding Little Bob. Life is good!
There is fish on the nest at UFlorida-Gainesville. One of the osplets has a big crop and the other is fine. There is fish available if it is hungry. Doing good!
R2 is still showing up at the WRDC nest in the Miami Zoo and Mum and Dad, Rita and Joe, are still supplying fish! How sweet is that?
Blue brought a whopper of a fish to Maya and the trio for their bedtime feeding! I sure would love to give a piece of that fish to ND Little Bit 17.
Just a beautiful nest of hawks at Cornell. Big Red and Arthur really showed everyone they could handle four eyases without even breaking a sweat! Gosh, will they try for five next year???
It’s a real hard day when a nest and a little one is in trouble. The parents at the ND-LEEF nest have been absent for the entire afternoon. It is an extremely volatile situation.
Thank you for joining me. All of the other nests are doing really well. We may even have a hatch at Poole Harbour. Remember to turn in your name suggests to Cal Falcons for Annie, Grinnell, and Alden’s chicks! See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cam where I took my screen captures: UFlorida-Gainesville Ospreys, Explore.org, LRWT, CarnyXWild, WRDC, Friends of Loch of the Lowes and the Scottish Wildlife Trust, Cornell Red Tail Hawks, and FOBBV.
The Guardian is carrying a story this morning about the overfishing. How does a government stop the current unsustainable levels of fishing? They buy out the fisheries! What a great idea. Australia is spending 20 million dollars to do just that in the south-east of their country. The government said that they are doing this “because of climate change and environmental factors, which are preventing the recovery of some populations.”
Every time we look at our beautiful birds that rely on fish — cute little Pippa Atawhai and QT, their parents, Wisdom the oldest Albatross in the world at 71, etc. we need to remember that warming seas and the use of huge fishing trawlers by some countries of the world are depleting the fish that keep them alive. We can stop this if there is a will. Australia just showed us how to do it!
It was so nice to turn on the UFlorida-Gainesville Osprey cam this morning and see a fish delivery at 10:41. Middle was really hungry and wasn’t going to let anything stop it from getting some fish. Bravo.
Mum started out in a position favouring Big but moved with her head at the rim which really helped Middle get some fish!
It was a nice fish this morning.
The UFlorida-Gainesville camera is having some issues today. I was, however, able to rewind til 07:08. It is not clear if there was a small fish delivered or a stick. Later, Middle chewed on an old bone. He really is that hungry. Fingers crossed for more fish today. It is 80 degrees and the winds are only blowing at around 4 kph.
It is difficult to know what is happening at the SF Bay Osprey nest of Richmond and Rosie. SFOspreys and Golden Gate Audubon have not announced any pips or hatches. The first egg was believed to hatch from 12-15 of May with the second in the range of the 13-16, and the third from the 16-17. We can only wait to see what happens. The streaming cam has no rewind so you have to wait and hope to catch a glimpse of the eggs. Rosie never gives any secrets away.
Jan and Janika continue to change off incubation duties for their Black Stork Eggs at their nest in Latvia.
It is the 17th of March. While we wait for Rosie to have pips and a hatch and the Osprey eggs to hatch in the UK, Lady and Dad are busy putting the finishing touches to their White-Bellied Sea Eagle nest in the Sydney Olympic Forest! We should be expecting eggs in about two weeks. Put it on your calendar!
It looks like Dad spent the night at the nest.
Here is the link to the WBSE streaming cam:
It is three days until 20 May when Steve and Cody are set to turn off the camera at the Kistachie National Forest Bald Eagle nest in Louisiana. It has been a great season with Louis and Anna and their second chick, Kincaid. Two beautiful juveniles the pair fledged – Kistachie in 2021 and then Kincaid this year. Kistachie was the first eaglet born in the forest since 2013. It was a ‘big deal’ for the eagles to return to this nest. Louis is such a great provider. Looking forward to next year and hoping that all three have a great summer and fall.
All five little eyases are present and fed this morning at the Manchester, NH falcon scrape.
Nancy was off hunting and E1, Harriet, got fed quite early. Fantastic. Nancy is doing a good job being a single Mum. I know that we all wished that E2 was with us. It is impossible to know – if Nancy had brought fish on the nest earlier – whether or not the outcome would have been any different. It is always sad to lose a vibrant healthy eaglet, always. And, of course, Harry. Lost before he even hit his prime.
A lot of people are watching the Dale Hollow nest in anticipation of a fledge. There were 100 this morning. Those eaglets are very restless!
Here is the link to the Dale Hollow streaming cam:
The trio at Manton Bay at Rutland are doing great. Growing and growing. Blue 33 keeps that nest full of fish and Maya continues to feed them on average 8-10 times a day.
I have seen no alerts yet as to when the only eaglet on the Two Harbours nest will be ringed. If I hear in time I will let you know! The eaglet is really growing fast – much bigger than when Dr Sharpe rescued it when it was on the side of the cliff! That was a wonderful intervention that saved the life of this baby. Thank you Dr Sharpe!
My garden is full of European Starlings and Blue Jays this morning. There is a host of White-throated Sparrows and White-Crowned Sparrows as well and the lone Harris Sparrow couple. It is drizzly. Today is removing all of the layers and layers of vines that have been allowed to grow on the garden shed so that the birds could hide from Sharpie, get out of the weather, or make a nest. They are going on the wood storage boxes where they will help for the same reasons. Lots to do – never enough time. So grateful that the flood waters are continuing to recede. Someone spotted some goslings this morning. That is so wonderful. Most of the nests have been ruined. Hopefully the drivers will practice patience and respect if the parents move them across the roads.
That is a wrap for this morning. I hope that all of you have a very wonderful day. Take care. See you soon!
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: UFlorida-Gainesville Ospreys, DHEC, Explore.org, LRWT, MN-DNR, Peregrine Network, SF Ospreys and Golden Gate Audubon, KNF, and Sea Eagle Cam@Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre.
I get the most fantastic mail and have the most wonderful readers – you. Today, ‘EJ’ wrote to tell me about a nest that I might enjoy. I think you will love the heart warming story of this Kestrel family in North Yorkshire. Robert E Fuller has a number of web cams set up about his property. One of those is a Kestrel nest. This year the male and female had six chicks. Sadly, as EJ explains, the female got in a tussle with an owl. She returned to the nest only once after that. As you probably know, males are not so good at feeding chicks – that is normally the role of the female. What would happen to the six chicks? Robert Fuller took the three smallest to raise by hand. He left the three larger chicks in the nest. And guess what happened? Dad learned, after a little trial and error, how to feed his chicks!
This is a fantastic video. Look at the size of the chicks an see how the one horks own the snake. Incredible. I did not think they could do that at this age. Always learning something wonderful from the nests.
Dad is going to have to hunt during the day and stay with the chicks or nearby when the owls are out at night. They are still small and need protection. Send all your positive energy towards this great family. Oh, and the three small chicks are doing well. Google Robert Fuller on YouTube if you do not already subscribe.
Thank you, EJ. This is a really, really positive story – one that we need!
The UFlorida-Gainesville Ospreys. ‘R’ sent me the dates for the three chicks today. Thank you so much! The eggs were laid on 27 Feb, 1 March, and 8 March. If I recall correctly that is the same difference between Solly and Tapps at the Port Lincoln Osprey barge in 2021. That did not end well – both chicks died of starvation and siblicide actions. Sad. According to the news article below, Big hatched on 5 April at 16:45 with Middle hatching the following morning, 6 April, at 10:00. The article was published on 8 April and they were still waiting for Little Bit to hatch.
This now makes Big 39 days old and Middle would then be 8 days old. In reality, Big is only 17 hrs and 45 minutes older than Middle. Look at them – Big is a ‘big’ female and Middle has to be a male but – we will look at them again nearer fledge. Fledging for Western Ospreys normally occurs from 7-8 weeks or 49-56 days. We will have a way to go – but it will fly by quickly!
There is a great article on the UFlorida-Gainesville nest that I just located. It has 13 images. Have a look. It is fascinating reading and many images you would not have seen!
Around 16:20 Mum brought a fish to the nest. In the image below, Big is behind Middle. She raises her head and walks towards him. Mum will begin feeding Big.
Middle gets its head down in a protective pose.
Mum begins feeding Big.
By the time four minutes is up, Middle is on the opposite side of Mum screaming for fish.
Mum feeds Middle. I was shocked but – she has been better with feeding Middle the past couple of days. Middle is like Middle Little at the Captiva Osprey Nest ——- he is ‘very’ loud.
When the feeding was over Middle had a really nice crop!
‘R’ sent me a lot of maps and information on the places where Mum and Dad fish. I hope to get that organized for all of you for tomorrow or Monday.
This is Alden. He spent some time with the eyases this afternoon. You might recall that Alden brought in a moth and tried to feed the chicks yesterday. Today he just went in with them. They see a parent and think ‘food’. Alden did some ‘fake feeding’ but I think he is going to get the idea just like the Father Kestrel.
Cal Falcons made a 2 minute video of Alden visiting the chicks. It is funny. Alden, I love you!
There is no pip yet – that I am aware while I am writing this – at the Osprey nest of Richmond and Rosie in San Francisco Bay.
Watching birds incubate nests is like waiting for the paint to dry.
Nancy and E1 Harriet were just enjoying a nice meal as the sun begins to lower itself at the MN-DNR nest.
All of the nestlings were anxiously awaiting fish at the multitude of feedings they had today at the Manton Bay platform of Blue 33 and Maya. Gosh they are soooooo cute. The baby is at the far end.
Chase and Cholyn have made sure that Two Harbours 1 (TH1) was full to the brim today. Wow. That almost looks painful.
There is news from Denton Homes today. You will recall that the three nestling Bald Eagles died very quickly from Avian Flu. Dad later died of Avian Flu also. Surprisingly Mum who consumed the infected chicks survived. Today, Mum was seen with a new potential male mate. I did not catch it – but, life goes on. Well done, Mum.
Five full sleepy falcons at the Manchester, NH Peregrine Falcon scrape. Gosh, these parents must be awfully busy — and so much for being able to see the chicks if they are at the other end of the box. Looks like the wee ones have been decorating the mirrors! All five are well fed. No worries.
Falcons can be very loud but, I don’t think quite so loud as ospreys. The four in the nest in the Polish forest had a great feed yesterday. Have a look at what it is like to feed four bigger falcons. Wow.
My apologies to everyone at Utica Peregrine Falcons. I think that I posted the wrong image for Astrid and Ares’s scrape with their two chicks.
The site of the camera links also as a great blog about all the daily activities with the chicks and their parents. Here is the link to the several cameras that cover this nest in Utica, New York:
That is a very quick check a few of the nests we have been watching. It has been a busy day – cloudy, grey skies, rain, then cloudy. It was bird count day and it has been busy in the garden. I am shocked at how many oranges and jars of grape jelly Baltimore Orioles can eat! Of course, they are so cute.
He seems not to have been able to decide how best to get at that orange slice.
It was all a lot of fun.
Thank you for being with us today. Take care. See you soon!
Thanks to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: UFlorida-Gainesville Ospreys, MN-DNR, LRWT Manton Bay, SF Bay Ospreys and Golden Gate Audubon, Friends of Utica Falcons, Dolina Baryczy Falcons, Cal Falcons, Denton Homes Eagles, Robert Fuller, Peregrine Networks, and Explore.org.
Good Morning Everyone! I hope that your Friday is a very good one.
Have you seen this old film titled Osprey?
In the Q & A discussion at Cal Falcons, one big difference between Grinnell and Alden that has been noticed is that Alden hunts at night. He also seems to be hunting in exotic places bringing in various prey items. Last evening the kids and Annie had a bed time snack at 22:00.
Alden on the left and Annie, who has just taken prey item, on the right. Look at those two smiling eyases! How grand. Both ate extremely well, the little one falling into a food coma first.
All are wide awake first thing in the morning and ready for fish at the Manton Bay Osprey nest at Rutland. Blue 33 (11) has been flying in with more and more fish during the day. The three are doing very well with the flapping perch incident well behind them! A great way to start a Friday.
At 11:50 Blue 33 took a turn feeding his chicks as Maya looked on.
More food around 14:00. Maya is pretty much feeding the chicks every two hours. The trio will grow fast!
The streaming cam to the nest of the Lesser Spotted Eagles, Anna and Andris in the Spruce Tree in a forest area at Lemgate, Latvia is back on line. The couple are incubating one egg which is set to hatch in June.
Both eaglets are still on the nest at Dale Hollow. They are 75 days old today if you count hatch day (28 Feb). Gorgeous birds who are now filling in almost the entire nest. They are definitely within fledge range which is normally 10-12 weeks for Bald Eagles.
The eaglet at the Duke Farms Bald Eagle nest is four days older than the pair at Dale Hollow.
Middle Little was on the platform at the Captiva Osprey nest this morning early calling for dad, Andy, to bring in a fish. All four of the family can be seen flying around the area and since Middle Little and Little MiniO are the only fledglings, Lori has been able to take images from her kayak and is certain it is them screaming for the parents to bring fish. Lori is returning to Canada today. If you have enjoyed watching the Ospreys and all her help finding them to reassure us all are alright, why not go to the chat today and just give her a little thank you. It has been a great year at the Captiva Osprey platform – a first in a long time to have osplets fledge! Thanks, Lori.
At 07:25:29, Dad delivered a fish to the UFlorida-Gainesville Osprey nest. Middle started cheeping right away and managed to get into position quickly, on the opposite side of Mum, to get some nice fish. That is a great way to start the day at this nest. It is 22 degrees C, winds were at 6 kmh at the time of the delivery with the pressure rising. The weather forecast is for a thunderstorm later today.
Nice to see that fish this morning before the weather turns bad.
Big did not seem threatening but Middle still got around the back of Mum and over to the opposite side calling loudly for food. Good for you, Middle.
Mum did give Big the first couple of bites before Middle got up front but then she fed both. I hope Middle is getting his confidence back!
Oh, this camera can be annoying. That is Middle with its wings spread. Growing. Getting to the point that Big really cannot do too much damage other than throwing Middle off the nest — which I hope is not going to happen. The thunderstorm is forecast to begin around 16:00 nest time.
Nancy and E1 – Harriet – were rearranging straw on the nest this morning. There continues to be a sub-adult around the nest. Both Nancy and E1 continue to do as well as expected as a nest with a single parent. Look at Harriet help her Mum!
Cholyn fed TH1 at 05:33 from the fish that was left overnight.
Just look at that beautiful golden glow over the nest shining on the face of our beautiful Mum. It won’t be long til Dr Sharpe climbs up the cliff to band the eaglet. I will see if I can find out when that is going to be for everyone. If you know already, let me know!
They have fledged but both Jasper and Rocket are still hanging around the nest tree getting food from Samson and Gabby. Gabby normally migrates north when it gets hot while Samson stays in the Jacksonville area. Last year he kept feeding Legacy for some time. It is so nice to see the birds on the nest. Look close. One of the eaglets is on a branch almost at the left bottom corner.
The two eaglets on the Decorah North nest of Mr North and Mrs DNF are well and doing just fine. Bad weather has been going through the area with a Derecho or Inland Hurricane with winds of 100 mph going through South Dakota and area yesterday. Fingers crossed for all that were in its wake.
Big Red and her gang of four eyases are doing just fine this morning, too. The chicks are relaxing after having breakfast and Big Red has been on the nest doing some allopreening.
Big Red is so beautiful.
This has been a great way to start a Friday morning. All of the nests appear to be doing well. In Canada we traditionally plant the annual flowers on the May long weekend which is connected with Queen Victoria’s birthday. That is next weekend. Everyone will be at the greenhouses stocking up on flowers and vegetables and mixed in there will be me today. Take care everyone. Thank you so much for joining me today!
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Latvian Fund for Nature, LRWT, Cal Falcons, Captiva Ospreys and Window for Wildlife, Dale Hollow Eagle Cam, Duke Farms, UFlorida-Gainesville Ospreys, MN-DNR, Explore.org, NEFlorida-AEF, and Cornell Bird Lab RTH.
As citizens of Manitoba, we are really learning about what it means to live on the floor of what was once Lake Agassiz —- in other words, a flood plain. Two more Colorado Lows are set to dump more water on a province that is flooded south of Winnipeg and north of Winnipeg. One big lake save for those communities who spent funds on creating their own dams. The loss is enormous but looking at it from a wildlife perspective, one has to wonder where all the deer, the nests, and the animals have gone. I have seen one image of deer walking along a railroad track that runs from Winnipeg to the US border trying to find dry land and food. That border is now closed as are many highways and even some bridges in my City. Years ago one of our Premiers decided to build what was teasingly called ‘Duff’s Ditch’. Well, everyone should be grateful to Duff Roblin for having that kind of insight. The City is mostly dry and safe.
There are few birds in the garden as the raindrops begin to fall on a grey day.
I am as nervous as Blue 33 (11) is as he comes in and off the nest at Manton Bay checking on Maya and the eggs. There are three. At one point you could only see two, has there been a hatch? So, we wait for confirmation one way or the other! I cannot see any egg shells so I suspect that pesky egg is hiding!
It is certainly time to begin checking on the Black Stork nests in Estonia and Latvia. There is something curious that I noticed which I suspect my friends in Estonia have known all along. Jan and Jaanika laid their eggs a whole month earlier this year than last. In 2020, the eggs were laid on 12 May, 14 May, 16 May, and the 18th of May. Hatch from 14-17 June. This year the eggs were laid on 15, 17, 19, 21 April, 23 and the sixth and final egg on 25 April! This is excellent – the timing. Last year the couple was so very late that Janika started her migration before the chicks had fledged. It was a very difficult time and the food for the chicks was supplemented by fish being brought to the nest by the wildlife specialist, J Kuze.
The Black Stork in Estonia is so rare that every effort is made to help them that is possible.
I am not a stork expert. It would seem, however, that the parents cannot support six storklings very easily and they will probably select the three strongest. But, we wait to see.
Here is the link to Jan and Jaanika’s streaming cam in Jogeva County, Estonia:
I also checked on the nest of Karl II and Kaia in the Karula National Forest in the south of Estonia. The eggs for this year were laid on almost the identical dates as last year. Those days were 24, 26, 29 April and 1 May. Hatch began in 2021 on 28 May.
This is the link to Karl II and Kaia’s nest in the forest.
Sadly, it appears that Grafs and Grafiene did not return to their nest this year in the Sigulda Region of Latvia. Did they not survive migration? or did they decide to locate their nest elsewhere? I do know the answer to this but I will try to find out.
There is only one osprey nest in Latvia. This year only the male returned, Theo. He tried to attract many females to his beautiful nest. It is hoped that a young female, tagged UV and an Estonian female, will stay with them. Mating was attempted this morning but UV was not receptive. Sadly, this nest is a bit haunted. None of the former chicks have survived due to goshawk predation.
Here is the link to the Kurzeme camera of Theo:
In comparison, the Osprey nest of Ivo an Iiris in Tarta County, Estonia has done well. All of the couple’s chicks fledged last year!
Pip watch will begin on the 21st of May. That is only 12 days from now. Here is a link to Ivo and Iiris’s streaming camera:
Gosh, Big Red is gorgeous. It is so hard to believe she is 19 years old. She is in such good shape this year. What a beautiful golden glow on her and the four eyases as a new morning wakes up on the Cornell Campus.
This is a great nest to watch! There is plenty of time to watch these eyases develop, fledge, and then learn to be a ‘hawk’. Arthur will teach them flying and hunting with Big Red joining in. There is nothing better than seeing the parents teach the chicks how to hunt a squirrel in a tree!!!!!!
The two eyases at the Red-tail Hawk at the Presidio Trust Building in San Francisco are doing fine. These two are really growing. Look at the size of that wing. Wow.
Peregrine Falcon chicks are doing well this morning, too. The chicks at the scrape in the tower of Chichester Cathedral just had their afternoon tea.
All five eyases were fed and happy this morning at the Manchester, New Hampshire scrape.
Sleeping babies at Utica, New York scrape. Will the other eggs hatch? We will see.
Henry and Poppy do a great job taking care of their two chicks at the Cromer scrape. If you are interested in their day to day activities, there is a great blog with this nest that has images and comments of everything that happens on the nest. I will post it after the image of the chicks!
If you are wondering about the third egg at the U-Cal Berkeley scrape of Annie and Alden, don’t. It is non-viable. If it were going to hatch it would have happened on Saturday. What will they do with it? Incubate it, roll it around, or break it – or maybe Sean or Lynne will collect it for the museum when they clean the scrape.
Two healthy chicks are good. They are incredibly adorable.
All three eaglets are accounted for on the West End nest of Thunder and Akecheta.
TH1 at the nest of Chase and Cholyn is getting its blood feathers. There are a few lingering dandelions on the top of the head. It will not be long until this wee one looks like its cousins at the West End.
I checked on two nests in the East – PIttsburgh Hayes with its triplets and the National Arboretum nest. They are all awake and looking good this morning.
The three are beginning to fill up the nest!
Breakfast time for DC9. Looking good. There was a little concern earlier for DC9 because a bird had been brought on the nest as a prey item. Everything seems to be alright.
I want to leave you with a smile. A Canada Goose has chosen a planter on the deck of a Calgary, Alberta couple to lay its eggs three years in a row!
Lots happening today. Some exciting. Some sad. The youngest golden eaglet has been killed at the Estonian nest. It had been beaked by its eldest sibling earlier and prey became scarce and the oldest killed the youngest today. That was the Golden Eagle nest in the Soomaa National Park in Southwestern Estonia. As I mention often, the rate of siblicide is much higher in nests other than falcons and hawks.
Thank you for joining me on this rainy grey day in Manitoba. Take care everyone. See you soon – hopefully with a news of the first Osprey hatch in the UK!
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: LRWT, Eagle Club of Estonia, Latvian Fund for Nature, Cornell Bird Lab RTH, Presidio Trust, Chichester Cathedral, Peregrine Networks, Utica Falcons, Cromer Peregrines, Explore.org, Pix Cams, and the NADC-AEF.
