Tag Archives: UFlorida-Gainesvlle Ospreys

Early Tuesday in Bird World

3 May 2022

News has come that the male at Denton Homes, Majestic Dad, has died. Avian Flu has been confirmed. The Denton Homes nest lost three eaglets and an adult male. The female, Majestic Mum, looks good on cam and is being monitored.

For those looking for information, here are two publications that have good solid information as well as some of the latest news on the spread.

https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/influenza-(avian-and-other-zoonotic)?fbclid=IwAR2wNC51JO4V2JADpz_SGHQR_ovyiwyYpVmAVyxsMBt_rGxtzhROMqBSZEM

https://www.cdc.gov/flu/avianflu/wildbirds.htm?fbclid=IwAR03jx2Iw6YSAPQL9jJ4zvAzT58C9UcEgEAiAycbiOyALsOY1wEsLmjzJbA

This is one of the last images of E2, that sweet little eaglet off the MN-DNR nest that became a victim of siblicide at the age of 5 weeks. E2 hatched on 23 May and was shoved off the nest by E1 and subsequently euthanized on 30 April.

Dr Sharpe has been very busy. Another chick was to be banded on Santa Rosa Island and Dr Sharpe arrived just in time as the nest had collapsed and dropped. Here is that announcement

There are now five baby Peregrine Falcons in the Manchester, New Hampshire nest

Here is the link to that streaming camera (there are 2 of them).

There is an unease this morning on the UFlorida-Gainesville Osprey nest. I have observed fish being brought in but a bewildered adult and no feeding of the eaglets. An adult brought a fish on at 10:19 (or thereabouts). Both of the chicks began to scream for food. It was interesting watching what is happening. The adult eventually gave up and dropped the fish on the nest. Middle began to self-feed. You might have noticed him chewing on other bits of old fish and bones on the nest.

In the image below, the adult has brought in the fish. Middle is trying to get under here to be fed. (Big has the darker back plumage).

Middle anticipated that the adult would be feeding them and is trying to get to a point away from Big so that it gets some food.

The female places the fish in the middle of the nest leaving it. She did not feed the chicks when she brought in the piece of fish.

The chicks look on as the adult flies away. They do not understand what is going on – the same as me!

Middle begins to self-feed.

The chicks give up on the self-feeding. This picture was taken at 10:31.

At 10:47 an adult lands on the nest.

The adult, at first, appears to be a small piece of fish tail that they have brought in. Then the adult pulls part of a catfish – the head and part of the body – out of the nest. Both chicks are prey crying very loud. The adult appears confused as Middle tries to self feed. Is this Dad? and was it Dad earlier?

The adult looks completely bewildered.

Middle is attempting to self-feed. What is going on at this nest?

Middle had very little food yesterday and, if that were the case the day before, is not starving but getting there. It is clear that Big has no crop and is also hungry but not like Middle.

Middle may have gotten a little flesh off the open end.

While the dropping of the fish on the nest is a good strategy for both if there are two pieces and both chicks are self-feeding, it is clear that these two are not ready to feed themselves. Where is the female?

At 12 noon the adult returns, chicks crying desperately for food. The adult looks around. Is this Dad again? (From the behaviour I am assuming Dad). Where is Mum? If you observe the Mum feeding the chicks (or the dad) please send me a note. I cannot watch the nest all day today, unfortunately. I am quite concerned.

This has been posted on the UFlorida-Gainesville Osprey Nest page if you would like to help name the chicks, the adults, and the nest:

All I have to do is flip over to the Red-tail Hawk nest at Cornell and there is an instant smile. The four Ls do not have to worry about getting fed. Arthur is constantly bringing in food and Big Red feeds each beak until there is not one asking for food.

Larger clutch, direct feeding, lots of food on the nest, no history of siblicide – that is the difference at the Red-tail Hawk nest as compared with the UFlorida-Gainesville Osprey nest.

The West End nest of Thunder and Akecheta is an example of two parents working hard to make sure that each of their offspring survive —- and thrive! Both parents were active bringing in food. Several times they had tandem feedings. And look – Sky, Ahota, and Kanakini. They should all fledge and we hope return and raise their own families in the Channel Islands.

The Mum and Dad at Pittsburgh-Hayes consistently raise triplets to fledge. They hatched on 21, 22, and 25th of March making them 43, 42, and 39 days old.

These are Bald Eagle nests. Examples of siblicide that I listed yesterday include both Bald Eagles and Ospreys. It will be enlightening, at the end of the season, to compare data on species in terms of survival rates. It is also complicated and might not reveal a true picture in terms of prey availability, parenting, genetic predisposition to siblicide, etc. unfortunately. Another interesting comparison will be the rate of success of 3 clutch Ospreys in the UK with those in North America.

At the Hellgate Canyon nest of Iris in Missoula, Montana, the oldest osprey in the world laid her first egg of the 2022 season at 08:13.

Louis arrived a little later – fishless – to see the egg and do what Louis does.

I want to repost Dr Erick Greene’s letter about Iris’s relationship with Louis and why I should not be – nor you – upset with the fact that he has two nests. There is a huge change in the Osprey population that use the Clark Fork River for their food supply. Much of what Dr Greene says can also be applied to other species who are under pressure.

The Anacapa Falcons are doing well.

Things seem to have settled for now so that Bukachek and Betty can take care of their five eggs in the Mlade Buky White Stork nest in The Czech Republic. They have had disturbances – as recent as two days ago- from intruders like so many other nests this year.

It is a soaking morning on the Bald Eagle nest at Notre Dame University. There has been some strife at the nest with regard to the third hatch getting feed. It seems that there are good days and not so good. The weather might well impact feeding and behaviour today.

This is the history of this nest back to 2015: One chick, ND1 in 2015; ND2 in 2016; ND 3 and 4 in 2017; ND 5 and 6 in 2018, ND 7, 8, and 9 in 2019; ND 10, 11, and chick 12 who died on May 14 in 2020); ND 13 and 14 with a non-viable egg also in 2021. The hatches this year (2022) are ND 15, 16, and 17. Hopefully all three will make it.

Notice the turtle shells. James Broley commented that the Bald Eagles love turtle and he always found turtle shells in their nests when he went to band the chicks.

Beautiful female with her two eggs in the Barlinka Forest nest in Poland.

Wow! I just came across this Osprey nest at the US Steelworks Plant in Washington State.

It really helps to have metal workers when you need an upgrade. The original nest was on top of a light pole. Look carefully. In 2012, when a lighting upgrade was required, it was felt that a new nest platform should be constructed. The workers incorporated the old nest with the new metal one in hopes of attracting the birds to use it.

I do not know anything about the history of this Osprey nest. It is in Kalamana, Washington State and the Pacific Northwest had tremendous problems with the extreme summer heat causing many nests to fail. Chicks were leaping to their death to get away from the heat. So this is a warning if you start to watch this nest – there could be issues related to weather at this nest.

Eyases have hatched at the Cromer Peregrine Falcon scrape in the UK. The adults are Poppy and Henry.

The nest is on top of the Cromer Church Tower. In 2020, the resident pair fledged three chicks. In 2021, no viable eggs were laid. Now look at the little ones this year. Fantastic.

Here is a short video of their feeding. Notice how the female holds the prey.

Here is a link to the Cromer Peregrine Falcon page that has a link to the camera as well as lots of images and information.

https://www.cromerperegrineproject.co.uk/

And here is a link to the YouTube streaming cam for Cromer.

I am very interested in the White-tail Eagle nest at the Matsalu National Park in Estonia. Last year the couple hatched two chicks that perished from Avian Flu. It was the first recognized instance of H5N1 during spring breeding and marked a shift from the Avian Flu being prevalent in the fall and winter when it did not impact the breeding season. The two eagles have returned to the nest where WTE have been raised since the 1870s.

Will they lay eggs this season? If so, they are very, very late. In a normal season the eggs would be laid around the third week in March with hatching in late April. We are now 3 March.

This is the link to this nest in Estonia.

If you are watching the UFlorida-Gainesville Osprey nest today and see a feeding, if you do not mind sending me your observations I would be very grateful and would, of course, credit you for those! I am very worried about this nest. The female has to eat and it is possible that she is as ‘starving’ as Middle. Two fish on a nest is not enough to support the female plus two growing and demanding chicks. Thank you so much!

So many nests and so much happening – lots of good and much sadness recently. Thank you for joining me today. It is so nice having you here. Please take good care.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams and/or FB pages where I took my screen captures: The Eagle Club of Estonia, Cromer Peregrine Falcons, U-Florida-Gainesville Ospreys, Cornell RTH, Montana Osprey Project, Steelscape Osprey Cam, Peregrine Falcon Networks, Institute for Wildlife Studies, Explore.org, Pix Cams, ND-LEEF, Barlinka Ospreys, Mlade Buky Storks, and Anacapa Falcons.

Sunday News in Bird World

1 May 2022

Isn’t she gorgeous? Anyone who has followed this nest will know that this is Iris, the grand dame of Ospreys in the US.

Everyone loves Iris. Many are baffled about her relationship with Louis since her long time mate, Stanley, died. Each of us has an opinion about that relationship with Louis and many long for Iris to have another mate and raise chicks. I have always felt that she earned the right to a summer and a winter holiday.

Dr Erick Greene is one of the lead researchers at the Montana Osprey Project in Missoula, Montana. He has studied the Clarke-Fork River, the heat that is killing the trout, and the decline in the Osprey population. He knows everything there is to know about Iris and more.

Today he posted this message about Iris to help us understand what is driving the situation with her and Louis. Please read it carefully. Dr Greene points out that Louis is not the culprit – humans changing the environment are the issue. Something to think about not only in regard to Iris but also to other Osprey nests in the Pacific NW that suffered from heat last year.

Thank you Dr Greene for taking the time to inform us!

I love this image of Iris taken shortly after she returned from her migration in 2022.

In other Bird World news, Nancy brought in a very large fish to the MN-DNR nest at 11:22 and her and E1 had a good feed! This is a relief.

We continue to hope that Harry is off healing and will return to the nest. How sad for Nancy if her wonderful young mate of two years has been severely injured or killed. Nancy seems to be getting a time to rest. Maybe the intruders are gone. I hope that both her and E1 survive. I know she can handle this if there are no interruptions.

The four Ls at the nest of Big Red and Arthur are exceptional. L4’s eyes are not yet focused and it wound up beaking one of the older siblings who caused it to beak another. It is funny to watch. They do not hurt one another and everything will settle down once the little one, a week younger, gets its eyes clear and can hold its head straight. Meanwhile, Arthur continues to fill the pantry.

It is really hot on the light stand at the UFlorida-Gainesville Osprey nest. The two remaining chicks on the nest are doing great. No problems!

The Decorah North eaglets continue to do well amidst worries in the region of Avian Flu. They are looking really good! This is great news.

All of the eaglets at the West End nest of Thunder and Akecheta on the Channel Islands have been named. 23 D is a male and is named Sky. 24 D is a male and is Ahote meaning ‘restless one’. 25 D is the female and she is Kana’kini. Lovely.

I found this great article that shows you what Dr Sharpe has to undergo to get out to the eagles in Catalina and do the work for them that he does – such as two rescues and banding in a period of ten days recently.

https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20160602-a-man-who-saves-eagles-by-helicopter

I really hope you enjoy that article about Dr Sharpe. Want top see someone going well beyond for the eagles, Dr Sharpe is your person!

Thank you for joining me today. Take care all. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams or their FB pages where I took my screen captures: Explore.org and the Institute for Wildlife Studies, UFlorida-Gainesville Osprey Cam, Cornell Bird Lab RTH, MN-DNR, the Montana Ospreys FB, and the Montana Osprey Project.

Friday Morning in Bird World

29 April 2022

Good Morning everyone. The sun is trying to shine in southern Manitoba and the sky is light blue grey. Everyone is preparing for the onslaught of more rain headed our way — will it really be 50mm? That is close to 2 inches.

Mother Goose waiting for the all clear to leap from the Decorah nest. 28 April 2022

First up. I have received a number of letters about the 5th gosling of Mother Goose at the Decorah, Iowa nest. As many of you know, three goslings were with Mother and Father Goose after they jumped out of the nest and two were not. Boots on the ground found 4 and got it with Mum and Dad. Volunteers of the Raptor Resource Project and Mother and Father Goose continued to look and call for the 5th. Sadly, it was found dead. According to the following official release, it was not the youngest that died.

This is the statement released by the Raptor Research Project on their FB page:

“The goslings jumped today! We’ll have video tomorrow, but for now, we know that: Four of five goslings survived and were last seen swimming happily in Trout Creek, foraging along the bank, and following their parents up and down the small pool below the nest. One of the four went the wrong way after jumping! We managed to reunite it with its family after some mad scrambling through the brush, a low crawl across the river bank, and a little rock jumping. This gosling seemed determined to stay with new Papa. David Kester: it took two tries to get it back where it belonged! One gosling died. We initially thought it might have been the last to jump, since it was younger and smaller than its siblings and took a while to follow them out of the nest. But the gosling we reunited with its family was smaller than the one we found dead. We suspect (but don’t know for sure), that the reunited gosling was the last gosling, and the gosling that died was gosling number two. One, three, and four joined their parents quickly, but we don’t think we saw two after it jumped.”

The ‘sad’ part of all of this is that Mother Goose is still looking for her 5th gosling. She was at the nest this morning.

The Cape Wildlife Centre taught us much last season about Canada Geese – if we did not already know. When Arnold had his digit bitten off by a snapping turtle in their pond, Amelia looked and looked for him. She waited on the porch knowing he was inside the clinic (their pond is on the grounds of the clinic). The staff helped them to be together, for her to watch Arnold’s recovery, for them to share meals, and then finally to be outside. The take away from that is that Canada Geese are intelligent and sentinel. Was the dead gosling shown to the parents? And in asking that question I am not criticizing what was done yesterday at Mother Goose’s nest. Just asking a question. If not, perhaps in the future this should be done and also, when one goose is taken into care, that the other one go along, too! They really are bonded!!!!!!

L4 at the Cornell Red0-tail Hawk nest did survive what felt like a 72 hour pip and hatch. It completed its hatch at 23:08 on the 28th of April. Here is the video of Big Red and Arthur and their four Ls! Congratulations Big Red and Arthur!!!!!! This is going to be fun. Big Red will be in her glory – 4. It is, as far as is known, a first for her.

L4 will be substantially smaller than L1 which is a week older. But, see all that prey on the nest. There is plenty of food and there is no reason not to believe that L4 will not thrive. The beaking only occurs in falcons and hawks because 1) their eyes have to become clear and focused and 2) every black beak with pink inside is potentially food. Normally subsides after a week. As far as my understanding goes, siblicide is extremely rare in hawks and falcons unlike eagles and ospreys.

Yes, Arthur, there really are four of them!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just look at the prey pantry in this nest. Arthur is so excited it will be filled to the brim with all sorts of critters. No one will go hungry. In the image below, Big Red is checking each beak to make sure none of the Ls want any more squirrel before she quits feeding. She is a pro at taking care of chicks and Big Red loves being a Mum.

There are a couple of Bald Eagle nests that I continue to check. One of those is the National Arboretum nest in Washington, DC. Mr President and Lotus have a gorgeous eaglet who is just losing the last of the dandelions on the top of its head. However, this eaglet has been fed duck and I worry a little when waterfowl are consumed because of H5N1.

The remaining two Osplets at the UFlorida-Gainesville nest on the light stand are doing fine.

Both of the eaglets at the MN-DNR nest are doing fine this morning also. They have had some waterfowl so I continually check on them like the NADC-AEF nest.

The two eaglets on the Dale Hollow nest continue to thrive also. They are gorgeous birds and today they are (counting hatch day) 61 days old. Soon!

I know that almost everyone is a fan of Harriet and M15 at Fort Myers. It appears that E19 might have left the territory yesterday. Lady Hawk made a video of those final interactions and moments.

There is good news. Janika returned safely to her nest with Jan yesterday at 16:15. There had been a fight with an intruder and Mum is now home safely after some worry. Jan and Janika have 6 eggs in their nest in Jogeva County, Estonia. They were laid on April 15, 17, 19, 21, 23, and 25. The last time I checked on this nest – shame on me – we were waiting for Janika to return from migration! Hopefully no more intruders!

If you watch this nest – and storks are absolutely lovely with all their rituals – you must be prepared for the parents to ‘sort’ the chicks. A clutch of six is surely too many to feed – but we will find out.

The celebration is still going on in Poole Harbour. Ospreys CJ7 and Blue 022 are making history. CJ7 laid her third egg at 08:57 on the 29th of April. Will she stop at three? Oh, I hope so. Remember, these are the first osprey eggs laid for 200 years and then – the first fledges in 200 years. I can hear the ‘happiness’ for all those involved in the Osprey restoration/relocation project to Poole.

It was the tail movement that gave it all away. CJ7 should begin hard incubation now.

Want to watch history being made? Here is the link to the streaming cam at Poole Harbour.

In Latvia, at the nest of Anna and Andris in a Spruce tree in the Zemgale region, Andris brought a very small snack to his mate. So far, the Lesser Spotted Eagles have only one egg which was laid on the 26th of April. Perhaps it will hold at one!

Karl II and Kaia now have three eggs in their Black Stork nest. That nest is in Karula National Park in the very south of Estonia. Kaia is Karl’s new mate as of 2020. Their first clutch was not successful. In 2021, they fledged three! This year, Karl II returned from migration on 8 April with Kaia arriving on the 12th. I am very fond of this nest and this couple! Third season.

There is Karl II with his band and his tracker. You can follow him all the way back to the Sudan and Chad when he migrates in the fall.

Here is the link to Karl II and Kaia’s streaming cam in Estonia:

As we wait anxiously for the Peregrine Falcon nests to begin hatching – and I am really anxious for Annie and Alden – there are four eyases in the scrape in Utrecht. Each is doing very well.

Here is a video of the snack feeding a few hours ago:

Here is the link to the falcon cam in Utrecht with those four gorgeous little ones.

Here is a link to a peregrine falcon scrape cam in Belgium where there are also four little falcons.

This nest in Belgium also has a great entrance cam!

For those of us wanting an international ban on sticky glue traps, England has now banned their use. Excellent news. Here is the announcement that came yesterday, “The Glue Traps (Offences) Act, introduced by Jane Stevenson MP, bans the use of inhumane glue traps which are a widely available method of rodent control but can cause immense suffering. Animals can remain alive for 24 hours or more, eventually dying of stress, exhaustion, dehydration or self-inflicted injuries”.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-10759059/Inhumane-glue-traps-mice-rats-set-BANNED-England.html

With the exception of the one gosling not surviving the jump at Decorah, everything seems to be fine in Bird World on Friday morning the 29th of April. Thank you so much for joining me. Take care. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cam and/or FB pages where I took my screen captures: The Latvian Fund for Nature, The Eagle Club of Estonia, Cornell Bird Lab and RTH, Explore.org, NADC-AEF, Poole Harbour Ospreys, Oudenaarde Falcon Cam, Raptor Research Project, DHEC, MN-DNR, UFlorida-Gainesville Ospreys, and LFC Utrecht.

Late Tuesday in Bird World

26 April 2022

It has been a great day in Bird World. When everything seemed so bleak with the ‘Only Baby’ at the Two Harbours nest on the Channel Islands holding on after a fall ten feet below the nest, the sun rose. When daylight came Dr Sharpe and two volunteers hiked for an hour to reach the nesting site. The trio rescued the eaglet, built up the walls of the nest, and placed the wee one back. Everyone held their breath hoping that the parents, twenty-four year old Chase and Cholyn, would appear immediately. They waited almost three hours to return. Everyone was on pins and needles. What if they did not return was the question on everyone’s mind. One did a fly by, and then they both arrived – Cholyn with some nesting material and Chase with the first fish of the afternoon. Baby was home! It was less than 24 hours but, it felt like an eternity. Would the eaglet be able to hold on? That strong brave little one stayed put until help came!

Dr Sharpe and the rescue were interviewed by ABC news:

https://abc7.com/eagle-eaglet-catalina-island-baby/11794228/

“Oh, please, just one more bite,” Cholyn insists. Meanwhile, TH1’s crop is about to pop. Can you see it? The parents were overjoyed to have their chick back on the nest.

Cholyn and Big Red believe that no one should leave the table hungry. Tonight, squirrel was on the menu at the Red-tail Hawk nest in Ithaca, New York.

There are still three for Big Red and Arthur. As you can see, Arthur has really been packing the pantry and I am happy to say that most of it is squirrel and chippy.

There has been little mention of egg 4. It pipped and the chick was alive last night. It is difficult to tell because the other three Ls lay on it. If it is to hatch we should see that wee one in the morning. Personally, three eyases is great!!!!!! The three Ls appear quite healthy.

Liberty and Guardian’s eaglets for the 2022 season now have names. They are Sentry and Star. Well done everyone who took part in the voting for these two at their Redding, California aerie. Just look at them. Aren’t they gorgeous?

Spirit and Jackie shared a meal together today. It is hard to grasp but just look at the size of Spirit. They said that she would be the size of a Canada Goose now!

It is often hard to go back to a nest when the older siblings have been responsible for the death of the younger. It took me a long time to ‘get over’ being upset with Solly at the Port Lincoln Osprey nest when she caused the youngest, Tapps, to die at the age of 18 days due to starvation. It was only after she fledged that I warmed up to her again and I was honestly very sad when she died on an electrical pole in South Australia eating a fish. The two surviving ospreys at the University of Florida’s Gainesville Osprey nest are really doing well. The food competition appears to have dissipated. It is quite sad that the third hatch has to be sacrificed, or so it seems, for the good of the whole in terms of brood reduction.

The two eyases at the Presidio Red-tail Hawk nest in San Francisco are also eating well and growing without much of a problem. Once in awhile the eldest tries to be dominant but things seem to be alright.

It was sunny with wind gusts at the Two Harbours nest. Chase and Cholyn had to hover and approach the nest twice to land. It was dreary and windy just around the corner at the West End Eagle nest of Thunder and Akecheta. Of the three trips up the cliffs in less than two weeks, Dr Sharpe rescued the youngest male from the West End nest who had fallen and then returned a few days later to measure and band the three. It is easy to spot the big sister in the group now with her two little brothers.

On Thursday the 28th, the Ventana Wildlife Society is holding a Zoom-chat. It is free and it begins at 4pm Pacific Time. When you register you can submit questions to the staff. Because Condors eat carrion, I submitted questions related to the current Avian Flu in relation to those beautiful California Condors.

“California condor” by USFWS Pacific Southwest Region is marked with CC PDM 1.0.

Here is the link for registration, if you are interested:

https://www.ventanaws.org/zoom-chats.html

In Latvia, the first egg at the Lesser Spotted Eagle nest has been laid. The nest is in a beautiful Spruce forest in Zemgale. The map below was posted on the English Forum, Looduskalender, and shows the area of the nest in green.

The nest is 17 metres off the floor of the forest and from its size, is believed to be at least five years years old. The couple are Anna and Andris. Lesser Spotted Eagles normally lay two eggs. If there is enough food available, both chicks will grow and fledge. If there is not, then siblicide will occur on the nest. It is good to understand this before you begin watching a Lesser Spotted Eagles nest (or a Greater or a Golden Eagle).

Andris is being shown the egg by Anna. Notice how small he is compared to the female in front.

Here is a short video of that first egg.

Here is the link to the streaming cam:

Do you love Iris, the oldest Osprey in the world? She is not only the Queen of the Ospreys but she is also one beautiful bird. Just look what good shape she is in after doing her winter migration. I am very impressed. I wonder what 28 or 29 Osprey years translates into human years??? or is there such a thing? I hope I look that good at the equivalent age!!!!!

Here is Iris this evening on her nest at Hellgate Canyon, Missoula, Montana.

Earlier, at 18:20 her mate, Louis, brings her the second fish of this season! For those who do not know Iris, Louis and Iris have this rather jaded bond. Louis also has a nest with Starr at the baseball park. This is the first year that I remember Louis bringing fish to Iris in several years. And now he has brought two! Wow.

Iris knows Louis is approaching and she does some quiet little fish calls.

Wow. That is a nice big fish. Notice the head is missing. Traditionally, males eat the head before delivering the fish to the nest.

Iris accepts Louis’s gift and flies over to the pole to eat it for her dinner. I wonder if we should be expecting eggs soon???

A marvellous book arrived in the post today. It is called Eagle Man and is about Charles Broley and his dedication to the Bald Eagle. Broley lived in Florida and in Canada. Broley was a banker; when he retired he devoted himself to bird watching. Broley became a world authority on the Bald Eagle. His observations taught us about courtship rituals, nesting, feeding, and even the migratory patterns of the eagles. I landed a copy in very good condition. It was obviously treasured by its owner, D. Gordon, who wrote on the flap that he received it in May of 1956. It is signed by Charles Broley. Inside the binding is the obituary of Broley who died on 7 May 1959 in Delta, Ontario. I am so looking forward to reading this book that inspired many to respect the Bald Eagles as many, like Dr Sharpe today, fought to bring their numbers up after most were wiped out by DDT.

Thank you for joining me. There are so many nests to cover and some will find themselves here tomorrow. Take care! See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams or webpages where I took my screen captures: Looduskalendar Forum, Cornell Bird Lab RTH, Montana Osprey Project, Explore.org, Redding Eagles, UFlorida-Gainesville Ospreys, Friends of Big Bear Valley, Latvian Fund for Nature, Presidio Trust, and the Ventana Wildlife Society.

The Sunday Miracle at U-Florida Ospreys for Little Bit

24 April 2022

Earlier this morning I thought that the third hatch at Gainesville had died of starvation. It had only 5 bites of food in the last 86 hours. Two fish had come on the nest and in both instances it was kept from eating by the oldest sibling. By the time the third fish arrived around 14:00, the two older siblings ate. Big was full and still tried to stop Little Bit from eating at 14:25:13 and then something happened—————- Big and Middle went into a food coma on the right side of Mum.

Mum fed Little Bit starting at 14:27!!!!!! Little Bit ate until 14:37 – an entire ten minutes. It filled its crop and then seemed to drop it and eat some more. It was difficult at first – the flakes of fish stuck to its mouth but the more nourishment it got the more energetic Little Bit was.

That is the longest time that I have ever seen a third hatch go without food and survive. Tiny Tot was 72 hours at the Achieva Osprey nest last year.

This is wonderful news IF the fish keep coming. It could be a bit of a turning point. All of your positive wishes for this nest are certainly working!

All of the cheeping is Little Bit calling for food. The video clip covers the first couple of minutes of the feeding. If you look at the time stamp, Little Bit will be fed for much longer. The feeding stops around 14:38.

Keep sending all of your wishes so that instead of prolonging Little Bit’s agony (I serious thought LB was going to die) he will get enough food to grow big enough so Big and Middle will not injure or stop him from eating. It is a long slog. We were up and down with Tiny Tot Tumbles for 3 weeks like this. More fish need to come closer together.

Little Bit is tucked up under Mum’s head. You can just see its head sticking out. If it can stay away from those other two. Hopefully they will just go to sleep!

Tears.

So nice to be able to send out some promising news for this nest. Little Bit needs to eat again but we know that there is time between feedings where it will be OK. Fingers crossed!

Thank you for joining me. I am elated. It is snowing heavily where I live. The birds do so much better in snow than in rain. This is also a good thing. Take care everyone. See you soon.

Thank you to the UFlorida-Gainesville Osprey cam where I took my video clip and screen capture.

Late Friday in Bird World

22 April 2022

There is so much news in Bird World. I simply cannot keep up. At the same time, most of it is all wonderful! That is a good thing. My report will be short. Many things to do after listening to the wonder session with Cal Falcons.

Jackie and Shadow are amazing. While we have rain warnings here on the Canadian Prairies, our beautiful Eagle family in the Big Bear Valley had a horrific snow/ice storm.

Here is a video clip of Jackie and Spirit. What a great Mum Jackie is!!!!!!

This image was taken at 13:45 and things are much improved.

Cal Falcons. Mark May 5-6 as hatch days. Gosh, the Q & A with Sean Peterson and Lynn Schofield was really and truly informative. I learned so much! And I am posting it for you so you can listen if you wish. There were a couple of takeaways from this session that I found quite interesting. The first was that Alden was known to both Annie and Grinnell and was accepted by Annie and Grinnell. He had been seen for 1 or 2 months. Neither of them ever tried to chase Alden off the Campanile. On at least one occasion, Alden brought a prey delivery to Annie while Grinnell was alive. Again, no action by Grinnell. There is speculation that Alden was going to be a ‘nest helper’ for Annie and Grinnell and that is why neither of them were antagonistic or aggressive to him. The second was that a falcon has super eye sight for about a mile. They can spot a prey item. Grinnell was killed within a mile of The Campanile. Annie might have seen Grinnell being killed and that would contribute to her bonding with Alden so quickly.

Here is the link to this session.

Another fish came to the UFlorida-Gainesville at 16:11:37. The feeding finished at 16:47:55. Little Bit got nothing. The problem is that the two big siblings are now requiring more and more food and both are intimidating the wee babe. If another extremely large fish comes on board before night, finger’s crossed. I am not hopeful, however.

In part, one of the biggest issues is how the female stands to feed the chicks. If she would point her head at the rim so that Little Bit could get between her legs or on the opposite side, he might have a chance of some food.

Lena has been calling for a fish delivery. I wonder if she is hoping she can get Little (MiniO) who fledged this morning back up to the nest for some food.

There is absolutely nothing more beautiful than Big Red looking down at her new baby and it looking up to its wonderful Mum.

Iris has been spending time today at the nest just like she seems to do every afternoon.

The winds are roaring around the Channel Islands Bald Eagle nests. Everyone at the West End nest of Thunder and Akecheta are holding on!

It is not nearly as breezy but the wind is blowing and it is wet and dreary at the MN-DNR nest of Nancy and Harry and their two eaglets.

Big and Middle shared a fish at 09:38. These two are looking really good and there is absolutely no rivalry. It is truly wonderful – even when there are not a lot of prey items.

It is Earth Day and this is a very good reminder from Rosie and Richmond!

Wishing Everyone a Very Happy Earth Day. Take care. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams or FB pages where I grabbed my screen captures: SF Ospreys and Golden Gate Audubon, DHEC, Friends of Big Bear Valley, UFlorida-Gainesville Ospreys, MN-DNR, Cornell Bird Lab and Montana Ospreys, Cornell Bird Lab RTH, Captiva Ospreys and Window for Wldlife, Explore.org, and Cal Falcons.