Tag Archives: urban birds

Sharpie returns, Gabby’s suitors, Hesgyn’s autopsy and more in Bird World

11 December 2022

Oh, gosh, it is grey and dreary here in Manitoba. The sun did not break through at all today. There were moments when I wish we could ‘wiggle’ our noses and be transported elsewhere. I wanted to feel the warmth of the sun, see the green grass, and sit and just listen to the Tropical Mockingbird and Bananaquit.

At the same time, had I not been sitting where I was, I would have missed Sharpie’s visit! I know that he has been about or the larger female Cooper’s Hawk, but I had just not caught him landing. Today, he did!

It is so nice to see you, Sharpie. You are looking quite healthy with those chrome yellow legs.

At the same time, he caused the 31 European Starlings that were feeding to gather and form a murmuration. It was the first time I had seen these birds clustering and flying together to confuse a predator. It was not like anything I have seen when there are thousands of Starlings together forming intricate patterns. These 31 were a loose knit group but, they did manage to keep the hawk at bay with their flying formations.

Sunday morning and Sharpie is back trying to get a songbird feeding in the lilacs. The three Crows are all upset causing the songbirds to flit and fly away. I figure Sharpie is hungry. He is not giving up easily.

I suspect, like Diamond, Sharpie prefers something other than a Starling – perhaps, his usual House Sparrow. He is too small to go after a Crow but, the Crows get excited when anyone enters their territory. I never resent him taking one of the Sparrows. Everyone has to eat to survive. Sharpie just takes what he needs, eats it all but the feathers and even some of those, some days. He doesn’t waste – like humans do.

While I was away, one of our readers, ‘L’ sent me a photo of a hawk wondering what it was. I knew but I decided to ask Merlin and sure enough, Merlin photo ID said Cooper’s Hawk as opposed to the image above which Merlin IDed as a Sharp-shinned.

Which brings me to a point I want to make. At one time I was not happy with Merlin Bird ID. It drove me nuts. While I was on holiday, there were so many songbirds singing at the same time that I could not separate them. Additionally, they were tropical birds that are completely unknown to me. The Merlin Song ID was incredible. The only bird that it did not identify was the Carib Grackle which surprised me.

The other positive besides knowing all of the birds that are around you is that by using the app, you can learn the song of species that were originally unknown to you. By the end of the week, I was able to tell 8 Caribbean birds by their song. That is pretty good for someone who is tone deaf! Just imagine what you could do. It is free. I really do urge you to put it on your phones. Go out, take a friend, or a young person and teach them to hear the songs and identify the birds. Make an outing of it. It is really fun and it helps Cornell understand where birds are located even when they don’t think they should be! Like Sharpie. Once I sent them the image with all its meta-data, they quit telling me that there could not be a Sharp-shinned Hawk in Winnipeg at this time of year.

The final report has come in on Hesgyn, the last chick that Monty raised with Telyn, found dead this summer in Wales after living through his migration and returning to find a mate. The report is cumulative – meaning that that the most recent finding and autopsy report is at the bottom. It would appear that Hesgyn’s return coincided with the tremendous heat that Wales had during that singular week. The impact on the ability of this magnificent osprey to fish – after returning from Africa – could have been the natural cause of his death. No human cause.

https://www.dyfiospreyproject.com/blog/emyr-mwt/hesgyn-has-died

It was nice to see Zoe with a great big fish delivery from Dad. At 0701:14, Zoe sees Dad arriving.

At 0701:20, Dad lands on the nest. Mum begins to fly over from the ropes to the nest.

It was a big fish, not a teaser. Mum seemed to hope there would be some left but, Zoe does love her fish! And has a history of being unable to share.

By 0735, Zoe has finished the entire fish!

At 0801, Zoe sits with Dad over on the ropes. He doesn’t seem to have budged a centimetre from the earlier image above.

At the scrape box of Xavier and Diamond on the campus of Charles Sturt University, Diamond was having a nice siesta in the afternoon sun. She is so beautiful. Her and Xavier must be very happy with Indigo’s progress.

Indigo arrives and thinks the ledge is a good place for an afternoon nap, too.

Elain has another great highlights of the Day for our Orange Falcon family.

The biggest news in Bird World continues to be the competition for Gabby’s heart and nest.

In order to try and keep the identification of the suitors separate and apart from one another and Samson, the AEF have gone to identifying the birds using their tail feathers.

Tail Comparison: Top Row L to R: Samson, V1. Bottom Row L to R: V2, V3

I have not seen V2 at the nest today. There is now the third male, V3, who has been working on the nest and Gabby has not chased him away. Gabby even got into the nest with V3 for a bit.

V3 has slept on the nest and is very alert.

There is very little known about Gabby including her age. She became Samson’s mate at this nest in 2018. She was an adult so she is at least 9 years old now. She has a nest in a good location and there are many suitors. To date, I do not believe we have noticed a brood patch on Gabby. A brood patch is the spot where the feathers do not exist – they fall out when it is time to incubate eggs. The skin of the adult touches the eggs and helps to keep them warm. If the feathers would there, the warmth of the parental body would not exist – so this brood patch has developed over eons to assist the eagles with incubation.

Wonder who Gabby will choose? There seems to be plenty of time so as the AEF suggests, get some popcorn and sit back and watch. It truly is a soap opera. Meanwhile, Harriet is only letting M15 have a little incubation time while Anna down at the KNF nest in Louisiana loves to give Louis plenty of time with their eggs.

M15 brought Harriet a tasty treat today, right off the Road Kill menu – rabbit. Harriet wanted it plain, not in a cassoulet.

Meanwhile at the Kistachie National Forest nest, Louis is getting another chance to incubate the eggs overnight. Wow! These young eagle mums are really sharing the whole experience with their mates. It looks there is some rain and a little lighting near the nest in Alexandria, Louisiana.

Congratulations to Superbeaks – the Central Florida Bald Eagle nest – on their second hatch as announced by Paul Kolnik on Bald Eagles 101.

‘A’ reminded me that Wisdom is not only the oldest Laysan Albatross in the world but she is also the oldest banded bird in the world. Incredible. There is a new announcement from the Midway Atoll. It seems that Wisdom has returned and was seen on the 24th of November but, her mate has sadly not. Will she get another mate? We wait to see. What an amazing seabird Wisdom is…incredible.

Remember that Ferris Akel has his live tour on Saturdays starting at noon Eastern on YouTube. Today, he didn’t catch big Red on the Cornell Campus, our queen of the Red-tail Hawks. Ferris did find her mate, Arthur – and it is always good to see either of them and extremely special when it is both.

Some thoughts from David Suzuki.

Thank you so much for joining me this morning. Take care everyone. See you soon! One last one to put a smile on your face – the ever loving Jackie and Shadow kissing in the nest yesterday while they did renovations.

Thank you to the following for their posts, videos, and streaming cams that make up my screen captures: David Suzuki Foundation, Bald Eagles 101, Ferris Akel Tours, US Fish and Wildlife Services and ‘A’, Tonya Irwin and KNF Bald Eagles FB, Lady Hawk, SWFL Eagles and D Pritchett, NEFL-AEF, the AEF FB, Elain and Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, Port Lincoln Ospreys, Cornell Bird Lab, and FOBBV.

Gabby’s new man, wind farms in Tasmania and more…in Bird World

8 December 2022

Good Morning Everyone!

Thank you for all your comments and mail. I am very behind in responding and I apologise but, I will before the middle of next week! Keep them coming!

Oh, it is another beautiful day in the Caribbean. Hot. There was little wind and the water was as smooth as glass. It is hard to imagine huge traffic jams and security guards everywhere, that was what happened here today. The Cuban Diplomatic delegation is here to discuss all manner of things with the new Prime Minister of Grenada. There is also a medical conference with a lot of Cuban doctors. So, we spent the day away from the main area of St George’s at the ‘family friendly marina’, Le Share Bleau. The couple that run the restaurant are excellent chefs and they are from Manitoba! The young man grew up in the area of the city where I live.

At the same time I got to check on that Great Egret that has his own private pond!

Everything is cared for here and is beautiful to the eye as well as to the soul.

Christmas decorations began going up last weekend.

There is no reason for this Great Egret to ever leave. It has an entire pond with fish to itself!

An incredibly beautiful bird.

A Coconut Tree. One of the best ice creams on the island is Coconut. The second really good one is Nutmeg.

The Tropic Mockingbirds love to eat the fruit of the palm tree.

This Tropical Mockingbird sat still long enough for me to get a good photo!

It is a gorgeous island that is trying to be good stewards. Plastic bags were outlawed awhile ago but you can still see them. Plastic drinks bottles are a problem – what do you do in an area where the water is not always good to drink and there is a growing number of tourists? Do you put up water stations and everyone has their own recyclable bottle included in their ticket price? Plastic imports carry a higher import duty than other materials that can be recycled. The upmarket shops have lovely jute bags for their customers. Many groups work on shore clean ups. They are trying – there remains a lot to do like there is everywhere.

One of the biggest pollutants does not occur in Grenada but in Brazil where the fertilisers used in the fields runs off the land and into the ocean where it mixes with the seaweed. That seaweed finds its way to the Grenadian coast and then rots giving off noxious gases.

Coming out of the COP 15 Biodiversity Conference in Montreal is the statement: “Humans are instruments of mass extinction”. There has been nearly a 70% decrease in wildlife since 1970. What will be the next Dodo bird? And why aren’t we ready to tackle this and start b being good stewards?

Here is that story:

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/dec/06/canada-leads-calls-to-reverse-nature-loss-as-cop15-opens-in-montreal?CMP=share_btn_link

And another one on two birds that are now thought to be added to the extinct list – the Rook and the Swift. The number of birds added to the Red List – which I was including in all my blogs before the holiday – has doubled. This is just so sad. As a world population we need to stop what we are doing and have a reckoning with ourselves on what is really important to us – what is essential. Not a want but a need.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/dec/07/rook-and-swift-added-to-threatened-bird-species-list-in-wales?CMP=share_btn_link

One of the good things that the hotels in Grenada do for the birds is maintaining beautiful gardens. The fruit from the trees and the nectar from the flowers feeds multitudes of birds. The ponds – if stocked – attract the herons. Off the beach this morning were a pair of Frigatebirds. The tourists like the birds and the flowers. While I was taking photos of the hummingbirds last evening, a big crowd stopped. They had not see the little one flitting around. Everyone had a smile. Now to spread this love elsewhere!

So tomorrow is my last day here. I will not be back in the cold of the Canadian Prairies until Friday afternoon. Oh, the cold. I am not looking forward to that but, having a week away was a gift.

So, let us see what is happening in Bird World.

Just look at that face. How incredibly cute! Just know that the only time you could cuddle with this little one is when it is not feeling well or is under anaesthesia. After you look at the eyes, move down to that killer beak and well, we can’t see the talons but Victor Hurley calls falls ‘all blood beaks and bloody talons’. The fastest flying predators in the world.

Oh, if they could only market a plush toy as cute as this guy. Hi sweetie.

First up is a question from ‘O’: ‘What is happening at the Melbourne Scrape?’

Well, nothing. The Melbourne Four all fledged. One was lost early in a flying accident and had to be euthanised. The little male was recently taken into care and released with a comment that he was really healthy. The parents lay the eggs and raise the eases to fledge at the scrape box on the ledge of 367 Collins Street. They will teach them to fly and hunt prey around the CBD area. The camera is normally turned off until the following breeding year. Whether or not the parents return with the chicks to the scrape is unknown because of this.

Here is the announcement from Wildlife Victoria:

Annie and Grinnell’s 2020 fledgling, Sequoia, is making news with his meetings with a female at San Jose City Hall, BA24. There is a streaming cam and all are hoping that the pair will form a bond and raise eases. But, will they?

News on Glen, the last surviving Osprey fledgling from Tweed Valley made the news:

https://news.stv.tv/scotland/scottish-osprey-feared-dead-arrives-in-morocco-after-flying-for-36-hours?fbclid=IwAR0c7LKhF8KDU-SPzKBlksH7u5hL6pjufYA6CC5LHU0J6Sx2ldVBCwqGfuA

Sharon Dunne aka Lady Hawk gives a look at Harriet and M15’s eggs for this year and some of the daily activity at their nest in Fort Myers, Florida.

‘D’ sent me this screen capture making the rounds. This is V2, the visiting male at the NEFlorida nest, who has mated with Gabby. Yes, he does have the most gorgeous soft blue eyes. ‘Celadon eyes’. Celadon was a 9th and 10th century glaze perfected in China for use on porcelain. Celadon glazes ranged in colour but one was like water…that is like the eyes of this eagle.

Some are wondering if there is any possibility that he could be another offspring of Romeo and Juliet and thus, Samson’s full brother. Samson hatched in 2013. The tragedy at the nest occurred in 2018. So, is there a possibility? Perhaps. Like males do, Samson returned to his natal nest so, could this be a 2017 fledgling?

V2 got introduced to the problems with owls.

Jackie and Shadow are working on their nest. They were there today. The California Big Bear Valley could do not normally lay their eggs until January and as late as March.

There have been many times that Indigo has not been able to finish his prey so, like a good little falcon, Indigo stashed it in the corner as he had seen his parent’s do. Well, Diamond has been snatching that prey! So Indigo has been staying in the scrape much longer keeping an eye on his lunch.

Zoe has been diving and flying. Dad delivered his beautiful girl a nice little fish this morning.

At last some intelligence about wind farms and how they impact birds — and a compromise in Tasmania.

For all the eagle lovers, ‘N’ sent me this image…it is perfect for all of us. Smile!

Thank you so much for being with me. My next blog will come out Saturday morning so there is a break on Friday. Please take care. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their letters, questions, photos, videos, postings, and streaming cams included in my screen captures: Friends of Big Bear Valley, Port Lincoln Ospreys, Elain and the Charles Sturt Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, NEFL-AEF, Sharon Dunne/Lady Hawk and SWFL-Bald Eagles and D Pritchett, San Jose City Hall, STV News, Wildlife Victoria, ABC News, The Guardian, and ‘N’, D’ and ‘O’.

Birds at the Zoo…and breakfast with the Australian nests

28 October 2022

Hello Everyone!

So happy to have you here with me. I set out ‘in my mind’ last evening that I would get up early and head out to find Snowy Owls sitting on large round hay bales near Oak Hammock Marsh. I got a text from a friend – ‘no’ owls seen. So, determined to see a Snowy Owl today, I did something entirely different! I went to the zoo.

How long has it been since you have been to a zoo? With all the criticism against keeping animals in small cages, our Assiniboine Park Zoo set out to try and make the enclosures for the animals considerably larger. At the same time they addressed issues of ‘boredom’ and the environments that the animals would live in if they were out in the wild. It was a much more pleasant place to visit because of those major changes.

One of the zoo volunteers saw me looking at the map and asked me what I wanted to see. The answer was Snowy Owls and Birds. I wonder if they were disappointed that I didn’t say ‘tiger’ or ‘cougar’. As it happened we were very close to the Snow Owls and it was feeding time. Fluffy yellow chicks raised specifically for the purpose were being dished out. For several seconds, it seemed that a woman standing near to me was going to pass out she was so overcome by seeing the owls eat the chicks. I stood in wonderment trying to figure out if she thought that they ate lettuce – our zoo purchases an inordinate amount of Romaine lettuce – or fruit. It is a good thing that she was away from the cougar or the Stellar’s Eagle compounds at that specific moment.

The real character of the entire four hours was the Toucan. He made eye contact immediately. What an incredibly beautiful bird he is.

This is the Toco Toucan. They are the largest of the species at 62 cm long with a bill/beak that is 17 cm long. Their lifespan is approximately 20 years. The Toco Toucan is native to South American rainforests where its numbers are decreasing due to deforestation.

I wish we could have had a conversation. This chap was a real cutie pie.

These little Sun Conures were tiny in comparison to the Toco Toucan. No wonder they have the ‘sun’ as part of their name. Oh, those faces ranging from yellow to orange to red are the colours we painted the sun as children. They are native to northeastern South America. They are approximately 30 cm in length but these certainly did not look that big unless you count that long olive green tail in the measurement! These little cuties were using their bill and their feet to dig around the edge of their enclosure. They have a stubby quite muscular tongue that helps them move their food around in their mouth.

This beautiful Golden Eagle was finishing up its breakfast and not the least bit interested in anyone looking at it. What a beauty. It is one of the largest birds of prey in North America, about the same size as a Bald Eagle. Unlike a Bald Eagle whose legs and talons are bare, the Golden Eagle has feathers on its legs. In Canada, they are ‘at risk’. Their meals consist of small mammals such as rabbits and squirrels.

The Stellar’s Sea Eagle is the largest of the sea eagles. With its striking bright yellow beak and legs and its espresso brown/black and white plumage, it is easy to recognize this raptor. It has a wedge-tail and fine pointed wings. They are rare. In the northern areas they will stand on the ice and fish and love the salmon in the north. It is thought that they almost exclusively breed in the north of Russia. You may recall that there is a Stellar’s Sea Eagle that has come to Newfoundland, Canada travelling south to parts of New England. I believe it is back in Newfoundland.

There were so many little Red Squirrels. This one is eating a ‘helicopter’, the seed of the Maple Tree.

Little Red stuffed these Maple Tree seeds in every part of the old shed. There were boxes full. Never knew if he used them for insulation to stay warm as well as eating. There is a large box full of them in his new home if he ever moves in!

It was great fun. Lovely to see families out with small children running about. Next time you are looking for a place to go – think the zoo!

A very small fish landed on the Port Lincoln Osprey barge at 061847. Middle got some of the tail but Big got most of it at 062652.

Breakfast arrived at 0618 on the ledge of 367 Collins Street for the Melbourne Four. Another plucking lesson, too!

This big one has run off with a nice piece and is self-feeding.

After eating it was running to get those legs strong, finding scraps of prey, and flapping those wings. What a brilliant place for these eyases to get exercise! I wonder how being able to run and flap freely – running a great distance – might give these falcons an edge in terms of physical strength that would help them survive? Just a thought!

This is the Recap for the morning feedings at Orange. Goodness Xavier has been busy hunting!

BirdieCam​ RECAP: 6:07:33 starling, X leaves, 6:20:58 D feeds; 6:38:31 X w/RRP?, he feeds; 09.13.33 X w/Noisy Friarbird, D feeds

Everyone has had breakfast, some more than others. Wish for fish – a big one for Port Lincoln.

Take care all. This is just a quick check and all are doing well at the 3 nests we are watching in Australia.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Port Lincoln Ospreys, 367 Collins Street by Mirvac, and Charles Sturt Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross.

Egg shells and pelting rain…late Saturday in Bird World

22 October 2022

Good afternoon everyone,

It is a miserable day in Port Lincoln and in Orange…I have not checked Melbourne but, it is also kinda’ miserable in Winnipeg today, too. Grey skies, bare branches on brown trees, spits of rain falling.

The view of the landscape looks dead and barren – but, we all know that, in fact, those leaves are protecting all of the pollinators and invertebrates. This is why you must Leave the Leaves! It will annoy your neighbours to no end but, you will be doing yourself, your garden, and the birds a huge favour.

Ah, I have a retraction. Books do not work for everyone. My friend, Sally Michener, a Vancouver ceramic artist, told me once that “getting old is only for the brave!” She was 83 at the time and stunningly beautiful, always in red, and still working on her ceramic sculptures. She is right. Eye sight goes. Our minds still think like the 20 somethings we once were but, sadly, not always our eyes. ‘H’ reminded me that e-Books are fantastic as you can adjust the size of the font. Of course! ‘H’ also tells me that both of David Gessner’s books on Ospreys are available as e-Books. Thanks, ‘H’.

Wow. A ‘V’ of Canada Geese just flew over my head. They were as low as the top of the telephone poles in the back lane. Incredible.

——————————————————————————————————————————

It is pelting down rain in Port Lincoln. Mum is soaked and I wonder how miserable the kids will be with their circumstance? Dad has proven himself quite capable of catching fish in rain and wind but the waters look pretty chopping. Wishing him luck today.

The weather at Orange is rather bleak also. So bleak that Diamond was finding scraps to feed Rubus and Indigo decided she would just eat one of the egg shells being tossed around all over the scrape.

Look at Rubus in the corner flapping those little wings. Oh, this eyas melts my heart.

Indigo’s wing feathers are growing, can you see them? And if you look closely you will see the feathers on the tail coming as well. Such a beautiful healthy big sister for little Rubus.

The skies look heavy with rain – like the ones above me. But, oh, look at that green…green fields and trees. Beautiful.

The little raptors hatch so that by the time they fledge, their prey will be waking up from winter.

The first prey of the morning came in at 062814 in Melbourne. Am I seeing things? Has it stopped raining in Melbourne?

I absolutely cannot tell you what it is!

Well, Dad did not disappoint Mum at the Port Lincoln Osprey barge. he brought in a nice big fish for breakfast. I cannot tell you precisely how much fish Big got or Middle but Middle stayed by the side of Big and you could tell from his movements that he was snatching and grabbing. At one point I saw a small crop. This is all good. There was no cowering in the corner in submission to Big. Let us all send warm wishes to this nest for continued fish and both chicks eating. Here are a few images of that feeding – and bravo Dad!

It is always reassuring to see the chicks on all the nest fed first thing in the morning. The three are starting out the day absolutely fantastic. Let us hope that this continues.

Thank you so much for joining me. Everyone is good. Let us hope that all of the nests in Australia continue with many prey deliveries today. Take care everyone. See you soon!

Thanks to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Leave the Leaves!, Port Lincoln Ospreys, 367 Collins Street by Mirvac, and Charles Stuart Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross.

First egg at Achieva Osprey and other Bird World News

Jack and Diane are the Ospreys at the Achieva Credit Union Nest in St Petersburg, Florida. Off and on there have been other couples coming and going when they were not on the nest. This morning, however, that is all changing. Diane laid the first egg of the 2022 season around 23:40 on 1 February! Congratulations Achieva!

Diane, I really hope that you stop at two this year! Despite Tiny Tot Tumbles surviving and then thriving last year.

Jack brought Diane a nice fish this morning and took his turn incubating the egg so she could eat and have a bit of a break. Good one, Jack.

There is something going on at the NCTC nest. Where is Bella? Smitty was seen mating on the nest with the intruder female this morning! There she is on the right with the brown feathers in her tail. She is quite easy to identify. It was 08:06.

Deb Stecyk caught it on video:

Ervie likes it down in Dad’s cave. He is still there but Dad is gone!

Anna and Louis’s baby at the KNF nest is 21 days old today. If you look carefully you can see the shafts starting on the wing tips for the flight feathers. The thermal down is really coming in nicely.

Typically, this eaglet has a huge crop as it sits in front of Anna.

I have not seen the final three names for voting posted. Cody has been in Texas until today and I am assuming that him and Steve will meet, figure out the three that were mentioned most often, and then set up the final public voting.

It’s that stage. Thermal down and clown feet and looking like Hulk. White dandelions on the head.

The little eaglet – B15- at Berry College is getting its thermal down, too. It was caught preening this morning! Did you know that the pin or blood feathers will grow where the natal down shafts were? So the thermal down always remains under the feathers to help the beautiful eagles regulate their temperature.

It looks like the eagle nests I have been reporting on will, for the most part, not be impacted by the snow and ice that is coming in through Saturday. The Love Trio along the Mississippi near Fulton, Illinois, the eagles in PA, Big Red and Arthur’s nest and Duke Farms will likely get some precipitation.

This is the current view of the Mississippi Flyway.

The Pittsburg Hayes Bald Eagles are already dealing with some snow. It is egg watch at this gorgeous nest. That is Mum on the left. Dad is looking down to that beautiful river that supplies this couple with some of their food.

Here is the link to the Pittsburgh Hayes Nest. That nest is only 5 miles from downtown Pittsburg on the Monongahela River. Remember this couple raised three lively chicks to fledge last year! Incredible. This nest is looking for 3-6 inches or up to 15 cm of snow with an ice coating tomorrow.

You might not have this next nest on your radar. This is the information on the streaming cam about the region and the eagles. “The Dulles Greenway Wetlands has been home to two American Bald Eagles since 2005. In 1995, TRIP II established a private 149-acre wetlands preserve in Leesburg, Virginia during the construction of the Dulles Greenway roadway to mitigate the loss of roughly 64 acres of federally protected wetlands. Today, the wetlands property is managed by the Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy and utilized for local wildlife education.”

The first egg was laid at this nest yesterday, 1 February, at 14:47. The adults are currently changing over incubation duties.

Here is the link to this streaming cam. There is also an overhead cam that is off line at the moment. This couple will be seeing more snow and ice along with the nests in PA and NJ.

No worries for the nests in California. Akecheta is currently incubating the two eggs at the West End Bald Eagle Nest in the Channel Islands. Looks like a gorgeous day. The sky is blue in Winnipeg and the snow has stopped but it is bitterly cold. Oh, wish I could twitch my nose and arrive in California for a couple of days to thaw.

The first Kakapo chick has hatched. It was Pearl’s! And Pearl’s second chick is on the way. Here is the announcement from the Kakapo Recovery. Such good news. Hoping that all of the hatches survive and do well. This is so exciting!!!!!!!!! You are witnessing people working hard to recover a population of flightless parrots that could easily go extinct. Incredible the efforts that are being put into this. Makes me smile every day.

I wonder if Ervie will leave the Dad’s mancave today? Will monitor our beautiful boy. He is certainly settling in to a nice life on the barge! Who would have thought?

Thank you for joining me today. It is lovely to have you with me as I do a hop skip and jump around the nests. Take care. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams or their FB pages where I took my screen captures: Kakapo Recovery, KNF Bald Eagles, Berry College Bald Eagles, Port Lincoln Osprey Project, Dulles Greenway Eagle Cam, NCTC Bald Eagles, Pix Cams, Explore.org, Achieva Credit Union, and CNN.

Late Thursday in Bird World

In my excitement about the eaglets this morning at the KNF and the NEFlorida nests, I really did forget to say thank you to the people and the companies or government departments that sponsor and take care of the streaming cams so that we can learn about wildlife. My great hope is that by learning and caring about these amazing creatures and the challenges that they face, the more each of us will do to help out the environment whenever and wherever we can so that the lives of these beautiful raptors and seabirds continues.

Some of you might have seen the posting elsewhere but I want to mention it here in case you did not. A fully grown adult Bald Eagle flew into a plate glass window in a house in PA. It is in care.

https://www.wagmtv.com/2022/01/27/bald-eagle-crashes-into-houses-front-window/

This is nor the first time an Eagle has flown into a window although you are probably more familiar with the smaller birds that hit the windows and either get stunned and are alright or their necks are broken. There are solutions to this problem. The first one is to not clean your windows so that you can see reflections in them! Yes, I am inviting you not to make ever window in your house spotless. What a concept. The second is to install decals to prevent bird strike. Some of these work better than others. The third is to have ultraviolet barriers put on your windows. The last is something ingenious that I saw at our nature centre yesterday. They had 2 x 2 wooden boards cut the width of the window. Holes drilled in the bottom of the boards every 3 inches. Inserted inside were 1/4 inch nylon cords cut to the length of the window. They were glued into the holes. You could easily put the hole all the way through and tie the cord. These were hung outside the windows of the nature centre. The cords blew in the wind and they have never had a window strike despite having so many windows. I will take a photo the next time I am out there. I have so many birds in my garden and they all go flying madly in all directions if Sharpie arrives so, my windows are never spotless clean – never. I also have vines that hang down and the birds sit there and eat the berries or build their nests so – so far, any window strike problem has ceased.

In other Bald Eagle news, R-7, nicknamed Rover by the people of Brooklyn, was in Central Park giving everyone an absolute delight. How many Bald Eagles have you seen in Central Park? Incredible.

https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/eagle-eyed-birders-spot-rare-find-in-central-park-a-bald-eagle/3518275/

If you love urban raptors as much as I do and want to keep up with what is happening in New York City, I highly recommend Bruce Yolton’s blog urbanhawks.com

Everyone knows that I have a huge soft spot for the little eaglet of Anna and Louis. How could you miss it? At 15 days old this little one is a real charmer. What a beautiful image of it looking so lovingly up to its Mum.

The pantry is full of the most amazing things – all freshly provided by Kincaid Lake – Coots, ducks, all manner of fish including a large Bass today, and yes, turtles. With such a varied diet, this little eaglet and its parents are super healthy.

I am getting more than curious. Anna is feeding the eaglet on the KNF nest and there are 50 people watching.

Just look at that little one’s crop. No shortage of food, great parents, beautiful setting, super mods on the chat, super cameras, and great sound! That is what KNF has to offer.

There are 2129 people, as opposed to 50 at the KNF nest, watching the Bald Eagle incubate eggs at Big Bear.

What makes one nest more popular than another? I would love to hear your thoughts on this. Feel free to write me a comment or send me a note at maryannsteggles@icloud.com I seriously do not understand and want to!

The streaming cam at the Port Lincoln Osprey barge is still on the blink. For a few minutes Ervie was caught on the nest sleeping so all is well there.

For those of you that are fans of Xavier and Diamond, you might be aware that the temperatures in parts of Australia have hit all time highs of 50.7 C or 123.6 F. That heat really impacts the wildlife including the Peregrine Falcons who are being brought to the wildlife rehabbers for care. The one below is doing well!

Speaking of falcons, one of the pair (I could not make out which ones) was on the NE ledge of The Campanile just now at UC-Berkeley.

Diamond was on the ledge of the scrape. It was a bit foggy early in the morning with what looks like some rain. I checked and the temperatures seem to have cooled down considerably.

Well, I said it was civilized but despite an overflowing pantry provided by Samson, NE26 wants to be a bit of a ‘not so nice’ big sib at the most recent feeding. AWWWWWW.

Samson is really in competition with Louis for the most items in the pantry! Gabby is fabulous mother. “26, you need to settle down. Everyone gets fed.”

The eaglet at the Kisatchie National Forest just ate.

Anna filled up its crop. That baby is sound asleep in slumberland.

So if you don’t want to watch 26 bash 27 a bit, tune into the cutest eaglet at KNF. Here is the link:

Jack and Diane at the Achieva Osprey Nest were caught on camera mating on the nest today. Everyone is on egg watch as Diane settles. There is certainly excitement brewing amongst the chatters as Osprey season in Florida quickly approaches! Jack and Diane are the parents of Tiny Tot Tumbles – the third hatch no one though would survive last year but who did and became the dominant bird on the nest.

After watching Port Lincoln this year, we know that the atmosphere on a nest can change from year to year depending on the fish availability, the health of the adults, the temperature, and the gender make up of the chicks as well as the difference in hatch times. We wait to see how it will go.

The link to that camera is:

Thanks so much for joining me today. All other nests are doing well. We wait for Port Lincoln’s camera to get up and working again although there is no guarantee that Ervie will be there very much. Take care. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams or their FB pages where I took my screen captures: NEFlorida Bald Eagle and the AEF, KNF Bald Eagle Cam, Falcon Cam Project at Orange and Cilla Kinross, Achieva Credit Union, and Minton Farms Animal Rescue FB, and Cal Falcons.

Saturday in Bird World

Sometimes you don’t need any words to go with the images. It was 13:30 Saturday 20 November at Diamond and Xavier’s scrape box in Orange, Australia. Yurruga is 44 days old.

Some of the volunteers at the Lindsay Wildlife Hospital are on the grounds around UC-Berkeley in case there is a falcon that needs to go in care. So far nothing. Annie has been seen soaring with the intruder that injured Grinnell. Despite Grinnell returning to his and Annie’s territory there is no certainty that he will be successful in winning his mate back or keeping his territory. Will bring all news to you when I hear it.

https://www.berkeleyside.org/2021/11/17/grinnell-uc-berkeley-male-falcon-released-annie?fbclid=IwAR0sp0crI3VQdyMu-WtnYufN1UfqL-eYySrH70PSvGTIzu4QV_KjWBH_rc0

Bazza ‘finally’ got a portion of a fish at 12:36 yesterday. Here is a parent delivering.

The boys and their wings.

You can see Bazza’s red leg band – he has the portion of fish. Good job, Bazza. Look at Dad’s nice crop. My goodness. He has delivered so many fish to this nest I wonder if he had any portions for himself. We know the answer now.

It is so funny. Falkey is mantled like he has a fish too. Ervie is full and doesn’t care. Bazza enjoyed every morsel. Now – everyone has eaten and it is only the middle of the day. Dad has brought in at least three fish in 6 hours. Gold star.

Falkey will go on to get the 17:15 delivery from Dad. Falkey is really getting good at grabbing those fish. He seems to have ditched his nickname ‘Mellow Yellow’.

At 19:13 Bazza is going to steal what is left of Falkey’s fish right from under him. Good work, Bazza. He’s catching on. That is grand.

Bless his heart, Dad brought in yet another fish at 19:50. Bazza and Ervie fought for it. Lost it and then Ervie found it. Dad is really taking care of his boys. Thanks, Dad. If you are wondering, Bazza has hovered but has not done any flying other than the day he had the fight with Ervie and landed on the deck of the boat in Dad’s area.

Other News:

For those of you wondering about the Cornell RTH camera of Big Red and Arthur, there is a power outage at the Alumni Fields that is affecting the camera.

Poole Harbour Osprey Friends will be holding a free on line talk about the importance of bird life. Here is the information:

https://www.birdsofpooleharbourbookings.co.uk/event/osprey-project-talk?fbclid=IwAR0E886G-XBU-n5Q20cVXARlKaUNeaAxSsneJslHavl1Wjuza_EkqjSY1SQ

Bruce Yolton who writes the blog Urban Hawks and takes amazing images of the raptors in New York City, has been looking at the 86th Street Peregrine Falcons. Have a look.

86th Street Peregrine

I have been lucky to have stayed in Southeast Asia many times. I am particularly fond of Cambodia and Laos. The rice farmers in Cambodia have started planting a new type of rice to attract the birds back to their fields. It is a good little read.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/nov/20/cambodia-rice-farmers-tempt-endangered-cranes-back-by-growing-their-favourite-food-aoe?CMP=twt_a-environment_b-gdneco&fbclid=IwAR3P4C2VM2b_Ugb0MeM_RTyCWl6-wEQq29TDM6jYZRsEAIGa4rRr09vfkw0

It has been a great morning. We have not seen the garden rabbit, Hedwig, for some time. We were afraid that the construction of new condos about three blocks away destroyed the rabbit burrows. Perhaps the rabbits have moved. I was delighted to see him. He must have been under the feeders eating seed for some time because I didn’t have time to get my camera before he left.

Thank you so much for joining me. Take care everyone. Enjoy your Saturday. I am going to step back and listen to Ferris Akel’s Tour until it is time to feed all the birds.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cam where I took my screen shots: the Port Lincoln Osprey and Charles Sturt University Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross.

Victor Hurley answers your questions

If you missed the Q & A with Dr Victor Hurley, the researcher for the Victoria Peregrine Falcon Project, was live last week but if you missed it, here it is on YouTube. It is only audio- great presentation. There are some very good questions and answers that apply to the general population of peregrines.

My interest is in a small part of this discussion whereby corporations would be bound by a simple change in the wording of the law to protect the birds. Listen carefully. Check out your local situation if you can. See if you can help amend laws so that our lovely birds are protected.

There are some lovely books on Peregrine Falcons. Several in paperback. I highly recommend these:

  • The Peregrine by JA Baker
  • Falcon by Helen MacDonald
  • On the Wing. To the Edge of the Earth with the Peregrine Falcon by A Tennant
  • Peregrine Falcon by Patrick Stirling-Aird
  • The Peregrine’s Journey. A Story of Migration by Madeline Dunphy.

There are many others. Some better than others. The top three are my favourites.

For those of you that might have missed it, our darling Osprey, Ervie – the Little Bob who became the Big Bob – continues to be the ‘biggest’ and the leader. Ervie fledged yesterday at 13:17:38. Here it is:

What an amazing bird you are, Ervie.

I am outside for the rest of the day trying to make the garden inhabitable for the birds. The woodboxes have more than 45 cm of snow on top of them and so does the deck and the lawn. I will be checking on our bird families much later.

I hope that your Sunday is a good one. I do urge you to listen to Victor Hurley. It is a great discussion. You can turn it on and cook your dinner or have your tea and listen. Take care everyone! Thank you so much for being here.

Mr Blue Jay outwits Dyson!

Yesterday I revealed how we had finally figured out who was stealing Mr Blue Jay’s corn cobs. After several days of the cobs disappearing, we were able to catch the small Grey Squirrel in the act yesterday! We just had to look all over the garden to find the little thief!

To take the cob of corn, Dyson had to drag it for about 2 metres, pull it down steps and then 2 flower boxes. Once on the ground, he had moved it about 3 metres out of sight of the Blue Jays – and us.

I had no idea that these little squirrels were so strong. Persistent, yes, when it comes to food but, strong? The corn cobs are heavy when they have almost all the kernels on them. And this cob had only a few bites taken out of it before Dyson started moving it.

The Blue Jay family could not figure out what happened to their corn.

The real question was how to stop this activity. Dyson has lots of food – year round. Him and the other two grey squirrels have been coming to our garden for many years – 2016 for one of them. We have learned to identify them through different markings on their fur and we do keep a log. I have no idea how long urban Grey Squirrels normally live but having a penthouse (our shed) and readily available food, the vet told me she bet these three could live to be ten years old. They have no real predators other than the neighbourhood well-fed cats. The hawk that visits the garden is a Sharpie and him and his mate only take a small bird or nestling. So to cut to the chase, Dyson does not need to take Mr Blue Jay’s corn!!!!!!!!! There is never any chance that he would starve – he is just being a squirrel.

As all of you know, Blue Jays are part of the Corvid family, like Crows. These oscine passerine birds include crows, Mr Blue Jay and Company, Ravens, Magpies, Rooks, Jackdaws, Choughs, and nutcrackers. Most just say Crow Family.

Corvids are super intelligent, problem-solving birds. It seems that Mr Blue Jay was figuring out how to stop the squirrel, too, and he devised a very good method! I believe this is how it worked as I watched with camera in hand today for nearly three hours.

One of the three Blue Jays would land and watch the corn from the lilac bushes, about two metres away.

In this instance, Dad is watching from the lilac branches. He is ready to fly at Dyson if he comes near the deck where the other two are eating the corn.

Two of the Blue Jays would go down to the corn. This is Mum and their ‘baby’. Mum is nearer the corn cob.

When Mum finished eating, she flew away.

Junior went over to eat the corn under the watchful surveillance of Dad who remained in the lilacs.

While Junior ate, Mum was watching to make sure that Dyson did not come up on the deck, too.

When Junior finished, he flew off with Mum.

Would Dyson try and get the corn cob?

No way! Dad flew down to eat off a second cob of corn that I had put out. He was hungry too!

Junior flew back down to work on the other cob at the same time. Mum watched from the lilacs.

Sometimes Mum would fly down to be beside Junior and eat some corn, too.

They shared the one cob while Dad claimed the other.

There was no way that they were letting Dyson get their corn if Mum had to stand on it all day!

All of a sudden the pair become alert! They stop eating. Do they hear Dyson coming?

They look around.

Mum goes back to eating but Junior seems to think that Dyson might be coming up the other side of the deck. He seems to be listening and looking.

Junior turns all the way around.

Then all of a sudden Junior flies off.

It happened so fast I could not get a picture. Dyson had crept up to the other corn cob after Dad had left and had grabbed a kernel. Junior flew at him and sent him through the flower box over the edge of the deck.

Dyson did not come back all afternoon!

The Blue Jays were able to finish their corn cobs in peace. They figured out a wonderful way to get to eat their corn working together – way before this human came up with a plan. It was quite amazing to watch over several hours. I was truly impressed.

Wonder what will happen in the garden tomorrow?

Thank you for joining me this Friday. I hope that you are all well. Be happy. See you soon!

Urban Birds

There is a superb little video of Dad delivering Mum a pigeon carcass to feed the Melbourne Four. You will notice that the chicks really come to attention when they hear the ee-chupping that signals that a food delivery and meal are eminent.

I wonder how many prey items have been delivered to this nest so far? Awww…cute little dad just melts my heart. He is such a sweetie.

The Port Lincoln Ospreys had 7 feedings yesterday, 7 different fish deliveries. They were getting off to a good start today with a delivery very early in the morning and several quickly following. This nest just amazes me this year. Everyone is doing so well. Just look at those beautiful juvenile feathers growing in and the tails! Those magical tails with their white fringe.

I have been interested in birds since I was a child – enjoying the ones in my family’s garden and feeding them as well as the regular trips to the duck pond. It was not until I was an adult and had an encounter with a female Sharp-shinned hawk that my life catapulted into a different direction. Today I have two very focused ‘bird interests’ – Osprey nests with three hatches and urban raptors.

Today I turned back to thinking about the need for large parks within cities so that there would be a diversity of wildlife. One person who covers the Central Park area of New York City has a great blog with incredible photographs and short videos. His name is Bruce Yolton and he covers all of the birds and sometimes other species that live in the urban parks of New York City. This is the address of his blog, take a look. He has recently written about a beautiful Belted Kingfisher and Great Horned Owl.

https://www.urbanhawks.com/

Indeed, the very first streaming cam I ever watched was a pair of Red-tailed Hawks raising eyases in a nest on the ledge of New York City University’s library. I learned so much about the challenges that urban wildlife faces watching their daily lives unfold, learning the history of the nest, and chatting with many of the other people watching. Then one year, the female died of rodenticide poisoning. The male tried to incubate the eggs but, as we all know, it generally takes two full time adult birds to raise a nest. It was quite sad. Eventually, I discovered Big Red up at Cornell.

Bruce is an expert on the notorious Pale Male whose nest is on Fifth Avenue across from Central Park. You might have seen the full length documentary The Legend of Pale Male and the fight for this raptor to maintain his nest at this prestigious address. Pale Male is, I believe, coming on 32 years of age. He arrived in Central Park in 1991, thirty years ago. Bruce just uploaded a video of Pale Male hunting in Tupelo Meadow for a Brown Rat.

One of the greatest causes of death to urban raptors is rodenticide. Every time I hear or see a bird of prey eating a rat or mouse I worry that they will die from secondary poisoning. As you well know, raptors kill more rodents than any poisons. So why aren’t the designer poisons banned?

It was, however, Bruce’s video of Chimney Swifts, hundreds of them, flying into the chimneys of New York City that intrigued me. I think it will you, too.

All of the birds are doing well. Really well actually. It is reassuring in a world full of anxieties.

Thank you for joining me. I will put the link to the movie about Pale Male in case you haven’t seen it. If that is the case, grab your favourite snacks and enjoy watching the lobbying for a bird to keep its nest. It is quite remarkable. Take care. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: 367 Collins Street Falcons by Mirvac and Port Lincoln Osprey Project.

You can find the Legend of Pale Male here. It is free and well done.

thelegendofpalemale.net