Victor Hurley has posted a very informative post regarding the male fledgling from the CBD in Melbourne. There has been some speculation as to why he has remained on the nest after he fledged yesterday.
Here, it has been 16.7 C. Unthinkable the middle of November. We even had rain and when Don and I were having tea with Anne today there was a Dark-eyed Junco scratching for seed along with nearly 40 European Starlings, 80 Sparrows, 5 Blue Jays, 2 Crows, and any number of squirrels roaming around.
We are trying to teach Toby the difference between Brock and ‘Cat’. He is learning – and, indeed, he knows Missey and Hugo Yugo so hopefully he will not bark at Brock but only ‘Cat’ – meaning the domestic pets that come into the garden who do not need to be fed and who occasionally try to take a bird.
I hope this finds you well and happy. We are doing superb! Take care.
Thank you to Victor Hurley for sharing his thoughts on FB.
The ‘sunroom’ – the reason for Little Red’s eviction from the ancient shed – is not finished but, I am enjoying sitting here until I am tossed out so the workers can finish the floor and the dry wall on the one wall. It is almost like having eagle vision – I have a clear view of the garden and the critters. For Dyson, this means that I now know for certain that he sees himself as the ‘dominant osprey in the nest’. Poor Hedwig the Elder had no peace trying to have its breakfast and I have discovered that Junior also gets chased by Dyson. I have seen this behaviour before but was not aware of the extent of Dyson’s reign of terror. Of course, he is far too cute and the shenanigans he gets up to so he can enjoy just one more peanut or another cup of bird seed are precious.
Dyson first made a mess eating the peanuts and leaving the shells,. Then he decided to stash them instead of sharing with Junior. There he goes running. (Sorry for the not so clearly focused image…his coat is beautiful and that fluffy tail has all grown back — which clearly leads me to believe now that Dyson is a ‘she’ not a ‘he’. )
The birds gifted me sunflowers in the Vermillionaire boxes for the hummingbirds.
I was not quick enough to even get a bad picture of Junior but, it was Junior. Last week when we had everything going on with Victor, I came home and found a dead Blue Jay in the front garden. There had been a big fight between a Blue Jay and Mr Crow with Mr Crow winning – and well, I thought it was Junior. For days I worried about the three juveniles but, alas, it was not Junior. I was able to confirm by a distinctive mark that only Junior has that I saw this morning. Relief.
The other thing the garden critters battle, sadly, are cats. We have a bylaw that states people are not to let their cats out of their house. Is it enforced, no. But it called enough attention to the problem of rising feral cat numbers that most people abide by the law. But some don’t.
The bylaw has helped. The sheer number of feral cats has had significant declines. It is just getting humans to obey the laws – it is not the cat’s fault. I do not know who owns this particular cat but a gentle tap and it is gone. It is impossible to keep them out and well, the cat doesn’t know it isn’t supposed to be outside. There are advantages to cats staying inside – they won’t get hit by a car, they won’t get bitten by bees and have to go to the vet, they will not get injured in fights with other cats, they will not get their fur matted with plant material, they will not get caught in traps…
It really is a simple fix and could save tens of thousands or more birds each year if we would only trim our trees and shrubs before or after breeding season…not during. And keep the cats inside! The Guardian just featured an article on this very topic today. That said, I was planning to write about this regardless. Now that I have an eagle’s 270 degree view around my garden and neighbourhood, I just noticed yesterday that the man across the lane cut down the top third of his tree. In that part of his tree were two nests: the Blue Jays and a Red-squirrel. We were alerted to the issues when a squirrel sat on the power line screaming its head off for the entire day on Thursday. Did it have babies in a nest?
If you or someone you know is cutting down or trimming a tree, if your City is cutting them down, take the time to tell them if there is an unseen nest. Two years ago we had to lobby our power company over a Cooper’s Hawk nest – they backed down and we got a commitment to fall only trimming. Everyone can do their part!
Akecheta and Thunder continue to have trouble with juveniles coming to the West End nest in the Channel Islands. Akecheta had to escort another one out of the territory today.
There has been a fledge at the Loch of the Lowes. It happened at 10:06 this morning. So both of the osplets of Laddie LM12 and Blue NC0 have fledged. Congratulations Laddie, Blue NC0 and everyone at LOTL. Well done.
There are some concerns about Louis’s mate, Dorcha, at the Loch Arkaig nest. She has blood on her lower abdomen. It looks rather nasty. I had originally thought it might have come from a fish but not so sure. Did she get injured trying to move one of her big sticks?
Fish continue to come on to the Osoyoos nest. The last one was a little larger but it took only 3 or 4 minutes to finish it. One osplet got it all but the tail which Mum ate. Please send wishes for more fish on this nest…we need so much more. It is a bad situation with the heat. Mum needs much more food to survive and we have chicks getting juvenile feathers now…I am really worried about this nest. The parents have to eat as well as the two chicks…hoping the heat wave will end!
Oh, I would love to send a big fish like the one that Dad just brought to the Mispillion Harbour nest over to Osoyoos! It is a nice lunch for everyone in Delaware today.
The three osplets are getting their juvenile feathers, too, at the Boathouse Osprey nest on Hog Island, Maine. They have been pancaked many times this morning..more problems with intruders it would appear.
Every once in awhile I want to remind you of special blogs or websites. One of those is Bruce Yolton – a bird lover and photographer – who covers the urban hawks in New York City. Today, he has some wonderful images of the Peregrine Falcons and Red-tail Hawks. Have a peek! urbanhawks.com
Image copyright. Bruce Yolton.
There were ospreys on the Henlopen State Park nest in Delaware today. Not sure who they are. Is this the same intruder that injured the Mum causing the three osplets to die?
Dear Victor. I love how Ojai Raptor Centre is helping Victor through the physical therapy. Everyone cross their fingers and toes and hope that they find out what is the cause of Victor’s problem. Poor Baby. You got this Victor!
It isn’t just Bald Eagles that raise other species, this showed up in my inbox today…an owl and a duckling.. So grateful that the duckling is precocial and can pretty much take care of itself if it finds water and plants to eat! Thanks Mama Owl.
Keep Southern Royal Albatross male, OGK, father to Miss Pippa Atawhai and Quarry Track chick, in your thoughts. He was last positively seen on the 19th of May. It is unusual for a parent, especially one so devoted as OGK,, to be away for this long period of time. As is the practice of the NZ DOC, he will not be declared deceased until he does not return for the next breeding cycle in October 2023. Let us all hope he finds his way back to QT chick!
I have not seen any updates on Victor or Little Bit 17 this weekend. Perhaps on Monday. We know that Little Bit is working on his flying and Victor is getting therapy. Lots of fledging in the UK – too much to keep track of at times and intruders, many juveniles hatched from the nest in previous years such as KS7 and KS8 visiting Llyn Clywedog. KS7 fledged in 2018 and KS8 in 2021. Looking good! Continue to send your warm thoughts to all our birds.
Thank you for joining me today. Take care everyone…see you soon!
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams, FB posts, blogs, etc, that form my screen captures: Explore.org and IWS, Friends of Loch of the Lowes and the Scottish Wildlife Trust, Friends of Loch of the Lowes and the Woodland Trust, Osoyoos Osprey Cam, Mispillion Harbour Ospreys and the DDNR, Audubon Explore, Bruce Yolton, Ojai Raptor Centre, Cornell and the NZ DOC, and the Dodo.
In 2001, wildlife rehabilitation specialist, Christy Hargrove, founded National Squirrel Appreciation Day in Asheville, North Carolina. It was to be a day for creating a loving environment for our furry tailed friends by setting out food and water for them. Hargrove encouraged people to allow the squirrels to eat at the bird feeders without chasing them away. This wildlife specialist knew that the existence of squirrels both in urban and urban areas is beneficial to everyone and they should not be seen as rodents that cause disease. Not only do they bring us joy as we watch them but they are busy planting seeds which eventually will grow into trees. Hargrove said that squirrels are “natures gardeners”! They actually know to plant the seeds in the brambles where the young trees can grow undisturbed until they are strong – a fact known in the rewilding communities of the UK.
There are huge challenges for squirrels in an urban setting. At present, our City is removing old trees – trees planted more than 125 years ago that are not only home to many birds but also provide nuts and seeds for the squirrels. This is especially true of the Maple trees in my neighbourhood planted in 1902.
Dyson, Little Red and all the gang hope that everyone will be kind to all the squirrels especially as people continue to take over their habitat removing their food sources. Every Day, according to Dyson, is a day to celebrate how much joy (and bother) he brings to me.
Happy Squirrel Appreciation Day from Little Red and Dyson!
Dyson has his full winter coat and he is happy that the cage holding the suet has been removed so he can ‘sleep and eat’ on his favourite seed cylinder!
In this photo, Dyson’s fur is starting to get thick.
Dyson was slim and trim in the summer. Notice how his fur gets thicker as winter cold creeps in.
We live in what is defined as ‘downtown’ and yet, my garden is full of life. Four households have created a bit of a corridor for all the birds and animals so that they can wander from garden to garden. As a result, we support more than 350 birds daily along with the various squirrels that live on each of our individual lots. There is the occasional racoon that wanders over from the river and once a peacock fleeing from the zoo found its way to the top of my neighbour’s roof. I am grateful every day to have these fabulous creatures in my life and I feel privileged to be able to care for them in some small way. I am also grateful to each one of you for the love and joy you have shared with all of the birds this year, for the nights when we should have been asleep but were up watching a nest with anticipation or worry, or for the times when we all collectively grieved.
There was soft gentle snow dancing around Little Red. He is anxiously awaiting his Christmas Eve bowl of mixed nuts. This tradition began many years ago when my dear neighbours brought over a container of non-salted cashews for him. I don’t imagine Little Red has any idea that those nuts are a small reward for all the joy and laughter he has brought us through the year.
Dyson & Co have been out finding seeds buried under 10 cm (4 inches) of snow. We can always count on Dyson to clean up everything. No worry about seed sitting too long with our squirrel-vacuum.
Sharpie came to visit early. It is always a relief to see him.
Junior was also here early but we have not seen Mr and Mrs Blue Jay for some weeks and we are imagining that they migrated and Junior decided to stay and keep their home safe.
From all of us on the Canadian Prairies we wish you all of the blessings of this holiday season – good health, friendship, family, and the joy of the birds.
We are on pip watch for Harriet and M15. I am hoping for a Christmas hatch! Take care and thank you for joining me.
Are you having Peregrine Falcon withdrawal since the Collins Street kids and Yurruga fledged? Did you know that there are a pair of falcons living in Baltimore, Maryland that do not migrate? Their names are Barb and Boh. Barb will lay her eggs in March (normally) but for now the camera is live every day! The history of the scrape is located on the web cam page.
Urban hawks are very fascinating as are the amount of wildlife that exist in the very large urban parks such as Central Park in NYC. I always recommend this site. There are some good videos on Cedar Waxwings and the Peregrine Falcons as well as the RTH’s. The blog is run by Bruce Yolton who is extremely knowledgable. Check it out if you are interested in how wildlife survives in some major cities like New York.
There is also an Osprey streaming cam in Maryland that you should have on your radar. It is the home of Tom and Audrey 2 on the property of The Harrison Family.
This Osprey family, Tom and the original Audrey, were the subject of a book full of wonderful images, Inside An Osprey’s Nest. A Photographic Journey through Nesting Season. The images and text are for year 2015 when Tom and Audrey became adoptive parents – twice! The story is as good as the images showing the arrival of the two chicks to the nest and then, a little later, another chick lands on the nest and wants to be part of the family.
The eggs of Tom and Audrey are determined to be non-viable. The eldest two nestlings are removed from a nest with four chicks. Imagine Audrey’s surprise when she returns to her nest from a break to find not three eggs but two chicks and an egg. It is a very heart-warming story!
One of our readers asked if I would share some information from that big book on Australian birds of prey – and the answer is definitely yes! It is too difficult to find that volume and too expensive to purchase but, oh so wonderful to share! We will work our way through Australian birds of prey!
The latest news on two peregrine falcons that we are watching – Grinnell, the mate of Annie at UC-Berkeley’s Campanile – and Yurruga, the recent fledge at Orange is no news. The last posting from UC Falcons is that the interloper male appeared briefly on the ledge and was greeted by Annie. It was raining in Orange. Diamond and Xavier were about but Yurruga was not seen. He could be in the trees staying quiet out of the weather. Perhaps he will be spotted today.
The boys at the Port Lincoln Osprey Barge are doing fine. Bazza decided to be a little aggressive when he received one of the morning fish deliveries from dad. Afraid that Ervie might steal his late breakfast, Bazza decided to mantle and then thrust himself at Ervie just to make sure Ervie understood.
Bazza was very quick to protect its fish and mantle Ervie. The mantling is not the problem it is that beak. They can do a lot of damage to one another if they decide that is what is necessary.
Bazza finally settles and goes back to eating his fish.
Later. All is forgotten. Simply beautiful fledglings. Falky is on the right, Bazza with his great crest is on the left and Ervie is behind with his sat-pak.
Someone said that Falky had a wing or feather injury but I can see nothing to indicate that in these images. Falky is definitely one beautiful elegant bird. He has really come into himself in terms of flying. I also hear rumours that Ervie is trying his hand at fishing. Wonderful!
Just beautiful. Sometimes I just stare at these three boys. What joy they gave to us this year. I wish each had a sat-pak because we get so attached to them and then – poof. Nothing. What happened? Rather than think things are well, I like to know. If something happens, then we need to deal with it. Like Solly’s electrocution. Put the protectors on the poles. It is simple.
As we prepare for Bald Eagle season, I want to stop and say that there are so many many nests. You have your favourites and I have mentioned mine in the last few days. Some of the first eggs that will hatch belong to M15 and Harriet at the SWFlorida Eagle nest in Fort Myers on the property of the D Pritchett family. Those eggs are set to hatch from the 25-28 of December. They are an experienced family with little trauma – the GHOW being the exception. If you are after an eagle family to watch, SW Florida should be your first go to this season. There are three cameras. You can find the others on YouTube.
Ithaca, New York is the same temperature as the Canadian prairies today, 0. Yes, it warmed up and the sun is out! Ferris Akel’s tour is live at the moment. He is on Wildlife Drive and it is snowing but he did find some beautiful swans.
If you are reading this at the right time you can still join the tour. On Thursday Ferris found Big Red and Arthur on the Cornell Campus. Maybe he will do the same today!
I am also happy to report that so far, knock on wood, Dyson has not found the new feeder for Little Woodpecker! Yippee.
Take care everyone. Thank you for joining me today. I hope you have a marvellous Saturday. See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screenshots: Port Lincoln Osprey Project and Ferris Akel.
According to all of those pop-ups on the computer that can drive you mad at times, today is Black Friday. The Friday after Thanksgiving to kick off a season of buying – all those things we want but don’t need, everything to put a smile on someone’s face for the holidays, etc. I said that I would not buy anything on a Black Friday sale. Famous last words?
Dyson is our resident grey squirrel with the ‘good tail.’ There are 2 others, another small one with a weird tail and the big grey one. Dyson got his name because he can suck up more bird seed than all of the birds in our garden together and in record time.
Dyson was regularly coming to take the corn cob away from Mr Blue Jay.
For several days Mr Blue Jay, Mrs Blue Jay and Junior thwarted Dyson’s attempts. And then Dyson got clever. OK, he is clever he just worked faster to get that cob out of sight.
The little grey squirrel would push and pull until he got the cob off the deck. He had to move it over cinder blocks and flower beds before getting it on the grass. Then he pushed and pulled and got it about 5 metres away. Then the cob disappeared.
Where his winter’s supply is, we do not know.
From the corn cobs Dyson advanced to the hanging tray feeder where he could sit or pancake himself eating all the glorious nuts and berries. That was until Little Red explained to Dyson that the hanging feeder is ‘off limits’.
Little Red cleared Dyson out of the hanging feeder in no time. I wonder if he has a silent alarm that lets him know if someone steps on that feeder?
Little Red enjoying a nut in the hanging tray feeder.
Dyson then discovered the ‘new’ chipped peanut and sunflower seed feeder with accompanying tray. No effort at all, just sit and vacuum out the goodies! I am certain the man at the birdseed store was laughing as I left the store the day he sold me that tray!
So, word of warning. If you have a persistent squirrel around that you love – and I mean who wouldn’t love Dyson? – don’t put a tray on your feeder so the seed won’t fall to the ground. All it does is act like a squirrel platform! Dyson has even be caught napping between meals on that tray!
Even though Dyson has found the ‘gold mine’ of feeders, he does not like to share his space with Little Woodpecker – and, yes – Dyson has figured out how to get at the suet cylinders, too! I went off today to see if there was ‘something’ for the woodpeckers that Dyson would not like. And that is how it happened.
I walked into the door of the seed store and was promptly met by the cheerful owner who put a bag in my hand and told me that it was their Black Friday Sale and everything that would fit in the bag would be 20% off. Dyson!!!!!!!!
Tomorrow’s challenge for Dyson will be the new wire mesh feeder with the chopped peanuts mixed equally with the Bark Butter Bits for Little Woodpecker. The owner smiled and said, ‘Make sure you don’t put a tray under the feeder!’
From Dyson and all the gang in the garden, we hope that you have a wonderful weekend!
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!
