Tag Archives: Ventana Wildlife Society

Goslings hatching, She is Elen…Monday in Bird World

24 April 2023

Good Morning Everyone!

Thank you so much for being here with us today. We hope that the week is starting out well for each and every one of you!

Mr Crow and a friend have returned. He has been yelling at me all day. It is unclear whether he wants his cheesy dogs or his cat kibble but he is making quite a ruckus right above my head as I write this. The first Common Grackle of the year has appeared in the garden along with the normal array of Dark-eyed Juncos, Sparrows, European Starlings and woodpeckers. I can see Little Red running through the lilacs to get to the suet while Dyson and the gang are hovering around on the ground. They much prefer the Black Oil seed when they have finished all the peanuts.

Hatchery Mum and Dad and DH2 give us another cute moment with their family portrait from Sunday. Isn’t it beautiful? That adorable little eaglet. So precious after the tragedies of last year with HPAI.

The award for the most diligent mother of the week has to go to Sally at Moorings Park who is always feeding her osplets, Abby and Victor, even at 11pm!!!!!!!

On Monday morning, the new unringed female, nicknamed ‘Dot’ at the Glaslyn Osprey platform, will be given an official name! She has now been with Aran for more than a week. It has been a joy watching the two get acquainted and bond; this is terrific news. Wonder what the name will be?

New nesting material is in and Aran has perfected handing over the fish to his new mate. All we need are some lovely eggs in that nest now!

The new female is named Elen. “Our new Glaslyn female now has a name! She will be called Elen, named after Yr Elen a mountain in the Carneddau range in Eryri (Snowdonia). As you will be aware, Aran is named after Yr Aran another mountain in Eryri.”

Their story unfolded quickly as Elen laid her first egg this morning at 10:37! What a brilliant start with a new name, too.

Dorcha has laid her second egg at Loch Arkaig with her mate Louis.

Sasha Dench is in Guinea. She has discovered why water and climate change are important to the Ospreys that migrate between the UK and West Africa. Have a listen. You will learn a lot about how our changing world impacts everything! We are all interconnected.

Flo left the Captiva Osprey nest around noon on Sunday. She looked down at the only egg that – well, it would take a miracle if it was viable – and flew off. Angus has returned to the nest. He is on the perch in the last image. The couple was seen together in the nearby trees. Their bond is essential. They can begin again next year. It was a rough season for everyone at Captiva this year.

The situation at Dale Hollow continues to weigh heavily on people’s minds and our hearts. The American Eagle Foundation and the Tampa Raptor Centre offered expert climbers to go to the site and remediate the issue. The nest is on public land, US Army land, accessed by a road through private property.

There is more news coverage of what is happening to the eaglets and letters are now going out to everyone who wrote advocating for the eaglets. I want to thank each of you from the bottom of my heart to the tip of my tiny toe for taking the time – for your love and your caring for our wildlife. You could just as easily close your eyes and ignore everything. You didn’t. We may not win this one, but we cannot give up. In an ideal situation, that monofilament line comes off. River breaks it and removes the mess from the nest. That is the perfect solution. If that does not happen, and it hasn’t yet, we must seek help for those who cannot ask for it themselves. I am so proud to be in such excellent company as all of you.

I have just opened my evening’s e-mail to find a host of similar letters and notices of television news coverage in Tennessee. We owe it to the eaglets not to give up. I have said that twice. It is crucial. Everything takes longer than we want. Bureaucracy takes time – and nothing happens on the weekend. Not even for Dr Sharpe!

Here is the letter going out to those who contacted Tennessee Wildlife Resources. Thank you to everyone who sent me their copy. It takes an army! Last year when I posted letters on my blog, DH labelled them as ‘fake news’. The letter below is not fake – many of you will have received the same one from the official.

Thank you for sharing your concerns. The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) was notified of an eaglet tangled in fishing line by viewers of a Dale Hollow live eagle camera on Friday, April 22. TWRA staff who received the notification immediately contacted Agency staff responsible for wildlife conservation. The Agency also notified our partners at the US Fish and Wildlife Service and the American Eagle Foundation about the eaglet.

TWRA is actively monitoring the situation and is in communication with federal wildlife authorities. Although no longer listed on the federal list of endangered or threatened species, both bald eagles and golden eagles are protected by the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Due to their federally regulated status, the US Fish and Wildlife Service is the agency with oversite and authority in cases of eagles in distress.

Federal laws prohibit the disturbance of eagles and their nests, which includes any substantial interference with normal breeding, feeding, or sheltering behavior. Any rescue attempt would be considered a disturbance of natural behavior, and therefore requires federal permitting to take place. Additionally, only individuals who have been properly certified are allowed to climb to eagle nests for the safety of the individual and the eagles. 

Disturbing the nest, even for a rescue attempt, comes with significant risks. Nestlings may be startled by human activity near the nest and prematurely jump from the nest before they are able to fly or care for themselves. This could result in the death of both nestlings. Adult eagles can also become territorial or defensive of the nest, and attack humans who attempt to approach the nest.

Live wildlife cameras serve as an important education tool for members of the public to safely view nature. However, from time to time, the public may see the disturbing footage of sick, injured, orphaned, or otherwise distressed wildlife as part of the natural course of events. Unfortunately, the eaglet in this situation was tangled in a piece of litter. TWRA always encourages individuals enjoying the outdoors to properly dispose of any trash to prevent injury to wildlife. Littering on public property carries varied offenses ranging from misdemeanor to felony charges.

This is a developing situation, requests for additional information should be directed to the agency with jurisdiction, the US Fish and Wildlife Service. Federal officials are aware of the situation and any additional decisions or action on the issue will be made by the US Fish and Wildlife Service with the full cooperation of TWRA.

Respectfully, 

Emily Buck
Director of Communications and Outreach
Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency 5107 Edmondson Pike, Nashville, TN 37211

Because of you more news agencies are picking up the story. Why not be the heroes and help the eaglets?

More news this morning:

As of this morning, DH18 is still in the same position on the nest it has been for days with the entanglement materials underneath it – in other words, DH18 continues to be tethered to the nest. River dropped the fish and was dealing with intruders.

I would love to be posting all those amazing images of the Es but they belong to the photographers that took them. Please head over to the SW Florida Eagle Cam FB page to see what the Es and M15 are doing off camera. They are amazing!

Vijay caught the breakfast delivery on Sunday! Listen to those eaglets as they know M15 is on his way!

It is Sunday afternoon in Iowa and all eyes are on every twitch that Mother Goose is making.

Mother Goose was up for her evening break but was not gone very long at all.

It is 0715 and there is a big pip and a crack in one of the Goose eggs at Decorah! Yippeeee. Thanks ‘A’ for the head’s up.

‘H’ reports that R4 had a good feed yesterday. Continuing good news for this eaglet at Miami.

Nesting is also beginning at the Osoyoos Osprey Platform in British Columbia.

You have to love the Cal Falcon feedings. Two for you and then two for you and wait, yes, two for you. As ‘H’ reminds me I have always said if you want a peaceful nest watch the falcons and the hawks! And just imagine – it is not long until we have pip watch for Big Red and Arthur!

Great video by SK Hideaways of this little number three – feisty!

Wondering which egg is which of Big Red and Arthur’s? Cornell tweeted their ID.

Sunday was happy hatch day for two California Condors. One is one of my all-time favourites, Phoenix 477. He is the mate of Redwood Queen, the mother of Iniko (with Kingpin, who died in the Dolan Fire). Phoenix got his name because he also survived a tragic wildfire. He and Redwood Queen raised #1174 in Pinnacles (a new nest for them) in 2022.

Karl II and Kaia continue their bonding and getting their strength back after their long migration from their winter homes in central Africa.

The Pitkin County Osprey Platform had its second egg today. The nest is located on a platform in Roaring Park Valley, Colorado. Last year both osplets were pulled off the nest when nesting material attached to them was attached also to the female. One died and the other survived to be released this spring.

One of those heart warming stories that we would like to see happen everywhere! The leg of the eaglet was lodged in the nest material. The AEF came to the rescue.

There is lots of wing flapping going on at the Duke Farms Bald Eagle nest. Not branching yet. Soon.

The plumage is not nearly that of Duke Farms but the Dulles-Greenway Eaglets are standing very well on that nest. Just look at those healthy eaglets. Three of them!

Haven’t checked on Cassidy and Sundance at Farmer Derek’s GHO nest for awhile. Gosh, they are looking out to the world beyond that nest today.

A visitor came to the Achieva Osprey nest Sunday. The distinctive heart-shaped head looks like the head of Tiny Tot Tumbles hatched in 2021. She was the third hatch many believed had died of starvation on the nest at least three times. She did not and became not only the dominant chick but also the defender of this nest against adult birds during the summer of 2021. It sure looks like her head with the narrow white stripes and the dark heart!

The osplets at Achieva had one fish on Saturday, and Jack delivered a fish at 2009 on Sunday. The eldest continues its aggression due to a shortage of fish in the nest. We must remember that Mum, who feeds the chicks, is also hungry. This nest remains very precarious.

There is good news coming out of the KNF E1 nest of Anna and Louis. Trey has been on the nest jumping about. Way to go, Trey!

Kathryn has reported that Lake Murray had its third osplet hatch Sunday afternoon!

Jackie and Shadow continue to visit their nest in Big Bear Valley. We will all look forward to the late fall and the next breeding season for them. Regardless of eggs, chicks or not, it is always good to see Jackie and Shadow!

Congratulations to Llyn Brenig on the second egg of the 2023 season laid Sunday afternoon.

Continue sending your best wishes to the nests with issues – Achieva and Dale Hollow. Tomorrow keep Bald Canyon in your thoughts as an attempt will be made to rescue the eaglet that fell from the nest. We hope that it is still alive.

Thank you so very much for being with me today as we flitted about the nests that we have been watching. There are positively some many things happening internationally in Bird World that it is hard to keep up. I hope at the beginning of the week to check on all those UK Osprey nests closer and also the ones in Finland. Take care all. See you soon!

I want to thank everyone for their notes, their tweets, posts, videos, and streaming cams that helped to make up my blog today: Kathryn, A, H, B, L, S, T, J, W, WRDC, Osoyoos Osprey Cam, Raptor Resource Project and Explore.org, Moorings Park Ospreys, Bywyd Gwylld Glaslyn, Mary Kerr and Friends of Loch Arkaig, Conservation without Borders, Windows to Wildlife, Sylvia Jarzomkowske and Bale Eagles Live Nests and Cams, Nicole Norment Whittemore and Bald Eagles Live Nests and Cams, SW Florida Eagle Cam, Vijay and SW Florida Eagle Cam, Decorah Goose Cam, Cal Falcons, SK Hideaways and Cal Falcons, @CornellHawks, Ventana Wildlife Society, Eagle Club of Estonia, Sydney Wells and Bald Eagles Live Nests and Cams, Carol Craig and Osprey Friends, Albert Li and Big Bear, Duke Farms, Dulles-Greenway Eagles, Farmer Derek Owl Cam, Achieva Credit Union, KNF-Ei, Llyn Brenig Ospreys, and FOBBV.

News of SE30, Zoe is on the West Coast…Monday Morning in Bird World

30 January 2022

Good Morning Everyone,

I hope that you had a good weekend. Maybe you were able to go outside and see the birds. Perhaps you watched from your windows like I did with all our cold and wind. They bring us such joy and remember – if you are stressed out by anything just stop and visit with your local feathered friends or tune in to your favourite streaming cam.

It is pretty clear that Zoe has left Port Lincoln to start her independent life. WBSE30 is doing great in care, and there is a new Osprey streaming cam for you coming from Naples, Florida. So much happening and we are just getting ready to ramp up for eaglets fledging and osplets hatching! It will be a little crazy.

Making News:

Beautiful WBSE 30 is really thriving in rehab. Just look at how gorgeous she is (lighter bird in front). There are two separate and slightly different postings. Thanks, ‘H’ for alerting me to this!

There is a new Osprey nest!!!!!!!!!!

There is a new Osprey streaming cam in Naples, Florida. It is Harry and Sally and as of the 29th of January the couple have two eggs. Will there be a third tomorrow? The first was laid on the 24th at 0615 and the second on the 27th so tomorrow will be the day if there are to be three.

The EU Court has ruled that trapping finches in Malta is against the law and is not research. This is excellent news.

Did you know that until the middle of 2021 it was legal to trap songbirds in France with those inhumane sticky glue papers? This victory in France that made glue trapping illegal and the EU Court ruling on the Malta case is all good news. We cannot give up the fight to have our wildlife treated humanely. It takes time and effort but, they need us. And we need them!

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jun/28/french-court-outlaws-glue-trap-hunting-of-songbirds?CMP=share_btn_link

Many groups trying to increase biodiversity in the UK and various nature and birding groups in North America are working hard to protect wetlands and, in some cases, to increase the amount of and number of wetlands so that our waterfowl can live. It is, thus, with some sadness that some of the few wetlands in the Middle East are drying up. Specialists in California say that even with the recent torrential rains and flooding, it might well not be enough to overcome the drought that threatens that State. What does all this mean for our wildlife?

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jan/29/death-in-the-marshes-environmental-calamity-hits-iraqs-unique-wetlands?CMP=share_btn_link

How much do you know about feathers? Are you aware that many vets around the world have feather collections – especially if they work with many raptors. Those feathers are used to replace lost primary and secondary feathers (as well as others) to injured birds. Feathers are invaluable and having a library collection of them is one way of helping birds to return to the wild.

An Indian woman, Esha Munshi, has started a feather library in India. It is the first in the country and will be used as a resource, not as a site for replacement feathers. Read about why this feather library is important in a world when species are going extinct.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jan/24/feather-library-visual-a-to-z-india-birds-aoe?CMP=share_btn_link

It is a strange morning, this Sunday, 29 January on the Canadian Prairies. Not only is it desperately cold at -32 C but, I also find myself thinking about Zoe, the fledgling Osprey from Port Lincoln. Zoe is not without controversy. The siblicide of both Little and Middle polarised many viewers. As one reader put it, ‘She is living for three’. She certainly is. I have received more letters about this single Osprey than all of the other raptors put together. So, I will say what collectively those that sent e-mails or made comments have said – I want Zoe to not only be the largest female osprey ever ringed in South Australia but, for the sake of her siblings, I want her to become the longest living osprey in the history of Australia. I want her to raise many chicks to fledge. Then it would have been all worth it.

It is pretty clear that Zoe flew north yesterday at 07:55:34 and left Port Lincoln for good. What motivates these fledglings to leave when they do? and why head in the direction that she did? Was it the winds? The water appeared to be rather choppy yesterday. We are awaiting an update from her sat-pal when Australia wakes up in several hours.

The nest is empty at Port Lincoln and Dad is having some quiet time in the shed. I have not seen an update on Zoe but will check for tomorrow!

Zoe is definitely not returning to the natal nest at the barge in Port Lincoln. This is her latest tracking:

Zoe has crossed the Eyre Peninsula flying across the inland where there would have been little or no opportunities for food. Incredible…Perhaps she knows a secret and it is faster to get to Mount Hope this way??? She is now on the West Coast which is a good place for Ospreys. Eat well, Zoe!

This is the posting by Friends of Osprey:

Connick has had a wonderful Sunday. There has been lots of good fish and he or she went to bed with a crop the size of a large golf ball. Connie has really stepped up the feedings and the little one is no longer covered in sticky fish juice. Such a little sweetheart.

You can see Connick’s ear. That lighter round circle on the side of the head below the eye. This ear will be covered with feathers.

I did almost choke when I saw the ‘something’ wrapped around Connick’s wing. My palms began to sweat but…is it nesting material? It looks like string to me. Whatever it is, it is off Connick’s wing and I hope it does not return.

Connick is growing. I have said like a ‘bad weed’ for several blogs now but, it is true. Once Connie got on to the feeding and did so with gusto, the little one just sprouted.

Much of the soft natal feathers is disappearing. We can see that thick Matty thermal down coming in on Connick’s nest and chest. And just look at those beautiful eyes and beak. We have come a long way from the little chick we worried over with fish juice everywhere.

Can you see that golf ball size crop? Connick has sported one after every feeding today it seems.

It didn’t start off raining in Louisiana. It was rather a nice day with Valentine and 02. We can see the difference in the juvenile feathers coming in. These two are adorable. Life on the KNF E3 nest is good. Alex and Andria have proven to be capable parents.

By noon the drops were starting to fall and the rain just got heavier. At the KNF-E3 nest Andria tried her hardest to keep Valentine and 02 dry but, to no avail. They are simply too big to fit under Mum!

The rain didn’t stop Alex from bringing in a fish for the family. Well done, Alex!

Oh, the nest of Anna and Louis KNF-E1 got really soggy, too.

Sunday was a beautiful day in central Florida. Pearl and Tico are growing so fast. They really have their juvenile feathers now and even though they can feed themselves, one of the parents seems to also like to still be with their eaglets. It is not long until they will fledge – Pearl is 53 days old and Tico is 52 days old. The average fledge age for Florida eagles is 77 days. It is hoped that the pair will spend another month at the nest getting fed and learning to hunt prey and getting their wings strong.

They are seriously gorgeous siblings. They have beautiful shiny ebony beaks, nice yellow lip surrounds, bright black eyes, and gorgeous ebony-espresso juvenile feathers. They are healthy. And they sure look happy!

As the sun sets over the nest, everyone has eaten. It was a good day.

At the Captiva Osprey nest, Mabel and Angus were on alert today. It is prime real estate. Hopefully there are no territorial battles for this young couple. No eggs as the sun set on Sunday.

No eggs at the Achieva Credit Union osprey platform in St Petersburg either. Jack and Diane were on and off the nest and at one time it appeared an intruder might have landed when they were away.

There can sometimes be strange creatures on the Southwest Florida Eagle nest that will be lunch. As we all know, Eagles do not waste anything and they often bring carrion (dead animals) to the nest such as road kill. Once last year M15 brought in a domestic cat. I do not know what is on the nest today on the right side!

‘A’ was right…both Es are sporting Mohawks today! Thanks for the heads up, ‘A’.

Shadow decided enough was enough and he wanted some incubation time with the precious eggs. So what does Shadow do?

As the approaching storm begins to get closer and closer and the winds were gusting, Jackie and Shadow get ready to hang tight.

The little eaglet, Boots, at the Webster TX Bald Eagle nest did get some prey today. I was quite worried. It seemed that Ringo – who is MUCH bigger – was the only one getting fed and little Boots was hunkered down in the nest not eating. But, Boots did get fed! Fantastic.

What do we think? A BIG sister and a ‘tiny’ little brother? Lots of fish on the nest and part of a Coot.

Here is the link to the discussion and talks that took place on the 26th with the Ventana Wildlife Society and the Condor Crew. There are currently 93 California Condors free flying. There has been one death this year. 5 January 2023 was the date that Wassak died from lead poisoning. The Ventana Wildlife Society supplies free lead-free ammunition to farmers and ranches in the Condor areas of California. Why then do they die of lead poisoning? It has to be so frustrating. Funds have been received for VWS to hire a position to further push information and free ammunition to stop these horrific deaths.

All of the nests appear to be doing well. We have the first Osprey eggs in Florida at the new Moorings Park nest in Naples. We are waiting for eggs for Captiva and Achieva. The first one should be laid at Achieva this week. All of the eaglets on the nest are doing well including little Boots where the pecking and plucking has stopped. Boots has some catching up to do and I know that we will all send good wishes his way for just that! Join me also in wishing Zoe a good and long life. Mum and Dad will now be able to get a much needed break and get back in shape for August/September and eggs!

Thank you so very much for joining me today. Please take care of yourselves. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their tweets, posts, videos, and streaming cams that make up my screen captures and blog: ‘H’, Raptor Recovery Australia, Moorings Park Osprey Nest Naples, FL, @Birdlife_Malta, The Guardian, Friends of Osprey, Port Lincoln Ospreys, Window to Wildlife, KNF-E3, KNF-E1, Superbeaks, Achieva Credit Union, SWFL Bald Eagles and D Pritchett, FOBBV, SK Hideawys and FOBBV, Paul White and the Webster Texas Eagle Watchers, and The Ventana Wildlife Society.

Victor made the news!

13 July 2022

It was really fantastic to hear from ‘B’ that there are super donations going into Ojai Raptor Centre for Victor from the Fraser Point Nest on Catalina Island and for Little Bit ND17 who is in care at Humane Indiana Wildlife. They are much loved not-so-little eagles. Forever grateful to those that work in the wildlife rehabilitation clinics donating their time and volunteering so that the wildlife get the very best care they can have. They do it with love, not for money.

Victor made the newspapers today! California loves its raptors and it is always encouraging to see stories about the Big Bear Valley Eagles – the antics of Spirit and her parents, Jackie and Shadow and those ever adorable Cal Falcons – Annie, Alden, Grinnell Jr and Lindsay.

Here is that link:

https://www.vcstar.com/story/news/2022/07/13/bald-eaglet-rescued-ojai-raptor-center-rehabilition-facility-after-fall-channel-islands-nest/10040561002/?fbclid=IwAR2OL-4wsCC13Z5tl4bOcm3enLhMe6tCPwwDX0vW2kA_16k2RcwCjrQIs2c

Again, some of those amazing eagles and ospreys get forgotten when there is a crisis. Takoda is one gorgeous fledgling. Mr President continues to supply him with wonderful fish. Looks like an early morning catfish.

Wonder if Dad will bring in a dinner fish?

Lancer is on the rocks by the Two Harbours nest late this afternoon.

It doesn’t look like there is anyone home at the West End Bald Eagle nest of Thunder and Akecheta.

If you love California Condors, the Condor Cam is up and running and there are Condors in the trees around the site. They are often there feeding on carcasses provided for them by the Ventana Wildlife Society.

Here is the link to the camera in Big Sur:

This is a very quick look at a few nests this afternoon. I have spent the day creating a flight path for the garden birds – and there is a huge mess to clear up. I hope that everyone is well. Check in on your favourite birds. Many are about and still coming to the nests for food. Take care. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams and/or FB pages where I took my screen captures: Explore.org and the Institute for Wildlife Studies, Ventana Wildlife Society, and the NADC-AEF.

Late Tuesday in Bird World

7 June 2022

This blog is mostly about Little Bit 17. It has been a good day for our little trooper!!!!!!

Little Bit 17 (formally known as ND17) at the ND-LEEF nest is 63 days old today. Big is 68 days old and Middle is 67 days old. Little Bit is decidedly behind in food from the two older eagles and he might well be a third of their size but that does not stop him. I call these third hatches ‘The Little Eaglets that Could’. Little Bit 17 has no idea he is small. No one sat down with him and explained size ratios, lack of development due to lack of food, etc. Now, some people might think it is a bad thing that Little Bit is a little eaglet. Perhaps not. He is decidedly quick- he can snatch and grab the prey before the two big eaglets. He is also extremely intelligent – he has learned to read the environment and know when to go in after the prey rather than get injured. Great lessons for the future. Later on he will be able to get that prey and fly off with it.

Today ‘something with a pelt’ came on the ND-LEEF nest. The older siblings simply cannot be bothered to work hard for food. That is another huge difference. Because Little Bit has been so hungry, he will eat things that the older two, more privileged will not. That really ticks the box for survivor for me.

At 13:41:08, Little Bit 17 grabs that squirrel pellet and works on it. At 13:56:23 he horks it down! Don’t worry. He will not choke. You have probably seen falcons being fed feathers, etc. The raptors do not waste a thing. Each has a purpose. In her book, The Hawk’s Way by Sy Montgomery she reminds us that people do not have to hunt but hawks do and so do eagles and all of the raptors. They live by four rules in the wild: Hunt hard. Kill Swiftly. Waste Nothing. Offer no Apologies.

Little Bit 17 watches the older sibling eating. He sits waiting. It must be 15 because the two of them tolerate one another rather well.

Little Bit 17 has taken the pelt and is eating it. The older sibling does not care.

Little Bit 17 works away on his meal – grateful to have food today!

At 14:47:54 Little Bit takes a UFO that lands on the nest!

But wait. At 14:55:39 Mom brings in a Rock Bass. The older siblings look at it but no takers. Little Bit waits and watches. When he is sure that 16 is not going to rip him up if he gets near it, Little Bit 17 moves in and takes that fish. Little Bit ate the whole thing.

The Rock Bass has arrived.

One of the older siblings checks out the Rock Bass but doesn’t want to have to unzip it. Meanwhile 17 is watching —–and you can bet that Mum is watching what is going on, too.

Little Bit has the fish. He is mantling.

Little Bit is pulling it over to the porch where he feels safe. He will eat the entire fish.

Little Bit has a huge crop. Isn’t it wonderful. In fact, Little Bit has been eating most of the day. He should definitely be energized. Let us all hope that this warrior of an eaglet will get as much food tomorrow!!!!!!!

The struggle that this little eaglet has made to live is inspiring. We should all sit back and take a page out of his playbook. Little Bit never gave up – never!!!!!! Little Bit is grateful for any and all food that he gets. He has taken each day and has made the best he could out of it. When there was no food for several days, he rested saving up the energy he had until food did arrive. Little Bit 17 is pretty amazing.

There is good news coming out of the UK. One of the Salisbury Cathedral eyases fell from the scrape. It is hard to imagine that it was not injured. Have a read:

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/jun/07/young-peregrine-falcon-falls-from-salisbury-cathedral-tower?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other&fbclid=IwAR3i2ekRjCwN_3McrdzQ2zLJIPRm9kEVRMAXE-0FiC_G0BbZGZHRe0b-bjE

L1 is going to give everyone a heart attack. She is going to fledge any moment.

Middle remains on the UFlorida-Gainesville Osprey nest. He is inspired also and has been taking prey items and not deferring to Big. Confidence is growing and growing. Like L1, he is going to fledge any moment.

The population of Condors is so very fragile. To lose one is a real tragedy. Condors clean up the ‘dead’ – the carrion like the Vultures, Eagles, and other birds like Corvids. They are highly susceptible to lead poisoning. Help make the world a better place – tell your friends and family to use non-lead fishing and ammunition. Write to your government leaders. There are options that would greatly impact the life of our raptors and Condors.

The 18 year old male at the Cape Henlopen State Park Osprey nest in Lewes, Delaware is believed to be missing. He did not bring in a fish this morning or at all during the day. The chicks are old enough to be left alone but still are too young to not predated by larger raptors. I really hope that Dad returns. Fingers crossed. Will Mum go fishing? Yes, she did. She returned wet but with no fish. Just look at those three chicks! Send all your positive wishes!

Right about now you might be thinking that I am wishing for Urmas to send over his fish basket! or for him to climb that platform and put some fish on that nest!!!!!

Big Bob on the Llyn Clywedog Osprey nest is being unkind. He gave Little Bob quite the going over today right when a fish arrived. This nest has had weather issues and you might remember that Dylan was missing in action for a day. Hopefully, Big Bob will settle down. He should! Seren was fighting with a fish delivery that went wild across the nest.

A falconer friend of mine posted this article on the Japanese falconer, Hidetoshi Matsubara. He has been a falconer for more than 50 years. Learn about falconry in another culture! It is a beautiful 7 minute read.

https://www.patagonia.com/stories/the-last-takajo/story-120760.html?fbclid=IwAR0C5JaLwQ3bEpa2zWi7kKG5e07Ll-vAJe9IjHFmHMyBs6MTY0wQLoI7twc&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=s22_content&utm_content=last_takajo

I had a wonderful afternoon and found lots of ducklings and some goslings. More about that tomorrow.

Thank you for joining me today! So happy for Little Bit 17 that I can’t think of too much else. I just wish that camera had higher definition so we could actually get a good image of this little warrior. See you soon. Take care.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cam and/or FB pages where I took my screen captures: Ventana Wildlife Society, Cornell Bird Labs RTH, Osprey Web Cam Cape Henlopen, Nd-LEEF, CarnyX Wild, and UFlorida-Gainesville Ospreys.

Saturday in Bird World

28 May 2022

Do you like condors? If so, then you should be listening to the once monthly Condor discussions and updates from Ventana Wildlife. They take care of Central California’s Condors – Big Sur and Pinnacle. The home of Iniko 1031!

Part of today’s discussion touched on the issue of lead toxicity. The Bay Area has high levels of lead caused by the old mining industries. Because the California Condors and the Buzzards in the areas feed on carrion – dead carcasses – they are susceptible to the lead from the ammunition used in hunting. Did you know that part of the programme of thee Ventana Wildlife Society is to get lead-free zones? Since 2012 they have been providing lead-free ammunition to the farmers and hunters in their area to attempt to eradicate the problem in their area.

Before the pandemic there were 100 California Condors in the Central California area. Today there are 87. That is the bad news along with stories about those special birds lost – some just turning 2 years old, others just getting to their prime and ready to breed. Condors normally live to be 50-60 years old in the wild so these were significant young loses. Those who work with the birds talk about how each is such an individual and how they get to know them so well – losing one is a very personal issue. The good news is that the hatch rates in Central California are catching up with those in Southern California and they are hopeful that next year will be better.

The next discussion is slated for the 30th of June. Here is the link to the presentation of 26 May. Very informative.

Little Bit 17 really deserves a standing ovation. I am so impressed with this wee eaglet on Friday! Little Bit 17 had some big meals on the 26th – the last being an overly stuffed crop at 21:25 Thursday night. Indeed, Little Bit had full crops every day from the 16th of May to the 26th.

It was rainy today. A small fish was dropped off by one of the adults after 20:15. The oldest ND15 got the fish – it was not that big. What was significant was that Little Bit 17 went right up into 15’s face for the entire time Big Bob was eating the fish. Little Bit 17 really earned his name as the ‘Snatch and Grab King’ today, though. Yes, he got a little fish that was dropped – actually one nice piece. But the heroics was when the snatched and grabbed and got the fish tail!!!!!!! I know you don’t believe me. It is true.

There is 17 moving to get right up at the front where the action in. Little Bit is clearly a very brave eaglet that given half a chance can survive in the wild because he is not afraid of the hard work in getting food.

Little Bit 17 showed no fear when ND16 was coming up from behind.

Little Bit has the tail – it still has a nice bit of tender fish left! Go 17!!!!!!

Little Bit 17 is mantling his cache. So far 16 has not noticed that 17 has the fish tail. Remember 16 is also hungry.

Then 16 notices and starts to try and get the piece of fish. 17 mantles harder. 17 will also keep the fish in its beak and mantle turning around and around.

Little Bit gets his treasure over to the other rim of the nest away from 16. However, he is alongside 15 and 15 would very much like to have that fish tail as well.

Little Bit 17 was able to get a few bites of the fish before Big Bob took the tail back but, what a brave little eaglet to go up against both wanting his food. I am so proud of Little Bit. That is really something to go up against these two – just look at how big they are compared to him.

We really need more fish brought on to the nest. If the adults just drop off small fish Little Bit might lose out. He does better when Mum comes in and if he can feed on an opposite side. Little Bit can also self-feed as good or better than the older siblings. So if they are full and there is fish available there is no issue with this ‘Little Eaglet Who Could’ feeding itself! We just need fish!!!!!! Lots of fish. No time for parents to be cutting back the fish. Both of the adults should be out fishing and providing 5 or 6 fish to the nest. We would really see a huge growth spurt in 17 because the other two are levelling off now.

Saturday morning has not been good for Little Bit. The big siblings are really hungry today with so little food since the evening of the 26th. There have been three deliveries: 08:44, 09:01, and 10:54. The power of the bigger siblings was really pronounced. At 08:43 Little Bit was attacked by one of the big siblings. We are now assured that it is not a lack of feather growth on its head but a bigger sibling – I suspect 16 – pulled it out!

The parents at the ND-LEEF nest need to come in with a huge fish and then another one and another to get this back on track after that single day of bad weather.

The two osplets at UFlorida-Gainesville cannot blame the parents for being hungry today. A catfish with its head came on the nest a little after 08:00. Catfish are problematic for the best self-feeders until they figure out how to unzip them. Both chicks had a bit of a go at it and then the fish was moved over to the rim of the nest.

Their looks were priceless. Think they learned a lesson today – keep the fish in the middle of the nest!

Thankfully Dad arrived a few minutes later, at 08:13:52, with a nice chunk of fish.

Looks like Big Bob gets it.

Middle is sniffing around for that fish. Stop for a moment though and look at the dark bands on their tails.

Middle gets it! Remember Middle is really good at snatch and grab. Meanwhile the adult was watching everything that was going on with its kids. There will be more fish today. Th adult did not have a crop so he needs to eat, too.

Middle really enjoyed that chunk of fish. Big did not try to take it nor did she try to attack. This nest really turned around with two nice osplets that are healthy and will fledge. Middle finished the fish tail at 08:48.

I wish every eaglet, storklet, eyas, or hawklet – whatever you wish to call them was fed as well as the two osplets on the nest of Richmond and Rosie in the SF Bay. Today the duo were fed for over half an hour – you can compare this with the length of feeding at some of the nests with much larger offspring. They were so full that when one rolled backwards with a flake of fish in its mouth – it could not get up!

Mom is on the nest at the Port Lincoln Osprey Barge. Is she thinking that Ervie might be going to land with one of his puffers and she wants to be there to chase him away? While it is true that other parents like Diamond and Xavier had to chase Izzi away as breeding season approached, I lived in some kind of ‘delusional’ hope that Mum and Dad might tolerate Ervie at the barge.

Ervie’s talon has not grown in but he has brought a significant size fish to the nest, not just puffers. That demonstrates that he can catch larger fish. We should not worry about that. We will just miss him as he has been such a character – and oh what joy he has brought to our lives!!!!!

Hats off to Dylan and Seren who did a tandem feeding at the Llyn Clywedog Osprey nest today. I had said that I was concerned about the third hatch on this nest – it looks like they were, too. Well done – great parenting! Now if we could only get Laddie to stay in that nest and feed Little Bob (Loch of the Lowes).

This is just wonderful to see. Tears!!!!!

As the sun rises, Seren is feeding the trio. They are all lined up and it looks like everyone will have a wee crop. Nice.

Idris has the fish on the nest and Seren is doing the first feeding of the day at the Dyfi Osprey nest in Wales.

And then – there were 3 at the Dyfi nest! I love how Emyr Evans at the Dyfi Osprey Project collects and puts the data out there. Chick 1 hatched on 25 May at 39 days in the shell. Chick 2 hatched on the 26th of May at 36.9 cays in the shell. Chick 3 hatched on 28 May at 35.7 days in the shell. All look great and all hatched within the normal range with the eldest being the longest and the third being the shortest gestation period. Let’s see if this impacts their growth over the season. The closeness of the hatches will certainly bode well for the third osplet as it is only two days younger. Telyn really ‘nailed’ that incubation. These three should thrive. Congratulations Telyn and Idris!

Daddy Longlegs (Idris) has brought in a nice fish for Telyn and the trio.

Good Morning Dorcha at the Loch Arkaig nest. It looks like it is going to be a beautiful day! Now where is Louis with the breakfish?

Blue 33 has the fish on the platform as the sun rises over the water at Rutland. Maya is waking up but the Three Bobs seem to be wanting to sleep in on Saturday!

Blue NC0 had to take a personal break at the Loch of the Lowes. There are the three wee ones in the nest. They look good.

She is back and is waiting for Laddie to bring the first fish of the day. Just look at those lovely rose gold kissing everything at the loch. Beautiful.

Sometimes Blue NC0 makes it difficult to tell who has been fed and who hasn’t. At one feeding where I could clearly see, all three chicks were fed. Nice. I do not think that Little Bob is out of the woods yet. Fingers crossed.

The falcons at the Manchester NH scrape are really losing their baby down. The flapping of the wings sends it flying all over the scrape. Their legs are strong and – well, this has been an amazing nest to watch in terms of the sheer effort by the parents to make sure that each of the five survived and thrived.

Spirit hatched on 3 March. She is 86 days old today. Bald Eagles generally fledge from 10-14 weeks. Spirit is certainly looking out to the territory!

Kana’kini has been doing a lot of hovering and today she actually did that with a stick in her mouth. Here they are the three of them – whoever dubbed the trio ‘The Three Amigos’ is so right. What a fabulous group of eaglets to watch and the thanks goes to Thunder and Akecheta who kept feeding them and kept bringing food to the nest! Great parenting.

Those little ones at Cal Falcons are so adorable. I was sooooo shocked at the little male. He reminds me so much of the male at Captiva Ospreys – Middle Little. He was really loud too. You could hear him fish calling in Fort Myers. Alden and Annie are doing a fantastic job. It was very interesting to me that Cal Falcons noted that Alden was ferocious in his protection of the scrape with Annie yesterday whereas Grinnell used to leave that to Annie.

Want to take part in the naming. See the band at the bottom of the image.

The sun is beginning to come out. The weather forecast is for rain for four days but I am hoping to get out to our other nature centre sometime. Maybe today! Thank you so much for joining me. Wish for fish for ND-LEEF. The river should be going down and clearing after the storm so Suckers and Catfish will be easier to catch for the eagles. Little Bit 17 needs a lot of fish to be delivered so that it can get some. Take care everyone. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams and/or FB pages where I took my screen captures: Ventana Wildlife Society, ND-LEEF, UFlorida-Gainesville, SF Ospreys and Golden Gate Audubon, Port Lincoln Osprey Project, CarnyX Wild, Dyfi Osprey Project, Friends of Loch Arkaig and the People’s Post Code Lottery, LRWT, Friends of Loch of the Lowes and the Scottish Wildlife Trust, Peregrine Networks, FOBBV, Explore.org, and Cal Falcons.

Glacier Gardens, Ervie on the nest, and other news in Bird World

19 May 2022

It has been a rather dreary damp day. The garden has been full of Orioles, Chipping Sparrows, European Starlings, and Harris Sparrows. They sure bring a lot of joy. At the same time, they let you know that your place is to fill the feeders and then get inside and do not disturb them. They can be rather loud about that. Little Red was about a metre from his new home. I do not know if he found it. Will continue to watch on and off. Fingers crossed!

Glacier Gardens Bald Eagle streaming cam is now live at the new nest of Liberty and Freedom! It is also a brand new camera.

Here is the link to the Glacier Gardens camera:

Big and Middle (known as Warrior by some) were both on the Dale Hollow nest this morning. Then Big left and Middle has been flapping his wings. Our time with them could be limited. So nice to see these two beautiful juveniles.

Yesterday it seemed that Big was up on a high branch. Middle kept looking up. If there is a fledge the camera might not catch it if they are up on those high branches.

Look how big Warrior is. After Big killed Little Bit, we did not know if Middle would make it. We can now rejoice that all is well and we can hope that he or she has an amazing and long life.

I have not seen a prey delivery today at the MN-DNR nest of Nancy. The weather is not great and it is unclear if there are any intruders about. Nancy has been up on the branch watching over the territory.

Nesting material is being delivered to the Barnegat Light Osprey nest in New Jersey today by both Duke and Daisy.

Lady and Dad both spent the night on the old Ironbark nest in the Sydney Olympic Forest where they raise their little White-Bellied Sea Eagles. Sea Eagles are the second largest raptor in Australia with the Wedge-tail Eagle being the largest. Lady and Dad normally have two eggs and fledge both chicks. That said there are birds in the forest that chase them far away so they cannot map the route to and from the nest in their GPS systems. This means the fledglings do not learn from the parents how to fish or have the opportunity to be fed on the nest and get their flying stronger. Last year WBSE 27 went into care twice and was finally trained to hunt and get their flying strong before release the last time. 28 is believed to have returned to the nest recently – to everyone’s surprise – but it was very gaunt. There can be some food competition.

If you have never heard the ‘Dawn Duet’ by the White-Bellied Sea Eagles you are in for a real treat. I taped it last year on 22 June – have a listen. The couple do this every morning at dawn to wake the forest. The chicks also join in!

Many have commented that it looks like the Manton Bay trio of Blue 33 and Maya grow right before our eyes. They are certainly moving from the soft fluffy new born nestling phase and will soon enter the dark wooly period. As the plumage changes the osplets do tend to get a little edgy. Those feathers must be really itchy and irritating. No worries – it is just ‘feather stress’ (that is what I call it). There will be no problems with siblicide on this nest!!!!!! Blue 33 has spent a lot of time on the nest with Maya and he has been feeding the chicks every once in awhile.

They are considered to be a Power Couple in the Osprey World. They are certainly very strong together.

Maya was first seen at Rutland in the summer of 2009. She is the only Rutland osprey to have a name. The letters for Maya come from Manton Bay (first and last two letters to form Maya). The Greek word ‘Maia’ means ‘coming of spring’. Maya successfully bred with 5R (04) from 2010 to 2013. They raised 11 chicks! At least five of those have returned to Rutland – if not more. I have not checked the last two year’s stats. Sadly, Maya’s mate did not return in 2014. She waited and then finally paired with 28 (10). She laid three eggs. But Blue 33 (11) wasn’t having it. He wanted both the nest and Maya as his mate and he persisted – finally kicking the other males eggs out of the nest!!!!! Blue 33 and Maya have been together ever since. They are utterly devoted to one another and with the exception of this year, have often arrived from their winter migration within minutes of one another. They first raised successful chicks in 2015.

So why are they considered a power couple within the Osprey world? In addition to the 3 chicks in 2015, there were 17 chicks from 2016-2020 including two years of clutches of 4 chicks raised to fledge!!!!!!!!!!! Two years of four chicks. Think about that. 2019 and 2020. In 2021, they fledged 2 making a grand total of 22 chicks fledged with three now in the nest. In total, Maya has fledged 33 chicks. Incredible. I love this nest. This year will make that 36 chicks.

Here is a video of Blue feeding the chicks. I should mention that Blue is quite different to other male ospreys; he likes to be involved in every process, spends a lot of time on the nest, sometimes feeds Maya and brings in a heck of a lot of fish!

I am a great fan of the California condors and have followed the trials, tribulations, and the victories of both Redwood Queen 190 and Iniko 1031. Everyone was waiting for Iniko to be reunited with her mother after they were separated because of the Dolan Fire. Indeed, if you do not know the story of Iniko – it is beautiful and it should give us hope that things do work out. Iniko was in the Redwood nest that her father, Kingpin and Redwood Queen shared, when the Dolan fire ripped through Big Sur in 2020. The fire raged around the nest tree. Iniko survived but was knocked out of the tree by Ninja 729. Redwood Queen came to the rescue! Iniko was taken into care at the Los Angeles Zoo supported by the Ventana Wildlife Society. Redwood Queen has a new mate, Phoenix, and they had an egg this year that was believed to be non-viable. Iniko was released on 4 December and this is the first time Mum and daughter have been seen together. Both females dive into the pack and get close to the carcass!

@Ventana Wildlife Society

The only surviving chick on the Dahlgren Osprey nest of Jack and Harriet has a nice crop at 1800 today. The heavy storms and rain caused the waters to rise and be murky. Not good if you are an osprey trying to catch a fish. The water is now clearing and let us hope everything stays on track with this one Bob.

It was nice to see Louis cuddled up with Dorcha at the Loch Arkaig Osprey nest in Scotland. The weather has been terrible – that along with a mess of intruders have really not made it a good start to the year for these two.

I can hear rain falling on Theo’s nest in Latvia and see that some work continues to be made on the nest but no Theo and no mate. Beautiful birds singing in the distance.

Black Storks are very, very rare in Latvia and Estonia. Because of this conservation status, they are much loved by the people – and many of us. Karl II and Kaia have four eggs on their Black Stork nest in the Karula National Forest in Estonia. The first egg was laid on 24 April with the last on 1 May. We should be looking for a pip in what? Incubation is normally 32-38 days (varies by author). So we are at 25 days with the oldest egg.

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

The Black Stork nest of Jan and Janika is also in Estonia in Jogeva County. There are five eggs. The couple are, according to the chat moderator, on day 34, 31, 31 and 30 (counted from laying). Here is the link to their streaming cam:

There was one Black Stork nest that was monitored in Latvia. It was the nest of Grafs and Grafiene. I have not been able to confirm any activity for this couple this season.

There was a scary moment on the nest of Big Red and Arthur when Big Red brought in greenery at 11:47 and L3 looked as if she would fall backwards off the nest.

There is tug-o-war with some prey and the inklings of self-feeding with bits of prey left on the nest. Too cute. L4 looks on and wants to join in the fun.

I checked on Ervie a few minutes ago and he was not on the Port Lincoln Osprey barge. Then ‘B’ checked after me and Ervie flew onto the nest and is now sitting in Dad’s cave!!!!!!! Oh, we are truly blessed. Thank you ‘B’. Now anyone can go to the Port Lincoln streaming cam and see our beautiful boy!

Seeing Ervie brings tears of joy! So happy for this third hatch. He is much loved and adored by so many. Thank you ‘B’ for taking the time to send me a note! It is much appreciated. Ervie might well bring a puffer back. He seems to find them around the barge.

Thank you for joining me today. It was a whirlwind around the nests. Too many. Too much going on. It is hard to keep up with them. Take care all. If you want to see Ervie, here is the link to his camera:

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams and/or their FB pages: Ventana Wildlife Society, Port Lincoln Osprey Project, Glacier Gardens, Cornell RTH, Eagle Club of Estonia, Latvian Fund for Nature, Friends of Loch Arkaig and People’s Post Code Lottery, Barnegat Light Ospreys, Sea Eagles @BirdLife Australia Discovery Centre, MN-DNR, Dahlgren Ospreys, DHEC, and LRWT.

Mother’s Day in Bird World

8 May 2022

It’s Mother’s Day and every year I send a shout out to all those great bird mothers who don’t know anything about flowers, chocolates, or going for brunch but who, as best they can, as old as some are, keep our skies filled with the sound of hawks, eagles, falcons, Sky Calls, and song. They have brought us great joy, sorrow, and have taught us so very, very much.

Each of you will have your own list. I have discovered that birds are very personal. So pause and thank your favourites!

The first bird mother I always think of is Big Red. She is not a big strong eagle or a fish hawk. No, she is a medium sized hawk that melts our hearts year after year. Big Red, the Matriarch of the Red-tail Hawks is enjoying early morning sunshine and a necklace of eyases – four of them. She surprised everyone with those four eggs. This nineteen year old probably has a lot more tricks up her talon for us.

We know she hatched in 2003 and that she was hatching chicks in 2005 but the camera did not come live until 2012. That is 7 years unaccounted for. Big Red has consistently laid three eggs and the only time since 2012 she did not fledge three was last year because of K2s beak issue. Potentially she has fledged 51 hawks. 51. Incredible.

She is always happy when there are chicks in the nest and she seems energized this year with the four.

Cholyn at the Two Harbours Bald Eagle nest in the Channel Islands gets the thumbs up this morning. At the age of 24, she is still busy raising eaglets. This year her and Chase had the soon-to-be-banded Only Child, TH1, this year. Cholyn is the mother of Thunder at the West End nest and is the grandmother to another generation of Channel Islands eagles.

Redwood Queen is 23 years and 11 months old and is currently either incubating an egg in Big Sur or brooding a chick! She survived the Dolan Fire and is famously known for her chick, Iniko Orange 1031, who also survived that fire to the surprise of many. She has hatched and fledged 6 condors and fostered and fledged 3. She is currently with 477 Phoenix. It is their second season together. Their egg failed last year. Fingers crossed for this year. Fitting that they both survived massive fires to rise again.

Mrs G, the oldest Osprey in the UK, at the age of 21-23 years is currently brooding three eggs with her mate, Aran, at the Glaslyn Nest. They had a rough patch last year so I am really hoping that this year turns out incredibly well for them.

If we count this year, she has laid 57 eggs with 46 hatched and 41 fledged.

There are lots of Ospreys. I can easily put Maya at the Rutland Manton Bay nest at the top of a list – 20 fledglings in 6 years. Is that correct? But I want to give a hat’s off to a much overlooked female at the Foulshaw Moss nest in Cumbria. Blue 35 was smart and sneaky and made sure that her third hatch —–1/8 the size of the other two older siblings at hatch – survived. She removed fish and once the older ones were asleep returned to the nest and fed Blue 463. As a result, 463 thrived and became a huge female and quite dominant on the nest. Thank you Blue 35. She was also one of the only Osprey nests to fledge three in 2021.

Peregrine Falcon Mothers. Hats off to the Mum at the Manchester New Hampshire scrape for keeping those five eyases in tip top shape. Not easy when some are extraordinarily larger than the youngest! The tiniest one is in the front. So small you can’t see it! Mum is doing a great job.

All full and sleepy.

There is one other Peregrine Falcon Mum who is now raising two eyases after losing her mate during the egg laying part of this breeding season. That falcon is Annie at the UCal-Berkeley scrape in The Campanile. She is a grandmother – they know that her daughter is on Alcatraz Island and that this is at least her second year if not more to raise chicks.

There are now too and it appears that Lynn Scofield was completely correct. The last egg is unviable. This means that egg 1 and egg 3 hatched with the potential for one chick to be Grinnell’s and the other to be possibly Alden’s. I hope so! Annie survived the death of her long term mate, Grinnell, to hatch the two chicks. Heart warming.

Why not think about your favourite ‘Bird Mums’ today? It is a great way to thank them ———— each and everyone of them ——— for the joy they bring to our lives!

Have a great Sunday everyone. There will be a nest check in later today. Thank you so much for joining me. Take care!

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams and/or webpages where I took my screen captures: Cornell Bird Lab RTH, Ventana Wildlife Society, Brywd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Cumbrian Wildlife Trust, Peregrine Falcon Network Manchester NH, Cal Falcons, and Explore.org.

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.

Wednesday in Bird World

2.23.22

We have a terrible problem in our neighbourhood. But, before I begin, let me say that for most of my life, I have had a cat or two or more. My Dad had a ‘warm’ spot for animals. Today he would be known for feeding feral cats and caring for them. More often than not, we adopted the strays, fed them, and found homes for the kittens. He taught me that they deserve love and respect as he went about rescuing puppies abandoned and starving cats. In other words, I grew up loving animals and am particularly fond of cats. I have not had a cat since last July when my dear Honey died of kidney failure. I do adore them.

Honey was a Sorrel Abyssinian. We rescued her from an apartment where she had been locked in for a month with no one home. She was amazing. She was a lap cat and loved to be into everything that was happening.

Our City has a by-law that cats must be kept inside. It was instigated so that the large feral cat population in the City would decline. The problem is that certain people do not adhere to the by-laws and, of course, no one does anything about it if they don’t. So that is the very back story to today.

The bird feeders were full and one of the small squirrels -either Dyson or Scraggles- was eating away in the square feeder when I left to go and get the produce for the week. Everything ‘seemed’ fine. When I returned an hour later, there were few birds at the feeders. I decided to refill the one for the Starlings. They do love the Meal Worms and Butter Bark for some reason. When I did, I noticed fresh blood under the Black Sunflower feeder and frozen blood in the centre of the square feeder where the squirrel had been. Something injured one of the squirrels while I was away. It was not Sharpie – he only takes a Sparrow once in awhile and there were no feathers flying about. The cats are the likely culprit. You will often find me chasing them away from the feeders. I could not see blood anywhere else. Did the cat actually carry the squirrel away? or did the squirrel escape? We wait to find out. I have looked everywhere for clues and nothing.

None of the squirrels are in the garden not even Little Red and there remain few birds. Events like this are traumatic for them. They can smell the blood and might not know what happened but they would not that something was harmed. Sadly, the wildlife rehabbers will not take squirrels for fear of rabies. So we just hope that whichever squirrel was harmed, it heals properly. It is normally Scraggles that gets in the way of the cats. He is called ‘Scraggles’ because of his shaggy tail and torn bits of fur when he came to the garden more than half dead a couple of years ago. He sat and ate black oil seed for days hardly moving and in a few weeks he was looking good. Fingers crossed for whoever is injured. Please send your warm wishes!

Why am I telling you this when I know you keep your cats inside? Because cats are the major predator to birds at feeders, bunnies, and squirrels. While people believe they need to be outside, most vets will tell you that cats are safer inside watching the wildlife from the window. They will not get injured, hit by a car, lost, or become prey to something larger. Spread the word to those that do let their cats roam.

Bird behaviour is very interesting. You might have read my blogs mentioning Jennifer Ackerman. She is the author of The Genius of Birds and The Bird Way. I picked The Bird Way up again last night to read through a section and was reminded how good Ackerman’s writing is on the topic. So if you are looking for insightful books on our feathered friends and why they do what they do, when they do it – these are excellent choices.

The pattern of feeding at the Captiva Osprey nest is holding. Three good feeds in the morning with the last of the three around lunch time and the first right after dawn. The final feeding – the fourth – is around 16:00. Andy arrived with the fish at 15:56 and by the time Lena got it and the chicks were situated they were right at 16:00. You could almost set your watch by this nest.

One of the things that keeps chicks from having food competition is stability. This nest is regular and stable. Fantastic. There are no surprises. No long period without food save from the last one to the morning feed.

Turn around Little Bob!

Andy is being very vigilant.

The feeding lasted for forty minutes! Lena filled up those chicks so full but, remember, this will be their last meal for the day if the pattern these two adult Ospreys have been following holds. One of the chatters commented that, “Minibob’s got a crop so full that it’s not just getting fatter it’s getting longer as well!” (BJ). That is always good to see.

You can see a bird flying behind the palm tree. There are predators around the nest. It did not go unnoticed by Andy and Lena. Andy is being careful. No one will harm his family if he can help it.

The trio are slowly falling into a sleep coma. There was no fish left for Andy and even Lena didn’t get a lot. The osplets are demanding more and more each feeding as they grow. They will all be entering their second week by the end of this week and that is a big growth period for nestlings.

Andy is off to get his fish. Lena might be wishing he would bring in another one so she could have some more fish, too. Meanwhile she is trying to get the full and sleepy puddle of chicks settled.

Big Bob is not being very cooperative! Get to sleep Big Bob.

Finally! It is a cuddle puddle.

Spring is in the air for all of the California Condors at San Simeon and The Pinnacles. Ventana Wildlife Society just posted this beautiful image with an announcement of a Zoom session. You might want to check it out. I have attended several of these. They are free and very informative.

There is a pip at the home of the Duke Farms Bald Eagles!

Here is the link to their camera. I saw the announcement on FB but the view from the cameras is not good enough for me to get an image capture.

One of our readers, ‘S’ from Latvia reports that the swans are returning. They have been flying over her house and foraging in the nearby fields. Isn’t that wonderful. Next week I will include a discussion on all the nests in Latvia and Estonia – White-tailed Eagles and Storks – that you can watch. Eggs will be laid on some of the nests, such as Milda’s around the beginning of spring. It gives me hope – hope that warm days are coming.

All of the nests are doing well. NE26 and 27 ate so much today they could hardly walk! I have not seen Ervie but his tracker shows he is exploring the area around the bay where the barge is located. Hopefully we might get a glimpse of him, soon.

Take care everyone. Thank you so much for joining me today. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Window on Wildlife and Captiva Osprey Nest and Duke Farms.

Thursday in Bird World

Oh, we started out with more snow this morning! And with it came the return of the European Starlings – a few of them! The phone caught the flakes coming down reasonably well. For now it has stopped and the small feeders with the butter bark, mealworms, and hand chopped peanuts have been filled for the third time. Gosh, they love those mealworms in the winter.

Poor things. This is before we cleared a bit between the piles of snow. You can see one Starling down with thee Sparrows trying to find seed that had dropped from the feeder.

There are at least 60-75 House Sparrows (at a quick count) in the Lilacs. Dyson, our seed sucking Grey Squirrel, has found a litre of Black Oil seed in the square feeder with the dome. He sits and eats and sways like he has his own personal swing. No one bothers Dyson when he is eating but they do hope he gets off balance and dumps a lot of seed below. We won’t tell Dyson that in the evening we put our special food under that feeder for Hedwing, the garden rabbit, who has been showing up at dusk and dawn and sometimes in the middle of the night. It appears he lives under our deck.

So my birds are fed and as happy as they can be til the wind and the snow start again in a few hours.

There is some good news in the world today and there is some very sad news regarding wildlife. Lots of animal rights issues rising to the top of the news. Brief highlights:

The City of Dallas, Texas is protecting two of the cities favourite raptors!

https://dallas.culturemap.com/news/city-life/02-09-22-bald-eagles-white-rock-lake/?fbclid=IwAR3j0kOCOyuruYEWEsoR0wtkkaeceODJB8zLsnaWWodWzzPi3rilKJ3a31Y

As Dallas protects, people in Britain are calling for criminal charges to be laid to the individuals that killed 2 of the 5 White-tailed Eagles reintroduced to the Isle of Wright. The shooting took place near or over a shooting estate. Chris Packham and other environmentalists have called for the end of killing animals for fun!

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/feb/10/two-white-tailed-eagles-found-dead-in-southern-england

Criminal charges have also been laid against one of England’s footballers for dropping and kicking his cat. The fine is set at 250,000 GBP – yes, you read that right. You can find the story on line if you are interested. Now if we could please get all authorities involved and people educated on the rights of animals – and our beloved birds.

The one thing that sent my granddaughter to becoming Vegan six years ago was the culling of male chicks. At the time they were simply tossed alive into a machine not unlike a wood chipper. Today, Germany has ended the practice of culling the male chicks from the females.

Everyone continues to wait to see how the current H5N1 highly pathogenic avian flu will impact European birds. It has been around since 1998 according to virologist Thijs Kuiken. It is rearing its head this year in the UK and has already crossed the Atlantic into Newfoundland, Canada. At least one wildlife rehabber has had almost all the birds in their care killed because of it. Very sad. That was the Whitby Wildlife Centre. They will not be able to resume caring for the wildlife injured for at least 1 year, perhaps 2.

The camera is working on the Port Lincoln Barge and so is the sound. We just can’t see anything but the deck! Ervie was definitely there earlier. I had to turn the sound down. He even sounded like he was getting hoarse and then everything stopped. I hope he got a fish or flew off to find one.

Gabby and Samsons, NE26 and 27 are really changing. They are certainly no longer little fluffy balls. Today they had the rest of the bird on the nest following by some fish. They were really full!

The weather has really improved in Jacksonville.

It is a gorgeous day to incubate eggs over at Duke Farms in Hillsborough, NJ.

OGK has returned after three days at sea to relieve his mate, YRK at Taiaroa Head, New Zealand, home to the Royal Albatross. The image below is actually of YRK feeding the Royal Cam chick that I took late last night. How touching.

To date 26 Royal Albatross eggs have hatched out of 35. The other 9 will not hatch due to embryo deaths.

Dennis Brecht makes frequent and regular visits to the nest of The Love Trio on the Mississippi River near Fulton, Illinois. So far this year he has not spotted Valor I working with Starr and Valor II on the nest. This trio was extremely unique and popular. The question is: does Valor I have his own nest or has something happened to him? We wait for an answer. Brecht has contacted the Stewards of the Mississippi for assistance and finding the answer to the mystery.

The Ventana Wildlife Society is releasing a few condors into the wild currently. One of those was Condor 340 who was treated for lead poisoning.

Condor 340 hatched in 2004 in the Oregon Zoo. Its name is Kun-Wac-Sun. It was released into the Pinnacles National Park in 2005.

Wheeee. How beautiful. A wild Condor flying free again in the Pinnacles.

Kincaid at the Kisatchie National Forest Bald Eagle nest of Anna and Louis was 4 weeks old yesterday. Oh, this eaglet is getting so big! Finishing up getting its thermal down and you can see the tips of a few juvenile feathers.

I was so happy to see the Captiva Osprey Cam back up and running. Lena is rolling eggs and calling Andy wanting a fish and a break.

You can see the three beautiful eggs. Oh, let us all hope that by laying their eggs a month early this couple will be able to fledge Osprey chicks off Santibel Island.

Hatch watch begins this weekend.

Those are just a few of the many nests to check on. I am really hoping to see Ervie today with a fish! Take care everyone. Thank you for joining me.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Port Lincoln Osprey, Captiva Osprey Cam, NEFlorida and the AEF, Duke Farms, KNF Bald Eagles, Cornell Bird Lab and the NZ DOC, and Ventana Wildlife.