It is going to begin to be a rainy week across Australian raptor nests and this is going to impact the birds and their feeding as well as their flying!
There is welcome beginning to come out of Captiva. Lori Covert’s house (Captiva Ospreys and Eagles) survived but the brand new camera and pole with perch did not. Connie and Clive have been seen and are rebuilding their nest and, if they are safe, then I am going to presume that Lena most likely is too. She just has no nest!
In the Mailbox:
‘P’ would like to know when Peregrine Falcon eyases can see?
Peregrine Falcon eyases are normally born with their eyes closed. The eyas at Orange has its eyes open as do the ones at Collins Street but they will not be able to completely ‘focus’ until they are about a week old.
This will be a really short update. The weather at Port Lincoln is horrible. As predicted, Dad brought in a very large fish but the rain was coming down so hard that Mum did not risk feeding the osplets. She is really having to spread herself out. Oh, I see Mum shaking off the rain at 0909. Poor thing. This lot are going to be in a right grumpy mood once they get some more fish even if they went to bed with huge crops. Poor Mum is hungry, too.
The forecast shows that it is supposed to continue raining all day at Port Lincoln. Fingers crossed that Mum will find an opening so she can feed the kids – and herself. These Osprey mothers – all raptor mothers – work so hard in bad weather to protect the chicks.
The little one at Orange has been well fed this morning. Xavier brought the prey and then went and ‘talked to his baby’ before departing. Diamond was really enjoying whatever it was that Xavier brought. Yesterday someone said that he brought in a Honeyeater and she was particularly delighted.
The four at Collins Street are doing marvelous. The wee one had some bites this morning and all seem to be thriving with a pair of parents that are trying their best.
Both 29 and 30 slept on the nest last night.
SE29 took off on a flight about 0748. I wonder if SE30 will follow today?? 30 is really flapping those wings. It would not surprise me.
In migration news, our little Black Stork Mum, Kaia, is now on the edge of the Mediterranean! Bonus is in Romania and Karl II is still feeding at the Danube River in Ukraine. How amazing. Little Kaia has flown so much!
Thank you for joining for me for this quick check in with our Australian raptor families. Wish for Mum to be able to feed some fish to the osplets and for continued safe flying for the Sea Eagles! Take care everyone. See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Port Lincoln Ospreys, Sea Eagles@Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre Sydney Olympic Park, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, and 367 Collins Street by Mirvac.
It has been a really exciting day (and it is only mid-afternoon in Australia) with the first fledge at the Sydney Sea Eagles nest in the Sydney Olympic Park. One of the parents was on a branch of the natal nest when SE29 flew. Another parent was with SE30 later. And then SE29 returned to the nest tree. I am still trembling with excitement. While we don’t know where SE29 flew to – perhaps just the camera tree – what we do know is that the Pied Currawong did not chase this amazing eaglet out of the forest to the Salt Marshes. So happy.
I will not have an early blog tomorrow. I am going to post this right away. Look for news from all the nests later on Monday.
In my last blog, Big and Middle continued their battle for dominance of the Port Lincoln nest. The two are pretty much evenly balanced and each gives as good as it gets. Both cause the trouble. Sadly, wee Little Bob often gets caught up in the misery.
Interestingly, they are quite civil at meal times! There was a nice big feed around 10:20ish. Little Bob had no problem stepping right up by Middle Bob and opening its mouth for fish!
Then Big and Middle started scraping again.
Then a big fish arrived and everyone lined up nice to eat. Perhaps Mum should just sit on them between feedings until the pair of them calm down.
After Big and Middle had their feed, Mum gave Little Bob a private feeding. Give her a round of applause. Mum is working hard to make sure that each of her children is fed. Little Bob sure can consume fish but, he needs a fewer more feedings in between. He is entering the big growth spurt now. So far he has demonstrated no real fear of the two big siblings. He even took a fish flake from Big Bob’s beak earlier.
There is enough fish for everyone.
At the Sydney Sea Eagles nest, the time for fledging draws nearer and nearer. On Monday morning (Australia time), SE29 flew to one of the lower branches of the nest tree. S/he waited there for a bit and then…did not fly off but rather, returned to SE30 in the nest. Bravo!
At 13:44:30 SE29 fledged. S/he had watched one of the parents on the branch and was looking over the edge of the nest and just flew. It was beautiful. Congratulations to everyone at Birdlife Australia and all connected with the Sydney Sea Eagles.
A parent waits with SE30. The siblings were so close to one another and what a fantastic year it has been with them and Lady and Dad. I wonder if SE30 will leave today or if SE29 will return later? We wait to see.
At 14:46:58 SE29 returned to the nest to join SE30 and the parent. Tears are just rolling down my cheeks. This is incredible. Normally the Curras chase them out of the park – it didn’t happen today.
Tears of joy.
Thank you for being with me for this great event. SE29 flew!!!!!!!!!! And SE29 returns safely to the nest.
See you soon — and take care of yourselves.
Thank you to the streaming cams at Port Lincoln Osprey barge and Sea Eagles@Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre Sydney Olympic Park where I took my screen captures.
I cannot describe what a beautiful fall day it was out in the forest. The wind was only blowing at 2kmh. Leaves – the most gorgeous yellow, red, and orange were falling gently. Seven Black-capped chickadees, a few American Goldfinches, a sole White-breasted Nuthatch, and that lovely Red Squirrel kept me company at the hide. Oh, they must be so happy it is not raining and it is not too hot or cold – just right at 21 degrees C. It could not have been more perfect for humans or wildlife.
It seems that everyone was after the peanuts. They are so good at getting them out of the shells!
This beautiful White-breasted Nuthatch spent about 10 minutes at the feeders before flying off.
The little squirrel was enjoying all of the nuts on the forest floor. These squirrels are very lucky. There are Oak trees and acorns everywhere!
There were more geese on the ponds today than when I went to view them at dusk. There were only a few up in the grassy areas resting on a warm day.
The colours are changing. Autumn is my favourite time of year…it would just be nice if it would last longer! You can sit on the bench, close your eyes, and open your senses up to the smell of the leaves and the geese honking in the distance. Magical. Just try to be grumpy after sitting there for a half hour!!!!!
This Mallard was having a great time splashing about. What a bath.
And then…there was no mistaking the ‘Little Duck’. It remains the tiniest duck in the entire pond BUT — look, all of the back feathers are now in place. This duck cannot be more than 45 cm (8-9 inches) from the tip of its tail to the end of its beak. It looks larger in the photo but, it isn’t – and that is how I knew it was the wee one. (I did come home to compare with the former images just to make certain that the head line and beak were the same before I made a complete idiot out of myself). This tiny gaffer is a Blue winged Teal. It is positively adorable. I sure hope it gets a good wind to carry it south with those itsy-bitsy wings.
Besides finding the little duck, one of the great moments of this afternoon was seeing ten Cormorants in a tree sunning themselves on a beautiful day. Sometimes the Bald Eagle couple are up there in that tree. It is on a peninsula jutting out and there is no way for humans to disturb them. What a beautiful site. When I was standing admiring them, a couple walked up and told me that twenty years ago you would not have seen a Cormorant here. I felt blessed.
Whenever I am outside and getting tired, it is simply nice to remember that I am so lucky to be able to walk in the woods and be outside with nature. I know that many of you cannot – so I am taking it all in for you, too.
In the Mailbox:
So many of you have written to ask me if I think that any more eggs will hatch at either the Collins Street scrape in Melbourne or Xavier and Diamond’s scrape in Orange.
I do not expect the fourth egg at Melbourne to hatch. Falcons and hatch practice delayed incubation. This means that they will not incubate the eggs 24/7 until most of them are laid. This is so the chicks will hatch close together and not have issues of siblicide and food competition like exists in eagles and ospreys.
If a second egg is to hatch at Orange, I would really expect this to happen today or tomorrow. That said, I am not completely hopeful of another hatch there. Xavier and Diamond tend to have one hatch per 3 eggs.
I just received 3 letters with questions about siblicide. I presume that this subject has been brought up on chat or FB somewhere today.
The answer to your questions depends on the species and the circumstances. There are species of eagles where siblicide is almost always 100% (Black, Golden, Imperial). The eldest hatch always kills the youngest. Always. No wishing or hoping. Always. Siblicide is rare in hawks and falcons with most studies showing less than 1%. The stats come from watched nests. The average siblicide from studies at the University of Oklahoma is 3.8-4% in Bald Eagles. It is presumed to be the same or nearly the same in Ospreys. Some nests are more prone to siblicide than others. A good example of a nest where siblicide regularly occurred until last year is the Port Lincoln Ospreys. There is a history below the streaming cam that you can examine. The % at this nest would be much higher.
‘H’ wrote about the torrential rain and high winds blowing along the NE of the US because of Hurricane Ian. She has sent an image of a bird that has landed on the nest. It is banded. I believe it to be a juvenile Peregrine Falcon but I could be wrong. It is ahrd to identify birds when they are wet. So I am posting it here if anyone has any other ideas. This is the shores of Delaware at Mispillion Harbour. Birds are being blown off course. This one has two fresh new bands. Does anyone recognize them? If so, please send me a comment.
Nest News:
So it is time to check and see what is going on in Australia- when we left everyone yesterday afternoon, the Port Lincoln kiddos all had crops, the three at 367 Collins Street had been fed, the Sea Eagles were looking magnificent with SE29 basking in being up on the parent branch, and Xavier and Diamond had one beautiful eyas. Has anything changed today?
Diamond and Xavier have already fed their wee eyas twice this morning (it is 16:44 on the Canadian Prairies). The first was around 0533 and the second
The three eyases at 367 Collins Street have also had a good morning feed. I think that we can all relax and enjoy this new family learning how to parent in Melbourne. The male has brooded, shaded the chicks, fed them, and is bringing prey for Mum and them. It is time simply to sit back and watch these marvelous falcons grow! In less than 40 days they will be full grow and flying! So hold on – it is a fast ride!
The osplets at Port Lincoln were waiting on a breakfast fish to be delivered.
The two eaglets on the Sydney Sea Eagle nest are still home this morning! They are also waiting for breakfast!
Thank you so much for joining me today. Please take care. See you soon!
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Port Lincoln Ospreys, Mispillion Harbour Osprey Cam duPont Centre and Delaware DNR, 367 Collins Street by Mirvac, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, Port Lincoln Ospreys, and Sea Eagles@Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre Sydney Olympic Park.
It is 15:44 on the Canadian Prairies and it is Saturday. The sky remains cloudy with a temperature of 12 degrees C. In Australia, our raptor families are waking up and I wonder what will be in store for them today.
At the Sydney Sea Eagles nest in the Olympic Forest near the Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre, SE29 and 30 were particularly active around 0522. If official branching has not been called, it could certainly be done this morning. The eaglets are very interested in the world beyond the nest and are hopping and flapping and standing on the parent branch. An adult flew in but had no food in its talon. Oh, I would love those two eaglets to follow an adult out of the forest to the River Roost on the Parramatta River. There, safely away from the Pied Currawongs, Lady and Dad could continue to feed them while teaching them to hunt their own prey and letting the eaglets get their flying perfected.
At any rate, it feels like fledgling is imminent.
At the 367 Collins Street scrape, the eyases woke up to a feed. Mum looked around, rushed down the ledge, and flew back with a small item of prey. Was it the leftover pigeon? or a Starling? It was hard to tell.
‘A’ has assured me – much to my relief – that male2 is providing the food for Mum and the trio at the Melbourne scrape. There was much e-chuffing and Mum flew out to retrieve the prey from the hidey-hole. Meanwhile, Male2 comes down the ledge, stands over the chicks as if to protect them, and then moves out of the way watching as Mum feeds the three white furry balls. All is well in Melbourne. Relief. Thank you ‘A’.
Xavier and Diamond’s first hatch had Starling for breakfast this morning. It is a running joke at this scrape that Diamond hates Starling. She will refuse to eat it if Xavier brings her a fresh bird but, she is happy to feed it to the eyases!
Meanwhile, the osplets had a nice fish delivery – everyone seems to have eaten well although Mum moved and it is hard to see how much Middle and Little are getting.
Everyone still had a nice crop over an hour later.
So far this morning in Australia all is well on each of the four nests. There are three eyases and a Mum being fed in Melbourne by the new male who we all hope will turn out to be as lovely as Alden and Xavier. The Sea Eagles are more than ready to fledge and they are beautiful. I wonder if they will take their first flight together? Port Lincoln was relatively calm this morning with the feeding and Little Bob is beginning to turn into a reptile, too. Diamond and Xavier could not be happier with their first hatch.
Thank you for joining me on this catch up again with our Australian raptors. If you did not hear, Harriet and M15 have been seen and photographed at their old nest tree and Samson and Gabby are home, too. We continue to hope that all of the others impacted so badly by the storm at Captiva will be seen – but, it is unclear if there is anyone to check on them the area was simply destroyed I am told. Please take care. See you soon!
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures and to ‘A’ for letting me know about the prey delivery at Melbourne: 367 Collins Street by Mirvac, Sea Eagles@Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre Sydney Olympic Park, Port Lincoln Ospreys, and Charles Sturt Falcon Cam.
It is a super cloudy day on the Canadian Prairies and the bird feeders and baths are relatively quiet this morning. The visitors have been mostly the Crows who, for some strange reason, have decided they only want to eat the dried corn off the cob this morning – nothing else. No cheesy sandwiches. Nothing but dry corn. It is 11 degrees C as I write.
The big news in Bird World – and there is lots going on – is the arrival of Harriet and M15 back at their nest tree. Thank you bogs for getting images and posting them! With all the damage that the hurricane left behind, there should be no shortage of building materials even just on the Pritchett property. I know that all of you will be so relieved that they survived and this gives us great hope for Lena and the eagles over at Captiva.
Thank you Linda Russo for sharing your image and providing such relief and hope to everyone that the nest will be rebuilt!
Samson and Gabby are fine and they have been seen at their nest near Jacksonville, Florida.
Ron and Rita are back to their nest in the Miami Zoo. It is nice to see that they are also safe and sound. We wait to hear about Captiva – all the wildlife there – and Pink Shell Resort.
There were two and then there were three eyases at the 367 Collins Street scrape yesterday. Mum has done a great job feeding them – and herself – from a single pigeon carcass which appears to be depleted now. Everyone is wondering if her thwarting of male2 is because he is arriving empty taloned? Let us all keep a close eye today to see if she has new prey items. Let us all hope that the young male brings in a nice fat pigeon first thing.
Of course, there were tears and cheers when Xavier and Diamond’s had their first hatch of the 2022 season. What a fantastic falcon family!
For those of you just learning about falcons and hawks, I want you to look at the yellow eye ring, the cere (the part of the beak between the black razor sharp tip and the forehead) and the legs. Notice that deep rich orange-yellow colour. This is an indication of a super healthy bird. To me, Xavier and Diamond seem to be in much better physical shape this year than last.
This is Xavier who is delighted to get time with his newly hatched eyas.
Will there be another hatch at Orange today? We wait.
The Sydney Sea Eagles are still home! They are so big. Dad and Lady continue to fly from the branch showing the sea eagles a good spot to fledge from. Fingers crossed that the Currawongs leave our beautiful SE29 and SE30 alone! I know – it is wishful thinking but, gosh I wish they were otherwise occupied elsewhere when these two fledge.
That was some dust up between Big and Middle Bob at Port Lincoln yesterday. Poor Little Bob got caught, literally, in the middle of this spat for dominance on that nest.
Dad brought a nice sized fish to the nest at 1700 and Mum filled the trio to the brim. The cam operator gave us some incredibly beautiful close ups.
Little Bob was right up there and look at that nice crop before bed. Fantastic. None of the osplets seem to be the worst for the big battle, lasting more than six minutes, that occurred a few hours earlier.
Everything was fine at all four of the Australian nests when lights when out for the night. ‘A’ sent me a note to remind me – and all of us – that Daylight Savings time starts in Australia just about now! I also want to remind everyone that Big Bob is 14 days old today.
In other news, Scottish landowners who have grouse hunting estates continue to deny killing raptors even in the face of the evidence of the 9 found in bags at the Millden Estate. The movement to make Red Grouse hunting illegal continues by those that are concerned about the killing of raptors that are being re-introduced into the UK after being wiped out by shooting, egg collecting, habitat loss, and climate change.
Thank you so much for being with me this morning. It is so nice to have you here with us. I will do a round up of the days happenings later today. For now, everyone should be sleeping in Australia! Take care. See you soon.
Thank you to the following for the images and streaming cams which make up my screen captures: Linda Russo, NEFL-AEF, WRDC, Port Lincoln Ospreys, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, 367 Collins Street by Mirvac, and Sea Eagles@Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre Sydney Olympic Park.
It was a beautiful autumn evening, just perfect for watching some of the geese arrive at the nature centre at dusk. There were not nearly as many as expected – normally the pond surface is covered and the honking is so loud but, not so tonight. So I am heading back in a week to see if the numbers of migrants has increased.
Cormorants were sitting on some of the logs in the water – far away in the distance.
The geese begin to arrive about 15 minutes prior to dusk.
They fly in from all directions.
The silhouettes against the sky are so beautiful. They remind me of cutting paper and making silhouettes as a child and sticking them to the windows.
The geese were flying about 70 metres above my head.
The pond should be filling up with geese as the sun set but, there were only about 5,000 scattered about the two large ponds. Perhaps next week!
In the Mailbox:
There have been several repeated questions. The first one is: “Has the Old Dad been seen at Melbourne since the eyases hatched?” Sadly, the Old Dad will not see his last chicks. He has not been seen at the ledge for 4 weeks. Male 2 is about and has been seen on the ledge. Let us hope that he is providing food for the Mum. When Xavier took over Bula’s place at the Orange scrape on the grounds of Charles Sturt University, he provided food but did not interact with the chicks that were Bula’s. The situation was slightly different with Alden as one of the eggs was believed to be his. Let us all hope that this new Mum at Melbourne and the new male provide for and raise these healthy babies. She is going to be exhausted having to do almost everything – let us hope she doesn’t have to hunt, too!
Question 2: “Has Harriet and M15 been seen?’ The Pritchett family released a statement that all of the cameras had been found. One tree that a camera was on was down and it is going to take some time to get things repaired. There has been no sightings of Harriet or M15 yet. Eagles can fly great distances and they are great weather predictors. Let us all hope that they are at some distance from the nest enjoying prey.
Making News:
Mum and Dad made the news!
The AEF has reported that Samson and Gabby’s nest in Northeast Florida near Jacksonville is intact.
The practice of Red Grouse hunting continues to impact the lives of raptors in the UK. Nine dead raptors were found, thrown into bags, outside a games keeper’s lodge. The book that I am reading, Bowland Beth. The Life of an English Hen Harrier by David Cobham speaks to the barbaric nature of this sport that threatens the lives of the raptors that seek out prey in order to live and find themselves on the hunting estates. There is a huge campaign to stop grouse hunting in the UK but, it might not have any legs in the current political situation.
On the 29th, the chicks at the Port Lincoln Osprey barge ate really, really well. The 30th turned out to be the opposite. Those three are hungry and they are moving about. Mum even took off and had a bath. I wonder if she tried to catch a fish. Today the chicks are 13, 12, and 9 days old. I am hoping that some fish come in later and these three have a really good feed. It is not the time for deliveries to be variable – they need to be steady.
A large fish came in at around 1500. All of the chicks were fed until their crop was popping. Oh, they waited such a long time and were so good to one another in the meantime. Let us all hope that the fishing for Dad is much better today.
Mum has been in and out and the two eyases at the 367 Collins Street scrape. She tried to feed the eyases earlier and they were not hungry. We all held our breath when she dropped the prepared pigeon. And each of us has worried how this would all work out.
At 12:11 the pair had their first feeding and they held those little beaks open and Mum fed them really well. I was surprised at how well she did putting the morsels of pigeon into their beaks. She looked like she had done this before! So, for now, male 2 is coming around and Mum is talking to him. The two hatchlings are eating well and – well, we could not ask for anything more. For all the worrying, I wonder how many of us shed a couple of tears of joy?
At Orange, we are on pip watch with Xavier and Diamond.
Beautiful SE29 and SE30 are still with us. Lady fed them their late meal yesterday. She must know that her time with them is limited. They simply could fly off the edge at any time but, hopefully, they will stay on the nest and get really strong.
Migration News:
Following the family of Karl II, Black Storks from the Karula National Forest in Estonia, there is all good news. Karl II is feeding on the Danube Delta betweek Ukraine and Romania.
Kaia, Karl II’s mate, was in Bulgaria and is quickly flying south. It is wondered if she will stop in Turkey.
Waba is in Moldova.
Bonus is also in Moldova.
So as of yesterday, all are safe and sound. What a relief.
It may be some time before we hear about the arrival of the eagles back in Florida. Captiva has simply been decimated, according to the news and with no land bridge to connect the barrier islands to the mainland, this will be a slow process of clean up and rebuilding. Our thoughts continue to be with every animal and bird that was impacted by this horrific hurricane – and, of course, all of the humans impacted, as well.
In the world of Australian raptors, we are looking forward to more feeds at Melbourne and a pip at Orange. Of course, our little scamper Little Bob is going to be right up front, like dear Ervie, when the morning fish comes in!
Thank you so much for being with me this morning. Please take care of yourselves. See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams and posts that made up my screen captures: AEF, Port Lincoln Ospreys, 367 Collins Street by Mirvac, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, Looduskalender, and Sea Eagles@Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre Sydney Olympic Park.
It was really a difficult day to sit and think of hurricanes and osplets beaking one another. After Ian made landfall, I headed for the nature centre to check on that wee duckling. For the second visit in a row, I did not find it. I did find, however, a Solitary Sandpiper, some other Mallards, a couple of Northern Pintails, various Vireos, an adorable squirrel to mention a few of the birds that greeted me today.
A baby American Coot.
The White-breasted Nuthatch stayed at the peanuts for a really long time. The nature centre has a ‘hide’ (a building of sorts with openings where you can watch the birds and not disturb them). It was fantastic to see this beautiful bird make its gravity-defying struts over the wire mesh container.
What a darling. This little Red Squirrel had no idea I was watching him. He is in a perfect spot below the feeder with the American Goldfinches who are dropping seedings all over the place.
A very nice gentleman saw me looking at the Coots but pointed this Solitary Sandpiper out to me on the shore. There had apparently been a Green Heron here the week prior.
This is believed – by me – to be a Ruby-Crowned Kinglet female. But I am waiting for e-Bird to write back with confirmation. Our bird books with their images are often lacking in the kind of detail to make a certain ID and Merlin and I seem not to get along very well!!!!!!!!!!!!
They are moulting – these American Goldfinches.
Being out in the forest with the birds and a few people passing by, with school children researching leaf configurations, and Canada Geese honking in the sky was fantastic. It is the best way to relieve any kind of stress. Shinrinyoku – forest bathing.
In the Mailbox:
Mark your calendars for October 8. This is Cornell Bird Lab’s Big Bird Count Day. I will be posting more information nearer to the time.
As we sit with our eyes glued to the eggs on the ledge of 367 Collins Street waiting for hatch, ‘A’ sent me a note and reminded me of the day the eggs got pretty wet from the rain. Oh, I needed that reminder. It is possible that they will not all hatch. It is possible that none of them will hatch. And bless this young couple if all four do hatch! That new male will really have to show that he is up to the task of feeding a family of 6 including himself. The old dad sure was!
Making News:
The news continues to be about the impact of Hurricane Ian on our beloved raptors. Captiva/Sanibel took a direct hit from the hurricane’s core with winds at 155 mph.
Across the State and a little north is Jacksonville which is home to Samson and Gabby’s nest. This is a video of the impact of the winds on their nest.
Across the country, in the Channel Islands, Thunder and Akecheta were at their nest. It looked like there might have been some intruders as both appeared to be alarming at times. They are a super Bald Eagle couple and it is nice to see you, Cheta.
Australian Nest News:
A super nice fish has shown up at Port Lincoln at 08;28:53. Fantastic. Hopefully these osplets will calm down a little.
It is really nice to see Little Bob right up there in the sweet spot. That fish should fill them all up and put them into super food comas. Mum can have some fish, too, and the kids can sleep.
Little Bob is getting some really good bites and both the older siblings seem, at this moment in time, to be behaving and letting Mum share the fish all around.
A food delivery came around 0740 for the Mum at 367 Collins Street. She flew off the ledge but when she returned she ran from the opposite end of the ledge to the nest. She carefully placed herself over the eggs and rolled them.
My heart goes out to this Mum. She has had food -thankfully but, no real help with incubation. She has almost had to do it all. In Orange, Xavier is so anxious to incubate the eggs and take care of the chicks that it just puts a smile on your face.
How much longer will we get to enjoy the not-so-little Sydney Sea Eagles? They are jumping and flapping and seem to have mastered self-feeding in spite of themselves! Still, it is nice to be fed by Mum and I am sure Lady knows that the days are limited for her to feed her babies.
Thank you for joining me this evening for a brief check on the nests. Head over to Port Lincoln and re-wind to catch that 0830 feeding. Take care of yourselves and continue to send the warmest wishes to the people and nests being impacted by weather around the world. See you soon!
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams and videos that make up my screen captures: Northwest Florida-AEF, Explore.org and IWS, Port Lincoln Ospreys, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, Sea Eagles@Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre Sydney Olympic Park, and 367 Collins Street by Mirvac.
It is clear blue skies on the Canadian Prairies this morning. The temperature when I began this blog was 2 degrees C. There was frost on the roof for the first time this year. The remaining flowers and herbs were not bothered so hopefully the second wave of hummingbirds that will be coming through will have some nectar. The Crows and Blue Jays along with the squirrels are busy collecting corn and peanuts this morning. Little Red has a new suet cylinder so all is well in the garden.
Making News:
Hurricane Ian is beginning to impact the Florida coast. This is the view of one of the Captiva Ospreys earlier this morning. For all of our raptor nests and everyone in this region – as I know so many of my readers are – we are all sending you our warmest thoughts. Stay safe. I will be checking on the Captiva situation throughout the day and evening.
It is currently calm in St Petersburg at the Achieva Osprey nest.
Some wind, which seems to be picking up in gusts, and rain at the nest of Bald Eagles Ron and Rita in the Miami Zoo.
You can hear the wind gusts at the Southwest Florida nest in Fort Myers of M15 and Harriet.
The winds at the Northeast Florida nest of Samson and Gabby appear and sound to be as strong as those at Southwest Florida.
Just checked. The wind speeds at Fort Myers (Harriet and M15) are at 17kph with Jacksonville, home to Samson and Gabby at 18 kph, and Ron and Rita’s nest in Miami at 19 kph. All have rain. We should expect these winds to pick up considerably later in the day.
This is the latest view from the Osprey nest at Captiva. There is one bird on a perch. You will have a front row seat to watch the storm according to the moderator on the cam. Hang on Lena!
Here is the link to the this camera:
Arctic Terns travel 44,000 miles during migration and now, once in the UK, they are met with Avian Flu. A good article that continues to discuss the demise of so many sea birds this year due to this wide spread disease.
Dr Sharpe has boundless energy and his love for raptors is highly infectious. He is now looking to place streaming cam on Alcatraz for one of Grinnell and Annie’s daughters who has been nesting there and raising chicks for a couple of years. The Institute for Wildlife Studies posted this image of Dr Sharpe this morning checking out the situation.
Nest News:
We can all give ‘three cheers’ for Little Bob at the Port Lincoln Osprey nest. At the mid-day feeding, Little Bob had himself right up there in the front row! This does remind me of our dear Ervie and it did take Ervie a couple of days to figure out the ‘sweet spots’ so he could get the most food. This is fantastic. Just look at that little bit of an osplet up there by Middle Bob. Gosh, he is a darling. Big Bob has such a long neck he can reach over both of them but what a tidy trio. It is also nice to see Dad on the nest. What a fantastic family this is.
Little Bob looks so proud of himself.
Dad came in at 1307 with a small headless fish and there was another feeding extremely close to the last one. By the time this feeding was over, all of the chicks were right ready for a good sleep!
The Mum at Melbourne seems to be ‘sitting’ on the eggs differently. Reports out of Melbourne seem to indicate that she is being fed and at one male did stand above the eggs, as if listening, yesterday. A soap opera in Falcon World. We wait but it should not be too long now. There could be pips as I am writing.
The two below appear to be the reigning adults at the Melbourne scrape. The female called simply a falcon (or Mum) has higher horizontal bars on her chest than the male. It is the only way I can tell them apart. Juveniles have vertical bars. The feathers of the female are darker than those of the male or the tiercel and, of course, she is bigger but it is often difficult to tell the size differential unless the pair are close together. I have watched the old male for quite a number of years and this tiercel does not look like him to me.
Mum was doing a lot of ‘looking down’ as if listening to the eggs beginning right after noon yesterday. She is quite beautiful but sure seems to give her ‘most fierce’ look at the camera sometimes.
Now she is being sweet and not so fierce.
It looked as if an eel were brought into the nest in the Sydney Olympic Forest with a wee bit of discord between SE29 and SE30 – but, in the scheme of things – that discord lasted 3 seconds with no pecking. Just a little feisty shuffle. Of course, the adults are watching everything that these two are doing.
Beautiful Diamond. At Orange, the eggs of Xavier and Diamond tend to hatch between 36 and 39 days. That means that the first pip should come on 1 October. As many of you know, the falcon eggs can hatch almost all at once. So 2-3 days. I do hope that these two have a very healthy chick or chicks. ‘A’ and I noticed that both Diamond and Xavier tend to be looking very healthy this year. Fingers crossed.
Thank you so very much for joining me this morning. We are really watching for pips and hatches at Melbourne and keeping our eyes and ears on what Hurricane Ian is doing to the nests within its range. Take care everyone. See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their posts and streaming cams which form my screen captures: Captiva Ospreys and Window for Wildlife, Achieva Osprey Nest, WRDC, SWFL Eagle Cam and Pritchett Family, NEFL-AEF, NOAA, IWS, Port Lincoln Ospreys, 367 Collins Street by Mirvac, Sea Eagles@Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre Sydney Olympic Park, and Charles Sturt Falcon Cam.
Good Morning Everyone. Clear beautiful blue skies on the Canadian Prairies and a temperature of 13 degrees C. It is fantastic. The forecast calls for no rain this week which, is excellent. We are really into migration and it will be fantastic to bundle up a bit and watch the geese and ducks fly into the ponds this week without rain.
Last evening I went to a pond in an industrial area that I have started to frequent. The Canvasbacks had moved from the two smaller ponds to the big one and the Blue Heron was there as well along with a couple of Greater Yellow Legs, other ducks, a single Double-crested Cormorant, and some geese. The Blue Heron flew off to what I am now calling the secret pond to roost for the evening with the Great White Egret.
CanvasbackGreat Blue Heron taking flight to the other pond.Greater Yellowlegs swimming instead of punching at the mud.
Nest News:
It was a wet late feeding for the three osplets at Port Lincoln. Little Bob was absolutely soaked but, they all had full crops and did well even when the fish was flapping about. I always worry when chicks get soaked to the bone when they are just wee with only their soft natal down. They cannot regulate their own temperatures and, well, they can get a chill. Mum got right back on top of them and her body heat will keep them right toasty and they will dry off, thankfully.
Incubation continues at 367 Collins Street. According to the calendar, hatch watch starts on the 27th and that is tomorrow in Melbourne. It is also unclear which male is providing food. I did not see the ‘line’ that the second male has now being called M2. As a result, my identification went to M1 or the old male. I hope that there can be some good clear shots of that male once these chicks hatch so we know who is providing food and who is around or not. This female should get a golden award. She has had no help with incubating these eggs. I realize that this does not take a lot of energy but normally this part is shared with the male. She is hanging in there well for a bird believed to be a first time Mum.
Xavier and Diamond also continue their incubation. We have 5-6 days to go before we start to look for a pip in those eggs. Those cameras in that scrape at Orange will give you a ring side seat to see the hatch. At Collins Street, it will only be from a distance.
There are very interesting lessons being taught at the Sydney Sea Eagles – or at least, trying to be taught. These two are the most laid back sea eagles I have seen in years. Dad brought in a teaser of a piece of fish at 1715. Mum was on the nest and SE29 and SE30 stood there, looking at the fish, waiting for Mum to feed them with no move to steal it! Meanwhile, Lady is eating the fish…
That is a very good crop on one of the eaglets.
Notice how Mum waits before doing anything. Lady and Dad must be wondering what is up with these two…is it possible that we have two males this year? I wonder. They are so calm.
Making News:
Toxic chemical pollutants are killing our raptors – and if it happens in one country, you can be assured that the problematic toxins will be found elsewhere.
It is really incredible. Normally the fledglings of Big Red and Arthur are not seen after the end of August and here we are getting to the end of September and Suzanne Arnold Horning is still finding them for us on the Cornell Campus. This is just fantastic.
This is L4. What a magnificent hawk with her beautiful red feathered apron just like her Mum, Big Red.
The Bald Eagles continue to arrive at their nests in the US with sticks and a determination to rebuild the nest after last year’s clutch. You can almost check on any streaming cam and find that the couple have been there at some point working. Pa Berry and Missy have been busy for weeks now at Berry College! And Cody and his gang at the Kisatchie National Forest are getting some strange sounds made by eagles with their new ‘sound system’. We will jump out of our shoes when those eaglets start hatching- their cheeping will be so clear!
Listen to Louis pant when he lands on the nest:
It looks like it will be an interesting year. I urge you to add the KNF nest to your roster of eagles to watch — I know, you have too many already but, this is a great couple. Their third year together.
Thank you so much for joining me this morning as we wait for the hatches at the falcon nests in Australia. Right now everyone is sleeping! I hope that you have had a lovely weekend so far. Take care of yourself. See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams or posts/videos where I took my screen captures: Port Lincoln Ospreys, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, 367 Collins Street by Mirvac, Sea Eagles@Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre Sydney Olympic Park, Suzanne Arnold Horning, and Kistachie National Forest Eagle Cam.
It has been a gorgeous 17 degree C afternoon in Manitoba. The dreary morning left around noonish, and it was lovely to be outside without a jacket. I cleared up some plants and have not gone to work on the images of Little Red eating up the suet cylinder, but I will try to get to that sooner than later. He has just about finished it today! The Crows have had lots of their sandwiches and dry corn, the squirrels are still about but, there have been fewer and fewer songbirds.
I thought we would just check in on the Australian nests as their day is beginning.
The breakfast feeding at Port Lincoln was terrific. Mum rose around 06:29:19 and found an old piece of fish on the nest sufficient to fill up the three youngsters and she could get a couple of bites herself. Hopefully another nice fresh fish will land on the nest shortly.
Little Bob was sleepy. It took him a few seconds to figure out what was happening and get himself turned around the right way.
Ervie learned really quickly that you need to be up front if you are the short one. Let’s see how long it takes Little Bob to figure that out.
It wasn’t a huge piece of fish that Mum found and Big and Middle sure put down a lot of huge pieces. I thought they would eat it all.
Little Bob got 4 bites while Big Bob had about 17. Then…Little Bob got a couple more.
Then for a second, Big Bob had a food coma. Middle Bob is still standing and it sure put down the fish early too – and some big pieces. But Little Bob is right up in the sweet spot. Let’s hope he remembers where it is.
Mum filled Little Bob up and ate some of the skin herself. All of the kids were full and out in food comas. Now she can brood them until Dad comes in with the fresh fish. He has been having some trouble getting there early. I wonder if it is windy seas or gulls??
What a gorgeous morning in Melbourne. Mum is waking up.
This is the old dad. He has come to tell her where her breakfast is stashed.
He looks over the eggs for a bit – from a distance – and then flies off. I am noting that the second male has not made an attempt to rid the nest of the eggs and this is a good thing.
Mum is back safely on the eggs. We are two days from hatch watch! The 27th. OK. Technically that is less than 2 days. Oh, goodness.
It was a misty morning in the Sydney Olympic Forest. SE29 and SE30 spent a lot of time looking over the rim of the nest. At the point in the first image below, it looked like the pair were having a great conversation. Perhaps they are wondering if Mum will bring in a fish and eat it all herself again?? Or almost eat it all.
Look at that adorable face.
Some wing flapping going on. The wings of the eaglets are almost as wide as the nest. Amazing.
As the sun comes up in Orange, Australia, Xavier is on the ledge of the scrape box hoping that Diamond will give him some time with those eggies. Did I say that hatch watch is now only 5 days away!
Thank you for joining me at this quick peek of what is going on in Australia. Take care everyone. See you soon!
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Port Lincoln Ospreys, 367 Collins Street by Mirvac, Sea Eagles@Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre Sydney Olympic Park, and Charles Sturt Falcon Cam at Orange.
