Tag Archives: Welsh ospreys

Sloop fledges and Little Bit ND17 soars!

17 August 2022

Good Morning everyone! The sun is shining bright and there is not a cloud in the beautiful blue sky. It looks like it is going to be a fantastic day albeit a hot and humid one reaching 29 C (or 84.2 F) on the Canadian prairies. In fact, it isn’t really the heat but the humidity that is wrecking havoc with everything! Meanwhile my tomato crop continues to flourish. How many tomatoes can one eat and give away?

Yesterday the third hatch of Dory and Skiff was ‘stuck’ for more than 7 hours on the perch. Dory tried to lure him down with fish but Sloop was not moving! Viewers worried about the little osplet ‘afraid to fly’. Well, ‘H’ wrote this morning – Sloop flew!!!!!!! Time 0948. He was 57 days old. How wonderful. Thanks ‘H’.

You can see him flying over the water between the sailboat and the nest. Congratulations Boathouse Ospreys!

‘H’ sent a video of this first flight…did it like a pro. Congratulations Sloop for a lovely flight around the bay and a return to the nest. Thanks ‘H’ for sending all of us the video of that special moment in this Osprey’s life.

There is news of Little Bit ND17 soaring in the skies too. Always so grateful of news. 17 is doing fantastic — we always knew he was a survivor if given the chance. What joy to see him living the life of an eagle in the wild — and I still start giggling thinking of 17 pushing 16 off the perch!

You can see how Little Bit has his landing gear down. Beautiful. Just beautiful.

The two White-bellied Sea eaglets continue to do well and be cheeky to one another. No worries, it is all good. Look at those crops! And then look at the clown feet and growing beaks.

I belong to many groups that work hard to ban lead in the environment as well as rodenticides. As fall approaches and with continuing sightings of people fishing it is a good time to review the ways that lead gets into the environment that can harm our raptors. This is also a threat to our migrating birds who fly through areas where the guts of the deer killed are just left – full of lead shot – in the bush.

https://www.wildlifecenter.org/how-do-raptors-get-lead-poisoning?fbclid=IwAR3wjQapFMv31LJUcqxIXxI70nfQNwHvL8PSeMrgF0zMuPceCCHpy9K_uuk

The Osprey fledglings are still in the UK screaming for fish. As the next two weeks pass, the females will leave, then the fledglings, and finally the males once they are assured all fledglings have departed. I will eventually put up a complete list of who is home and who is not. For today we will just look at a couple of our favourite nests.

This is a 101 Guide to UK Osprey migration:

https://birdfact.com/articles/osprey-migration

At Loch Arkaig, Louis brought in a nice one this morning and Willow retrieved it. Safafina was not the least bit happy about that and had a bit of a tizzy fit on the nest. No worries, Louis is one of the great fishers and she will get her lunch soon! Just for a second look at the great condition this fledgling is in for migration. Gosh these two are dark like their mother, Dorcha. Just look at the necklaces. The envy of any fledgling!

All three fledglings at Llyn Clywedog hoping for Dylan to get fish to them. Seren Blue 5F was at the nest this morning with Dylan so she has not departed yet.

Telyn is still at the Dyfi Nest in Wales, too. Idris is busy feeding the three girls. This is Paith on the nest enjoying some fish and still screaming about it!

Telyn down by the river. She has caught a very large fish and is enjoying it.

Idris has a beautiful flounder for the girls.

At the Glaslyn nest, Aran has been busy chasing intruders —- and, indeed, as the fledglings and the two year olds (and older) begin their movement south, the nests will have lots of visitors.

A great image of Aran and Mrs G, the oldest Osprey in the United Kingdom, two days ago.

And will there be a fledge at the Osoyoos Osprey platform today? If so, it should be the last fledge for the Canadian Osprey nests.

I will try every day to check in on Kaia as she has left Estonia. She flew as far as the Ukraine and then immediately turned back heading north to Belarus where she remains. This is where she is today (she flew a little north in Belarus to a nice area for feeding.

Will all the storks fatten up in Belarus? And then attempt to fly around or through the Ukraine without stopping? War creates a horrible situation for wildlife.

Thank you for joining me this morning for this quick glimpse at some of the nests we have been monitoring over the breeding season. Take care everyone. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams and/or FB postings where I took my screen captures: Notre-Dame Eagles, Audubon Explore and ‘H’, Sea Eagles @Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre Sydney Olympic Park, CarnyXWild, Friends of Loch Arkaig and the Woodland Trust, Dyfi Osprey Project, Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Osoyoos Ospreys, and Looduskalender.

Llyn Clywedog fledgling survives Goshawk attack

14 August 2022

There was a goshawk attack on the Llyn Clywedog nest at dusk – 20:38:40 on 13 August – that knocked the fledgling off the nest. Here are two videos, one in regular time and the other in slow-motion.

In my earlier blog today I lost much information including rare images of three fledglings together on a nest in Wales. It confirms that the fledgling that was knocked off the nest at Llyn Clywedog is fine!

Thanks to CarnyxWild for their streaming cam where I took my video clips and screen captures.

Ervie went fishing and other early Sunday news in Bird World

24 July 2022

We are all starting to get ’empty nest’ syndrome as the Bald Eagle fledglings make their way into the world and the Osprey fledglings in the Northern Hemisphere begin flying, returning to the nest less regularly unless they are being fed by their parents there. Migration begins within a fortnight in the UK, some females leaving early while others hold on a little longer. The female Ospreys are out fishing – bringing whoppers to the nest larger than the males – feeding the chicks and themselves. Dad, of course, will continue to feed the fledglings after the Mums leave staying at the nest until the fledglings depart and then he will leave. For White YW at the Foulshaw Moss Nest in Cumbria last year, he continued to feed Blue 463 into September!

The three daughters of Idris and Telyn have been flying about. Paith has been spending time on a perch by the river while the other two come and go from the nest. Telyn brought her first post-fledge fish onto the nest today. It was a fantastic catch.

The Glaslyn Nest of Aran and Mrs G is empty as well…chicks will fly in if they see Dad coming with a meal.

The chicks of Louis and Dorcha, Willow and Sarafin, have yet to fledge. If you haven’t found this nest I would certainly put it on your list for next year. Great parenting but the weather is often dire at this alternate nest. When Louis’s mate, Aila, did not return last year – and all of our hearts were broken – he picked Dorcha and they took a nest out of view of the camera. This year the Woodland Trust put cameras on both nests. Maybe a new couple will take the old nest next year. If you look to the top right you can see the loch where Louis fishes.

This is the link to Louis and Dorcha’s streaming cam:

Yesterday was a great day for Olsen at the Osoyoos Osprey platform. They may not have been huge fish but there were lots of them. It is now 0900 and only one small fish has come on the nest at 0518. Let us hope the fishing luck improves!

The chicks at the Fortis Exshaw nest in Canmore Alberta are really getting big and they are wanting to start self-feeding. One tried this morning and caused a bit of chaos. Mum took over and all is well except for the camera which continues to have issues – it needs a good rain to wash it off – or is it condensation again?

Freedom and Liberty at the Glacier Gardens nest in Juneau, Alaska might want the rain to stop for a bit. Eaglets Love and Peace have scrambled to get under Mum to keep their heads dry!

The fox cub has been back sniffing for food on Andor and Mama Cruz’s nest at Two Harbours in the Channel Islands. I wonder where Lilibet is? She isn’t squeeeewing away at the visitor.

Lancer was on the natal nest at Two Harbours for about five minutes this morning arriving around 0822. One of the adults was on the nest around 0702.

As streaming cam bird watchers begin to turn their attention to nests elsewhere, if you love Peregrine Falcons, there are two in Australia. The scrape of Xavier and Diamond on the water tower on the grounds of Charles Sturt University in Orange and the family on the ledge of the CBD at 367 Collins Street. The streaming cams – three of them – at Orange operate year round. The Collins Street cam will come on once eggs are laid near hatching time.

Little Xavier is so cute..for those of you that do not know this nest, Xavier means Saviour and, like Alden who came in to help Annie when Grinnell was killed, Xavier helped Diamond. He is adorable and ever so funny with his prey deliveries. Sometimes Diamond reminds me of a ‘stern matron’ – she is also gorgeous but Xavier is just funny. They are bonding and courting now. Eggs the end of August or beginning of September.

Xavier brought Diamond a tasty treat today. Diamond does not like Starlings but they are plentiful. You will also see a variety of parrots brought into the nest – I am told by a good source that parrots are like sparrows around Orange. Too plentiful. Could this be a parrot of some type? Not many pigeons at Orange but lots and lots of them at the Melbourne scrape on Collins Street are brought in as prey items for the chicks.

Diamond was extremely happy and even ate the food gift in the scrape box!

This is the link to the box cam:

At the Sydney Sea Eagle nest, Lady has the two little eaglets tucked in but they continue to wiggle about.

Mum and Dad are sleeping on the perch at the Port Lincoln Osprey barge.

But where is Ervie you ask???????? Our beautiful lad is out catching his own fish!!!!!!!! Isn’t he handsome? I cannot think of anything nicer than being able to sit and watch Ervie catch and eat a fish. But, gosh, golly, I wish they would remove those spikes.

It is a great day when we get to see Ervie. He is looking fantastic. That satellite tracker doesn’t seem to bother him one little bit and it sure helps us keep track of his movements.

GROWLS has posted the simple fix that BC Hydro can make so that no bird is ever killed again. In the scheme of things, my expert in BC tells me that it will only cost pennies to make the poles a little larger so that the spread between the phases or phases and grounds is wider than 7′.

There is much more to say about BC Hydro and the urgent need for them to undertake a change in their construction methods. I have lots of information and am trying to put it together in a logical way for tomorrow or Tuesday. In the meantime, educate yourself. BC Hydro is a public company and the public want wildlife protected — things have changed and our public utlities companies need to change, too.

It is a hazy hot Sunday on the Canadian Prairies. The Blue Jays are getting peanuts off the deck, the Crows have been flapping about demanding their sandwiches and the Cooper’s Hawk has been hiding in the neighbour’s lilac bushes hoping to get its lunch. Both Hedwig and Little Hedwig have been to the garden and have escaped the eye of the hawk..in fact, my garden is so lush right now that the hawk doesn’t seem to bother checking out the feeders. All are hidden! I hope to get some good images for all of us but, first, I have to remove the screens from the new sunroom. They do not allow any decent images to be taken!

Thank you so much for joining me this morning. I hope you have a wonderful Sunday wherever you are. Take care. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their FB pages and their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: GROWLS, Port Lincoln Osprey Project, Charles Sturt University at Orange Falcon Cam, Sydney Sea Eagles @Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre, Sydney Olympic Park, Explore.org and IWS, Glacier Gardens, Fortis ExShaw, Osoyoos Osprey Cam, Friends of Loch Arkaig and the Woodland Trust, Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn, and the Dyfi Osprey Project.

Early Tuesday in Bird World

19 July 2022

Good Morning Everyone,

We woke up to more rain with the promise of tornadoes in some parts of the Canadian prairies. When I first moved to Canada, tornadoes were rare – something that I knew a lot about coming from Oklahoma where F4s are the norm. Now everyone knows what the word ‘tornado’ means. It is 21 degrees C – almost half of what it is in parts of the UK and Europe. I am grateful for the rain – wells are full and so are lakes – instead of a drought and fire. The garden birds are happy today. Way too hot yesterday. Thunderstorms are headed to Llyn Clywedog in Wales but it looks like Glaslyn will be spared. The temperature at Heathrow Airport hit 40.2 C, a record. My thoughts go out to all the animals – human and not – around the world who are experiencing drought, massive flooding, fires, heat, or all of the above. We live in very challenging times.

In Finland, the female has returned to the Janakkalan nest. I have been missing her visits. Thank you ‘C’ for the time stamp. Reviewing footage, the Mum of the two beautiful osplets has tried to eat but she cannot keep the food down. She appears to be weak and tired. Her ‘ps’ is like water – not thick cream. It is so sad but we must be thankful that the chicks appear to be healthy, regardless. Dad is bringing in plenty of fish. One can eat well and the other one is getting there. There are, of course, fish squabbles and both wish their Mum was well and was feeding them. Send positive wishes to this nest – for Mum, so the chicks don’t get sick, for plenty of fish, and for cool weather as Mum is not able to shade the babies if it gets hot as she is normally not on the nest. This is a good thing since it appears that she could have trichomonosis which is highly contagious.

Rain is falling on the Ironwood Tree in the Sydney Olympic Forest. Mum is keeping SE29 nice and warm and we are waiting to see where SE30 is in the hatching process.

Very first bites of fish for SE29. Sweet.

The last osplet, Farne, has fledged from nest 1A at Kielder at 11:10. The Mum of the three fledglings, Mrs YA, has a real task ahead of her keeping these fed. This may hinder her own preparation for getting her weight and fat levels up for migration. I wonder what will happen at the time of migration? Normally the UK females leave earlier than the males leaving the Dads to feed the young ones for 2-3 weeks. Once the fledglings fly south the Dad will leave.

Thanks to Suzanne Arnold Horning we still have wonderful images of Big Red and Arthur’s Ls flying around campus, accepting prey drops, and catching their own.

Cutie Pie L4. Notice that the juvenile hawks have the loveliest blue eyes, sometimes blue-green or blue-green. As they mature, those baby blues will turn dark espresso brown.

Brooks flew off the nest on the morning of the 18th and has not returned. Richmond and Rosie are on the nest. I wish we had some understanding on what happened to Molate. GGA said that they will not retrieve Molate’s body while Brooks is still in the area. So sad for this lovely Osprey couple in their beautiful nest on SF Bay.

Golden Gate Audubon mentioned that some of the chicks in this area actually go to other Osprey nests where they are fed. This apparently happened in 2018 when one of Richmond and Rosie’s chicks moved to another nest and was fed and stayed there until he left the area. That was Brisa.

At the Glaslyn nest of Aran and Mrs G, it appears that Blue 498 fledged this morning. Congratulations! The only chick remaining on the Glaslyn nest is 499!

Both of the fledglings sitting on Aran and Mrs G’s perch! Gosh, they look like they are going to be dark like Mum.

Padarn and Paith on the Dyfi nest of Idris and Telyn. Pedran fledged on the 15th of July. Waiting for these two to test their wings. Gosh, look at that crest. Gorgeous.

All of the chicks of Dylan and Seren’s at Llyn Clywedog have now fledged. what a fabulous year for this nest!

Dorcha continues to look quite fine after the scare with the blood on her abdomen/leg the other day. Louis continues to get the fish on the nest and the weather looks pretty good today. It is about 24 there today.

One of Blue 33 and Maya’s girls was on the Manton Bay nest this morning fish crying to Dad. These were the first to fledge and it is rare to catch them on the nest at Rutland.

Annie and Alden, the Peregrine Falcon couple on The Campanile on the grounds of UC-Berkeley might be wishing that Lindsay and Grinnell Jr would find their own territory!

What a gorgeous sunrise on the Channel Islands West End nest of Thunder and Akecheta this morning. Thunder even came to the nest and paid a visit at 05:45.

Everything looks good at the Boathouse Osprey nest of Dory and Skiff on Hog Island this morning. It is going to get pretty hot on Hog Island today…going up to 28 or 29 C with a 50% chance of rain.

No one slept on the Mispillion Osprey nest by the harbour in Delaware. Later Mum is on the nest with one of the fledglings feeding it and then enjoying some fish herself. I am surprised the other fledgling is not rushing in for some of that fish.

According to the chatters, fish of various sizes ranging from tiny to a little bigger arrived at 0501, 0516, 0534, and again at 0650 for Mum and the two osplets on the Osoyoos nest in British Columbia. Dad is making up in numbers what he isn’t able to supply in size with the heat in the region. Looks like it will be up to 33 C later today — it is 18 degrees C now. What a difference. Mum will be shading her babies!

I have seen no updates on Victor or Little Bit ND17 so far. It is 0939 CDT. All of the nests look fine but two which are worrisome. One is the nest in Finland which took a turn for the worst with one chick dying of starvation. The two older chicks, realizing that fish was at hand, learned to self-feed. There is also worry for Mrs YA at Kieldner nest 1A – how will she get herself in good condition to migrate while tending to all the chicks? Send them all your best wishes – and also for Brooks. I hope that he is safe and being fed elsewhere or that he gets himself home.

Thank you for being with me today. Take care. Stay cool if you are in an area of extreme heat. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their photos, videos, or their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Finnish Osprey Foundation, Sydney Sea Eagles@Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre, Suzanne Arnold Horning, SF Ospreys and GGA, Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Dyfi Osprey Project, CarnyXWild, Friends of Loch of Arkaig and the Woodland Trust, LRWT, Cal Falcons, Explore.org and IWS, Explore and Audubon, Mispillion Harbour Ospreys and DDNR, and Osoyoos Ospreys.

Life and Death in Bird World…

18 July 2022

We are going to start off with the good news…a hatch! Sydney’s Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre is giving the official hatch time of WBSE 29 at 1426. There is also a pip in WBSE30’s egg.

Beautiful Lady. By the time we wake up tomorrow morning there should be two healthy White-bellied Sea Eaglets in this nest getting ready to bop and bob.

I thought I might make it through Sunday evening without finding out about another Osprey death. Not so. A much loved male Osprey of a long time mated pair in Bitterroot Valley, Montana was shot with a soft bullet and died. Local animal right’s activists have issued a reward for the identity of the shooter.

Shootings of protected raptors are on the rise in the area. There were 7 last year and already there are 5 this year in this single area of Montana. Reports from wildlife rehab clinics often cite either shootings or – heavy lead toxins due to the eating of prey with bullet fragments – as the major reason for eagles to be in care or dying.

It is, of course, illegal to shoot a protected species but, it doesn’t seem to matter. It has happened in my City, all over the US, in various countries in the EU such as France and Malta. And, of course, there are the ongoing issues in the UK on the private estates where grouse hunting is permitted.

https://mtstandard.com/news/state-and-regional/bitterroot-osprey-shooting-leaves-activists-looking-for-answers/article_fe7ff6c8-f90b-535f-98b6-9a3826e123ee.html?fbclid=IwAR3qVHQb8gMmqRYhFw6CQZX24PHNfYuaFMh57p_EOndiZBTT7NLxDI5dwno

There is good news coming out of the Osoyoos nest. One look at the image reveals the remains of a large fish still on the nest. ‘A-M’ mentioned on the chat that both chicks had eaten well today and Little Bob even had a really full crop. Apparently both parents brought in 2 big fish. It is wonderful to see Mum with a big crop, too. Oh, we could not ask for anything better coming out of the heat in the area. Fantastic.

With all the sadness, the fact that this nest got 2 great big fish and everyone is full and there is still fish is something to celebrate. I wanted fish to fall from the sky but coming in from the lake is just as good.

To also put a smile on your face, Lilibet at the Fraser Point nest of Andor and Mama Cruz had something to say to the fox cub that keeps getting on her nest! And she was very vocal about it.

There is other good news. The youngest osplet of the trio at Llyn Clywedog fledged at 10:22 on Sunday the 17th. Congratulations Dylan and Seren for another successful year and to all those at Llyn Clywedog in Wales.

Seren on one perch and two of the fledglings on the other perch.

The two osplets on the Llyn Brenig nest in Wales have not fledged. They certainly have grown since I last checked on them! Mom looks happy and I bet that fish Dad brought in really tasted good.

Dorcha looking over her two osplets as the sun was setting on Loch Arkaig.

and dawn over Loch Arkaig. I has been impossible to tell how Dorcha is doing. Hopefully she will go for a good swim and get the blood off from her injury – continuing good thoughts for her to heal quickly.

The area is so beautiful.

The Glaslyn Valley nest of Aran and Mrs G is so very different than Loch Arkaig and Loch of the Lowes. The cows and the sheep make the entire scene look like it could be a 17th century painting.

At the Loch of the Lowes, one of the fledglings slept ‘adult style’ on the nest perch all night. There is another (or two?) osprey/s on the dead tree at centre left. Where is everyone else? Laddie? Blue NC0?

Later. Waiting for a delivery!

Dad delivers fish to the Janakkdan Osprey nest on a regular basis. Here is the last delivery for the 17th at 19:28. The osplets will take turns self-feeding.

I have not seen the female on the nest for some hours – from 1900 to 0700. The chicks have not fledged. Some on the chat questioned if she has begun her migration. No, it is too early. Let us hope that she is well.

It is possible there is a perch and Mum is there. She was on the nest at noon today. Both chicks appear to be capable of eating on their own. One better than the other but it has had more practice.

‘H’ reports that it is Smooth Dogfish Shark for breakfast at the Mispillion Harbour Osprey nest! Dad brought in two in quick succession. Everyone was hungry – one fledgling trying to self-feed and the other being fed by Mum who eventually feeds both.

While the ospreys in Delaware were enjoying their Smooth Dogfish Sharks, Karl II was delivering large fish to the Karula National Forest Black storkling nest – that includes Bonus, the adopted storklet of Jan and Janikka. I am so happy that the four are doing so well and so grateful to Urmas for his fish basket! Thank you, Urmas.

The camera was down at Glacier Gardens for part of the 17th. NitBot reports that there were four fish deliveries with Peace getting 1 fish and Love seeming to get the other 3. It is so hard to see the eaglets – is it condensation on the camera? and the cars racing up and down that road are making me nervous. But…Liberty and Freedom know best!

There is no word yet on what caused the 9 day old osplet of Tom and Audrey at the Chesapeake Conservancy to suddenly die. Will keep you posted on any news. Its death was entirely unexpected. There was lots of fish and it was eating well.

Everything seems to be fine for Dory and Skiff and their three osplets on Hog Island in Maine.

Here is a short video of Dory feeding the three just a short while ago.

Like everywhere else, it has been hot and stormy on the Canadian Prairies. If you are in an area of high heat and have shallow bowls (no deeper than 2 or 3 inches), put some water in them if you do not have a bird bath. All manner of raptor are coming to cool down including the local crows and owls – even the rabbits have been in to drink water and get in the shade of the lilacs and ‘the bush tunnels’. I will try to get a photo if I can but Mr Crow was on top of the sunroom/greenhouse this morning telling me that he wanted breakfast!

An osprey expert in the UK told me that never rule out dehydration in the death of Ospreys. He was talking about Molate. But, remember that all of the birds can suffer in the heat without water!

The image below is (I believe) Hedwig’s baby. It is really cropped and blown up – the rabbit is tiny. Those are dandelion leaves and they are not long. He thought he was hiding behind some of the builder’s garbage! But we saw you, cutie pie. Caught in the act. You can eat all of the dandelion leaves you want!

This is Hedwig the Elder over eating the seeds that the birds spill everywhere! What they are really enjoying are the tender shoots.

Bye Hedwig!

Hedwig and Little Hedwig took off together to go to their burrow which is across the back lane underneath a garage.

It has been a week since Victor was rescued. I have not seen an update but it is early in California. Looking forward to some news. Things are rather quiet in Bird World — and goodness, gosh, golly…quiet is welcome. There will be more fledges in the UK and another baby Sea Eagle tomorrow. Something to look forward to….

Thank you for being with me today. Take care Everyone. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Sydney Sea Eagles@Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre, Osoyoos Ospreys, Explore.org and IWS, CarnyXwild, Llyn Brenig Ospreys, Friends of Loch Arkaig, People’s Postcode Lottery, and the Wildlife Trust, Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Friends of Loch of the Lowes, Finnish Osprey Foundation, Mispillion Harbour Ospreys and the DDNR, Eagle Club of Estonia, Glacier Gardens, Chesapeake Conservancy, and Explore.org and Audubon.

Sunday in Bird World

17 July 2022

Good morning everyone. Yesterday was a very tough day in Bird World. So before I begin today I want us all to smile and I cannot think of anyone better than Ervie to do that —our favourite Osprey juvenile at Port Lincoln Australia. He was at the beach in Delamere today. The FB posting said it was cold and blustery. Here is our beautiful lad soaking his talons in the salt water and flying about.

Oh, Ervie what a darling you are. You are doing so well. We all wish we could sit on the beach with you and cool our talons, too. We all hope your talon is growing and that you are catching some fine fish. Your crop certainly doesn’t look empty!

___________________________________________________________________

There is much news coming out of SF about Molate. On the chat yesterday an individual identifying themselves as ‘Video Assistant’ remarked that they had gone over the footage of Molate’s fall and were able to determine that he hit the grid, there were a couple of jerks, and nothing. In other instances, others associated with GGA said that Molate took a couple of difficult breaths, became unstable losing his balance, and fell off the nest. This is one of the most recent posts by SF Ospreys and might answer questions:

GGA and SF Ospreys have tried very hard to keep everyone in the loop as best they can in this difficult situation. It is a difficult call – to leave the body of the raptor there without knowing what caused it to be ill – or to leave it and allow the family to go about their daily lives without the stress. Clearly, none of us wish to see Richmond, Rosie, or Brooks suffer any further. My condolences go out to this long standing Osprey family in SF and all those who love and care for these amazing birds on the Whirley Crane.

There was a fledge at the Glaslyn nest of Aran and Mrs G. Congratulations to Blue 497 is 52 days old and she took her very first flight at 08:11 Sunday the 17th of July. Back home on the nest safely on quite a breezy day in Wales.

At the Welsh osprey nest of Idris and Telyn, Pedran continues to take some glorious flights around the nest to show the others how wonderful it is off the nest. It looks there is another one on the perch but I cannot tell which one it is. This is a great view of the nest and the river…I wish that Dyfi would leave it like this!

The cam operator at the nest of Dory and Skiff on Hog Island in Maine gave us some lovely close ups of the chicks feather developments this afternoon. These three are doing great. No problems being reported.

Small fish continue to come to the Osoyoos nest. The temperature will drop from 34 to 30 today but we really need it to go much lower to get those nice sized fish to come up higher in the water. Dad has to do a lot of fishing to try and find even wee ones in this heat.

Does the lake at Osoyoos ever get stocked with fingerlings?

The male at the Canmore, Alberta Fortis Exshaw Osprey nest continues to catch some really nice sized fish. The trio and Mum had a good breakfast this morning!

The two osplets on the Janakkdan Osprey nest in Finland continue to perfect their self-feeding. Mum has been on the nest in the afternoon and she continues to appear to be improving (not a vet – so this is just my observation).

The second osplet wants some fish but the older one is not giving that nice fish up just yet and is telling the other one clearly to wait its turn! No worries. There will be fish left! But will he share?

Only Bob on the Finnish #1 nest had a really nice meal. Look at that crop!

It looks like Tom and Audrey’s only chick will be the Only Bob on the Chesapeake Bay Osprey nest this year. S/he is 9 days old today and the Conservancy has declared the remaining egg nonviable. Just think…no one to have to share the fish with other than Mum. Sweet Osprey dreams little one.

Remember how loud Grinnell Jr was during the banding? He still is – bet you could hear him across the campus at UC-Berkeley!

Speaking of the University of California Campus at Berkeley. ‘B’ wrote me a note to say that one year Annie and Grinnell’s fledgling had gotten trapped between the glass railings on one of the buildings. UC-B learned a lesson and has a grounds maintenance person hang ribbons on all the balconies of a nearby building to prevent bird strikes. They did only the buildings that would probable sites for bird strike. How wonderful. Thanks, ‘B’. This would be a great solution for Cornell.

Yesterday, Ferris Akel held his normal Saturday birding tour of the area around Ithaca – Wildlife Drive, Sapsucker Lake, ending up on the Cornell Campus. He was able to find all four – Big Red, Arthur, L2 and L4. One of the highlights of yesterday’s tour was getting to see one of the fledglings soaring. I did a short video clip. There are trees that get in the way but the juvenile does come out and soars again. Big Red had also been soaring in the thermals showing the eyases how it is done. It is beautiful to see them flying free, high in the sky.

The Kakapo Recovery team is very happy. After a drop in the number of the flightless parrots, they announced yesterday that the current number of Kakapo is at 216. Amazing. It can all be attributed to the hard working team that does wellness checks, changes batteries in the transmitters, and knows these birds as if they were their own children. Congratulations everyone.

The Kakapo love to hide and the only way to find them is to attack GPS transmitters!

Katy Rossiter has produced a compelling podcast on the Kakapo. If you would like to learn more, have a listen:

Thank you for joining me today. There will be more fledges in the UK. Dorcha has yet to get the blood off her feathers but she appears to be doing OK. Telyn had an injury, too, and she is OK. Let us hope that each of our birds stays safe today. Looking forward to a good report on Little Bit 17 shortly and more information on Victor. Thank you so much for your letters and comments. It is much appreciated. Everyone wants the best for the birds – at the end of the day that is the underlying cord that connects us all. I hope that each of you has a very wonderful Sunday wherever you are. Take care. See you soon.

Thanks to the following for their videos, their postings, and their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: The Kakapo Recovery Group, Ferris Akel Tours, Cal Falcons, SF Ospreys and Golden Gate Audubon, Explore.org and Audubon, Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn Wildlife, Chesapeake Conservancy, Finnish Osprey Foundation, Fortis Exshaw, Osoyoos Ospreys, Dyfi Osprey Project, and Port Lincoln Ospreys.

Late Friday in Bird World

15 July 2022

If you did not see the presentation and discussion about the care that US Steel eaglet 4 (USS4) is getting at the Tamarack Wildlife Centre in PA, then please go to my earlier blog this afternoon and have a listen. As I noted, at 14:52 in the discussion, the lead wildlife rehabilitation officer at Tamarak is addressing the life skills that USS4 will get and -require- before he can be released. That includes a lot of work with prey. Yes, by all weights and measurements, USS4 is a ‘he’ but they sent away a blood sample for DNA analysis to be sure. I was ‘blown away’ by their investment and it is what we all dream Little Bit 17 will have before he is released. Here is the link to get to the earlier blog that has the interview.

https://wordpress.com/post/maryannsteggles.com/58064

This is one of the best videos that I have seen showing the Whirley crane nest of Rosie and Richmond and the juveniles flying. Brooks is doing really well and Molate even managed to do some hovers. You can see Richmond and Rosie, too. Really hope that Molate is doing better. He sure enjoyed his fish.

At the Osoyoos Osprey nest, Dad has been delivering fish – four this morning. Thank you, Dad. Mum is doing her best to keep the two little ones cool. It was a good morning for this family.

It is 34 degrees C in Osyoos and it is forecast to get hotter. Keep all of these nests in the heat wave in your positive thoughts. We don’t want a repeat of 2021 when chicks were dying of sun stroke or jumping off nests so they did not roast to death in the Pacific Northwest.

It is 30 degrees C in Winnipeg and we have a heat warning and it is currently 30 degrees C in Canmore, Alberta where the chicks and their Mum are hot – but that 4 degrees C means these are just a little cooler than Osoyoos.

Gosh, the Boathouse Ospreys are cute. Sometimes when they are asleep it is hard to tell who is who. Dory is trying to keep her babies cool just like Mum at Osoyoos.

Have you noticed how expressive Osprey faces are? They are such individuals. I would love to know what the conversation is on the Mispillion Harbour nest!

Here are some shots from the Dyfi Osprey nest in Wales in the late afternoon. Pedran fledged at 51 days old, slightly earlier than the average, at 15:05. It was a perfect take off and Telyn even escorted her daughter back to the nest. Telyn looks so tiny next to these three big girls her and Idris raised this year. One more to fledge. They will spend their time working those wings to get strength and eating and eating to put fat on their bodies for their first long migration. They normally do not catch their first fish until after they have left the natal nest.

Blue 553 fledged from the Llyn Clywedog Nest at 05:27. Well done, two down, one to go. The osplets have certainly started decorating the pine to the left of Dylan and Seren’s nest a little early!

Did you know that raptors often chose a nest sight – if vacant – by the amount of PS on everything. The more PS, the more prey and the healthier the chicks will be.

There was storm, rain, and thunder when LR0 at the Loch of the Lowes nest of Laddie and Blue NC0 decided to fledge today. That was really something unexpected.

Is it just me or does the female at the Janakkdan Osprey nest in Finland look better today? Both of the osplets had a lot of nice fish before bed. No worries for them. Positive wishes for this family.

All four of the White storklets (not little anymore) are doing so well at the Mlade Buky nest of Bukacek and Betty. Just look at them. They are as big as their parents. What a delight.

Discussions are underway as to who will get the transmitters on the Karula National Forest nest of Karl II and Kaia. It seems that Bonus, one of two surviving storklets of Jan and Janikka, who was taken to the clinic to be raised and then adopted at the Karula nest will be one of the recipients.

I would hope that Urmas and Dr Madis V of the Estonia Medical University would be very happy with their intervention to save the surviving storklets of Jan and Jannika. It was a bold experiment that worked — and underscores what we need to do to help our wildlife. The fish basket has been a real help – possibly a life saver. When other nests like Osoyoos are only getting little fish and it is hot, is it not possible to supplement them? After all, climate change has been caused by humans…it just makes sense to do what we can, when we are able.

‘EJ’ sent me a link to a great video about an eagle that would just not give up – the drive to live was so robust. Add this to your playlist for Friday night or the weekend, it is really uplighting! Thanks EJ!

It feels pretty good in Bird World this afternoon. Molate is eating well and he did some hovering. Perhaps his only problem was Brooks was getting too much of the fish. Let us all hope so. The chicks in Finland are eating and to me — not a vet — the Mum ‘looked’ better. Let us hope for some cooler temperatures at all the nests who are suffering from heat and keep all of those in care in our warm thoughts.

Thank you for being with me today. Take care. See you soon!

Thanks to the following for their posts, their videos, and their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: SF Bay Ospreys and Golden Gate Audubon, Osoyoos Ospreys, Fortis Exshaw, Audubon Explore.org, Mispillion Harbour Ospreys and the DDNR, Dyfi Osprey Project, CarnyxWild, and Friends of Loch of the Lowes and the Wildlife Trust and the Wildlife Foundation of Utah.

Update on Victor and other Bird World News

13 July 2022

Good Morning Everyone. I hope the start of the week was a good one as we celebrate the rescue of Victor at the Fraser Point nest in the Channel Islands.

Here is the latest news on the Fraser Point eaglet of Andor and Mama Cruz:

As new birds go into wildlife rehab, it is easy to forget some that remain in care. At the Pitkin County Osprey nest, both chicks were pulled off the nest when the female’s talon was tangled in nest material that had fishing line. Here is an image of the chick in care and below it is the mass of fishing line and nest material that came off. One chick died. This one will be in rehab for some time and will not be returned to the nest area as the parents will have migrated when it is ready to be released.

How possible is it for every nest that is on a streaming cam to have the nest material examined and any fishing line, hooks, or other dangerous items removed when the camera gets its annual maintenance? That would help – it certainly won’t keep new items from coming on the nest but it would go a long ways to mitigating issues. Then, of course, there is the whole issue of educating the public about fishing line and hooks! And how dangerous they are to the water birds.

There has been no update on Little Bit ND17 this week. Will post as soon as I see one. No news is good news!

The Patuxent River Park Osprey nest 1 is empty. Was there a fledge?

Tonight there is a huge storm with thunder and lighting at the Patuxent River Park #1 nest. It could even scare me! You can see the nest because the lightning is making the entire sky glow.

Yes, it was a fledge at Patuxent River Park and the new flier has returned to the nest to the delight of Mum and Dad.

It has been 25 hours without her brother, Victor. Lillibet is on the nest panting and hot in the California sun.

The mother has returned to the Janakkdan nest in Finland to her two osplets. There has been lots of fish and she has been feeding them. Let us hope that what has been ailing the female is getting better. They are super beautiful and big osplets. It was just lovely to see her and the chicks are getting stronger and older and should be feeding more to themselves. That will certainly help. Mum does look better than the past couple of days. Fingers crossed. Send those good positive warm wishes to her. They help!

The first egg at the Sydney Sea Eagle nest is 35 days old today. Pip watch begins on day 40 which will be July 16/17. Lady and Dad are busy incubating and rolling the eggs. The cam operator gave us a good look. Thank you!

The White-bellied Sea Eagles are the second largest bird of prey in Australia.

Diamond looking out of the scrape at Charles Sturt University in Orange, Australia.

The scrape box on the water tower has been used by falcons for the past twelve years. Before that they made their nest on the water tower itself. The first couple were Swift (female) and Beau (male). In 2015, an entirely new couple were in the scrape. They were Diamond and Bula. In 2016 just when their three eggs were hatching, Bula disappeared and was presumed dead. Xavier means ‘savior’. He came along, just like Alden, right at the moment he was needed. He saved the breeding season. Xavier provided prey for Diamond and the chicks. He proved to be a very capable mate and Diamond accepted him with wonderful bonding displays in the scrape. Xavier is a darling. This will be Diamond and Xavier’s 6th breeding season. Diamond is at least eight years old and Xavier is at least seven years old.

The average life expectancy of a peregrine falcon in the wild is often considered to be quite low, 2-4 years. Our Princess in Winnipeg lived to be 19 years old. It is unclear to me how accurate that 2-4 years estimate is.

Diamond. 13 July 2022
Xavier. 13 July 2022 with a prey offering for his mate.

The other peregrine falcon nest in Australia is in Melbourne. They will start streaming nearer to hatch once eggs have been laid. It is quite interesting to watch the rural nest of Xavier and Diamond with the urban one in Melbourne.

Do you like Great Horned Owls? Would you like to learn more about their lives on the prairies? Here is a free Zoom talk that you might wish to join.

Louis and Dorcha’s two osplets were ringed yesterday. They have two girls! LW6 was 1760g with a wing of 300mm and LW5 weight was 1910g with a wing of 350mm.

Chick LP8 fledged at Loch of the Lowes today. In celebration of this achievement, Louis brought in a fabulous fish! Congratulations LOTL.

The three girls at the Dyfi Nest of Idris and Telyn are really hovering. Who will be next to fly?

Thank you so much for joining me this morning. We send our good wishes to L3, Little Bit ND17, the Pitkin Osprey, and Victor as they continue to work hard to get better in care. Stay safe. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams and/or FB pages where I took my screen captures: the Ojai Raptor Centre, Patuxent River Park, the Finnish Osprey Foundation, Pitkin County FB Page, Charles Sturt University Falcon Cam, Sea Eagles@Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre, Explore.org and the Institute for Wildlife Studies, Prairie Conservation Action Plan, Friends of Loch Arkaig, People’s Postcode Lottery, and Woodland Trust and the Dyfi Osprey Project.

Ervie fishes with Dad, Fledge at Mispillion, and more

12 July 2022

Ervie. Bazza Hockaday caught Ervie fishing with Dad! He posted images of the two of them together on the FB Page of the Port Lincoln Osprey Group. Now, how wonderful is that? I am so excited. Ervie can fish with dad and not feel so rejected..he just can’t go on the nest near Mum! Remember how Ervie and Dad used to sit in the ‘shed’ and chat? Seriously, tears of joy!

Dad above and Ervie below with the tracker.

@ Port Lincoln Ospreys and Bazza Hockaday. 10 July 2022

The newsletter that I get from the Cornell Bird Lab is carrying an article on neonics, a pesticide, that is having a deadly impact on our songbirds. Have a read. Also consider, however, the fact that the ‘Green’ herbicides and pesticides used on lawns are toxic. Take, for example, the neighbour who wants the weeds killed so that they can put down a matt and then put on wood mulch — the ‘Green’ spray was toxic — it killed the weeds. They did not know that they could simply use vinegar.

Neonic Nation: Is Widespread Pesticide Use Connected to Grassland Bird Declines?

The three Ls (L3 is in care) are flying as almost as good as Big Red and Arthur. They are learning more and more about catching their own prey and in 2-4 weeks they will leave the territory of Big Red and Arthur and find their own place in the world of hawks. So thankful for Suzanne Arnold Horning who takes her camera to the campus each day and allows me to share her images of Big Red and Arthur’s family with you.

One of the Ls hunting in the pine trees. Big Red and Arthur have been moving them around to various parts of the campus for prey drops and hunting. Everything they do are lessons for the kids -. Once the Ls leave the territory, Big Red and Arthur are going to enjoy a much needed rest. We will then see them back on the nest checking things in the late fall or early November. Time definitely passes too quickly!

L4 – we worried and worried and it turns out he loved to climb over his siblings to get to Big Red’s beak – totally unafraid – and was one of the first two to catch prey and become an official juvenile. Here he is on top of a small shed stalking something and stretching.

L4 – cutie pie.

Ferris Akel just uploaded his tour of the Red-tail hawks at Cornell from last weekend. Here you go!

The storklets on the Mlade Buky nest of Bukacek and Betty are big! No wonder Bukacek was working on a second nest. No room for him and Betty!

Urmas and Dr Madis V’s experiment to raise the storklets of Jan and Janika continues to go very smoothly. Karl II has brought food in. Bonus watches the others and begins the same ritual to cause Karl II to be able to regurgitate the fish. Everyone looks nice and healthy on this nest and we know from the postings that both Karl II and Kaia have found the fish basket left for them by Urmas.

The storklets are losing their white natal down and those lovely black feathers are coming in. Bonus is in the front with the two metal rings.

At 13:30 ‘H’ reports that one of the ospreys on the Mispillion Harbour nest fledged. It was a beautiful first flight returning in about a minute and a half. Congratulations to everyone and to you ‘H’ who has watched this nest like a wonderful auntie and kept us informed. Now…when will the next one fledge?

There he goes!

Louis and Dorcha’s two osplets are being ringed at Loch Arkaig at this very moment! There is the proud mama Dorcha with the two before the banders arrived. Dorcha flew around at the arrival of the humans and her and Louis are now perched on a tree waiting for everything to be finished so they can get their chicks back! Will there be one big girl??? and a boy?

The camera is turned off and will come back on line when the ringers are finished.

The chicks of Louis and Dorcha have been ringed but no word about gender, weight, etc. Will post tomorrow when I hear.

Fledgling 554 is enjoying her freedom as she stares at us from the perch at the Llyn Clywedog Osprey nest of Dylan and Seren. 554 was the first osprey to fledge in Wales for the 2022 season – yesterday.

554’s other siblings are flapping their wings now, too….will there be a rush on fledging?

Idris has brought in 3 fish in three hours. Those three big girls will each have their own fish at the Dyfi Nest this evening.

It was a gorgeous day in the Glaslyn Valley. Mrs G looking over her nest full of osplets no doubt so happy that this season went superbly.

Since last year many of us have wondered what the fate of CJ7 would be. Would Blue 022 return? would they bond? would they have chicks? They did bond, they did have chicks….the nest was so deep that we could only get a glimpse of them. Now, here they are staring at us. Just gorgeous osplets. Congratulations – you two are famous. Right, you don’t care. Just clean up the environment so that Ospreys can have lots of non-toxic delicious fish, clean air, safe migration, and wonderful nests. Oh, right..and stop the shooting of Ospreys. Gotcha. We are gonna work on that.

Dory watches over three sleeping little ones on the Boathouse Osprey nest on Hog Island. Just look at how well their plumage camouflages them and how much copper/orange they are getting on the nape of their necks. So lovely and content.

Meanwhile, in California, Rosie continues to supply Brooks and Molate with goldfish. This is number 8!

To the delight of everyone Annie and Alden continue to pair bond in the scrape at The Campanile every other day it seems. This was yesterday.

If you missed it, Mama Thunder made quick work of that juvenile intruder yesterday. Here is a 40 second clip of the action at the West End Bald Eagle nest:

Lillibet wondering where Victor is in the middle of the night at the Fraser Point nest of Andor and Mama Cruz.

It is going to take a few days for the blood work to come back on Victor and for all other tests to determine what is causing him to lose his balance and not be able to fly. Here is an edited post by Dr Sharpe.

Thank you so much for joining me today. Both Little Bit 17 and Victor are getting fantastic care and as someone joked – “There will be a run on Costco trout, I want to eat what Victor is having!” Cute. Take care everyone. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cam and/or FB pages or blogs where I took my screen captures: Suzanne Arnold Horning, Ferris Akel Tours, Mlade Buky Storks, Eagle Club of Estonia, Mispillion Harbour Ospreys, Friends of Loch Arkaig and the Woodland Trust, CarnyXWild, Dyfi Osprey Project, Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Poole Harbour Ospreys, Audubon Explore.org, SF Ospreys and Golden Gate Audubon, Cal Falcons, Port Lincoln Osprey Project, Bazza Hockaday, Explore.org and The Institute for Wildlife Studies.

Late Sunday and early Monday in Bird World

11 July 2020

Dr Sharpe has posted that he will arrive at the Fraser Point nest between 12-2 nest time. We wait.

It is always a hard day when a chick dies on a nest but to lose a beautiful little Osprey to starvation/siblicide is very difficult. I am speaking of the third hatch at the Janakkdan nest in Finland. There is various speculation about what is going on at the nest. Is the female injured in some way? Another chick is lethargic on that nest and it is feared that all three will be lost and then, also, perhaps the breeding female if the injury is acute. Some are asking if this is H5N1, the highly pathogenic Avian Flu. That could only be determined by testing and so far it is believed that Ospreys would be more immune because they eat fish almost exclusively. Whatever is happening it is very sad and it causes one to feel helpless.

There was also Victor with his injury wanting to jump and fly with Lillibet to only go tumbling to the ground, well…gosh. It can take the wind out of your sails. It will be a long wait for Dr Sharpe to get to the nest. He will have to get to the boat, get to the island and then get to the nest. Will this require a very difficult climb? I do not know the terrain he will be going through but, I trust Dr Sharpe. If anything at all can be done to give Victor a second chance, Dr Sharpe is the person who will pull this off. But, for now we wait and it is going to be agony until we know that he is on the ground and has Victor. Then we wait again. You can be assured that Dr Sharpe will give Victor an exceptional meal and maybe some fluids – Victor cannot help but be dehydrated.

There is sadness across the Manitoba Peregrine community this morning. The resident male, Hart, was found dead. He was 10 years old. The Manitoba Peregrine Recovery Project works diligently to return the numbers of these beautiful falcons in our community.

Here is the link to the blog with information about Hart and the falcons that live in my community. the text narration gives you an idea of the struggles that happen with all our feathered friends. Condolences go out to everyone associated with the MB Falcon Recovery Project.

Heartbroken

Most of the birds that I write about are big birds of prey. I love them. At the same time, the Albatross pull at my heart strings, ducks make me laugh out loud, and well, I have really come to adore storks. Today Hob Osterlund posted a really touching image of a Laysan Albatross male and his chick.

Continuing with the mantra of Margaret Mead, “Never Doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has” – Hob Osterlund works tirelessly for the Laysan Albatross. Osterlund had a dream and because of it she moved to the island of Kauai. She was overcome with the love of the Laysan Albatross on her arrival. Osterlund is the author of Holi Moli: Albatross and other Ancestors, is the Founder of the Kauai’ Albatross Network, has worked to relocate albatross from Midway Atoll to Kauai’, is an artist, and many more things to thousands of people. She did the illustrations for A Perfect Day for an Albatross by Caren Loebel-Fried.

Moli is the word for Laysan Albatross. They are revered spirits on the island of Kauai’. For the people of Hawaii, their ancestors can take the form of birds or animals. This is ‘aumakua’. Laysan Albatross are among the aumakua.  

Do you know who Wisdom is? Wisdom is the oldest known banded bird in the world. She still raises a chick and she is now at least 71 or 72 years old. She laid an egg and raised a chick in 2021. (Albatross often take a year off between laying eggs so that their body can be in good shape).

Wisdom’s breeding grounds are the Midway Atoll. Wisdom and her mate, Akeakami, return every year to the same nest site. This behaviour is known as nest fidelity. Millions of birds have nest fidelity at the Midway Atoll and there is a race on to figure out what to do with rising sea levels. Wisdom has hatched 40 eggs and outlived many mates. Albatross normally return and find mates at 5 or 6 years and return later to make a nest. Her 2011 chick – banded N333 – that survived the tsunami on the island, has returned and Wisdom now has a grandchick. How special. That year 110,000 chicks were killed by the raging waters of the tsunami covering over the shore. Wisdom’s chick survived because her nest was located inside a protected dune area.

Invasive species such as rats and mice that were killing the birds were dealt with in 2020. It is a problem around the world on small islands where birds nest – particularly albatross. Teams of scientists and volunteers work tirelessly to try and rid the islands of rats and mice that humans have brought on to the land. Climate change is another extremely serious issue with rising seas. Some translocation work has been done between the Midway Atoll and the island of Kauai.

Wisdom and her wee little moli.

This is Wisdom’s 40th chick Kukini hatched in 2016. Kukini means ‘Messenger’.

Here is a lovely article on this magnificent Laysan Albatross – Z333.

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/worlds-oldest-bird-just-turned-70-why-so-special

To clear my head, I went to sit with the ducks. I came away delighted. There are ducklings of every age!

Before I begin, there are goose eggs bobbing about all over the water. The spring floods that hit our region made the water level in the park pond rise and rise covering all of the nests of the Canada geese, the Mallards, and the Wood Ducks. It was a very, very sad time. The birds laid more eggs and it rained and rained and rained again. What I am seeing is that at this particular pond, the majority of survivors or second clutches are ducklings.

This Mallard mother seemed to be in charge of about eleven little ducklings.

It is incredible how well behaved the ducklings are. There they go – right behind Mama Mallard. They have really grown since I first saw these four about 8 days ago.

Mama Mallard is incredibly beautiful.

It was equally sad not seeing one gosling today. The reflections from the trees on the water was very painterly and this Canada Goose really stood out with all that chartreuse.

Because the male Wood Ducks get all the attention, I tend to take more photographs of the females. They are incredibly gorgeous but so overshadowed by the bright colouring of their mates.

Wee Mallard keeping an eye on me but not giving up his spot!

Mother Duck has all the little ones – and they are tiny – hiding in this type of clover grass on the edge of the pond. You can just see their wee heads.

This one looks like he has had a great feed. There are so many insects darting over the water and to see these little ones just quick as a flash grabbing and eating them – it is amazing.

This wood duckling is getting her ‘pin’ feathers. You can see them pushing out of the shaft or the quill.

This is Mama Wood Duck. You can tell the female by her white tear drop eye patch.

To my delight there were Wood Ducks everywhere around the island – on it, around the shores but, always on the north side. At the start of the season there were no Wood Ducks at this park and I was truly heart broken.

Are you a fan of Mrs G and Aran at the Glaslyn?

Raptor Persecution UK wrote a blog about the history of Mrs G today. She is the oldest breeding Osprey in Wales. She has raised 41 chicks to fledge. At least 5 are breeding in the UK and she has 3 grandchicks. I will post a link to that blog if you are interested. There is also a fascinating family tree included.

https://raptorpersecutionuk.org/2022/07/11/guest-blog-ospreys-in-the-glaslyn-valley/

I am extremely grateful for ‘S’ who has supplied me with links to various cameras, wonderful historical and current videos, and all information to keep me learning about the Finnish nests. One of the fun things I learned is that the Finnish word for Ospreys ‘saaksi’ , when translated by Google, means ‘mosquito’. We have so many mosquitoes in Manitoba – I wish they were Ospreys. I will be including some of these for you if you are also not as familiar with the Ospreys of Finland. What beautiful countryside to have a nest! Yesterday I needed some laughs – like everyone and there was that chick on nest #3. What a character. ‘S’ describes him as a teenager without brothers and sisters to fight with so he has to fight with Mum. I am not sure you saw this video the other day when I posted it but this will give you some insights into this little character! Thank you ‘S’ for your kindness.

This little video shows the chicks in nest 4 having received their rings and some fish being left on the nest. The female returns and stares at the two nice fish wondering where in the world they came from! Enjoy.

I will bring a round up of the nests this evening. For right now, however, all eyes are on Fraser Point and Janakkdan nest. Please send all your positive wishes for Dr Sharpe, his team and Victor and for the Osprey family in Finland for the Mum to recover and the surviving two chicks to get healthy.

Thank you for joining me this morning in my attempt to move your attention elsewhere. Take care. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams and/or blogs or FB pages where I took my screen captures: Hob Osterlund, USFWS, The Peregrine Chick, and the Finnish Osprey Foundation.