Tag Archives: West End Bald Eagles

Late Tuesday in Bird World

26 April 2022

It has been a great day in Bird World. When everything seemed so bleak with the ‘Only Baby’ at the Two Harbours nest on the Channel Islands holding on after a fall ten feet below the nest, the sun rose. When daylight came Dr Sharpe and two volunteers hiked for an hour to reach the nesting site. The trio rescued the eaglet, built up the walls of the nest, and placed the wee one back. Everyone held their breath hoping that the parents, twenty-four year old Chase and Cholyn, would appear immediately. They waited almost three hours to return. Everyone was on pins and needles. What if they did not return was the question on everyone’s mind. One did a fly by, and then they both arrived – Cholyn with some nesting material and Chase with the first fish of the afternoon. Baby was home! It was less than 24 hours but, it felt like an eternity. Would the eaglet be able to hold on? That strong brave little one stayed put until help came!

Dr Sharpe and the rescue were interviewed by ABC news:

https://abc7.com/eagle-eaglet-catalina-island-baby/11794228/

“Oh, please, just one more bite,” Cholyn insists. Meanwhile, TH1’s crop is about to pop. Can you see it? The parents were overjoyed to have their chick back on the nest.

Cholyn and Big Red believe that no one should leave the table hungry. Tonight, squirrel was on the menu at the Red-tail Hawk nest in Ithaca, New York.

There are still three for Big Red and Arthur. As you can see, Arthur has really been packing the pantry and I am happy to say that most of it is squirrel and chippy.

There has been little mention of egg 4. It pipped and the chick was alive last night. It is difficult to tell because the other three Ls lay on it. If it is to hatch we should see that wee one in the morning. Personally, three eyases is great!!!!!! The three Ls appear quite healthy.

Liberty and Guardian’s eaglets for the 2022 season now have names. They are Sentry and Star. Well done everyone who took part in the voting for these two at their Redding, California aerie. Just look at them. Aren’t they gorgeous?

Spirit and Jackie shared a meal together today. It is hard to grasp but just look at the size of Spirit. They said that she would be the size of a Canada Goose now!

It is often hard to go back to a nest when the older siblings have been responsible for the death of the younger. It took me a long time to ‘get over’ being upset with Solly at the Port Lincoln Osprey nest when she caused the youngest, Tapps, to die at the age of 18 days due to starvation. It was only after she fledged that I warmed up to her again and I was honestly very sad when she died on an electrical pole in South Australia eating a fish. The two surviving ospreys at the University of Florida’s Gainesville Osprey nest are really doing well. The food competition appears to have dissipated. It is quite sad that the third hatch has to be sacrificed, or so it seems, for the good of the whole in terms of brood reduction.

The two eyases at the Presidio Red-tail Hawk nest in San Francisco are also eating well and growing without much of a problem. Once in awhile the eldest tries to be dominant but things seem to be alright.

It was sunny with wind gusts at the Two Harbours nest. Chase and Cholyn had to hover and approach the nest twice to land. It was dreary and windy just around the corner at the West End Eagle nest of Thunder and Akecheta. Of the three trips up the cliffs in less than two weeks, Dr Sharpe rescued the youngest male from the West End nest who had fallen and then returned a few days later to measure and band the three. It is easy to spot the big sister in the group now with her two little brothers.

On Thursday the 28th, the Ventana Wildlife Society is holding a Zoom-chat. It is free and it begins at 4pm Pacific Time. When you register you can submit questions to the staff. Because Condors eat carrion, I submitted questions related to the current Avian Flu in relation to those beautiful California Condors.

“California condor” by USFWS Pacific Southwest Region is marked with CC PDM 1.0.

Here is the link for registration, if you are interested:

https://www.ventanaws.org/zoom-chats.html

In Latvia, the first egg at the Lesser Spotted Eagle nest has been laid. The nest is in a beautiful Spruce forest in Zemgale. The map below was posted on the English Forum, Looduskalender, and shows the area of the nest in green.

The nest is 17 metres off the floor of the forest and from its size, is believed to be at least five years years old. The couple are Anna and Andris. Lesser Spotted Eagles normally lay two eggs. If there is enough food available, both chicks will grow and fledge. If there is not, then siblicide will occur on the nest. It is good to understand this before you begin watching a Lesser Spotted Eagles nest (or a Greater or a Golden Eagle).

Andris is being shown the egg by Anna. Notice how small he is compared to the female in front.

Here is a short video of that first egg.

Here is the link to the streaming cam:

Do you love Iris, the oldest Osprey in the world? She is not only the Queen of the Ospreys but she is also one beautiful bird. Just look what good shape she is in after doing her winter migration. I am very impressed. I wonder what 28 or 29 Osprey years translates into human years??? or is there such a thing? I hope I look that good at the equivalent age!!!!!

Here is Iris this evening on her nest at Hellgate Canyon, Missoula, Montana.

Earlier, at 18:20 her mate, Louis, brings her the second fish of this season! For those who do not know Iris, Louis and Iris have this rather jaded bond. Louis also has a nest with Starr at the baseball park. This is the first year that I remember Louis bringing fish to Iris in several years. And now he has brought two! Wow.

Iris knows Louis is approaching and she does some quiet little fish calls.

Wow. That is a nice big fish. Notice the head is missing. Traditionally, males eat the head before delivering the fish to the nest.

Iris accepts Louis’s gift and flies over to the pole to eat it for her dinner. I wonder if we should be expecting eggs soon???

A marvellous book arrived in the post today. It is called Eagle Man and is about Charles Broley and his dedication to the Bald Eagle. Broley lived in Florida and in Canada. Broley was a banker; when he retired he devoted himself to bird watching. Broley became a world authority on the Bald Eagle. His observations taught us about courtship rituals, nesting, feeding, and even the migratory patterns of the eagles. I landed a copy in very good condition. It was obviously treasured by its owner, D. Gordon, who wrote on the flap that he received it in May of 1956. It is signed by Charles Broley. Inside the binding is the obituary of Broley who died on 7 May 1959 in Delta, Ontario. I am so looking forward to reading this book that inspired many to respect the Bald Eagles as many, like Dr Sharpe today, fought to bring their numbers up after most were wiped out by DDT.

Thank you for joining me. There are so many nests to cover and some will find themselves here tomorrow. Take care! See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams or webpages where I took my screen captures: Looduskalendar Forum, Cornell Bird Lab RTH, Montana Osprey Project, Explore.org, Redding Eagles, UFlorida-Gainesville Ospreys, Friends of Big Bear Valley, Latvian Fund for Nature, Presidio Trust, and the Ventana Wildlife Society.

Late Saturday and early Sunday in Bird World

16-17 April 2022

The garden rabbit, Hedwig, came for a visit this morning. He stayed under the peony bush for about an hour. Six years ago, a mother rabbit left her one month old baby, under that peony bush when it was blooming. The wee bunny lived on the seeds dropped down from the feeders preferring them to the grass or twigs. Whether or not this is the original Hedwig is, of course, questionable but, they all wind up being called Hedwig!

Hedwig often stays back underneath the square hanging feeder where the birds are generous in what they throw overboard. By coming and staying at the Peony Bush it allowed us to enjoy seeing him a lot better. Thank you, Hedwig! It is always nice to see you.

The youngest of the West End eaglets is back up with its siblings and Thunder and Akecheta thanks to Dr Sharpe of the Institute for Wildlife Studies who had gone up to repair the camera and wound up with a rescue to do as well.

The sun rained gold down on the three of them as it set on the Channel Islands.

Jasper had a tremendous fledge. No hesitation, just flew yesterday morning. She returned hungry and tired! Flying uses a lot of energy.

The AEF did a nice video capture of that first flight.

Jasper and Rocket seemed to be happy with one another’s company. It will not be long until Rocket fledges – indeed, he could be flying as I write this!

The Dyfi Osprey Project posted some excellent information on incubation and egg development for Ospreys this morning that I want to share with you. Did you know that each of the eggs is a little smaller and lighter than the first so they do not have to develop so long?

The little crackerjack at the University of Florida Osprey nest reminds me of Ervie so much. He isn’t intimidated at all by the big siblings and is right up there eating at the front most of the time.

Stop for a second and look at the heads of the two eldest and even Little Bit. They are starting to enter the Reptilian Phase.

That light coat of down is now giving way (10-12 days) to the darker wool down. They will have dark heads that look almost like they have been dipped in a vat of black oil soon. You will also notice the distinctive coppery colour to the back of the neck also. There will be a period of substantial growth between 15-30 days. In his book, A Life of Ospreys, Roy Dennis notes that blood feathers are often seen coming in at 21 days. Sadly, there is no information on when these wee ones hatched so we more or less have to go by their change in plumage.

The chicks are well behaved. There is another large chunk of fish this morning just like yesterday. All will be fed til they are full. This is a fantastic Mum! She feeds them slow and deliberate. She is quickly getting on the list of amazing Osprey Mums.

The wee chicks of Mr North and Mrs DNF have grown leaps and bounds. My goodness. Forget to check a nest for a couple of days and there is a complete change in development. It is a reminder to us of how fast these birds have to grow between hatching and fledgling!

The two eaglets of Liberty and Guardian still have some of that soft baby down, like the eaglets at Decorah North, on the top of their heads and are doing fantastic. It is so nice to go through the nests and find that all of the eaglets and their parents are OK especially with Avian Flu making its way around North America this spring.

Little Middle has decided to sleep on the remaining fish in the nest. Oh, goodness. Look at the size of that leg! Little Middle is doing very well. No worries.

If any of you were worried about the beaking going on at the MN-DNR nest about a week or so ago (time does fly by quickly), there really is no cause to alarm. Both of the eaglets are doing well. The nest survived the wind and the storm nicely and both were happy eating away this morning.

Cholyn and Chase’s wee babe at the Two Harbours nest in the Channel Islands is growing and doing well – as expected with these very experienced parents. I love the crib rails around the top of that nest. Wish we could get some made for the West End nest of Thunder and Akecheta.

I know that many of you are Tom and Audrey fans from the Chesaepeake Conservancy Osprey nest. Did you know that there is a great book showing Tom and Audrey and their nest along with the fostering of chicks there? It is a remarkable story with oodles of images in a nice hardback binding.

Here is the link to Tom and Audrey’s streaming cam:

The Glaslyn nests are settled. Mrs G looks quite content today perched on the nest she shares with Aran.

Pip watch begins later this week for the first of Big Red’s four eggs!

Here is the information about the chat that opens on Monday the 18th for the Cornell Red-tail Hawk cam. All are welcome. The moderators are excellent and they keep the focus on the birds. They also post some very interesting historical and current information about the nest. Everyone is welcome.

This was really a hop and a jump around some of the nests late Saturday and early this morning. Everyone seems to be doing very well, indeed. Such a joy. Tomorrow we will learn the name of Annie’s New Guy. There should be some more eggs on those UK Osprey nests and I am personally looking forward to getting closer to pip watch for Big Red.

Thank you so much for joining me. Take care everyone. Be kind to one another. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams and/or FB pages where I took my screen captures: UFL-Gainesville Ospreys, DHEC, Cornell Bird Lab RTH, Chesapeake Conservancy, MN-DNR, Redding Eagles, Explore.org, NEFlorida-AEF, Dyfi Osprey Project, and Brywd Gwyllt Glaslyn.

Late Saturday News in Bird World

2 April 2022

I have tried desperately to get an image of both of Little Middle’s legs since I took my walk in the woods. This is the best I could do. At 11:34:26 Little Middle is facing the rim. He moves to the right but the footage of that .79 seconds is not there. At 11:35:15 Little Middle is facing the right – the gap did not allow for a look at that left leg that was having problems with the monofilament line cutting the flesh yesterday. It continues to be hard to get a clear look at the legs and talons.

The first image was taken at 08:22. The line is around the talons of the left foot. Cannot see if the line is anywhere else. It appears that Little Middle is not pulling the nesting material behind him anymore. Whether or not that is a good thing is not known. Where is that long piece of monofilament?

This image of Middle Little attempting to walk standing up was taken after noon. The talons appear not to have the line tightly around them on the left foot. This is good. The right foot appears to be clear in this instance.

These images were taken at 15:48. I tried to blow them up as best I could. The right leg and talons appear alright to me.

The toes on the left foot are not would tight like yesterday. It appears there is still line on toe 2 and 3.

I want to thank each and everyone of you that wrote in concerned about Middle Little. ‘L’ has been speaking with Al Cerere, the founder of The American Eagle Foundation, which has its home in Tennessee where this nest is. Al is no longer the Director but he cares about eagles, is extremely well respected, and can get action. He returned ‘L’ phone call and asked this afternoon how long the line has been attached to Middle Little, the age of the eaglets, and the height of the tree. This is excellent. Through the help of Paul Kolnik with the Bald Eagles 101 FB group I have been put in contact with individuals in the area but on the Kentucky side that might have some leverage. Another wonderful sleuth, ‘L’ has gotten me the numbers of the State Ornithologist in TN. Ron Magill at the Miami Zoo is among the several dozen individuals that have been contacted. I remain hopeful – that Mother Nature will get that line off or that an intervention can occur.

Today, the FB group for the Dale Hollow Eagles posted a message. It was copied and sent to me by ‘C’ who lives in Belgium. It said: “”Dale Hollow Eagle Cam. If someone acted to help one baby, both babies would most likely die or the nest would be abandoned by the parents. Let the experts handle the situation. I know it can hurt to see one of the babies die, but it happens.”

I would really like to know the experts that they are quoting!

There are many FB groups connected with nests that have nothing to do with the owner or operator of the camera. A good example is the Cornell Red Tail Hawk cam at Ithaca. The FB group is run by a group of people that love Big Red and Arthur. They have no influence at all as to what happens on that nest. I know – I do their puzzles. Toni Castelli-Rosen lives in California and she is the administrator of the group! We post about the nest comings and goings but we have no influence on anyone. So, it is difficult to know in what capacity that message was posted. Even some of the chats connected with cameras have no one associated with the nest moderating them – for example, Achieva Osprey in St. Petersburg, Florida. In the situation we find ourselves in with regard to River and Obey’s nest and eaglet, it is always best to let the real eagle experts figure out how best to handle this. I am a little shocked that the people from Dale Hollow immediately believe that this is not something that can be undertaken!

In instances such as this, it is best to rely on what you have seen with your own eyes in terms of deciding whether the message is true or false. We have seen rescues on many nests including the Captiva Osprey to obtain Big’s body for testing, at SWFlorida where Harriet returned quickly, at Captiva Bald Eagles where it was fishing line, etc. Each was successful. Ron Magill took the monofilament line off R2 at the Miami Zoo nest last week!

By luck, I found this today when I began to search who had control over the camera and the nest. It is very informative.

This is the link to this page: http://daleholloweaglecam.net/

The phone has been disconnected.

I remain hopeful that one of the leading experts on eagles will have some influence to get help for Little Middle OR the line will come off on its own. I know that none of us would want to endanger the life of any bird.

The young male that is trying to woo Annie might be around. She is looking up. Last night he brought her what looked like a nicely plucked pigeon. She did not accept the prey gift. Perhaps she is still trying to decide – accepting the prey is akin to making a lifetime commitment!

Annie is so beautiful. I continue to try and write a tribute to Grinnell and I find I am having a hard time separating the two. It was always ‘Annie and Grinnell’.

We wait to see what Annie decides!

The youngest eaglet on the NEFlorida Bald Eagle nest of Samson and Gabby, Rocket NE27, branched this morning around 07:57.

Everyone is preening at the Captiva Osprey nest of Andy and Lena!

Such good camouflage on the nest, too, in case of predators. The osplets are too large for the Crows to bother and it looks like Andy and Lena are going to fledge two lovely birds this season. Isn’t it wonderful for them? Still no word on the cause of Big’s death.

DC9 is barely hatched and already this little fluff ball that was mostly ’round’ yesterday is getting elongated! DC9 hatched on 28 March.

Happiness is always checking in at the West End Eagle nest of Thunder and Akecheta.

These kids are all spread out today!

I will continually report on the spring migration of Karl II because of his satellite tracker and the locations that he must fly through. I am grateful to Anne7 from Looduskalender Forum for posting this information. I don’t think she will mind that I share it with you.

I am waiting to find out how tall the tree is for the new nest at Dale Hollow. I know nothing might come of it but Al Cerere is asking the right questions and if someone can help, he can get things moving. I owe you big time, ‘L’. Thank you for pressing on to get in touch with him. At the moment River is on the nest calling Obey to bring in a fish.

Thank you for joining me today. Thank you to all of you for your efforts and your positive wishes for Middle Little. Take care of yourselves. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams or pages where I took my screen captures: Dale Hollow Eagle Cam, Looduskalender Forum, NADC-AEF, NEFlorida Bald Eagles and the AEF, Captiva Osprey Nest and Window on Wildlife, West End Bald Eagles, and Cal Falcons.

Late Friday in Bird World

1 April 2022

I want to thank everyone who sent notes and who contacted folks in Tennessee around the Dale Hollow area. When I came home from my appointment, it was late but I realized that the issue is knowing who to call. Many of us live in various parts of the world. We know who helps there. But not in Tennessee. As I sat and pondered the dilemma, I remembered that Ron Magill of the Miami Zoo had recently rescued R2, the youngest fledgling of Rita and Ron at the Zoo, because of monofilament line. It is a long shot but, perhaps, he knows someone in Tennessee who believes in action not apathy! So I e-mailed him. Each of us can say that we have tried to help Little Middle in our way. Sometime we succeed and sometimes we don’t. I continue to hope for this little one who has been through so much and now this.

The good news is rather perplexing but, it is good news. Yesterday the male Peregrine Falcon, Grinnell, who had been with his bonded mate Annie for five successful seasons breeding on The Campanile – and they had two eggs laid for their sixth season – was killed. Annie was due to lay her third egg yesterday. She did not lay in in the scrape box at The Campanile. This raises an interesting question. If Annie did lay a third egg – dispose of it somewhere – was she aware that Grinnell had been killed? did she think she could only care for two chicks herself? The researchers at Cal Falcons believe this could be the case. Who knew what when??? As everyone watched Annie thinking there would be a third egg last evening and upset because we believed she did not know about Grinnell, Annie was kerchuffing to another falcon. I believed that it was possibly one of the female juveniles hanging about. But was it the male? This morning Annie and the male had two bonding sessions in the scrape box. I understand from the Cal Falcons FB page that Annie and the male were seen mating. This is certainly not normal and Annie’s behaviour has taken many by surprise. This afternoon the male incubated the two eggs for a short time. Is this the same male Annie was with when Grinnell was in the wildlife rehab clinic at the end of October? Who is he? Will he help Annie with the eggs? will he bring her prey? will he bring prey to the hatchings. I live in hope for Annie as well as Little Middle.

It is curious.

Annie and the male bonding in the scrape for the first time today.

Second bonding.

Male incubates eggs.

It is 17:30 in California and Annie is incubating the eggs.

There were several large fish on the Dale Hollow Nest when I left the house this afternoon. I was away for approximately 5 hours. The fish are either covered up or were eaten. Rewinding the camera did not help me. Little Middle still has the monofilament line around his legs and talons but he was eating, had a crop, and could move about. Continue to send your best wishes to this wee babe.

‘L’ sent me a note and said that another juvenile fledgling has a hook and line attached to it. This is E20 from the SWFlorida Nest of Harriet and M15. And, I mentioned Ron Magill, because he rescued R2, the youngest of Ron and Rita’s chicks the other day because of fishing line. SWFlorida will have CROW involved if there is a way to lure E19 to the nest. It is difficult once they fly. Here in a week, three known instances of fishing line and/or hooks. It is a growing and tragic problem for wildlife. People need to clean up after themselves, scour the shoreline when they are, get out in boats and get this stuff off the trees and their roots in the water. Please spread the word.

Sharon Dunne posted this image on the SWFL website. I know she will not mind if I share it with you.

There it is. If anyone can help, CROW can and E20s nest is in their region!

One of the most frustrating things that I have written about over the past few years is the need for emergency phone numbers should someone watching a streaming cam see something happening that needs attention. How we get the cams to do this is beyond me. We had some success last year but knowing who to contact is essential.

I have not been able to check on all the nests I had hoped to for this posting. I did look at Akecheta and Thunder because they give me a smile and all is well.

Akecheta trying to keep his babies cool.

Everything is fine at the Captiva Osprey nest of Andy and Lena.

There is BTW an osplet in the care of CROW from Captiva but it is from a different nest.

These two have really grown and thrived. Middle has the darkest plumage in the front. Little loves to look over the edge and the feathering is slightly lighter.

DC9 is the cutest, fluffiest little baby – the recent hatch of Mr President and Lotus at the National Arboretum Bald Eagle nest in DC. Just imagine a piece of fishing line here! I bet someone would be up there to make things right in a matter of hours.

Just look at those precious wings, that little fat bottom, and tail. So cuddly.

The two recently hatched babies at the nest at Decorah North, Iowa, are doing alright as well. It is so odd. Some eaglets hatch and appear to be wearing ‘goggles’.

It often takes two if you have triplets! Mum and Dad at Pittsburgh-Hayes may be used to fledging three but it is always a challenge.

Harry continues to fill the pantry with ever more prey for the two eaglets he shares with Nancy at the Minnesota DNR nest.

I hope these two are good to one another. There is lots of food!

The wee one at Dulles-Greenaway seems just fine. Martin and Rosa really make sure it is fed. What a beautiful place for a nest.

I wanted also to continue to check on Karl II’s progress to Estonia and can do so because of Anne7’s good reporting on Looduskalender Forum. I had so hoped that he would veer to the West. But he flew north and then returned to Moldova. But today the GPS coverage is erratic I am told and he is not in a good place. He is at Berdichev, Ukraine. There are issues with cell coverage and this is an area of attacks in this horrible war. I hope Karl II is safe. We need some good news – lots of it. Take care Karl II. We need you home!

This is the distance. Very close to major military activity and if flying north going through Belarus.

This is just a quick peek. I would love to wake up in the morning and find that someone had removed the monofilament from both DH15 and E20 who also has a hook. I want to hear that all is well with Annie and that the 4th eaglet on the PA Farm nest is eating well. No more monofilament. If we see three instances in a week on monitored nests wonder what it is like in the wild? It appears that leisure activities that humans undertake like fishing and hunting are life threatening to wildlife. So sad.

Please excuse my grammar and typos. It has been a long day and I didn’t get a chance to proof read this blog.

Thank you for joining me. Please take good care. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Dale Hollow Bald Eagles, West End Bald Eagles and the Institute of Wildlife Studies, Sharon Dunne and her posting on the SWFlorida FB page, Dulles-Greenaway Eagles, Captiva Ospreys and Window on Wildlife, MN DNR, Pittsburg Hayes and Pix Cams, Explore.org, Looduskalender Forum, Cal Falcons, and the NADC-AEF.

Late Tuesday and early Wednesday in Bird World

29-30 March 2022

One of the most wonderful things about birds is the fact that they just carry on. Whether or not they are buried in snow, soaked to the core from torrential rains, or thrown about their nests with huge wind gusts, they just get up and get on with it. They give me hope and most always put a smile on my face. There is a rhythm to their lives that provides us as watchers with hope and solace.

Most love to watch as the parents feed their young – from the tiniest saliva bites for new hatchlings to that third week when the crops get so full they look like they will pop to surrendering the prey on the nests when the babies are self-feeding. Most of the parents give it their all. I cannot imagine for an instant what it must be like to feed four bobble heads and keep them alive. A human who has four infants would find that a huge challenge. It makes me appreciate the birds even more.

All lined up nicely for Mum Thunder. There has not been any discord at this nest. I continue to remind people that the youngest, in the middle of the image below, is four days younger than the eldest. Little Bit at Dale Hollow was three days younger.

Thunder taking care and feeding the triplets.

Thunder and Akecheta are up early feeding the triplets this morning.

Both eaglets at the Dale Hollow nest of River and Obey are are 30 days old today. At 06:48:21 a parent flew in with a sucker, not huge but not a bad breakfast.

Little Middle never knows what kind of mood Big will be in so he immediately begins to move to get away and let Big go eat.

He walks down to the rim watching and listening. The adult has not begun to feed Big. The parent is sitting and watching- not only the happenings on the nest but also in the territory of the nest.

Big has moved over to the fish and on a side that would separate Little Middle from the feeding. The adult is looking around and still not feeding. Middle Little is cautious but this time hurries up along the rim making its way up to the table! Smart. Little Middle waited too long last night and lost out on the fish. He is hungry this morning.

The parent feeds Middle Little all of the first bites. Big does nothing. Just watches.

The adult feeds a tiny portion of the fish to the two and then abruptly flies off at 07:17:58.

Little Middle is working on his balance and does a great PS.

Both eaglets settle down and wait for the parent to return. What a great start to the morning. Is it magic when they turn a month old they become civil? We wait to see.

First time mothers with bobble head babies seem to have some difficulty figuring out the right angle to hold the beak and feed the little one. Last year I thought Anna and the Kistachie National Forest nest would never figure out how to feed Kisatchie! They both got it! And Lotus and the wee one at the National Arboretum Nest in DC will get there, too. It is truly difficult to hit a bobbling target!

It looks like Mr President is asking Lotus how much more fish he needs to bring to the nest!!!!!

It is Wednesday morning and all is well with the new hatchling of Mr President and Lotus. Oh, it is so sweet.

Easy to see the egg tooth – the white bit at the tip of the black beak – that hammered away at that shell. Oh, so clean and white.

Turn your beak sideways, Lotus!

Liberty and Guardian have a couple of cuties that are not having any problems getting down to feeding.

I keep asking Liberty if she would please feed them so we could see. It doesn’t seem to be working! The little ones have had lots of meals on Tuesday with Liberty keeping her back to the camera. Too funny.

I wonder how many are following the Great Horned Owls that took over the Osprey nest near Savannah on Skidaway Island? The nestling has grown in remarkable time. It is just starting to get the tufts on top of its head. No one knows what the actual purpose of the tufts is. Does it help camouflage the owls by breaking up the line of the head? or are they there to show the mood of the owl? Little Grey is alone on the nest except when a parent comes to bring food or feed it. Cornell took a video clip of Dad delivering a duck dinner to Little Grey.

It may be cool in Big Bear Valley but the snow and rain have stopped. Jackie and Shadow did super taking turns brooding and feeding throughout the storm. The chick hatched on 3 March making it 27 days old today.

Yes, you are cute.

Before I forget, the results of the naming contest for Jackie and Shadow’s eaglet will be announced after the area has its spring break. That would be 4 April. Can’t wait!

Abby and Blazer’s eaglets have their juvenile plumage. The sun is setting and sending a soft golden glow on the pair of eaglets being fed this evening. They are never too old to want to be fed by Mum.

The surviving eaglet at Duke Farms hatched on the 24th of February making it 34 days old today if you count hatch days. It is really growing and covered in thermal down with its contour and wing feathers growing in nicely.

Mum and Dad were both on the nest for the feeding as the sun gently sinks into the horizon Tuesday night.

It looks like the Duke Farms eaglet is having fresh squirrel for breakfast on Wednesday.

The triplets at Pittsburgh-Hayes are growing and behaving themselves at meal time! What a nice relief.

Mum is up early making sure everyone gets a good start. This nest will require lots of prey and many feedings to make sure each gets enough.

The parents are old hands at taking care of triplets. They fledged three last year!

Wow! What a difference. Just imagine. Before you blink, those three nestlings at Pittsburgh Hayes pictured above will be the size of Jasper and Rocket at the NE Florida nest of Samson and Gabby! And they will be self-feeding.

Here is a video of Jasper and Rocket enjoying a live fish! It is one of the many lessons the parents teach them so they can deal with all situations in the wild and survive.

All is well with Andy and Lena at the Captiva Osprey nest in Florida this morning. It is getting more and more difficult to tell Middle from Little at this nest. That is fantastic. There continues to be no word on the cause of Big’s sudden death.

In the world of UK Ospreys returning from migration, a super Mum, Blue 35 (2010) has arrived at her nest at Foulshaw Moss in Cumbria. She landed at 13:09. Last year Blue 35 was tired of the two older and much larger siblings eating all the fish and Tiny Little Bob not getting much. There is Tiny Little on the far left.

So Blue 35 pulled a fast one. She fed the two large siblings til they were full and flew off with the rest of the fish. When they went to sleep, she returned to the nest and fed Tiny Little Bob. Tears flowed with joy! With the help of Mum and Dad’s (White YW) great fishing, Tiny Little grew and grew becoming the dominant osplet on the nest.

So welcome back, Blue 35. What a great Mum you are.

I continue to follow the Black Stork Karl II’s migration from the Sudan to his nest in the Karula National Forest in Estonia. Here is the route that he took last spring returning home. His migration pattern is in royal blue.

If he stays to the west and if the fighting and burning are not bad, well, fingers crossed! We want them to stay way to the west of Odessa and Kiev.

There is severe weather coming to parts of the United States that will impact many of the nests that you are watching. If you live in this area, please stay safe and watch for the storm warnings. Send all positive wishes for our birds that are outside in a nest when raging winds, rain, and tornadoes hit.

It has been a good start to the morning at all of the nests. We can’t ask for anything better than Little Middle getting to share a fish breakfast with Big without a single second of intimidation.

Thank you to everyone who worried about our snow and ice. The snow is still here on the ground and it is a dreary grey-white morning but everything is fine. Thank you for being with us this morning. Send all your best wishes for continuing prey and health for all of the bird birds. Also, take care of yourself. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Cumbrian Wildlife Trust, NEFlorida Bald Eagles-AEF, Looduskalender Forum, Friends of Big Bear Valley, Dale Hollow Bald Eagles, West End Bald Eagles, Redding Bald Eagles, Pix Cams, Cornell Bird Lab and Audubon, CNN Weather Tracker, NADC-AEF, Eagle Country, and Duke Farms.

Monday Afternoon in Bird World

29 March 2022

The snow up at Big Bear Valley that had accumulated on Jackie and Shadow’s Bald Eagle nest has now melted. I think they sent it to the Canadian Prairies! The snow is really coming down as I write this – and it had almost melted.

I love the top picture with the baby who will soon be named looking at that fabulous Mum, Jackie.

Jackie and Shadow have seen lots of weather that quickly changes at Big Bear but this is the first time for a couple of years that there has been a baby to protect. So sweet. Nothing was going to move Jackie or Shadow when the winds and the snow came. Lucky little one.

The snow began to quickly melt around noon.

Have you ever noticed that there are piles of fish on the nest the minute a wee one hatches? Thee National Arboretum nest of Mr President and Lotus had seven large fish on it today! Seven. For one chick – and family. Would love to send some of that fish down to Middle Little at Dale Hollow.

Proud parents Mr President and Lotus. That little bobble looks so tiny in that nest!

The single eaglet of Martin and Rosa at the Dulles-Greenaway nest is doing just fine. It is so cute!!!! Eating well and no problems at this nest!

The little one ate and ate…and then ate some more! Tummy is full and the sun is setting. What a sweetie.

Pittsburgh-Hayes now has triplets. They have raised lots of triplets on this nest including last year. Oh, they are so cute lined up to eat!

The Canada Goose on the Decorah unused Bald Eagle nest laid four eggs. she gathered down from her breast to create the nest cup when she finished and she is now incubating.

As time gets close for hatch and jump, I will remind you so that you can watch.

Parents are busy at the PA Farm Bald Eagle Nest. It is tandem feeding for the four! And so far, so good!

The rain, winds, and storm have stopped in the Channel Islands. It is now hot! You can see the eaglets of Thunder and Aketcheta panting to get cool. Dad is trying is best to provide shade!

It is 17:48 on the Dale Hollow nest. There was a fish tail left from the morning feeding and River fed that to Big at 13:54:55. I hope that there is enough fish coming in tonight so that Little Middle has some. He had a crop this morning and can, of course, survive til tomorrow but his growth and health will do better with more feedings, not less.

My last report is about Karl II who is now in The Ukraine. Anne7 is terrific at keeping images and maps going of Karl II’s travels for the Looduskalender Form in English. I am so grateful to her.

If he will fly fast and due north he can get home to Estonia. Please do not go to the east!!!!!!!!!!

This was a very quick check on a few of the nests. Thank you so much for joining me. I see some of you are in bad weather areas. Please take care! See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams and/or their pages where I took my screen captures: Looduskalendar Forum, Dale Hollow Bald Eagles, NADC-AEF, Friends of Big Bear, West End Bald Eagles and the Institute for Wildlife Studies, Pix Cams, Dulles Greenaway Bald Eagles, PA Game Commission, and Explore.org

Late Monday news in Bird World

28 Monday 2022

A wonderful lady from Poland who rescued a Crow and took care of it for 5 months so it could return to the wild asked me how I could stay ‘distant’ and not get involved emotionally in the nests. That was perhaps two years ago now. I hope she still joins us here with the birds. The truth is I often scream at the screen, get upset, yell at particular birds as if I know better than then, can’t sleep at night if a bird is encased in ice, etc.

Most of the time the nests are brilliant but sometimes you meet up with one that simply doesn’t make sense the way the others do. For me, this year, that is Dale Hollow.

At 17:02:41 today, River returns to the nest having been there earlier. She has decided it is time to feed the eaglets even if they are sleeping. Immediately Big gets up – has a leftover crop from the 11:52:51 feeding. Big attacks Little Middle just to make sure it didn’t move up to eat. Even then Big hangs back close to Little Middle so he won’t move up near to the food. Middle Little tucks its head in way under and he stays that way.

In the middle part of the feeding, there is another attempt at intimidation. It is clear from the first part that Middle can still get up to Little Middle’s head.

In the third part, Middle begins to move, finally. River reaches out and gives it a bite of food. Why did she not slow the feeding? Why did she not turn with her head to the rim? It is an easy thing to do – after all, she has done it before. Little Middle could have eaten but it was too frightened. I find this nest to be so sad. Even with 6 fish coming in yesterday nothing stopped Big’s wrath.

Thankfully the weather has cleared at the West End Bald Eagles nest. Thunder, Akecheta, and the three babies are fine! In the image below, Dad is drying off his wings. The babies are in front of him sound asleep.

Everyone is fed.

I yelled at Akecheta last year about his refusal to guard the nest. He was 5 years old and figuring out slowly – very slowly – what his role was. Thunder had faith in him and it has surely been rewarded this year. Cheta wouldn’t let anyone touch those kids of his – and everyone eats. Not one of them has been hungry, left out, or bonked and the little one is 4 days younger than the oldest! They are also very healthy and growing strong. No fear or intimidation just trying to corral curious kids with wooden blockades!

Look at how big and tall the oldest is. Beautiful. Looking out over the sea where she will be flying one day. Too soon.

There is your power couple.

There was a prey drop and a bit of a ritual bonding in the scrape of Annie and Grinnell at The Campanile on the campus of UC Berkeley. Here is a video clip of this ritual….BTW. We are expecting Annie to lay the 3rd egg this evening. Cal Falcons predicts it will be 20:10 scrape time.

Look carefully and you can see the pip progressing in the egg at the National Arboretum Bald Eagle Nest. They say you can hear it peeping now. Mr President and Lotus are not giving a thing away.

It is just miserable at the nest of Jackie and Shadow at Big Bear. The icy snow has turned into rain for now. The nest and adults are soaked to the core.

Poor Jackie. The weather is so bad. Shadow filled up the nest with food, bless his heart. You can see the stacks of fish behind Jackie. Hopefully there is a break to feed the baby who should have a name soon! One of my readers, ‘A’, a teacher who wants to ensure her students are empathetic with wildlife sent in the name ‘Hope’. It is so fitting for this time. I did not mention this while the contest was open but it is certainly what we all must have – Hope.

It is definitely a busy day on the nests. I am going to bring this blog to a close with a look at the female star of the Dyfi Osprey nest in Wales, Telyn, the mate of Idris! These two are so close to my heart. Telyn arrives and doesn’t sit on the nest waiting for Idris to bring her a fish – and he is truly the king of bringing in huge fish. No, she goes off and gets it herself. I sure hope her mate and the others we are missing are home soon. Welcome back, Telyn, Blue 3J. Eat and rest!

Thanks so much for joining me today. You couldn’t hear me yelling at River to turn herself around. It is hard to see one eaglet with a crop eat a fish and a half and the other get a single bite. But…At any rate, take care. It feels like there is going to be lots of news tomorrow. See you soon!

Thanks to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures and video clips today: Cal Falcons, Dale Hollow Bald Eagles, West End Bald Eagles and the Institute of Wildlife Studies, Friends of Big Bear, National Arboretum Eagles and the AEF, and Dyfi ospreys.

Annie lays her first egg and happiness at Dale Hollow…

26 March 2022

Just as I am starting to check all of the nests, there is an intervention happening on the WRDC Bald Eagle nest in the Miami Zoo. R2 got entangled in fishing line. The camera is down and let us all hope that there are no injuries to this amazing eaglet.

The big news of the morning came as a subject line a couple of minutes ago from ‘B’. “Annie has an egg!” Wow. Thank you ‘B’. (I was very busy watching Dale Hollow).

We have all been wondering how the soap opera with Annie and Grinnell was working out. This says it all. It looks like the egg arrived about 08:30:17 nest time in San Francisco. So happy…..wonder if Annie is going to join the ‘4 egg club’ for this year?

Annie is having a nest rest. She should sleep as much as she can. Once the eggs are all laid she will get a reprieve of 33-35 days and then there will be no rest! So, so happy!!!!!!!!!!! This really is turning out to be a joyous morning.

Cal Falcons just posted a video of this wonderful event.

It started out as a promising morning at the Dale Hollow nest. River and Obey had a big fish left on the nest overnight. Because of this, there was no waiting for breakfast and Big did not get herself into a ‘mood’. River was on the nest and at 09:04 she went over to the fish and lifted it up. Big went up to eat first. Little Middle stayed behind watching. Little Middle moved up to the feeding spot at 09:09:54. In other words, Little Middle let Big eat for about three minutes while listening and watching. It all worked out. River fed both chicks together up at the table. There was no intimidation by Big. Oh, joy!!!!!!!

Smart Little Middle. Test the temperature of Big before moving up. That said, Little Middle duly recognized Big as the dominant allowing her to eat first. Perfect.

Little Middle moves up and River stretches to give some great bites to her youngest.

Little Middle’s crop was flat at the start of the feeding. Now look! And also have a look at the size of Little Middle’s feet——– this kiddo is growing. Yippeeeeeeee.

What a wonderful start to the day at Dale Hollow.

River and Obey have found a stash of corn stalks and they are using them to create new railings around the nest. Smart. Big and Little Middle are going to need them. Several times I thought Little Middle was going to fall out of that nest.

By 10:00 the parents are away perhaps retrieving more rails. Meanwhile, the two eaglets are resting and the sucker Obey brought in is hidden.

At 10:50:30 River removes the Sucker from the centre of the nest to the rim where she can feed the eaglets. Little Middle watches and listens but does not go up to River and the fish allowing Big to be there first.

At 10:54:57 Big drops a bite, River holds it up and Little Middle does the snatch and grab!

Big was not happy and attacks Little Middle. Little Middle immediately goes into submission and moves away from the feeding to the rim of the nest.

I could hardly believe my eyes. River stopped and turned so that she could feed Little Middle at 11:01:20. This is quite the change!!!! Wow.

The wind almost blew her off the nest. It is so windy that River is going to have to go back to being parallel with the rim of the nest.

This gives the feeding advantage to Big.

By 11:08 Little Middle has moved up to get some fish.

By 11:17:18 Little Middle has a nice crop that has built up. The feeding finishes at 11:18. There is little to no fish left! This has been a good morning for Little Middle. Some intimidation but nothing that would have harmed him. Just reminders to remain cautious.

The Canada Goose at the unused Bald Eagle nest in Decorah, Iowa laid her second egg last night. She is using the twigs from the former eagle nest to cover them.

The sun rising over the Decorah Eagle nest home to a Canada Goose now!

It is a Cormorant food fest at the West End Bald Eagle nest of Thunder and Akecheta. In the image below they are enjoying the one that Thunder brought in yesterday. Dad Akecheta’s performance at feeding is excellent. Look at all three of them lined up. No problems. Nothing. Serene and solace. There is a new Cormorant behind the big stick that appears to have been brought in today. By the time the season is over will there be any Cormorants left in the Channel Islands?!

At the Two Harbour’s Bald Eagle nest of Chase and Cholyn, Thunder’s parents, Cholyn is incubating. Pip watch should be soon.

The parents at the Pittsburgh-Hayes Bald Eagle nest are feeding their three now!

Everything seems to be going well at the National Arboretum nest of Mr President and Lotus. The eaglet hatched at 14:55 on the 25th and is the first hatch at this nest in four years. Well done!

Wonder where that gold fish came from????

All cuddled up next to what could be a younger sibling.

The two eaglets at the Redding nest of Guardian and Liberty have been enjoying a lot of Coot for their first feedings. The oldest hatched on 20 March with the youngest three days later on 23 March.

Liberty is 23 years old and Guardian is 8 years old. Another nest where the female is much older. Liberty has fledged four sets of triplets – in 2009,. 2010, 2015, and last year, in 2021. It is a nice eaglet nest to watch and here is the link:

If you missed it, Mrs G arrived back at Glaslyn today. She is waiting for Aran and in the meantime, she is enjoying a fresh fish that she caught herself!

It has just been a pretty good day all around the nests. I am off to check on the arrival of geese and ducks here on the Canadian Prairie.

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

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Dale Hollow Lake Eagle Cam, Cal Falcons, Redding Bald Eagles, Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn, National Arboretum Bald Eagles and the AEF, Pix Cams, and Explore.org

Late Friday in Bird World and all is well

25 March 2022

Viewers of the Decorah North Bald Eagle nest of Mr North and Mrs DNF were frightened today when 47 mph gusts hit the nest. Those winds will continue until tomorrow. Hatching is never planned and that little one is making keen progress from its pip this afternoon at 12:46. It is being rocked and kept warm.

In 2018 this nest collapsed. It was rebuilt and re-enforced so despite the winds, everything should be fine. Hope.

And then it snowed at Decorah North! The baby is hatching. Dad has come in to take over so Mum can have a break.

It is still unclear what is happening at the Sauces Bald Eagle nest on Santa Cruz in the Channel Islands. This is the nest of Jak and Audacity.

View of the egg this morning. It is getting more possible that the egg is non-viable. Too bad they couldn’t have one of of the 4 and one out of several triplet nests that have hatched.

If you missed it, the big news today is the discovery that there are four eaglets on the nest at the PA Farm Bald Eagles. This is extremely rare. I knew about 1000 Islands in Wisconsin last year. Someone wrote that Norfolk had four eaglets in 2011.

Congratulations to to Mr President and Lotus and the National Arboretum Bald Eagle nest. First hatch after 3 bare seasons. Here is the announcement.

Congratulations Mr President and Lotus. Meet the newly hatched DC8!

Thunder has been bringing in crib railing to the West End nest and wow, it is working in one area of the nest. Thunder watches to see if these three lively eaglets will remain contained!

Sometimes but not when Dad Akecheta wants to feed them the Cormorant that Mum brought in today. Sweet babies. Seriously sweet babies.

We are all going to have to get our worry beads out. These kids of Thunder and Akecheta’s do not sit still!

Sorry for all the videos. The wind doesn’t really show in the stills and it is nice to see the four eaglets bobble. In this last one for the day, put out by Cal Falcons, Annie and Grinnell get down to business. Eggs tomorrow? Sunday? Gosh, I hope the romance drama has settled out on The Campanile.

Since the last feeding right after 12 noon when Little Middle had a huge crop, a fish head was brought in at 12:59:56. River fed Big until 13:08:18 and stopped. Little Middle did not bother to go up. It was more than full and why set off Big? River moves up to the fish head at 15:01:11.

River steps on Little Middle’s head and he pulls back, frightened.

Little Middle looks up at the feeding at 15:16.

Little Middle isn’t quite sure what to do. He has looked eyes with Big. (Often never a good idea as it sets the larger sibling off).

At 15:16:48, River pulls the fish head between the two eaglets. It is now closer so she can feed Little Middle.

A bite to Big and then a bite to Little Middle.

Same again, one for Big and one for Little Middle.

Then several more bites for Little Middle. More for Big and then the feeding stops by 15:30. It was slow. Not much fish on the head. But slow is good. Big gets full faster!

At 16:50;56 River flies in with a teaser fish?? Like a 3 or 4 bite fish??

She offers the first bite to Little Middle who was the closest at 16:51:31. I am watching this live and have no idea how well that gesture is going to play out with Big.

At 16:53:59 Little Middle moves cautiously and with head down away from the feeding. Big has done nothing that I can see – other than her sheer presence – to frighten the little one. I cannot imagine what it is like being that so frightened.

River obviously likes this species of fish. She is taking big bites and eating them herself. I wonder what it is?

Big gets full at 16:55:59 and River begins feeding Little Middle off the fish head.

Little is still being fed at 17:10. Life is good. River returns to clean up scraps around 18:00. Feeds Big a few bites. Little Middle doesn’t bother.

I checked on Estonian Black Stork Karl II’s progress and note that he has flown west. I wish that he would fly a little more west and head to his home in the Karula National Forest through Romania.

On the 23rd of March, Karl was feeding at the north end of the Beysehir Lake in Turkey. I so wanted him to turn west and not go straight north to the nature reserves around Odessa in the Ukraine. He left that feeding area and flew NW! 285 km

Today, he flew 308 km. He is west of Istanbul, west of the Black Sea.

Here is another map. Will Karl II turn to feed along the shores of the Black Sea or will he continue to fly north away from the war in the Ukraine? If he continues to fly west away from the conflict this is quite wonderful. How did he know?

The sun is setting on another good day at the Captiva Osprey nest in Florida. Lena and Andy have done well. Both Middle and Little are getting beautiful juvenile feathering. So happy for them. There continues to be no word from the second lab on what suddenly killed Big on the 15th of March in the morning. You can clearly rule out some physical cause such as choking on a pellet. I believe you can rule out Avian Flu, too as the UGA Vet School would have been able to test for that.

Mum and Dad at the Port Lincoln Osprey Barge have been making more and more frequent appearances there. Both were on the barge today and on the 23rd I did get a shot of Mum eating a fish. Would love to see our Ervie again. He is staying close to home. Here is Ervie’s latest tracking.

It is a good day in Bird World (except for Sauces, sadly). Little Middle is going to sleep full even if nothing else appears on the nest. Big settled during the afternoon but Little Middle remains scared. That is probably for the best. He recovers faster than last week and has eaten almost all day.

Thank you for joining me. Take care everyone. I look forward to seeing you soon.

Thanks to the following for their streaming cams and/or FB pages where I took my screen captures: Captiva Ospreys and Window on Wildlife, Explore.org, Port Lincoln Osprey Project, Looduskalender, Dale Hollow Bald Eagles, Cal Falcons, West End Bald Eagles and the Institute for Wildlife Studiews, AEF NADC, and the PA Game Commission.

Friday Morning in Bird World with a detailed update on Dale Hollow eagles

25 March 2022

No one knew til it stuck its little head up that there are four eaglets on the PA Farm Nest!

I do not normally watch this nest but a friend alerted me. The issue is the ads that appear that drive you nuts and there is no re-wind. It is run by the PA Game Commission. Here is the link:

https://hdontap.com/index.php/video/stream/pa-farm-country-bald-eagle-live-cam

We will wait to see how they do. The oldest is already bonking but these are early days and hopefully, it will settle. Last year a nest in the 1000 Lakes Conservancy area of Wisconsin had four fledge so it is possible! Fingers crossed.

There is a sand storm moving over Southern Spain and it is cold in the Alicante Region. This might count for a slow down in the return of some of the Ospreys migrating north from Africa.

Yesterday was a very good day for Little Middle at the Dale Hollow nest. No, the intimidation did not stop but it was not as frenzied, at all, like it was on the 23rd of March. Little Middle is growing and it is harder for Big. From past experience, I think Little Middle has 5-7 more days and this might be over. Always fingers crossed and positive wishes. He is clever but sometimes he forgets!

At the Dale Hollow nest, Little Middle has no crop. It is nearing 11:30 nest time. At 08:32:07 River comes on the nest. Big wants to eat the piece of fish from last night. She attacks Little Middle at 09:28:27. Little Middle immediately went into submission. He got no food.

You can see how much larger Big is than Middle Little still. There is the piece of fish left from last night.

River feeds Big only. Little Middle in submission.

Middle had a magnificent PS at 08:32:07. Good one. Middle is not starving. He is hungry but he ate a lot yesterday. Let us all hope the fish come on the nest – a bucket of suckers please!!!!

No one eats Suckers where I live except for a family that we met from Labrador living where I was teaching in Quebec. They canned the Suckers.

You can see Big’s crop. You can also see Little Middle has none. It is nearing noon. It looks damp and cold at the nest.

At 11:30:01 River arrives on the nest with a very large fish with its head still on. Little Middle is right up at the landing pad.

River offers the first bite to Little Middle. He is scared and he refuses to eat before Big. In fact, in the image below, Little Middle is pulling back from the offer of food in fright.

River then offers the bite to Big.

At 11:31:02 Little Middle moves up near to Mum and the fish. River continues to feed Big.

From then until 12:02 River feeds both of the eaglets with Big getting the majority of the fish. Little Middle will have a nice crop. Little Middle does not need to eat nearly the amount of food to fill its crop as Big but…it would be nice if he were stuffed to his eyeballs so if the day goes sideways, he had a good feed.

At 12:02:28, almost 2/3 of the fish appears to have been consumed. Little Middle makes a slight gesture to say it would like some more and Big goes on the attack.

Big continues to eat. It is hard to tell but be assured, the attacks on Little Middle are not over. It needs to eat and eat to grow. Fingers crossed for more big deliveries today.

At 12:11:30 Little Middle is up and is doing the snatch and grab. Go Little Middle, Go!

The other adult will arrive on the nest at 12:14. It even looks like the two parents had a chat about the eaglets. At 12:16:40, no feeding is going on but you can see the big crop of Little Middle.

River seems to drag the fish head around and then returns to feed the eaglets at 12:18:27. By 12:19 Little Middle, well over his fear of Big for the moment, does the snatch and grab!

Big passes out and River will continue to give small bites to Little Middle before stopping the feeding at around 12:27. There is some fish left but not enough for both probably. We need another fish!!!!!!!!!!!!!

One of my favourite Bald Eagle nests with another young male is the MN DNR nest. Harry was 4 years old last year and proved himself to be a good provider. He is doing the same this year for Nancy and their two nestlings – loading up the nest with prey items.

Here is the link to Harry and Nancy’s streaming cam:

That Minnesota nest is going to do just fine. It is a prey rich area with a stream running through. Perfect for Eagles to get a variety of fresh prey.

The young man that has melted my heart this year (besides Arthur as always) is Akecheta at the West End Bald Eagle Nest in the Channel Islands. He stepped up to the plate, protected the eggs, and now has turned into the best ‘Mum’ you could ask for! Thunder might be enjoying a bit of a break doing security duty and prey capture. I haven’t actually counted the time that Akecheta is on the nest brooding or feeding but 9 out of 10 times he will be there doing one or the other when I check – which is often.

It is really foggy out on Catalina island this morning. Babies are all sleeping in a cuddle puddle.

The first breakfast just as the sun kisses the horizon.

Another feeding! The oldest is large and has a huge beak. There is no discord on this nest. Some have wondered if nests of 3 eaglets that have a younger male as a Dad – like here or at Redding – do better than those where the parents are both on the side of elderly in eagle terms. I have not researched this but clearly Big Red selected the vastly younger Arthur because he demonstrated how good a hunter he was and a devoted partner. Arthur is 6 and Big Red is 19. It is something to consider as we watch the Dale Hollow nest where both parents are 24 years old.

Liberty and Guardian are getting used to feeding their two Bobble heads. The baby is gradually learning what it is supposed to do. What a couple of cuties at the Redding nest.

There is a hatch happening at the Iowa Bald eagle nest of Mr North and DNF at Decorah North.

Many of us have been worried about Grinnell and Annie. I even wondered if falcons go through a mid-life crisis since Grinnell was flirting with one of the 5 juvenile females the other day, again. So is this Grinnell and Annie this morning? Did he bring Annie a prey gift? Will there be eggs in the scrape? We wait!

I began wondering about these SF males. Richmond has been feeding himself instead of Rosie at the SFOspreys nest on the World War II Whirley Crane in the Richmond Shipping Yards. Hopefully, Richmond and Grinnell will get their acts together!!!!!!!!

Our melt as stopped. It is -11 C. Ice crusts the remaining snow and water and most here are being careful not to go out walking if they don’t have to. I am enjoying a nice warm wood fire!

There is so much happening in Bird World. It is so difficult now to keep up with all of the nests. I did a quick run through of the Captiva Ospreys and Florida Bald eagles and all is good. I note not much osprey movement into the UK monitored nests yet. Loch of the Lowes and Rutland Water Manton Bay are the two I watch constantly and both couples are home. Fingers crossed for all the Welsh nests. Maybe tomorrow. We are also waiting for Iris! Despite the beaking and intimidation, I am thrilled that Little Middle went back up to eat and had a huge crop at noon. We take it a half day or a day at a time. Today, we rejoice – for now.

I hope you are all well. Thank you for being with me today. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: MN DNR, Dale Hollow EC, PA Game Commission, Redding Eagles, and Explore.org