Tag Archives: West End Eagles

Late Saturday and early Sunday in Bird World

26-27 March 2022

It seemed that Saturday started out to be a rather good day. And then it didn’t. The little hatchling at the National Arboretum Nest has died. There is one other egg for Mr President and Lotus. Perhaps it will survive. This is a very detailed explanation of the uncommon tragic accident that happened to this chick trying to hatch.

Big and Middle had the fish that had been left on the nest overnight and then Obey brought in another sucker. That second fish was finished by 11:30ish. Both Big and Little Middle had big crops. No other prey came to the nest during the afternoon. When River arrived -like an alarm clock – at 19:02:13 – she was empty taloned. Not good. Big began to attack Middle Little for no apparent reason at 07:03:12. Little Middle went into submissive mode. Neither eaglet was fed and there is no food on the nest. The eaglets are 26 days old.

At the Big Bear Valley nest of Jackie and Shadow, the eaglet is 23 days old. If you look at it physically you can see the resemblance to the developmental stage of the Dale Hollow eaglets.

The body is covered with thermal down almost completely but the head and a few dandelions on the neck and wing.

Jackie and Shadow’s feeding schedule until 15:20 today, the 26th of March, as posted on the rolling camera chat. There will be at least two more today but if those didn’t happen, there would have still been six feedings beginning at dawn.

Like children, nests need stability and regularity for security. It is Sunday morning. Obey brought a squirrel in prior to 08:00. The feeding was continuing when I opened up the streaming cam. Little Middle got none of that first prey item that I could see. Big had a crop.

A sucker came in at 08:46:16. It is a nice sized fish.

Big attacks Little Middle at 08:46:44 despite having eaten the squirrel and having a crop.

The parent begins to feed Big with Little Middle into submission.

At 08:51:02 Little Middle has moved to the other side of the parent and is being fed. Yeah Little Middle!!!!!

Little Middle got to eat until 08:56:46 when the parent abruptly flew off – perhaps to get rid of an intruder.

Little Middle is very hungry and pecks at the flesh of the fish watched by Big.

There is lots of fish left. Little Middle goes to the rim of the nest.

River returns to the nest at 10:19 alerting. Little Middle is cheeping and moves up to eat when River goes to fish. At the onset Big did not bother. Then at 10:25:28 it wants to go and eat. Big attacked Little Middle at 10:25:30. Little Middle moved to rim of nest. Big was still eating at 10:31.

Big just can’t stop with the beaking.

Little Middle had a crop but being clever, he is watching and waiting.

At 10:33, knowing Big has moved, Little Middle goes back to the fish. River begins feeding her youngest.

At the end of this feeding, Middle is going to have a bigger crop! It is now 10:36 and he is still eating! This is fantastic. Little Middle, despite the dominance posturing and some beaking, is getting quicker at its return to the feeding. Well done Little Middle!

Little Middle ate well. Look at this beautiful crop. Life is good!

There was a chat open at the Dale Hollow nest this morning. Because of that I was able to find out some information that would really be helpful under the streaming cam. The original nest of River and Obey was discovered in 2009. It fell with the two fledglings in 2020. Both survived. Prior to this year, River and Obey fledged 24 chicks. The nest on the cam is now one year old. There are 28 Bald Eagle nests around Dale Hollow Lake.

Akecheta continues to be ‘Super Dad’ at the West End nest that he shares with his mate Thunder and the triplets. They are doing incredibly well! There is still no discord between any of the three. They are well fed, sometimes tandem fed, and shaded during the heat of the day. It is nothing short of a fabulous nest to watch.

Here is a very short video of the four eaglets of Lisa and Oliver being fed at the PA Farm nest on 26 March. Warms your heart. These parents are going to be extremely busy!

Parents are doing a tandem feed at the PA Farm nest to ensure that the smallest one of the four gets fed. This is Saturday at noon.

You may remember that there was to be a rescue attempt at the WRDC nest in the Miami Zoo to retrieve R2 to remove the fishing line that the eaglet had tangled around its leg. As the rescuers were there, R2 fledged. Luckily it broke the fishing line. There is apparently a small bit of fishing line on its toe.

Sadly, this is why intervention is not normally done at this late stage unless the eaglet is ill or cannot fly away. They are hoping that R2 will return to the nest and with good fortune the remainder of the fishing line removed. There is an update by Ron Magill. He was able to get R2. The rest of the monofilament has been removed. R2 is fine other than having some flea lice. Great news!

There are more osprey arrivals in the UK. Blue 5F Seren arrived at the Llyn Clywedog Nest. Look at that nice fish she has brought in and look at that beautiful landscape – a perfect place to raise Ospreys. Seren shares this nest with her mate Dylan. They fledged one osprey – the largest male Osprey hatched ever in Wales last season.

Seren has to be strong. That is a huge fish. There is no footage of her getting it out of the lake but there is a video of the haul into the nest!

The Canada Goose on the Decorah unused Bald Eagle nest has laid her third egg!

There is also a pip at the Decorah North nest in egg for DN16. That was at 09:52 this morning.

The two sweet babies at the Redding Bald Eagle nest of Liberty and Guardian are just getting fed as I close this blog. How adorable.

Life feels rather good as I close this blog. Little Middle is getting much more clever and quicker to get down and eat so the parent doesn’t leave thinking they are not hungry. Big has turned its beak on Little Middle at least twice this morning but nothing like the violence on the 23rd of March. Little Middle continues to grow! As far as I can tell all of the other nests are doing OK today. There are some significant ospreys that have yet to arrive including two of my favourites Idris and Telyn at the Dyfi Nest. We are also waiting for Aran, Louis, and the Foulshaw Moss couple plus CJ7 and Blue 022 if he returns to Poole Harbour. Hopefully there will be more to arrives this evening.

Thank you for joining me this morning. I hope that you have a beautiful Sunday. Take care! See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cam where I took my screen captures: CarnyxWild, Explore.org, Dale Hollow Lake Eagles, Friends of Big Bear Valley, Redding Eagles, WRDC, PA Game Commission, West End Bald Eagles and the Institute for Wildlife Studies, and the NAE FB Page.

It Couldn’t get any Better in Bird World or at Dale Hollow

20 March 2022

What a busy day it was in Bird World and what a gorgeous day it was on the Canadian Prairies. The snow is melting and causing all manner of problems but the Canada Geese are flying in, the Grackles have arrived in mass, and the first White-throated Sparrow appeared at the feeders along with the usual woodpeckers, European Starlings, House Sparrows and, of course, Dyson! We had another visitor too that seems to be coming every morning around 08:00, an unusual time for a rabbit. I wonder if Hedwig’s burrow is full of water????

Hedwig is an Eastern Cottontail. They are the most prevalent of the five rabbit species in Canada. The four others are the Artic Hare, the Mountain Hare, White-tailed Jackrabbit, and the Snowshoe Hare.

Hedwig being an Easteern Cottontail is the smallest of the five. His mother left him underneath our Peony Bush. He was about a month old. He found safety with all of the birds feeding and discovered that if he hung out under the feeders, he never had to worry about food. We have tried to give him carrots and he refuses them. He often eats the bark off of our Lilac Bushes where he can easily hide. We don’t care. It doesn’t seem to damage them. Isn’t he a cutie? He has some special marks on him that we know it is the original Hedwig. Let us hope he has another good year.

There is a pip/hatch watch going on at the Pittsburg-Hayes Bald Eagle nest. This couple fledged three last year! The pip happened at 09:39 this morning.

There was a good look at the size of the pip at 19:21.

Liberty and Guardian have a pip over at the Redding California Bald Eagle Nest. That happened around 07:04. There is a race between them and Pittsburgh-Hayes to see who hatches first! They also fledged three!

This morning on the SWFlorida Nest on the Pritchett Family Farm, E19 the eldest, fledged before noon. It was caught on camera by a couple filming the event. E20 was flapping, too, and the streaming cam operator did not know who would go first. Talk about sibling competition between these two. E20 did not have a very solid branch like E19 did who used it like a trampoline jumping up and down and flapping. As a result, E20 fludged and then flew away. Both flew like the great birds they are on 20th of March. How lovely. Congratulations to M15 and Harriet and the Pritchett family for another successful year. The fledglings will hang around with mom and dad. They will perfect their flying while being provided food. This is what it is all about.

Here is E19s fledge:

The cameras are down and I do not know if anyone caught E20’s flight. What a day for them to go down.

Well, this is a great way to feed chicks if you have three! Akecheta is feeding the Middle chick while Mum Thunder feeds Little Bit and Big. I wish you could see the smile on my face. Look at the size between the two Thunder is feeding. Little Bit is four days younger than Big. There are no squabbles.

Thunder and Akecheta are – to me – a real powerhouse couple. They may have had two unsuccessful years until Akecheta matured but just look at them now.

Andy came in at 17:28 with the last fish of the day for Lena, Middle and Little. It has been some time since Big died suddenly. The nest is doing really well. There is no word on the cause of Big’s death. I do not wish to speculate but had it been a physical cause like choking on a pellet, the vets would have found that immediately when they did the necroscopy. Toxin tests take longer. In the Balkans, the tests for Avian Flu only took a few days and – all the birds on this nest are fine. I wonder if any raptors die of heat stroke or heart attack? Do you know?

This was the 4th feeding for the osplets and it was a whole Sheepshead. Middle and Little ate and ate. In the image below, just look at how beautiful they are standing with Lena, a very proud Mama. That beautiful setting son casts a lovely glow on this Osprey family at Captiva, Florida.

The eaglets of Abby and Blazer (Eagle Country) hatched on the 11th and 14th of March. Just look at them now. Wow. Gorgeous babies. Nice crops. Both appear to be self-feeding.

If River and Obey do not stop bringing fish to the nest and feeding Big and Middle, I am not ever going to be able to take a walk! All kidding aside. It has been one big fish fest at the Dale Hollow Nest today which is the miracle that we were all hoping to see happen. This should be the last of many feedings at this nest today.

This fish arrival is at 18:19:36. Here comes River!

River has not started her feeding. Just look at the crop on Big. This eaglet is going to be an enormous female. And I really do mean enormous. The size of its legs are huge. I wish we could get a good comparison between Big and Mum.

Middle is still very shy of Big. I do not blame him. Big eats the first bites but River just then decides to put her beak in the middle of the two and sees who wants the fish. It also appears that River has slowed down in the speed of her feeding.

Once Big is full, Middle begins accepting bites. Remember – the key is survival. Middle has eaten and eaten today and it is not going to do a thing to wake up Big’s wrath.

Middle eats and eats. By 18:35 his crop is so big you might think it is going to explode. River continues to push fish at him.

At 18:35:38 Middle is so full he walks away from the table! He simply cannot hold another bite. It looks like he might not be able to hold up that crop.

Middle has to try and lay down. It must be awfully uncomfortable with that massive crop.

But wait! Middle stands up.

And with a crop as big as half a baseball, Middle turns around to head back to the table to the shock of Big.

As he turns, Big reaches over to pull off the piece of straw across Middle’s crop. Middle is a little shy and doesn’t seem to know if this is a friendly or hostile gesture. I don’t blame him. The gesture is friendly.

Both kiddos eat a couple of more bites and collapse. They are certainly going to have sweet eagle dreams! And so am I!

I have focused on the Dale Hollow Lake nest with more information than the other nests because it had been so full of strife. My mailbox has been full of questions and you might be wondering about some of these.

Where is DH16? When a nestling dies, Eagles either consume the dead chick, bury it in the nest, or carry it off. River buried DH16 in the nest last night, the 19th of March.

Why such a change in this nest? There are many possible reasons and my answers are based on a large body of academic literature. 1) Threats and intruders to the territory of River and Obey have diminished and they are able to focus on hunting and feeding. 2) Fishing and hunting have greatly improved for the eagles. There could be many causes for this including the most obvious weather. 3) The reduction of the brood was accomplished. 4) Middle was able to garner enough energy to show that it was determined to live and River took notice of this and is now feeding it. 5) Some or all of the above. One reader ‘B’ suggested that maybe River and Obey had read by blog about needing to have a spare in case Big died! That is a good point with Avian Flu tearing through the region.

Whatever has happened, we have had a wonderful 36 hours and let us all hope that this continues. Things are going very well. Big has calmed right down. The fact that so many fish were brought in today and another found buried on the nest kept Big full and happy and allowed Middle to gain confidence and to eat its fill. Middle will literally grow over night. I am sure many of you have been shedding tears of joy. I sure have.

Will close with Jackie and Shadow at Big Bear Valley. Five feedings for the little eaglet today! The baby is eating longer and more fish and the feedings are slowly decreasing because of that. The naming contest closes on March 25 and several names will be drawn out of those suggested by donors. The 3rd grade class at the local school will vote. Hopefully this cutie will have a name next week!

Life in Bird World has been very good today. Very, very good.

Thank you so much for joining me. Please take care. See you soon!!!

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Friends of Big Bear Valley, West End Eagles and the Institute for Wildlife Studies, Dale Hollow Eagles, Pix Cams, Redding Eagles, Eagle Country, Captiva Ospreys and Window on Wildlife.

SE19 fledges, noon feed at Dale Hollow, and other news in Bird World

20 March 2022

I haven’t yet checked every nest because I have been constantly monitoring the Dale Hollow situation with Middle and Big. It has been a day of great achievements on that nest and other exciting news from nests all over.

There was a fledge and could be another at the SW Florida Bald Eagle nest of M15 and Harriet.

This was the official announcement:

E19 had been up on the branch with the parents. It was early morning and foggy. M15 flew off and was seen flying around the nest tree enticing E19 to flap and hop on the branch. At one point the cam operator didn’t know if E19 would go first or E20 flapping from the nest to another branch. Here are some images.

Several hours later, E19 took the plunge and became a fledgling! Here is the video clip taken by the folks in that white vehicle at the centre of the screen.

Congratulations to M15 and Harriet, the Pritchett Family, and especially to E19! I wonder if E20 will go today? or tomorrow?

At the Cornell Campus, Big Red laid her third and most likely last egg of the 2022 season at 09:27. At this point, Big Red and Arthur will begin hard incubation. Congratulations to Big Red and Arthur!

If you were looking for Bald Eagles eggs in the Decorah Bald Eagle nest in Iowa, forget it. A Canada Goose has taken over the nest. Believe me when I tell you that you are really going to enjoy watching this nest. The female will lay between 4 and 7 eggs which will be incubated for 25-30 days. The male will serve as security guard. When the goslings are 24 hours old, the parents will fly to the ground calling the goslings to leap. Within a few minutes all of the little ones will be down on the ground following their parents. It is a nice change from the Bald Eagles!

It appeared that B15 at the Berry College Bald Eagles had officially branched. Everyone is waiting for the official word on that – did B15 fly up high enough?

It has been a good morning on the Captiva Osprey Nest. Middle is standing more on its legs and Little is working with the nesting material. Both have eaten and both appear to be in excellent health! They are getting along find and we simply cannot ask for anything better than that.

That is Middl (or chat Little) in the back standing up as the sun rises and spreads a golden pink glow on the nest.

Little (or Mini) in front with the lighter plumage (he is younger and this is how you can tell him now easily) moving sticks with its beak.

Both chicks lined up at the table having a nice fish for breakfast. No animosity or rivalry here.

The joy continues at the Dale Hollow Nest. At 11:58:39, it appears that River flies to the nest with some new nesting material. Big thinks it is fish and moves up to the table. Middle is at the far rim of the nest. Obey then flies in with a small fish at 12:01:01. River feeds part of the fresh fish to Big and then stops feeding her. River then pulls another small fish out of the straw! That was at 12:16:56. She feeds Big. At 12:17:13 River abruptly stops feeding Big and walks over to Middle who has moved up a bit and offers it fish! This is HUGE. We are really passing milestones on this nest quickly today. Then River moves the old fish in the straw to the table. She has 1.5 small fish left. She feeds Bit again at 12:17:34. Middle very cautiously moves around the nest to the right. At 12:19:40 he is in position for snatch and grab which he does splendidly. Big does nothing. At 12:19:59, Middle is at the table being fed. It appears that River fed him the last half of the fish. This is just incredible. The fish need to continue to show up or be pulled out of the nest if in hiding to keep up the good momentum but…for now, let us celebrate another big win today at the Dale Hollow nest for Middle DH15. Here are some images:

Obey has brought in the fresh fish. River had been feeding Big a few of the scrapes left from the morning. Middle just wants to stay out of Big’s way.

River moves to get the fresh fish and bring it up to the table. Big does not move away. Little still in position at the rim. Little is watching and listening. This is what the siblings who have abused do. They know their environment and they watch and wait. They have to – their life depends on it. Good skills for living in the wild.

River actually stops feeding Big and reaches out to Middle who has moved up. Middle does a great snatch and grab. Big does nothing.

Middle moves around from where it was along the edge of the nest always aware of Big. He will move up to the food table and eats properly.

In this image you can easily see how much bigger Big is than Middle. Middle remains at the table until he is very, very full.

Middle might be hoping that River is going to offer the fish tail but she doesn’t. They are both full. Big is passed out at the edge by the rim.

Another good feeding. Tears and more tears rolling down my cheeks. We will take it one feeding at a time. So far since Saturday evening everything has been good on this nest. I remain cautiously optimistic.

At present we have another nest with three chicks. Akecheta and Thunder are going to have to really bring in the prey and maybe do some tandem feedings as these three get bigger. The baby is four days younger. This has to be kept in mind as we move forward.

There is a pip for Liberty and Guardian at their Redding California nest. Last year these two fledged three. The pip is right on time. Congratulations Liberty and Guardian.

The hole is right under the feather hanging down the lowest on the egg closest to the screen. Once we see the external pip, hatch will happen between 12 and 24 hours! Yippee. A new bobble head.

Here is the link to the streaming cam of Liberty and Guardian. It is a good nest to follow now that the older eaglets are becoming fledglings.

I am so behind catching up with Grinnell and Andy. You can hear noises on the camera once in awhile but I have not seen much action on the camera when I checked. Today, however, Annie first arrives in the scape around 08:11 with bloody talons. That tells me – hopefully – that Grinnell has provided her with some prey breakfast.

Annie shuffles the gravel and is scraping.

Oh, thank goodness.

Annie returns to the nest at 09:38:05. Here she is teasing us at 10:04:05. Annie sure isn’t giving away any news this year. She has held us in a state of worry that she was going to abandon Grinnell for another nest. So happy to see her here in the scrape at The Campanile. I mean it has to be “Grinnell and Annie” – .

Right now even with Annie teasing us, everything in Bird World feels good. As we all know things can change quickly but for now all of the nests appear to be fine. I am told by ‘S’ in Latvia that even the young mate of Milda, Voldis, is doing better. ‘S’ wonders what kind of year it will be at the Durbe Nest of Milda in Latvia with this young man. We will just have to wait. We all need to remember that young mates can be fantastic – Arthur at Cornell, Harry up at the MN DNR nest, and Cheta who did not do well his first two years but who is trying to make up for it now.

Thank you for joining me this afternoon. Take care all. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Dale Hollow Bald Eagles, Cal Falcons, SWFlorida and D Pritchett, West End Bald Eagles, Cornell Bird Lab RTH, Captiva Ospreys and Window on Wildlife, and Explore.org

Late Friday Afternoon News in Bird World

18 March 2022

It is difficult to believe but it appears that the Little Bit or Tater Tot at the Dale Hollow Nest is still alive. This is quite unbelievable. The will of this little wee eaglet to live is intense. It has moved again to try and get in the shade. It does not have the protection that the other two eagles have. It still had natal down despite its 17 days old. The other two are 20.

If rewards of fish could be given, this little one would win them all. It has lowered its breathing so it doesn’t use up so much energy and it has played possum more than twice to survive. This was at 16:25.

In other news, I have heard from a reader in Lithuania, ‘S’ who has cleared up a mystery about Milda at the Durbe White-tailed Eagle nest. Milda has been through a lot of mates since she lost her long time partner last year. This is what ‘S’ writes: “I just wanted to add on our Latvian WTE nest – Milda has a new partner now – Voldis (a shortened version of the name of the Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky). She has recently laid 2 eggs (15/03 and 18/03), but Voldis seems a bit inexperienced and is not willing to incubate for longer periods of time, nor is he bringing food for Milda while she incubates. We hope the situation improves, but it may as well be that the eggs do not hatch this year under these circumstances. Hope dies last, of course.”

Meanwhile, there is no news at the Captiva Osprey nest over the cause of Big Bob’s sudden death. However, Middle and Little are doing very well!

Mum Lena offered Little Bob the fish tail. Yum, yum. He was happy to have the honour.

I just checked at the Dulles Greenway Bald Eagle nest of Rosa and Martin. For a second some of us saw the chick below and thought we were seeing double. There is, however, just one chick on the nest, confirmed by the moderator. And it is a cutie!

Why does one egg hatch and not the other? The Dulles Greenaway nest posted this informative article.

Why Did One of the Bald Eagles’ Eggs Not Hatch?

The Red-tail Hawk celebrity couple, Big Red and Arthur, at the Cornell Campus are doing great and waiting for the arrival of egg 3 tomorrow. Big Red is trusting Arthur with more of the incubation duties and he has happily provided her with the gift of a mouse today for her afternoon tea.

Everything also looks good on a hot Friday afternoon in California at the West End nest. The three eaglets of Thunder and Akecheta are literally sleeping with the fishes. Oh, they are going to have such gunky fur! Yikes.

There are no new reports of Cal Falcons Annie and Grinnell or Ervie at the Port Lincoln Osprey Project today.

I am exhausted from the happenings at Dale Hollow. Little Bit or Tater Tot would be a formidable eagle if it could survive. Twice now I have thought it died. Even the moderators on the Dale Hollow chat which they opened up just this morning believed so. Please send all your love. Surround it with love! If my grammar has gone sideways today, I apologize. There has been a lot of stress today. Wrap your arms around Little Bit!

Correction: Apologies to ‘A’ who first alerted me to Little Bit remaining alive. I previously said it was ‘L’.

Thank you for joining me. I cannot see a problem at any other nest! Take care everyone! See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cam where I took my screen captures: Cornell Bird Lab and the RTH, Captiva Ospreys and Window on Wildlife, Dale Hollow Eagle Nest, Dulles Greenaway Bald Eagles, West End Eagles,

Friday Morning in Bird World

18 March 2022

I am a night owl and not generally up before 07:00. This morning I wanted to check on the status of the Dale Hollow nest. In all the sadness there, it is good to pause and to continue to thank all those amazing ‘bird’ mothers and dads out there. Over the years I have seen them separate chicks, get their mate to help with tandem feedings, and go fishing or hunting themselves to ensure that there was ample food for all on the nest. I am desperately trying to understand the ‘root cause’ of the issues at Dale Hollow that have taken us to this morning. River has come into the nest alerting and Big is still attacking. Rain started at 10:17.

It was a beautiful morning on the Gulf of Mexico at the Captiva Osprey nest in Florida. Lena was up waiting and trusting that Andy was going to get a fish on the nest for Middle and Little (Little and Mini). Andy did not disappoint!

The chicks are full and Lena is going to go for her bath to get off all the fish. Middle and Little look great!

At the NEFlorida Bald Eagle nest of Samson and Gabby, breakfast has arrived. Jasper is being fed and Rocket is self-feeding. If you are new to this nest, the eldest, Jasper once demanded to be fed first and tried to keep Rocket from eating. Rocket became an expert at the ‘snatch and grab’. Rocket even took fish from the parents and was a pro at self-feeding early. Rocket learned great survival skills.

These two have not branched yet but that stage of their development is coming soon.

DG1 has had a few feedings already this morning at the Dulles Greenaway Bald Eagle nest in Virginia. Martin even took a turn at feeding the chick while Rosa had a break.

This little one is alert and ready for some more fish!

There is a second egg but time for pip is passing. Maybe this little one DG1 will be an only child.

There are three eggs being incubated at the Pittsburg Hayes Bald Eagle nest and this week we are on pip watch.

Are you a teacher looking for resources to teach about Bald Eagles? The Pittsburgh Hays Bald Eagle nest has posted a link to the Audubon Resources. Not a teacher? Have a peek. We are never too old to learn!

http://www.aswp.org/pages/educator-resources

The US Steel Bald Eagle nest was built in 2019. Eaglets have fledged from that nest in 2020 (1 fledge) and in 2021 (2 fledges). There are two eggs being incubated on this nest and Dad is on duty this morning.

At the White-tailed Eagle nest in Matsalu National Park in Western Estonia, the breeding couple are on the nest. Last year, two eggs were laid. The first on 20 March and the 2nd egg on the 24th of March. Both chicks died. Cause of death was confirmed to be H5N1, the highly pathogenic Avian Flu.

The White-tailed eagles are extremely rare in the Balkans and it is hoped that this nest is successful in fledging little eaglets this year. Here is a link to the camera:

Milda is at her nest in Durbe Municipality near the city of Liepaja in Western Latvia.

Milda has a new partner this year after losing her long time mate, Raimis, last year after she had laid her eggs. Her new mate, Mr L, and Milda bonded last year. I hope that he is of good help to her and that this nest also has successful fledges this year. There are many interlopers and both eagles have been on alert today.

Everything is great at the West End Eagle nest of Thunder and Akecheta. The three sleepy heads looked around when it was time for breakfast! Like what, is it that time already!?

The to be named chick at the Big Bear Valley nest of Jackie and Shadow is 15 days old today. It is doing really, really well. It is good to keep in perspective the size of this chick compared to DH16, Little Bit, on the Dale Hollow nest. There are stressors on the little ones that cause a lack of feather development or lines in the feathers. This wee one is getting 8 or 10 feedings a day and is extremely healthy.

Big Red is patiently incubating her two eggs in the shade on the grounds of Cornell University campus in Ithaca.

That is it for me this morning. Every nest that we are following is doing well except for Dale Hollow. I really hate to see the Little Bit suffer. Nature is not kind. I hope to have some new Osprey arrivals for you late this evening. There is still no word on the cause of Big’s death at Captiva. We wait for the results.

Take care everyone. Thank you for being with me today.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Looduskalendar, Captiva Ospreys and Window on Wildlife, Cornell Bird Lab RTH, Pix Cams, Friends of Big Bear Valley, West End Bald Eagles and the Institute of Wildlife Studies, Latvian Fund for Nature, The Eagle Club of Estonia, Dulles-Greenaway Bald Eagles, and NEFlorida Bald Eagles and the AEF.

Late Monday in Bird World

14 March 2022

Gosh, it has been a busy day and I am trying to play catch up!

The big news of the day is that the internationally famous Red-tail Hawk at Cornell University, Big Red – named after their football team – laid her first egg of the 2022 season. She went into labour about 15:09 and the first reveal of the egg was at 15:11.

The three at the Captiva Osprey nest have eaten well again today. I cannot say for sure but it looks like at least seven fish were brought to Lena to feed Big, Middle, and Little Bob. There were five brought in by 15:30 with two other deliveries at 17:14 and 18:30. The images below are from a feeding that was still ongoing at 18:49 today. The kiddos had already been eating for 20 minutes!

I know i sound like a broken record but I look for their fat little bottoms. Middle Bob, facing to the Gulf, has a fat little bottom. Little is right up at Mum’s beak wanting some more fish!

Middle has passed out in a food coma.

Everyone will go to bed with a crop the size of a golf ball. These chicks are doing well. Big will be 4 weeks old on Wednesday, Middle 4 weeks old on Thursday, and Little will be 4 weeks old on Saturday. All the troubles that plagued this nest with the Crows will be more or less a non-worry after the chicks are 30 days old. They are big enough that the Crows will not bother them. What a wonderful relief. Andy has been working hard to get fish on the nest since the fish drought a few days ago.

As far as I can tell, each of the eaglets at the West End nest of Thunder and Akecheta have eaten well today. If someone asks you who is brooding, if you said Cheta, without looking, you would be right 8 times out of 10. Oh, this new dad sure loves to brood the little ones even on a hot day when everyone is panting to get cool!

Dale Hollow is an on again, off again nest. I have been disappointed that River and Obey are not tandem feeding the three kids. Big is really a bother to everyone. That said Little ate today and so did Middle. Hopefully the dominance issue will fade away like it has done at Captiva once food security is back in Big’s mind. Also River seems to be a bit distracted. I don’t know if there are predators in the area but she has stopped feeding abruptly on several occasions.

It is good to remember that there are third hatches (or second) this year that have had to wait for their big sibling to finish eating before they got anything. The first one that comes to mind is actually Rocket at the NEFlorida Bald eagle nest of Gabby and Samson. Rocket is a great name for this eaglet that became a pro at the ‘snatch and grab’. Rocket was also well equipped for self-feeding and was doing its own feeding on the extra prey left in the nest at least 9 days before Jasper even considered it could feed itself. The other one this year is also Little Bob at the Captiva nest mentioned in this blog. Things can turn around and sometimes they don’t. It is hard to watch but those third hatches that survive a dominant big sibling often have better survival skills for the wild.

I mentioned that a Bald eaglet will grow from being 3 inches to over a metre tall or 3 feet in 3 months. Have a look at how quickly Kakapo chicks grow from this posting by the Kakapo Recovery. The oldest chick is starting to get its beautiful green plumage!

If you missed it, the first confirmed banded Osprey on a streaming cam in the UK (or first Osprey without all that) is LM12 known as Laddie who arrived on the nest that he shares with his mate Blue NC0 yesterday at noon. Isn’t he handsome?

I am also very happy to announce that Karl II, the male at the Karula National Forest Black Stork Nest in Estonia, is still in Africa. His tracker pinged and he is near Khartoum. I am so relieved. I hope that all of the storks remain for the moment in Africa. Perhaps the war in the Ukraine – well, the Storks and other birds stop in the nature reserves in the south of Ukraine near Odessa. Karl II spent much time there. This is a very dangerous place at the moment for wildlife. I don’t need to say another word. I know that each of you understands the concerns of moving through this region to get to the spring and summer homes.

There is something wonderful about being an ‘only child’. You do not have to share your parents or the food with anyone and there is not a big sibling that is going to beak you!

The to be named eaglet on the nest of Jackie and Shadow is simply beautiful and delicate. If you look you can see a black dot behind the eye. That is the ear forming. Feathers will grow over it. This wonderful little one is growing right before our eyes. If it wasn’t for Fiona the flying squirrel that shares the nest and drives Jackie nuts or the Ravens this could well be one of the most calm nests on the planet.

I had hoped to get to a few more of the nests but it is time to call it quits for the evening. The only nest that is having any difficulty is Dale Hollow and I need to look at it more carefully tomorrow. I would love to see a tandem feeding there – a chance to get Middle and Little Bit full to the brim. And quite a lot of fish on the nest with River feeding til all were full…I don’t believe River would pay any mind to me. She has been mothering eaglets for 21 years. I am certainly no expert compared to that!

Take care everyone. There should be more ospreys arriving tomorrow. Who knows? Maybe even Iris will show up in Montana this week. Now that would be a good chance to jump up and down! Thank you for joining me. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams and/or where I took my screen captures: Captiva Ospreys and Window on Wildlife, West End Eagles, Friends of Big Bear Valley, Cornell Bird Lab RTH, Dale Hollow Lake Eagles, Friends of Loch of the Lowes and the Scottish Wildlife Trust, Kakapo Recovery, and Looduskalendar.

Sunday in Bird World

13 March 2022

Gracious. Andy is sure hauling in the fish. There have been 9 fish deliveries at the Captiva Osprey nest before 14:30!!!!!! Needless to say everyone has eaten well and all chicks are sporting blood feathers, tail feathers, and contour feathers. It is a good day at Captiva. Lena is even looking much refreshed.

It is busy at the West End Nest of Thunder and Akecheta. The newness of parenthood has not worn off Cheta. He is bringing in fish, brooding babies, and being security guard. The third hatch had its first taste of fish juice, saliva, and fish flake at 11:28. There it is in the image below.

Thunder and Cheta with their three babies on a beautiful California morning. This just puts a smile on my face! Beautiful.

Here is a video of the third chick getting its first meal from Thunder and one of the older siblings doing a great poop shot. Its plumbing is definitely working!

There is now going to be no time to rest. The UK Ospreys are arriving and it looks like the first one at a streaming cam is Laddie, LM12, at the Loch of the Lowes nest! So Laddie is here on 13 March. Last year he arrived on the 21st of March. He is eight days earlier than in 2021. Last year Laddie and NC0 raised two beautiful chicks to fledge. NC0 arrived on 25 March last year.

To see the Osprey you need to go to the lettering at the top. Stop at the ‘c’ in camera and looking down. Laddie is sitting in his favourite spot on the very top of the dead Silver Birch tree.

Here is the link to the Loch of the Lowes Osprey Cam:

I was expecting Blue 33 and Maya to be the first to return! That nest looks very empty. I cannot wait til they get back. They are one of my absolute favourites of the UK nests.

There is a new camera at the Loch Garten nest in Scotland. Here is the link:

Loch Garten holds a very special place in the heart of Osprey lovers in the UK. In the 1950s, a pair of Ospreys settled on the nest and began breeding. It was then the very first nest to have a breeding pair after the ospreys were made extinct in the UK. Indeed, the pair returned to the ancient Caledonian forest, part of Abernethy Forest Wildlife Reserve, near Aviemore, in 1959. It was a perfect place for Ospreys. There were lochs, rivers and estuaries full of fish. There is a little paperback that tells the story of the nest and the return of the Ospreys to the UK. It is Lady of the Loch. The Incredible Story of Britain’s Oldest Osprey by Helen Armitage.

There are high hopes for attracting a new breeding pair to the fine new nest that has been erected for them!

“Loch Garten” by Lee Carson is marked with CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

Talk about hoping to have a new breeding pair. The folks at Poole Harbour cannot wait for CJ7 the resident female who did not have a mate and Blue 022, a male who courted her last year, to return and raise chicks on CJ7’s nest. It this happens it will be the first time in 200 years that an Osprey chick has hatched at the site! Incredible.

Turning back to North America, everyone is on pins and needles waiting for Iris, the oldest osprey in the world, to return to her nest at Hellgate Canyon in Missoula, Montana. No one expects Iris to raise chicks. Her mate, Louis, has another nest that he cares for. I have a soft spot for Iris and feel that at 29 years old it is time she enjoyed her summer holiday. Raising chicks is a lot of work and really diminishes the health of the mother who loses approximately 30% of her weight.

Each of the three chicks at the Dale Hollow nest of River and Obey had a good feed around 11:28ish. Even Little Bit. They all stood in line and were very good as River fed them.

The wee one is doing well. The two older siblings are generally well behaved towards it – such a relief.

You can see that the snow is really melting as we see more and more of the edge of the nest. All of the babies are having a nice sleep in the warm sunshine.

I happened to look over at the Captiva nest. Andy just delivered the 10th fish of the day and it is a nice one. Little Bob is really enjoying this fish. Everyone is being civil and the kids are stuffed to their eyeballs…It is 15:48. Look at Little Bob open his mouth wide for delicious fish. Big is not paying him any mind at all. Food security is back in the mind of Big. Yippeeee. And well it should.

little Bob is still up near the table. Big looks like she has eaten so much she is going to get sick.

Little says there is room for more Mum!!!

What a beautiful image. All three chicks so full that they are passing out in food comas and Lena is getting some nice fish to herself. It just puts tears in your eyes. This nest has had a few really rocky days but today is one for the record books.

Every nest is doing really well. That is just wonderful. We can all rest easy tonight. Here is a sweet moment at the nest of Jackie and Shadow. Keep your eyes on the little one.

Thank you for joining me. Take care everyone. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams and/or FB Pages where I took my screen captures: Captiva Ospreys and Window on Wildlife, Dale Hollow Lake Bald Eagles, Explore.org, Cornell Bird Lab and the Montana Osprey Project, Scottish Wildlife Trust and Loch of the Lowes, Loch Garten, Poole Harbour Ospreys, Rutland Wildlife Trust, and West End Bald Eagles.

3rd Hatch making good progress for Thunder and Akecheta!

12 March 2022

Akecheta looks down proudly at his two babies as the third is almost hatched at the West End Bald Eagle nest on Catalina Island.

Thunder and Akecheta may not have had any fledglings for 2020 and 2021 but, they will make up for it this year. The third egg has almost completely split the egg as I write this!

They are both going to be so busy. If you want to join in the fun, I will post the link to their streaming camera at the end.

Here are some captures at the West End nest today. Cheta looks like he is trying to figure a way to feed the chicks while brooding!!!

Isn’t that the cutest little fluff ball?

The two siblings together looking out as the youngest is trying hard to get that shell off!

Or is Cheta trying to feed himself and the babies!!!!!!! He sure loves being there when the little ones hatch. He assisted chick 2 by removing half of the shell. What a dad.

Cute.

It is hot at the nest today. Cheta and chick 1 are panting.

Our gorgeous dad – hot but happy – waiting for his third baby ever to hatch!

It’s 12:11 and Thunder has come to the nest making the cutest little chirping sounds wanting a turn. I wonder if she knows how Cheta tried to feed them?!

It is not going to be long until the third chick is fully hatched. The crack around the middle of the egg looks like it might be complete.

Here is the link:

Awwww. It is so hot up on top of that rock on Catalina Island!

Thank you so much for joining me. It is eggciting and it will be fun to watch these two, Thunder and Akecheta, as they manage all those babies!!!!!

Thank you to the West End Eagles for their streaming cam where I took my screen captures.

Thursday in Bird World

10 March 2022

Dyson, Scraggles, Little Red, and Mr Downy were all out in the garden along with the pile of European Starlings and Sparrows plus a couple of Grackles who have returned early. It is cold, -22 but, no snow just bright, bright sunshine. The most interesting book came in the post yesterday. It is Winter World. The Ingenuity of Animal Survival by Bernd Heinrich. It is not just about birds but it is very interesting and full of science that I didn’t know. Originally published in 2003 in hardback. Lots and lots of sound scientific information on how my garden friends survive the winter including the squirrels, the birds and other animals and birds such as weasels and Kinglet’s. I have wondered what all of the Crows eat and there is even a chapter on that. What I have learned is that trees with edible berries are not only beautiful but so helpful to our wildlife friends – including insects – in keeping alive in the cold.

There is a lot to be thankful for and people who are out working to save the lives of the most endangered of our feathered friends. It was wonderful to see a posting about the hatches of the Kakapo. In all, they are doing remarkably well.

As the sun was setting, there were some remarkably loving and tender moments at the Big Bear nest of Jackie and Shadow.

Just look at the crop on that wee babe. Everyone is home sharing dinner together!

The little one was fed really early. The wind at Big Bear Valley is so strong that it almost blew Shadow off the nest! I wonder how good his fishing will be this morning?

Jackie is keeping the wee babe full. Just look at how big this chick is compared to that egg it was squished in last week.

Everyone is sharing a second breakfast together. Lovely.

It also appears that Jack and Diane are not letting the loss of three eggs dampen their day! They have been bringing strips of bark into that nest and on Wednesday were even mating on the nest. Talk about optimistic! We wish them all the luck in the world on what might be a second clutch.

The three eaglets at the Dale Hollow Lake Bald Eagle nest of River and Obey are doing fine this morning. It sure is nice to see the sun shining down on that nest for a change!

The twins are just so much bigger than Little Bit. You can really see that this morning. If it gets caught in the middle of them, it is hard to get out.

I will give River a great virtual big hug. Look at how she is leaning over to feed Little Bit.

Big Red has really been putting the final touches on her nest on the Fernow Light Stand on the Cornell University campus. Her and Arthur have been working diligently between the snowstorms to get it in tiptop shape. Looking good!

At the Captiva Osprey nest there was only one fish delivered yesterday. Big ate almost all of it. Andy has just delivered the first fish of the morning. It is 11:24 and it is small. Already everyone knows that Big will get it all – again. So what is going on? Apparently there have been huge flocks of pelicans flying into the area early in the morning. There is certainly a lot of competition for food. I hope that he will be able to get more fish on the nest today. From the experiences at Achieva Credit Union last year, the other two are still OK. Tiny Tot once went 72 hours without food – about the same size as Little Bob now. But let us all wish for some good fish for them today.

And then there were two! Congratulations Thunder and Akecheta at the West End Eagle nest on Catalina on your second hatch!

This little one probably hatched around 04:00. It will need more rest until it is ready to eat.

I love how Cheta is watching how Thunder feeds the babies. He is going to be really busy supplying fish now that there are two of them – and, of course, security at this nest is paramount.

Just a beautiful Bald Eagle family!

What a lovely way to end the morning – with Akecheta learning how to feed his now two little ones. There is one more egg to go! This family will be very busy if it hatches. If it does we will be looking for that on Saturday.

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

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams or FB pages where I took my screen captures: The Kakapo Recovery, Friends of Big Bear Valley, Cornell Bird Lab and RTH, Dale Hollow Lake Eagles, Captiva Ospreys and Window on Wildlife, Explore.org, and Achieva Credit Union.

Wednesday Afternoon in Bird World

09 March 2022

The sky is a bright blue with a few clouds and the sun is pouring down on the birds in the garden. The temperature is -15. Dyson and Scraggles have been chasing one another and Dyson has now lost the back half of its tail. I wonder if that wasn’t the evidence of an injury that I saw last week? No worries. Dyson is fine and fat and is still eating the right mess of seeds that he managed to dump! Mr Downy has been at the suet feeder this morning and there have been 63 Starlings in the mix with the House Sparrows. There are now two Grackles that have arrived. It seems early for them. Spring is definitely coming.

Starlings are incredibly beautiful. Just look at the untouched colours in the bird below. Gorgeous.

Duke Farms has put out a statement about Little.

The little one at Dale Hollow continues to worry me, too. It was spunky and up there with the twins. I wonder if it has gotten sick from the rain and the cold and the damp?

It has literally been the weirdest day at the Captiva Osprey nest I have encountered since Andy and Lena began incubating eggs. Lena flew off. Andy flew in with a fish around 14:00 – the chicks have not eaten all day. He tried to feed them. Lena returned. There was a kerfuffle on the nest and, in the end, Big is eating all of the fish. Little and Middle will likely have to wait, hoping that another comes in before Big gets hungry. Both Middle and Big recognize that Big is the dominant bird on the nest and gets first dibs. Ah,…it was so different a little over a week ago when all lined up and ate together each leaving the table with some food in the belly.

Big Bob ate the entire fish. I do not know if Lena got more than a few bites. It is now 14:54, almost mid-afternoon and the other two remain hungry and hot along with Mum. Oh, I hope Andy can get some good fishing in. Big Bob is so full he would probably ignore a fish if it arrived on the nest right now. Fingers crossed! Maybe Lena will go fishing, too. That would be quite helpful — just like Diane on the Achieva Credit Union nest last year. Diane really saved the day when she started bringing in her catfish.

It is still snowing at the nest of Big Red and Arthur.

This morning the camera zoomed in on the most beautiful Red-tail hawk in the world, Big Red. She is also the most famous – know around the world!

Toni Castelli-Rosen posted the following chart for Big Red’s egg laying today on the Cornell Hawk Cam Chatters FB group:

The West End Bald eagles are really happy today. The male, Cheta, is not know for hanging around the nest and that is all he has done since the wee chick hatched yesterday. Like Jackie and Shadow, this couple had two years without any eaglets because of the Ravens. Let us hope this diligence continues!

Here is the link to this nest if you do not have it on your list:

All is well with Jackie and Shadow. The little one is doing so well and the feedings and fish deliveries continue.

It is good to leave on a nice note. The chick at both the West End and here at Big Bear are strong and well. Andy will get a fish on the nest again at Captiva. His fishing could have been hampered by those in boats. There seems to be a lot of them about today. Those osplets are fine albeit hungry. Andy and Lena are great parents. A really nice way to end in the day in a few hours would be to see Ervie again! Oh, that bird just lifts all our spirits!

Thank you for joining me. Take care everyone. Think spring!!!!! It is coming.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams or FB pages where I took my screen captures: Cornell Hawk Cam Chatters, Captiva Ospreys and Window on the World, Cornell Bird Lab RTH, Friends of Big Bear Valley, Dale Hollow Lake Eagles, Explore.org, and the Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey.