This year it seems that couples who have had difficulties in the last year or two are having success. I hope that this is the case with Milda and her new mate at the White-tailed Eagle nest near Kurzume in Durbe Municipality, Latvia.
On the map below you can see Kurzeme in the western region of Latvia.
Last year Milda lost her long time mate, Raimis, right after she had laid her eggs. Milda and Raimis had successfully bred on the nest in 2018, 2019, and 2020. 2021 would have been their 4th breeding season. It is believed that Raimis was killed or injured in a territorial dispute and did not return to the nest.
Milda tried to incubate those eggs in the cold weather without eating. She did so for eight full days. What an incredibly devoted mother. She had to eat and left the two eggs for approximately 5-6 hours in the cold weather of April. To everyone’s surprise, the two eggs hatched. But Milda was starving and there was little food and an on again off again male who watched the two chicks freeze to death while Milda foraged. It was a horribly sad ending for the breeding year but, much was learned about eggs and outside temperature. We also know that these big nests hold a lot of heat.
So this is a new year and Milda has laid her first egg at 18:09 on Thursday the 17th of March. Congratulations to Milda and her mate who I hope is as devoted to her as she is to her eggs and chicks.
The nest is in a forest area high up on Spruce Tree. The region is so beautiful. It will change from winter into spring before your eyes.
You can join in with all the other fans of Milda by going to the streaming cam below. There are some great chat moderators there to help you, too!
White-tailed Eagles are extremely rare in the Balkan Region. This nest has been used since 2014 and it is hoped that this year it will be successful for this fabulous Mum.
This is exciting. I am so happy for Milda. Thank you for joining me!
Thank you to the Latvian Fund for Nature for their streaming cam where I took my screen captures.
Oh, there is such good news. Milda is a white tailed Eagle. Milda and her mate, Raimis, had nested and raised chicks near Kureze in Durbe County since 2017. Last year was a tragic year for the female eagle.
Milda laid her three eggs and everything appeared to be normal. However, on the late evening of 27 March 2021, Raimis left the nest to hunt and did not return. Raimis was presumed dead or very seriously injured. Several males came around the nest tree but, they were not interested in helping Milda with another male’s eggs. They were only interested in Milda. Even then they did not supply her with food. She grew weaker and more hungry over the days. After the 8th day of no food, Milda had to fly off the nest leaving the eggs alone in the cold. Then one male, Cips, looked as if he would assist her.
To everyone’s surprise, even seasoned researchers in Latvia, the two eggs hatched. You could not stop the tears around the world as people watched the miracle unfolding. The second egg hatched three days later.
Sadly, Cips was not reliable and Milda was starving. I cannot emphasize this enough because it explains Milda’s behaviour. Cips had brought a crow onto the nest and Milda fed both of the hatchlings but not herself. Then Cips came and took the crow that Milda had been feeding the chicks. Milda tried to take it from him. Then, Milda found an old fish on the nest. She was so hungry she ate it all and did not feed the chicks. Until that time, Milda had fed the chicks almost ever hour. They were healthy! and adorable. Miracle babies. The weather at the nest was not good. A storm was coming and there was no food on the nest. It was very cold. Milda flew off the nest to find food. A male – was it Mr Cips? – stood over the babies but would not brood them while Milda was away. They froze to death. Anyone watching could not believe what was happening. It was simply a tragedy but outlines for all of us watching the nests that a single parent cannot do all the work of both parents. Perhaps if the chicks had been near fledge but even then that is not guaranteed as we saw the tragedy unfold on Spilve’s nest the previous year with Klints.
So, today I am bringing you some really good news. Milda has recovered from the trauma – physical and mental. It appears that she may have a new mate that is being called Mr L. He brought a fish to the nest and Milda flew in and accepted it! Oh, I so hope that Milda has a strong reliable partner. It will be wonderful to see some beautiful eaglets fledge from this nest next spring.
Janis Kuze the leading ornithologist in the area said, “It is important that the Right now, we hope that the female will continue to stay in the area, form a new pair, and have a successful nesting next year.”
The Latvian Fund for Nature prepared a short film about the White-tailed eagle covering the time of preparing the nest to fledging. It was released in 2015 and has English subtitles. That said you can pretty much tell what is happening from the beautiful visuals. Here is the link:
Here is the link to watch Milda and her new mate. They will be preparing the nest with eggs laid in March.
I am so excited for the people of Latvia and for all of us that love White-tail Eagles. Send positive wishes for the pair bond to grow even stronger for Milda and her new mate, Mr L.
There is also some other good news around the world from Latvia. The very first egg of the season has been laid on Taiaroa Head at the Royal Albatross Colony. The male has been a bachelor for 18 years! This feels like another miracle. Congratulations to everyone at the NZ DOC!
Thank you for joining me today. I look forward to bringing you news of Milda and her mate as she is incubating eggs in the spring. Take care everyone!
Thank you to the Latvian Fund for Nature for sponsoring the camera where I took my screen captures.
I love Ospreys – bet you can tell! Still, the anxiety rises when there are three eggs on a nest that, historically, simply cannot support that many mouths to feed. Right now the Mum at the Port Lincoln Osprey barge in Australia is incubating three eggs. In 2020, a drop in fish deliveries around day 16 of the youngest life meant that food insecurities hit the two older and much bigger siblings. Tapps was a victim of siblicide. Will 2021 be different?
So far the two adults are working like a super machine. Today Dad came in with a fish delivery for mom. She left and he incubated the eggs for a half hour. Have a look at that smooth exchange:
The 2019 female fledgling of the PLO nest has been seen and photographed at Tulka yesterday. Solly, the 2020 fledgling with the satellite tracker still seems to prefer Eba Anchorage but she has spent some crazy time at Streaky Bay again. Solly is 339 days old on 26 August Australian time.
If it has been awhile since you watched an Osprey catch a fish, have a look at this slow-motion video shot in the Scottish Highlands. Incredible. When you are watching this remember that Ospreys and Owls are the only birds whose outer toe is reversible to help them hold on to their prey. It allows them to grasp with two toes in the front. Great design.
The Ospreys that live in Australia along the coasts and the rivers are Eastern Ospreys, Pandion cristatus. Eastern Ospreys do not migrate. Their status ranges from secure to vulnerable and rare in various states of Australia.
Ospreys have a system of communication between one another that individuals, such as yourself, will recognize if you have been watching Osprey nests. There are 11 physical and visual displays that show they are resting, alarming, soliciting for food, in a defensive posture, nest protecting, under attack, or sky dancing to impress their mate. In addition to the body language Ospreys use they also have 8 sounds that they make alongside the physical signs. Those include alarming, food solicitation ranging from a very low sound to an extremely high pitched sound, a sound for guarding, being excited, screaming, and the sound during copulation. These findings were published in 1993 by Vincent Bretagnoll and Jean-Claude Thibault. The article is “Communicative Behavior in Breeding Ospreys (Pandion haliaetus): Description and Relationship of Signals to Life History.” It was published in The Auk, Volume 110, Issue 4, 1 October 1993, Pages 736–751.
The British Library and the Cornell Bird Lab have an extensive library of bird sounds that you can access. Also, just watch the birds intently on their nests in different situations. You will soon be able to recognize their different visual postures. For those working in situations that deal with Ospreys, it is essential that they learn the communication and behavioural signals of these birds. These skills would definitely have helped those reviewing Malin’s flight off the nest and, in the future, could save a bird’s life.
Blue 33 (11) has delivered Maya a nice fish for breakfast. So Maya is still here. It doesn’t mean she won’t eat and fly! We just need to wait and see.
Either White YW left Tiny Little an early fish or the silvery white object is a leftover piece of fish from last night’s late feed. Is Tiny home to eat it? and will she be in Cumbria all day?
Ooops. Looks like Tiny Little is too late!!!!!!!! Mr Crow has found a nice breakfast. Does this mean Tiny Little has started her first migration?
UPDATE: Tiny Little is still here. I didn’t get the photograph but someone else did. Yippee. Will try and chase her down today.
It is another misty morning. Aran is on his perch almost in the exact same position as he was yesterday morning.
And here is Aran with Mrs G. She remains in the UK still.
At the Dyfi nest, Telyn was last seen on 21 August at 12pm while Ystwyth was last seen on 24 August at 09:26. Dysynni and Idris were both at the nest on 25 August. Idris brought Dysynni a whopper.
Yesterday, Laddie, LM12, delivered a fish to LR2 on the nest. LR2 was 97 days old.
After a pesky crow flew around the nest, LM2 decided it was safer to take that whopper over to his favourite Birch tree to eat it. Wow, Laddie, great fish!
LR1 left for her migration on 15 August. This was only the second time in the history of this nest that a fledgling has left before the female.
Oh, it is lovely to see some of them still home. Thank you, Tiny Little! News in other news is there are now three eggs for the Collins Street Falcons! That last egg arrived at 23:53 last night. Congratulations. And last, if you follow the Loch of the Lowes Nest a wonderful surprise. A 2015 fledgling, FR2, flew over Guardbridge in Fife yesterday. They got a photo. Fantastic. A survivor! There is sad news today. The Black Stork fledglings received their names yesterday. 7181 (no 1) was named Julge meaning Brave. 7181 (no 2) was named Malbe meaning Sedate. 7183 (no 3) was named Tasane meaning Peaceful. You might have recalled some animal sounds being heard at the base of the nest tree. It is now confirmed, so sadly, that Malbe has been killed by an animal. Urmas has taken the body of Malbe to be examined. Word has also come that Tuul, Karl’s fledgling, has also perished. The Black Storks are so rare – it is so sad to hear of these deaths. Our hearts go out to all who loved these beautiful families and to those who so diligently worked to make sure Jan’s nestlings were fed and healthy to fledge. There has been some problems with the tracking and posting of Karl II and his fledglings locations. I will bring this to you as I locate it. Did you follow Milda? You will know that this brave White Tailed Eagle from Durbe lost her mate and sat on her eggs for eight days without food and then a potential mate came. But last year turned to be a sad year for Milda. She is now working on the nest with her new mate, Mr K. So happy for her. There is word that WBSE 28 did, finally, get some food. Send your warm and positive wishes off to all of the birds.
Correction to earlier news letter. Karl II has only had a transmitter for two years. I said ‘many’. Thank you!
Have a wonderful day everyone. Take care. See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen shots: The Cumbrian Wildlife Trust and The Foulshaw Moss Osprey Nest, Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Dyfi Osprey Project, The Scottish Woodland Trust and the Friends of the Loch of the Lowes, LWRT and the Manton Bay Osprey Nest, the Port Lincoln Osprey Project and FB Page.
