I cannot thank the boots on the ground near the St Joseph River for keeping us informed about Little Bit 17. Without his tale tale tonsure, we might never know that it is him. I know that many of you are not members of FB so I took a couple of screen captures but, if you are members go over to Notre Dame Eagles and see the latest posting by Doreen Taylor. There are some great videos of 17 soaring as well as one of the parents.
The St Joseph River where Little Bit is perching and soaring. One of the adults flying over the nest tree. Note the white head.A capture from the video of Little Bit 17 perched preening.
Just seeing him out in the wild living his life – thank you Humane Wildlife Indiana. Tears.
There has been some discussion about whether or not a chick – not sure which one – had fledged or not. Our ‘osprey eyed reader ‘H’ kept questioning this. Today after watching one osplet on that nest move around all day and not fly, it has been confirmed that only 2 of the osplets from Boat House have fledged! Thank you ‘H’.
And there the osplet is…stuffed with fish, flying no where soon. With the camera off for 2-3 weeks it was really difficult to even identify which osplet was which – not sure it has been done yet!
Keep your most positive thoughts for Dad at the Port Lincoln Osprey barge. Mum and Dad are into hard incubation of the three eggs. Let us hope that he does not have another ‘spell’.
Beautiful Mum.Dad comes to give Mum a break.
Last. SE30 is doing great. He is flapping his wings and crawling out of the egg cup. Don’t tell 29 but 30 is figuring out how to get up to Lady and get the first of the fish!!!!!!!!
Sea eagles have wide and long wings. The pin feathers coming in so nicely on the part of the wing closest to the body in image 1 are the secondaries. They have 15 secondary feathers and 10 primaries – the ten closest to the wing tip. You can get a glimpse of those coming in.
As you can see SE29 is moving around the nest keeping balance using those wings! You can feathers appearing slightly on the shoulders (as black dots) and back of 29 in subsequent images. They will start to flap those wings more.
We are getting ready for the biggest plumage and development changes during the next two weeks. They will go from mostly being a fluffy chick to looking more and more like an eaglet. They will stand on their two feet and begin to make efforts to self-feed. So lots of exciting things to come!
‘B’ sent me a note after the images of Lancer appeared in yesterday’s blog. He reminded me that Dr Sharpe had saved so many eaglets this past season including Lancer who clung to the side of the cliff. Yes, Lancer also had a second chance at life! Thanks Dr Sharpe.
Thank you for being with me. I knew you would want to hear about Little Bit. Take care everyone. See you soon!
Thank you to the following for their FB posts and streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Doreen Taylor and the Notre Dame Eagles FB, Audubon Explore and ‘H’, Port Lincoln Osprey, and Sea Eagles @Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre Sydney Olympic Park.
There was a goshawk attack on the Llyn Clywedog nest at dusk – 20:38:40 on 13 August – that knocked the fledgling off the nest. Here are two videos, one in regular time and the other in slow-motion.
In my earlier blog today I lost much information including rare images of three fledglings together on a nest in Wales. It confirms that the fledgling that was knocked off the nest at Llyn Clywedog is fine!
Thanks to CarnyxWild for their streaming cam where I took my video clips and screen captures.
Sadly, the attacks by Goshawks on Osprey nests is becoming more common than one would like. Today, Dylan had no more than brought a fish in for the three fledglings and left – followed by the two – than the Goshawk that has been seen in the area knocked Blue 553 off the nest along with the fish. It was only 8 days ago that another Goshawk attack – this time in Poole Harbour – took the life of 5H2.
Here is the video of that attack in real time at Llyn Clywedog:
Here is that attack in slow motion:
The nest remained empty for the night.
There are two fledglings on the Llyn Clywedog nest this morning. One of them is Blue 554. I cannot read the other Darvic ring.
The attack happened so late at night. It is unclear if Blue 553 has been located or what the situation is but John Williams should be letting us know as soon as he can. He keeps very good track of Dylan and Seren and the chicks.
It is 05:54 and two are waiting for Dylan to arrive with breakfast.
There are new pictures of Victor looking rather bright eyed! The Ojai Raptor Rehabilitation Centre and Dr. Sharpe & Co really gave Victor a chance at a second life. They did not give up on him! You are doing great Victor.
Just look how clear and bright his eyes are – oh, Victor, we are all cheering you on to good health and a successful release ——– and a long life.
Titi has not returned to the Janakallan nest since fledging. This is a huge worry with the goshawk around the forest and the nest. If you know of any visits by Titi, please do let me know. I am concerned that he has fallen victim to the goshaw who would have lured him into the forest.
I lost about 2 hours of work – it flew off into the sunrise with all the fledging ospreys! I will include that news tomorrow but will put in two that survived on my screen because they are hugely important.
Kaia is now in the Ukraine. Kaia is the mate of Karl II, the Black Storks in the Karula National Forest in Estonia. She is in very dangerous territory – if migration were not enough! Please send her your warm thoughts.
SE30 had a nice big crop in the mid afternoon feeding. Lady is feeding it in the top image. Look at that crop. You can tell SE30 because it is whiter with less wing feathers showing. SE30 got a top up in the nest feeding. All is well at the Sea Eagles nest! Breathe.
Please send all the birds your best wishes! They are all fattening up in the Northern Hemisphere for migration – a challenge in itself without the local goshawk attacks. Thank you for being with me. Take care everyone. See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams and/or posts which formed my screen captures: CarnyxWild, Ojai Raptor Center, Finnish Osprey Foundation, Looduskalender, and Sydney Sea Eagles at Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre Sydney Olympic Forest.
I saw it but didn’t know what I was seeing since I had been away. ‘A-M’ confirmed that Big Chick – chick #2 – fledged this morning at 0821. The chick returned to the nest at 0918.
Here is that moment. I could not wait to share it with you. We have all worried about these babies and hats off to Soo and Olsen. They pulled off what appears to be two fledges this year – LC will soon follow! What a triumph. So happy for this Osprey family who has battled heat dome after heat dome this summer with all three of their chicks perishing last year. Congratulations Soo and Olsen!
LC and Soo wait for BC’s return.
Thank you to Osoyoos Ospreys for their streaming cam and to ‘A-M’ for confirming that fledge this morning and the successful return to the nest by BC. Well done!
It is a gorgeous day. A perfect 21 degrees C or 69.8 F with blue skies and sun. Rain is to come on Monday. It must be a good day to go and check on the ducks and ducklings! Dyson would not cooperate so I could not get his photo as he clung, swaying back and forth, on the tallest sunflower eating seeds. Hopefully he will do it again and I will be ready! This year Dyson and his friends planted those seeds. Next year we are going to have a big plot of them for everyone! Mr Crow and the juveniles have refused to ‘visit’ since I returned. It only happened a few moments ago once cheesy hotdogs were put out. Are they on strike against peanuts!!!!!!!!!
News came in from ‘H’ this morning. The second osplet at the Boathouse Osprey platform has fledged! Thanks, ‘H’ for keeping us informed. It is so sad that the camera is down and we cannot see this great transition in their lives. Happy to hear they are flying!
While I was away – or this morning – there was a fledge at the Osoyoos. BC has flown! Both chicks are looking good. They have survived some of the worst temperatures. So grateful.
Nest is empty except for LC at 0835.
Waiting for a delivery.
LC is really working those wings. On fledge watch for this one.
The wind is really helping us get a good look at Love and Peace on the Glacier Gardens nest in Alaska this morning. Oh, beautiful birds. Love has branched. Waiting for Peace. Enjoy these lovely eaglets while you can.
Stephen Basly continues to keep us informed about the comings and goings of our dear Little Bit ND17. Here he is fishing over the St Joseph River. Way to go Little Bit!
SE29 on left with a small crop. SE30 on right. It had not had food earlier.
The food deliveries at the Sea Eagles nest were few and small yesterday. SE30 did get some – eventually – but not before it had been beaked enough to cause it fear from SE29. Let us hope that this was a one off and not a pattern for several days.
SE30 withdraws -frightened – when there is a feeding.
SE 30 got some food but not enough to even make a dent on its crop.
Wish for fish! This was a nest that was calming down. It was 10 degrees C yesterday in the Sydney Forest. Fishing should be good?
Suzanne Arnold Horning captured some images of Arthur and L2 yesterday. L2 was on the Bradfield Building perches at Big Red and Arthur use at night. SAH got the shot and whee….L2 was off heading towards another favourite hunting spot, Beebe Lake.
Oh, it would be so grand if Arthur was to look up and L4 was back near the natal nest. I have not seen any recent updates on either L3 or L4 as they heal from their injuries.
Every moment with the fledglings is precious. Any day L2 could take to the skies to find his own territory.
It could be any day that the Black Storks on Karl II and Kaia’s nest in the Karula National Forest in Estonia depart the forest for that long and arduous flight to the centre of Africa where they will winter. Urmas has given trackers to the strongest of the four so that we can follow their flights. (I wish little Ilks had gotten a tracker!) Bonus is 83 days old today, Waba and Voog are 77 and little Ilks is 74. He missed the nest flying in and everyone was worried but he is OK. Each of the four are there around noon wishing for a food delivery from Karl II.
Karl II arrives with a pouch full of frogs for the storklets.
Everyone is hungry!
We have not seen Kaia. She has begun her migration on 10 August, one day earlier than last year. In that first day she flew 325 k and is in a forest in Belarus.
She rested and flew 314 km on 12 August. She is at the edge of another forest in Belarus.
There is very real concern for an area in Poland called the Oder. Thousands and thousands of fish and birds have died. The Storks and White-tail Eagles are also dying along with beavers. It is a popular place for the Storks to feed. Let us hope that Kaia and all her family will avoid this gathering place.
Chemical waste has been dumped into the river! It is all over the European newspapers and is of concern to everyone.
The Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said, “Huge amounts of chemical waste were probably dumped in the Oder River with full awareness of the risks and consequences,” he said in a video on Facebook. “We will not let this matter go. We will not rest until the guilty are severely punished.”
Punishing the guilty after the fact does not help the birds, the animals, and the humans in the wake of this catastrophe. The German authorities are saying that the poison is mercury. Sadly, industry and governments dump unseen toxins and waste into rivers and oceans daily. Humans need to get a moral compass so that they will stop these practices immediately. Pollutants like human waste and toxins join with warming seas. What life will there be for our birds in a decade?
Kaia’s transmitter has sent no further updates. We wait with worry. Please follow the travels of Karl II and Kaia and the storklets with transmitters here:
Of course, the migrating wildlife are caught in many dangerous situations. Poisoned waters in Poland and maybe other parts of Europe and an unrelenting war where the practice of the birds was to stop and stay for a period resting and eating to help them make it across the long deserts of Africa. This migration is fraught with obstacles that are highly dangerous to our beloved birds.
Poole Harbour has put together a short tribute to CJ7 and Blue 022’s second hatch that was predated by the goshawk.
If you missed it, Lady Hawk finished her tribute to Junior, the Bald eaglet that accepted Malala, the Red-tail Hawk as its sibling on Gabriola Island. Junior was killed when it landed on an unprotected hydro pole near the nest. Warning: Any tribute by Lady Hawk requires a stack of tissues!
Plucky, one of Nova Scotia’s juvenile ospreys, survived a Bald Eagle attack. Thanks to the quick reactions of everyone, Plucky is safely back on its nest!
Checking in at Port Lincoln. Mum and Dad have 2 eggs for the 2022 season. Ervie continues to fly by the barge to check on things but he is avoiding Mum’s wrath. Hopefully we will get some new images of Ervie and Dad fishing soon.
That’s a wrap in Bird World for this Saturday. I hope each of you is having a super day. Looking forward to having you with us again soon.
Thank you to the following for their postings and streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Port Lincoln Ospreys, Cobequid Wildlife Rehabilitation, Notre Dame Eagles, Lady Hawk and GROWLS, Poole Harbour Ospreys, Eagle Club of Estonia and Looduskalender, Suzanne Arnold Horning and Cornell Hawk Chatters, Osoyoos Ospreys, Glacier Gardens, and Sea Eagles@Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre Sydney Olympic Park.
First a correction! Shame on me for saying we know where Telyn winters. It is not Telyn but, the beautiful Seren from Llyn Clywedog that spends her winters in The Gambia. I knew that and wrote Telyn. Thanks, ‘C’ for alerting me. Much appreciated!
One other clarification that ‘CE’ caught that needs explaining. Osprey fledglings are the raptors that do not require their parents to teach them to hunt or fish. Others do. You will have seen the eagles and hawks showing their fledglings how to hunt prey! I bet Ervie did chase Dad around in his efforts to find some good fishing spots, though!
Ervie, dear Ervie. Port Lincoln posted images after I had sent out my blog last evening so our dear Ervie is up first. Thanks to ‘B’ for alerting me to these.
As so many of you are aware, Port Lincoln Ospreys is working hard to introduce our fish eagles to Southern Australia. They are getting attention from government agencies and, of course, the population is growing to love these birds – many because of our dear Ervie. Here are the latest postings from Port Lincoln and the beautiful pictures of Ervie out fishing with Dad by Fran Solly. There are more on the Port Lincoln Osprey FB page. Head over and have a look. This is the place to continue checking on Ervie and his antics with Dad — or alone.
It is always good to see you, Ervie.
Is there room for you, Ervie??????!!!!!!
Remember when we worried that Ervie would only be able to catch puffers? Well, he has certainly adjusted to fishing without that other talon (I have not seen it fully grown in on the pictures but I would love to be corrected!). That is a beautiful fish. Well done, Ervie.
At the Black Stork nest in the Karula National Forest of Karl II and Kaia, Bonus, the adopted storklet of Jan and Janika, Bonus, fledged first today. He was followed by Volks who hears Bonus in the forest and flies off to the left.
Both returned to the nest. Ilks is looking at his reflection in the camera. Will you fly next? So funny when they find themselves. After fledging the Black Storks will stay at least a week around the nest being fed. If the food is plentiful they may stay longer before venturing out to find food for themselves and beginning migration.
As ‘B’ says, it is hard to beat the WBSE for cuteness. SE30 is a bit of a corker. When it was 2 days old, 30 beaked at 29. Not a good thing to do. We have all worried about 30 but unless there is an unexpected ‘something’, they should both be fine. SE30 gives as good as it gets and they both fool around with one another and then seem to stop before it gets too rough.
Chubby little bottoms. Their soft down on the head is giving way to pin feathers and the feathers are coming in nicely along the wings. They will begin to do a lot more preening as things get itchy. You can see their black talons and those big clown feet getting started. So cute.
Of the streaming cams in Australia, we now have the WBSE eaglets and the first egg at the Port Lincoln Osprey barge for Mum and Dad as of yesterday. We are awaiting the beginning of the season for Peregrine falcons Xavier and Diamond and the Melbourne CBD – 367 Collins Street. Xavier and Diamond are amping up the bonding in the scrape! Eggs before the end of the month?
The only chick on the Landscape Arboretum platform at the University of Minnesota fell off yesterday. It has not fledged. Here is the video of that incident. This could have turned out badly – and would have if not for the quick actions at finding the chick and getting it back on the nest. Thanks to all involved!
Boris and Titi (yet to fly) on the Janakkalan nest in Finland. 9 August 2022. Handsome!
All of the White Storklings of Betty and Bukacek have fledged. They seem to spend their time finding the parents and following them back to the nest for good feedings.
Look carefully. Bukacek is flying into the nest from the left (right above the grassy area at 930 on the nest).
All of the storklings came to the nest quickly so as not to miss a meal.
All of the UK chicks have fledged. This year the three at Foulshaw Moss did not get the best attention from me – in terms of publicizing the nest activities here on the blog. Last year I followed every move because of the third hatch – Blue 463 who survived and did extremely well. Waiting for her return next year! The Cumbrian Wildlife Trust have put out a very nice blog with an overview of the nest activities including some links to videos.
There appears to have been a fledge this morning at the Fortis Exshaw Osprey platform near Canmore Alberta. Thanks ‘H’ for the tip off! They seem to all be relatively equal – perhaps the others will fly today. You can see Mum looking on over the nest at her three beautiful chicks from the perch.
The fledge was a quick take off, fly around the nest and return landing on the right side.
I am counting a fledge as a flight off the nest and a return. In my mind, the chicks jumping up or getting to the many perches is equivalent to branching for Eagles, not a full blown official fledge. The real question is how far away is the perch? It is too difficult to tell. Mum certainly looks small and if it is a distance, then it might be counted as a fledge. If that is the case, then there were two fledges at Canmore this morning so far.
Big Red, Arthur, and L2 have all been accounted for by Suzanne Arnold Horning this week. Excellent news. Still no recent updates on L3 or L4.
L2 in the top picture screaming for a prey item and Big Red and Arthur calmly relaxing in the second.
Everyone remains curious as to how Victor got so much zinc in his system that he almost died. The Institute for Wildlife Studies has indicated that there are fishing lures coated with zinc. Thanks ‘B’. Here is the posting on the chat at the IWS. The question still remains: how much zinc does a fledgling eagle have to ingest to almost kill it? I do not know the answer to that question but I hope to find out.
The posting of the images of Little Bit 17 prompted a lot of mail. Everyone is thrilled and so very reassured that it is our little tenacious eagle. So grateful to the boots on the ground for chasing after this family and sharing their photos and videos with us on the Notre Dame Eagles FB.
‘CE’ had a very interesting analogy that seems quite fitting given the sponsors of the camera and the university that they are associated with – Notre-Dame. CE noted that the image of Little Bit looks like a Franciscan Friar with his friar’s crown. He said, “In the 5th century, the tonsure was introduced as a distinctive sign. In the East, the Pauli tonsure was used (all hair was cut), in the West, the Petri tonsure (only the top of the head was shaved). This was also called Corona Christi (Crown of Christ). Since the 16th century, the tonsure of regular clerics has been reduced to a small circle.” Friar Little Bit. It sounds nice.
Thank you so much for joining me today. It is lovely to have you with us and the birds. I will continue to monitor the nests during the day. Tomorrow I am heading north for two days to count and enter the GPS for the Bald Eagle nests in and around Hecla Island. That information will be sent to David Hancock whose foundation monitors bald eagle nests in Canada. I hope to get some good images of the adults and juveniles before they leave for their winter homes. There will not be a newsletter tomorrow morning but I will try my best to get some images out to you tomorrow evening. Please take dare. I look forward to seeing you again soon.
I want to thank everyone who wrote in and sent me news. I still have some of your images to post! Much appreciated. I want to also thank the following for their streaming cams and/or posts or their photographs that I used for my screen captures: Fran Solly and the Port Lincoln Ospreys, Suzanne Arnold Horning, the Notre-Dame Eagles FB, the Eagle Club of Estonia and Looduskalender, Mlade Buky White Storks, Fortis Exshaw, the Finnish Osprey Foundation, the IWS, Charles Sturt University Falcon Cam, Landscape Arboretum Ospreys, and Sea Eagles@Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre, Sydney Olympic Park.
I hit ‘send’ and the blog went out. It was one of the first days that I did not check on the little sea eagles, the falcons, or Mum and Dad at the Port Lincoln Osprey barge. Serves me right! Thanks ‘A-M’ for sending me that time stamp! I am over the moon. The official time is 03:17 on the 9th of August in Southern Australia.
I just love this Dad. He is there with Mum giving her support! He also takes very good care of his fledglings – I wonder if he will tell Ervie today if they go out fishing together?
Incubation period for Eastern Ospreys is 34-42 days, normally. Mark your calendars. Hatch watch will begin on the 12th of September.
Here is the link to the Port Lincoln Osprey streaming cam:
Port Lincoln also has a very informative FB page with lots of images of the Ospreys. You do not have to join anything to see the latest news.
Thank you for joining me for this quick announcement and thank you to Port Lincoln Ospreys for their streaming cam. We will be looking forward to eggs 2 and 3.
It is a beautiful sunny day with clear skies on the Canadian Prairies but it is raining tear drops in the UK this morning.
This is a very early posting – longer one for this evening – to acknowledge the loss and sorrow. The chicks at Poole Harbour made history when their eggs were laid, when they hatched, and then fledged. It is a great loss. Sadly, the Goshawks are also being reintroduced. Their are formidable enemies of the osprey if you have ever witnessed an attack.
H52 the osplet that was attacked by the Goshawk on the Poole Harbour nest has, sadly, died.
The attack that took H52’s life:
At the Loch Garten nest, IC1 passed away this morning after being ill for a couple of days.
IC1 watching IC2 return from a flight yesterday.
Condolences go out to both Loch Garten and Poole Harbour – to the Osprey families and all their followers. This is just tragic news in a growling list of young osprey deaths in 2022.
Thank you for joining me. I am so sorry to bring you such sad news.
Thank you for their streaming cams where I took these screen captures.
It was a lovely trip to a small town on the Canadian Prairies to check out waterfowl – which turned out not to be Greater Yellow Legs – but, a small variety of ducks. What is so nice and relaxing is a single area around Crescent Lake and Island Park. There are walking and biking paths as well as benches to look out over the water and watch the ducks. It was beautiful and quiet, something someone living in a big city does not realize they need until they are sitting surrounded by the sound of hardly anything.
As it was nearing dusk, the water glistened with silver striations. The ducks were quite camouflaged. You could only spot them when they were moving. All of the bird ID technology available to me identifies this as a pair of Common Goldeneye. They were about 100 m or 328 ft away.
The duck in front with its wings raised preparing to fly is a female. She has a chocolate brown head, lighter grey breast. You can sometimes see a thin white collar.
This Eared Grebe was finding food and feeding this little one. It had two with it and this is a male.
This cute little female Wood Duck with her tear-shaped eye-ring did not seem to mind having her picture taken.
The Duck at the back of the group is a Northern Pintail. She almost fooled me but her bill is grey while that of the Mallard in the front right is orange. The Pintail does not have the eye line of the Mallard either.
Another American Pintail on the rock.
The American Coot came along and stood on one of two large stones at the edge of the marshy area. If you look carefully you can see the black ring at tip of the white bill. Coots have red eyes, long green-yellow legs and a charcoal grey plumage all over their body.
Mallards.
What surprised me the most was the fact that there were recently hatched ducklings! I started counting the months til they would migrate and began wondering what on earth. It is possible that they will not fly away for winter. There is a river called the Assiniboine that is south of Crescent Lake. There are several dozen ducks that remain on that river near to where my daughter lives in Winnipeg.
The way that the ducks camouflage themselves in the reeds was simply remarkable – just like the striations on the river in the evening when you cannot see them.
It was a lovely day away and it was nice to get home having the Crows complain that all the peanuts and cheesy sausages were gone!
It was nice to come home to have an update about the Poole Harbour Ospreys. Here is the official announcement if you have not seen it.
CJ7 and H51 along with Blue 022 have now been on the nest. These images are from the 6th.
H51 eating a fish.
CJ7 came in with a fish for H51. They will be careful of the nest now that they know there is a Goshawk in the area. Just like Ospreys are being introduced so are Goshawks. These Ospreys then will always need to take great care.
The family is not sleeping on the nest at night.
Annie and Alden certain are enjoying their quiet time when Lindsay and Grinnell Jr don’t pop out of a corner chasing them. This is a four-minute bonding ritual complete with many kisses! If this doesn’t put a smile on your face, I do not know what would. They start off with what appears to be a conversation or a long permission to enter the scrape and amp it up from there.
The Sea Eaglet chicks have crossed over that stage of beaking and bopping and are now teasing one another.
This is just too funny!
Then a beak kiss. Lady just takes it all in stride. Notice that their crops are rather full and squishy providing the perfect cropillow.
The pin feathers can be seen much easier on the eaglets today.
There were six feedings on the Black Stork nest in the Karula National Forest of Karl II and Kaia. The storklets have been jumping and hovering and preening as well as eating. In fact they ate really well today.
The storklings can tell that an adult is approaching with food. They begin their begging dance which helps to stimulate the parent to bring up the food.
Karl II delivers a lot of fish. The basket must have been replenished.
Bonus is 77 days old today. Under normal conditions, Bonus would have fledged. Urmas believes that maybe it is delayed development due to a lack of food. The longest recorded time to first flight for Black Storks comes from China at 76 days. Bonus broke a record! The record for earliest fledge is 56 days (Saxony). Generally the chicks fledge before the female leaves for migration. But will this happen this year? Kaia left on 11 August last year. When they leave we must send them positive thoughts – it is a long, long journey through an area of war. I wonder what the nature refuge at Odessa looks like? was it shelled? or just the port area?
Titi at the Janakkalan nest has been really eating and growing – he seems to have caught up with Boris in size in a couple of days. He has not fledged and both osplets hatched on the same day. I wonder if the difference in feeding – like that with Little Bit 17 and Bonus – has really impacted his development too? All of us were aware that Boris was getting much more but how much we could not easily measure.
Titi hovering.
I understand that Titi is now sleeping alone on the nest while Boris is perched in the trees – near Dad?
The Osoyoos Osplets of Soo and Olsen are still on the nest! Whenever you go away you hope that chicks do not fledge but — that can’t be controlled! You also hope to come home and have all safely in the nest just as it was when you left. The family continues to deal with the heat domes they have experienced. This is the second one. It is currently 36 F and will climb to 38 tomorrow. It seems Olsen is still able to find fish.
Love and Peace remain on the nest at Glacier Gardens. They should be branching soon. Love and Peace will not migrate. They will remain in Alaska where they will feed off the local Salmon just like their sibling, Kindness, from 2021.
If we want everyone to respect nature and wildlife we have to make an effort to educate them, to get them to ‘love’ and ‘respect’ the birds like we do, to get them to understand their challenges — and to get them involved. Port Lincoln Osprey just posted an event that is intent on doing just that!
It looks like Mum and Dad at Port Lincoln Osprey Barge could become grandparents this year. This is Calypso on the left watching her mate eat a fish…I presume he knows that he is supposed to feed her, right? Calypso was the 2020 hatch with Star. Star has not been seen. —— She is Ervie’s sister. Gosh, I wish there was word about Bazza and Falky.
It is a very foggy morning on the grounds of Charles Sturt University in Orange, Australia. You can just see the trees below the water tower where the scrape of Xavier and Diamond is located.
The fog goes away quickly. Diamond looks out over her territory. We should be having eggs in what? 3 weeks?
There is news that L3 is doing well with her flight training. That is great news. L2 has been hanging out with Big Red and Arthur learning more hunting techniques. I do not have an update on L4 but I am assuming that the soft tissue injury will heal rather quickly. The Boathouse was back on ‘Highlights’ so if you go there to check on the three osplets just make sure you look down at the left corner….Highlights often shows an empty nest! Good way to get a heart attack. :))))
Thank you for joining me this evening for a quick check up on the birds. Take care everyone. See you soon!
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams, FB posts where I took my screen captures: Friends of Poole Harbour, Cal Falcons, Sea Eagles@Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre Sydney Olympic Park, Port Lincoln Osprey Project, Eagle Club of Estonia and Looduskalender, Osoyoos Ospreys, Finnish Osprey Foundation, Charles Sturt University falcon cam, and Glacier Gardens.
Good Morning Everyone! It is a hazy day on the Canadian Prairies. The birds have been up early feeding as temperatures are set to rise to 29 degrees C today. The plants in the garden are looking a little droopy despite watering – we have been lucky to have all that rain. Some areas are really struggling. It is now a little after noon and the Crows and Blue Jays are reminding me that they need more peanuts and want their water changed! They are so smart. Wonder if I could teach them how to use the water hose?
I hope that you enjoyed seeing those beautiful pictures of Brooks back on the nest with Mum and Dad, Rosie and Richmond, at the WWII Whirley Crane. HE is well and beautiful. In case you missed it, Brooks (Blue XA) arrived back to the nest yesterday in the late afternoon and DNA testing has confirmed that Brooks is a male. Molate was also confirmed to be a male. This is a photo of him. He is very handsome.
Richmond does not migrate but Rosie does. Wonder which Brooks will choose? It is much safer to stay put!
Rosie has brought Brooks a lovely fish. Welcome home, Brooks.
Fish hooks and monofilament line are dangerous for all birds that eat fish like Ospreys and eagles. This is a reminder that things on nests can happen quickly — and for us to clean up our environment! Join a riverbank of lake clean up. It will make you proud that you have helped.
As we get ready to begin the great autumn migration, it is perhaps best if we take a deep breath. Migration is extremely dangerous especially for first year fledglings but it is becoming increasingly difficult for ‘seasoned’ birds as well.
I was surprised when I brought home a book from our nature centre, Atlas of bird Migration. Tracking the Great Journeys of the World’s Birds. It has good solid information on species with maps, information on the difference of gender in certain species as to migration —– and, hold on, out of 176 pages, four are devoted to “Threats and Conservation.” Out of those four, two pages had large photographs. The book lists: water (they show an oil spill), field and forest (they show fires), hunting and caging. Can you think of good current examples of these that will impact the birds we love heading to their winter quarters? what are they missing? Send your ideas to me and they will be included in a special blog on migration next Friday, 12 August.
Do you live anywhere near Hawk Mountain in Pennsylvania? You can visit but, you can also take part in the annual count. Here are the dates that the birds fly over. Even if you didn’t help with the count what a special time to see the birds flying with the thermals, soaring over the mountains on their way to South America.
Hawk Mountain has kept track of spring and autumn migrations since 1934. You can go to their link and see population shifts. It is an eye-opener in some cases.
Each of the nests below has faced or is facing challenges like many others. If you looked at the picture of the nest could you come up with issues they have faced? Try it before reading my text!
The two osplets at the Osoyoos Osprey nest have not fledged yet. They are working on some wingersizing. Caught them enjoying an early fish from Olsen this morning. Today will be good but by Sunday the temperatures at the nest will be 36 rising to 38 on Monday and 40 on Tuesday. Extreme heat has been an issue at this nest for several years with the temperatures continuing to rise and rise.
Thanks to the lovely people who live around the Notre-Dame Eagle nest we have more pictures of ND 15, 16, and Little Bit 17. It is always so funny…Little Bit seems to love to hide behind the small branches with leaves. So grateful to all those keeping track of the trio!
Hi Sweetheart.
The Parramatta River and Sydney Harbour have some significant toxins in the water that impacts the fish eaten by the sea birds.
The toxins leaked into the river from a shipping container company as reported in The Sydney Morning Herald on 16 May 2009. The article said, “The Patrick’s site on the Camellia peninsula, near Rosehill Racecourse, has been found to be leaking the chemical Chromium VI, posing a risk to people and marine life.”
In 2017, 2ser 107.3 reported that the Parramatta River was a “toxic time bomb.” They said, “Fifty years of toxic chemical residue is sitting on the bottom of Sydney Harbour and the Parramatta River. It’s a toxic time-bomb and disturbing this sediment could worsen already dire pollution levels. And now sweeping developments along the shore of the River could be bringing more pollution to the already sullied waters.” While many might have hoped to swim in the river before they were too elderly to do so, contaminated storm water was pumped into the river in December 2020 causing more problems.
It is unclear what impact this is having on the White-bellied Sea Eagles who are at the top of the food chain along the river. Despite research being carried out, the direct implication to these WBSE is not normally discussed. If you know of a study with results, please let me know.
Lady with WBSE 29 and 30. They are filling up the nest cup!
Karl and Kaia missed each other by a flap of a wing. The fish basket has been replenished! Karl II rains down fish on the storklets. You can see the fish on the nest in the image below and then in the video. So grateful for Urmas and his fish baskets that have kept this family in good health. Areas where the Black Storks used to fish is becoming too developed and it is becoming more difficult to find fish – so grateful for the intervention. I continue to question whether or not it would work -in nests impacted by human action such as Osoyoos – to place a fish basket for the Ospreys? Would they use it? We are constantly told that the temperatures we are experiencing now are not going to alter but will get hotter. We need to work on plans for the birds.
Kaia has also been collecting fish for the four.
The four were stuffed after the feedings from both Karl II and Kaia. They will not fledge in rainy weather nor will they fledge when they are so full.
Urmas posted this note on Looduskalender yesterday. It has some information about what will happen once the storklets fledge.
The storklets now have names. Bonus will keep his name. The other three are Voog, Wada, and Iks.
The three storklets of Karl II and Kaia are Voog. This is Voog standing up
Waba is on the perch.
Iks is preening Waba. So there are the three!
Last year Kaia left for her migration on 11 August. These storklets should have fledged last week but they have not. Recent heavy rains have halted this or large feedings. The longer they stay on the nest and eat the stronger they will be.
The storks will travel to the centre of Africa for their migration. Have a look at a map and remember that that they often stop west of Odessa at a nature reserve. What particular issues will they face during migration?
The migration threats to the White Storks of Mlade Buky in the Czech Republic are similar to the ones that Klepetan faced when he migrated back and forth from Croatia to South Africa. He would visit his mate, Malena in Croatia for the breeding period. The person who cared for Malena was particularly concerned with the White Storks passing over Lebanon? S Vokic even wrote to the Prime Minister and President of Lebanon. Do you remember what his concerns were?*
Dad continues to provide fish on the Janakkalan Osprey nest in Finland. I have not seen Titi fly.
He can fly. He just does not know it and he has no mother like Nuppu to encourage him. As such he continues to be a target for predators. It is good to remember that Ospreys talons are for holding fish – getting them out of the water and transporting them – not for fighting. They are too curved inward.
Despite concerns over migration or intruders, the birds on the nests are doing fine. Their health appears good and food is coming in on a regular basis – even at Osoyoos where Olsen brings fish in early on the hottest of days and late in the day. Once the birds fledge they can also cool off in the water. Keep sending them your warmest wishes. Life is getting ready to get difficult as they fly, perfect their flying, and set off on their own course in life.
There is some great news coming out of Yorkshire! More firsts for the UK Osprey population. Fantastic.
Sharon Dunne posted an update on when the Royal Cam chick will be banded. They ran out of time yesterday. Here is the announcement:
The Albatross face particular threats that some of the other migrating birds do not face. QT chick will fledge in September. When she flies off Taiaroa Head she will head out to sea where she will spend 4-6 years before ever returning to land. Then she will return as a juvenile with wobbly legs for a bit partying it up with the others hoping to find a mate for future years. What could happen to these lovely birds on the high seas for all those years?
In the Northern Hemisphere, the lovely sea birds around the UK continue to die from Avian Flu. They thought it was over and it has come back with a fury. Dutch scientist, Thijs Kuken says the solution for future outbreaks is to stop the factory farming of poultry. So far the Ospreys in the UK seem to have not fallen victim to the latest outbreak.
Thank you for joining me today. Remember do your research on threats to our feathered friends due to migration. Think about it. Send me your findings by Thursday of next week. That would be 11 August on the Canadian Prairies. Take care everyone. See you soon!
If you said shooting for sport you would be correct.
Thank you to the following for their posts and/or streaming cams where I took my screen captures: SF Ospreys and Golden Gate Audubon, Notre Dame Eagles FB, Sea Eagles@Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre Sydney Olympic Park, Finnish Osprey Foundation, Eagle Club of Estonia and Looduskalender, Mlade Buky White Storks, and the Osoyoos Osprey nest.
