It is alright to laugh at silly moments -when a raptor nest is flourishing as the Captiva Osprey Nest is this year. The giggles started with the delivery of the 12:51 fish by Andy.
Andy has arrived with a really nice fish and Lena has already taken it out of his talons and moved the fish to the other side of the nest to feed the chicks. The chicks have been sound asleep and there is a bit of a scramble to position themselves.
So this is what happens. Look below. The two older Bobs turn towards Andy. Meanwhile, Little Bob is facing Mum and getting all the fish! Yeah for Little Bob. He is smart.
Several minutes have passed. Big Bobs with their cute little tails and fat little bottoms are still hoping that Andy is going to feed them. Meanwhile, Little Bob is getting a nice crop. This kid, by the way, has the longest neck of any little Osprey I have ever seen! Just look at it.
Little Bob is pretty full and he has turned around to join his big siblings checking on what is happening on their side. Meanwhile, Lena, who had a lovely bath in the Gulf of Mexico this morning, is enjoying that fish. Andy must wonder what in the world is going on.
Little Bob whispered in their ear and told Big and Middle, ‘Hey guys the food is over here!’ They began to turn around in a bit of a mini-scramble.
All lined up. Little Bob is going to sleep at the table he is so full and Andy is taking a time to have a quick nap during his security duties.
Well done Lena and Andy. You are doing a great job of parenting these young osplets.
The chicks were so full they could hardly stand up. Most of them are sleeping in place.
I love the facial expressions that Andy makes. He is a great Dad. Look at those long, skinny but very strong legs he has. Fabulous family.
If you love Ospreys then you really need to stop in and enjoy this family with all the other viewers. There is a great rewind feature, it is a beautiful location, and the moderators are well informed.
Here is the link:
Thank you for joining me for a bit of a giggle. We can always use one once in awhile, especially when it all turns out well in the end. Take care.
Thank you to Window on Wildlife and Captiva Ospreys for their streaming cam where I took these screen captures of Lena and Andy’s family at Captiva, Florida.
I have to admit that I can’t stay away from the Captiva Osprey nest for long. After dinner, I decided to stop in and see what I had missed. It was two things! There was a fifth feeding. The last two ran together and the fish were lovely Mangrove Snappers. The other one happens around 12:33 nest time. Little Bob is in the back. Big and Middle Bob are not that interested in food. Lena begins to cut through the two older chicks and she feeds Little Bob full to the brim. The other two paid absolutely no mind.
All the thoughts that keep going through my head keep asking: Is this a clutch of three males like Port Lincoln?
You can see that Little Bob’s crop has filled up in the image below.
That was an excellent feeding for Little Bob. The fifth feeding so close to the fourth insured that Mum also had some fish before she went to bed. Marvellous family working so well together!
After all my praise for Andy having a fish right at the dawn, today Lena called and no answer. Andy flew in with a fish at 09:07:36. Lena checked a couple of times, each returning to brood the kids. In the image below she knows that Andy is coming with a fish.
It is now 11:30 nest time. Lori, the owner of the property, has posted on chat that Andy is below the nest in the mangrove eating the head of a huge fish. Looks like the kids will have a big lunch! Despite the late breakfast, the trio were well behaved. Just like Port Lincoln.
Here is that big fish being delivered at 11:37:08. No doubt Lena is going to fill herself and the nestlings up to the brim! Nice one, Andy.
It took a few seconds for Little Bob to wake up and get himself around to the side where Lena is feeding. Ah. Now they are all lined up. It looks like it will be another great day at Captiva!
Oh, Little Bob got himself right up to the front so he can get lots of fish! Just like Ervie. Gosh, I miss Ervie. That Port Lincoln Osprey nest is so lonely.
Big Red and Arthur continued work on their nest today – almost at a frantic pace.
You can really see the nest cup much clearer at night.
Big Red and Arthur are on the edge of a system that could bring up to 30 cm or 12 inches of snow to the Northeastern parts of the US. It looks like it could just miss them. Fingers crossed.
It looks like Big Red and Arthur might have escaped the storm.
The Dahlgren Osprey nest of Jack and Harriet now has its streaming cam live. You might recall that Jack brings in a lot of toys to the nest. Sometimes there is so much stuff that the eggs get lost in the jumble. This year there is a brand new platform for the Ospreys to fill up! You can see it in the image below in the link to the streaming cam.
It is 08:52 in Big Bear Lake, California. The sun is filtering through the snow covered nest of Jackie and Shadow. That nest is 44 metres or 145 feet up at the top of a Jeffrey pine tree. You can see the eggs as they are being gently rolled. It will be hatch watch for Jackie and Shadow this weekend. Thousands are holding their breath for this couple in their quest to raise eaglets.
Egg 1 was laid on 22 January with egg 2 laid on the 25th.
Here is the link to Jackie and Shadow’s camera if you do not have it on your list.
There has been a fight between two White-tail eagles on the nest of Milda near Durbe in Latvia. It was posted as a short video on YouTube. It was a younger eagle, perhaps 4 or 5 years old, fighting with Mr S. Thankfully Milda was not involved.
It is snowing on Bonnie at the Great Horned Owl nest in Newton, Kansas. The one egg of Bonnie and Clyde was laid on the 16th of February this year. Last year, the couple fledged two fantastic owlets, Lily and Tiger. They have taken over the nest of a young Bald Eagle couple.
The human made nest at the WRDC is looking a little bare to the wire this morning. R1 and R2 – Rita and Ron’s kids – are looking good. It is lovely to see them doing so well. I know that many of you worried, like I did, about R2 in the early days. He is a big strong creative eaglet. His early attempts at self-feeding really helped.
Kincaid had a Red-eared Sunfish for breakfast this morning at 10:15:18. Like R1 and R2 his juvenile feathers are really coming in now although not as advanced as the Miami duo. He is doing a good job at self-feeding but loves when Anna stays and does the honours.
They are all doing so well. Put a smile on your face! It is so nice that the egg laying is staggered from region to region so that we have the time to enjoy these wee ones growing up into beautiful juveniles!
For the first time in I can’t remember when, all three Grey Squirrels – No Name (the great big one), Dyson, and Scraggles were all in the same area at the same time. I had eyes on all three. Then Little Red ran along the telephone lines. So everyone was around the garden. Dyson was eating on the solid seed suet and in the snow and Scraggles was eating seeds on the snow. I took lots of photographs – none of them great quality but, I wanted to find out if any of them had been injured by the cat yesterday. (Of course, that was only an assumption based on the two locations of blood). No Name is fine. Tail in tact, no scars. Both Dyson and Scraggles have tail issues. There are no marks anywhere on Dyson other than his beautiful tail seemingly thin to the skin in one area. I know it is Dyson because of the tufts and his sweet little face. You can see what would be a nice solid busy tail. It doesn’t quite look like it does when Dyson is moulting.
Little Scraggles seems to look the same as it did the other day. So I think that it was Dyson caught by the cat.
Dyson is fine! He is vacuuming up every seed he can find! It is such a relief.
And we are now heading out to fill up all the feeders so there will be more for him. It remains terribly cold here. It is now only -23 C but temperatures are dropping throughout the day to -31.
Take care everyone. Thank you for your warm wishes for the injured squirrel. Tails will grow back!!!!!!! No real damage done, thank goodness. See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Window on Wildlife and Captiva Ospreys, KNF Bald Eagles, WRDC Miami Eagles, Dahlgren Ospreys, Cornell Bird Lab, Friends of Big Bear, Farmer Derek, and CNN Weather Tracker.
We have a terrible problem in our neighbourhood. But, before I begin, let me say that for most of my life, I have had a cat or two or more. My Dad had a ‘warm’ spot for animals. Today he would be known for feeding feral cats and caring for them. More often than not, we adopted the strays, fed them, and found homes for the kittens. He taught me that they deserve love and respect as he went about rescuing puppies abandoned and starving cats. In other words, I grew up loving animals and am particularly fond of cats. I have not had a cat since last July when my dear Honey died of kidney failure. I do adore them.
Honey was a Sorrel Abyssinian. We rescued her from an apartment where she had been locked in for a month with no one home. She was amazing. She was a lap cat and loved to be into everything that was happening.
Our City has a by-law that cats must be kept inside. It was instigated so that the large feral cat population in the City would decline. The problem is that certain people do not adhere to the by-laws and, of course, no one does anything about it if they don’t. So that is the very back story to today.
The bird feeders were full and one of the small squirrels -either Dyson or Scraggles- was eating away in the square feeder when I left to go and get the produce for the week. Everything ‘seemed’ fine. When I returned an hour later, there were few birds at the feeders. I decided to refill the one for the Starlings. They do love the Meal Worms and Butter Bark for some reason. When I did, I noticed fresh blood under the Black Sunflower feeder and frozen blood in the centre of the square feeder where the squirrel had been. Something injured one of the squirrels while I was away. It was not Sharpie – he only takes a Sparrow once in awhile and there were no feathers flying about. The cats are the likely culprit. You will often find me chasing them away from the feeders. I could not see blood anywhere else. Did the cat actually carry the squirrel away? or did the squirrel escape? We wait to find out. I have looked everywhere for clues and nothing.
None of the squirrels are in the garden not even Little Red and there remain few birds. Events like this are traumatic for them. They can smell the blood and might not know what happened but they would not that something was harmed. Sadly, the wildlife rehabbers will not take squirrels for fear of rabies. So we just hope that whichever squirrel was harmed, it heals properly. It is normally Scraggles that gets in the way of the cats. He is called ‘Scraggles’ because of his shaggy tail and torn bits of fur when he came to the garden more than half dead a couple of years ago. He sat and ate black oil seed for days hardly moving and in a few weeks he was looking good. Fingers crossed for whoever is injured. Please send your warm wishes!
Why am I telling you this when I know you keep your cats inside? Because cats are the major predator to birds at feeders, bunnies, and squirrels. While people believe they need to be outside, most vets will tell you that cats are safer inside watching the wildlife from the window. They will not get injured, hit by a car, lost, or become prey to something larger. Spread the word to those that do let their cats roam.
Bird behaviour is very interesting. You might have read my blogs mentioning Jennifer Ackerman. She is the author of The Genius of Birds and The Bird Way. I picked The Bird Way up again last night to read through a section and was reminded how good Ackerman’s writing is on the topic. So if you are looking for insightful books on our feathered friends and why they do what they do, when they do it – these are excellent choices.
The pattern of feeding at the Captiva Osprey nest is holding. Three good feeds in the morning with the last of the three around lunch time and the first right after dawn. The final feeding – the fourth – is around 16:00. Andy arrived with the fish at 15:56 and by the time Lena got it and the chicks were situated they were right at 16:00. You could almost set your watch by this nest.
One of the things that keeps chicks from having food competition is stability. This nest is regular and stable. Fantastic. There are no surprises. No long period without food save from the last one to the morning feed.
Turn around Little Bob!
Andy is being very vigilant.
The feeding lasted for forty minutes! Lena filled up those chicks so full but, remember, this will be their last meal for the day if the pattern these two adult Ospreys have been following holds. One of the chatters commented that, “Minibob’s got a crop so full that it’s not just getting fatter it’s getting longer as well!” (BJ). That is always good to see.
You can see a bird flying behind the palm tree. There are predators around the nest. It did not go unnoticed by Andy and Lena. Andy is being careful. No one will harm his family if he can help it.
The trio are slowly falling into a sleep coma. There was no fish left for Andy and even Lena didn’t get a lot. The osplets are demanding more and more each feeding as they grow. They will all be entering their second week by the end of this week and that is a big growth period for nestlings.
Andy is off to get his fish. Lena might be wishing he would bring in another one so she could have some more fish, too. Meanwhile she is trying to get the full and sleepy puddle of chicks settled.
Big Bob is not being very cooperative! Get to sleep Big Bob.
Finally! It is a cuddle puddle.
Spring is in the air for all of the California Condors at San Simeon and The Pinnacles. Ventana Wildlife Society just posted this beautiful image with an announcement of a Zoom session. You might want to check it out. I have attended several of these. They are free and very informative.
There is a pip at the home of the Duke Farms Bald Eagles!
Here is the link to their camera. I saw the announcement on FB but the view from the cameras is not good enough for me to get an image capture.
One of our readers, ‘S’ from Latvia reports that the swans are returning. They have been flying over her house and foraging in the nearby fields. Isn’t that wonderful. Next week I will include a discussion on all the nests in Latvia and Estonia – White-tailed Eagles and Storks – that you can watch. Eggs will be laid on some of the nests, such as Milda’s around the beginning of spring. It gives me hope – hope that warm days are coming.
All of the nests are doing well. NE26 and 27 ate so much today they could hardly walk! I have not seen Ervie but his tracker shows he is exploring the area around the bay where the barge is located. Hopefully we might get a glimpse of him, soon.
Take care everyone. Thank you so much for joining me today. See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Window on Wildlife and Captiva Osprey Nest and Duke Farms.
The sun was just rising on Captiva Island in the Gulf of Mexico when Andy brought in the breakfast fish for the three little Osplets. Like yesterday they were all lined up to have their fish. The sun cast a rose-gold glow all over the nest of Andy and Lena while those babies were eating. It was just magnificent.
Before that image was captured, Andy flew in and got the breakfast order from Lena.
Once he had the order, Lena prepares for the arrival of the fish and feeding the babies their first meal. Lena is really careful as she backs off the little ones.
You can see how they fit under her so she can brood them.
Lena is very loud. She calls to Andy reminding him that the babies are awake now and they are hungry! Get that fish here fast!
Just imagine. In about ten days time these three will be doing little chirps at Dad helping Mum tell him ‘we need fish’!
First thing in the morning is the best time – for me anyway – to catch a good glimpse of Little Bob. They get scrambled up during the day and it can be hard to see him. Big and Middle Bobs are getting large.
Andy delivers a wiggly catfish to the waiting family at 06:54. The little ones are fully awake. They are hungry and they are lining up for breakfast.
As Lena gets situated to take the fish, you get a good look at the trio. That is Little Bob at the far end.
It looks like Big Bob is having a good look at that fish as Lena grabs it by her beak to move it from Andy’s talon. He reminds me of Ervie – right up there with that fish, not taking his eye off it.
It is a very busy time during the transfer of the fish. The adults have to be careful not to lose it and also not to let that fish hammer the chicks and injure them. It seems very tricky to me – a live, wet wiggly fish jumping about.
Andy flew off after he established there are no predators about. The wee babes get themselves up to the edge of the nest bowl to eat.
Lena finishes feeding the three at 07:14. They are nice and full and will sleep soundly.
At 08:35:21 Andy flies in with the remaining piece of fish that he had retrieved from the nest so Lena can do a second feeding.
These two have a real pattern that is different from that at Port Lincoln. There are normally three feedings in the morning and the fourth in the late afternoon at Captiva while Mum and Dad at Port Lincoln spread the feedings throughout the day. Both of course start feeding at dawn but that is where the similarity ends. It shows that in different geographic areas and with different Osprey couples their approach to the care of their young is different.
Andy often stays while Lena is feeding to act as security for the nest while she is busy. This is another difference that I see between the Captiva and Port Lincoln Osprey nests. Andy is very vigilant about predators and there are many around this nest (the couple have lost their chicks to Crows in the past) whereas Port Lincoln has no predators.
Lena was still feeding the nestlings at 09:01. That feeding will last for half an hour. Each of the osplets will be full. These long feedings are different than many of the other nests where the Mum feeds from 10-12 minutes.
Lena gets a much needed break. Andy will take care of the babies beginning at 09:11. You get a really good look at Little Bob who is on the far right in the image below. Does he think Dad has a fish and he had better get up front?
Andy is getting much better at brooding these wiggling babes. Him and Lena work so well together taking care of their wee three. Fingers crossed.
The chicks hatched on 16, 17, and the 19th of February. Little Bob is one week old today!
Lena returned and Andy flew in with a fresh fish a couple of hours later at 12:15:44.
Little Bit is wiggling his way over to the table as Dad dries off.
He’s up there – not the greatest of places – but Lena will stand and feed them until all three are full. No one will go hungry.
Little Bob got up there. Little Bob had a great second feeding this morning and he is doing really well now, too. No worries so far for this one.
I wonder if the heat in Florida makes for better fishing in the hours before noon? I must watch today and see if the pattern of three morning feeds and one late afternoon holds.
Lena is still feeding the osplets as I finish this blog. This is a fantastic Osprey family living in the Gulf islands of west Florida. If the predators stay away they should have three successful fledges.
Here is the link to the camera:
Thank you so much for joining me today as I check in on this single Osprey nest. Take care everyone. See you soon!
Thank you to Window on Wildlife and Captiva Ospreys for their streaming cam where I took my screen captures this morning.
Most of you know by now that I am not a great owl fan especially those that take over nests belonging to successful Osprey couples. That doesn’t stop me from thinking that they are also cute and adorable. This is a sweet little video of Mum eating a rodent and chewing it to a fine mush and feeding the owlet at the Savannah Skidaway Island nest.
The plumage of the female Great Horned Owl is simply gorgeous. The camera close ups of the feed are wonderful. You will note that the eyes of the owlet remain closed. It will be a couple more days before they are open.
Before I was able to post this, Cornell made a video of this Mum defending her nest. She really opened her wings fully. She had a look like ‘You had better not mess with me today!’
Ithaca, New York is in line for some of the rain in the system that is going through the Northeastern US. It has already started raining at the nest of Big Red and Arthur on the Cornell University campus.
Andy and Lena’s trio had a really nice feeding – several of them – and they are now sound asleep!
There were four feedings in total today at the Captiva nest according to the chat moderator. I caught the times for three of them: 6:52:18, 08:59, 12:48. The last must have been later and for the life of me, I can’t find it but I know it has to be there. Four feedings. If you want to do a comparison, the average number of feedings per day at Port Lincoln was seven.
Lena had a break. Andy took over brooding and did a pretty nice job.
Lena continues to dry off.
Diane is busy incubating three eggs on the Achieva Osprey Nest in St Petersburg, Florida. Those eggs will be looking to pip the middle of March. Oh, it is exciting. This is Tiny Tot Tumbles nest!!!!! I hope the third hatch is as determined and creative as TTT. If so, it will thrive.
At the Minnesota DNR nest of Harry and Nancy, Nancy was shocked to find a racoon coming up to eat the eggs. Harry successfully defended the family!
R1 and R2 both had big crops this afternoon. R2’s was large when he started getting fed. It is just so nice to see these two doing well. I worried for awhile and my friend that watches this nest said not to – it would all work out – and it did! Thank you!
These two little darlings are Fern and Thunder. They are chicks of Blazer and Abby over at the Eagle Country nest. Adorable. Just look at them staring straight at the camera! It is nice to see a couple of bobbleheads! All of the other eaglets are growing so fast!
Before I close, it is time to start paying attention to some of the White-tailed Eagle nests in northern Europe. One of the ones that I follow is the nest of Milda near Durbe in Latvia. Last year Milda last her mate and her two miracle chicks to very unfortunate circumstances. She has arrived at the nest and there is another ‘new’ (?) male with her or is this is a dangerous interloper? I really hope that she has a reliable partner like she had in Raimis and we get to see some lovely little chicks this year.
Every nest does seem to be doing well. Bella and Smitty have been alerting and chasing an intruder – probably the new female that fought with Bella. It is so nice to see Bella feeling well, healed. Life is good!
Take care everyone. Thank you so much for joining me. See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Window on Wildlife and Captiva Osprey, Cornell Bird Lab, Achieva Credit Union, Eagle Country, and the WRDC.
It was not a particularly nice day in Ithaca, New York. In fact, it was 2 degrees C when Arthur arrived at the nest this morning at 08:16:35. He brought some twigs, tested the nest bowl, and looked around. Arthur has really been bringing twigs at an exhaustive pace recently. According to one of the founders of the FB group, Big Red did once lay her first egg on 13 March. Are we in for an early start this year? Or does Arthur know that bad weather is coming and realize that when it is good to restore Big Red’s nest he should waste no time? Arthur, you are quite adorable.
Arthur was still scurrying back and forth with sticks two hours later.
My very first love was an urban hawk – a Sharp-shinned Hawk that visited my garden one frosty January day. I ran out in my slippers and housecoat thinking that the hawk had killed and was eating the garden rabbit, Hedwig I. The hawk kept eating until I got within 15 cm or 6 inches of her. I have learned so much since that early morning and I would never ever go out and interfere with Sharpie having some breakfast or lunch now. She was not eating the rabbit but a sparrow. We looked into one another’s eyes for several minutes, not moving. She was the most beautiful creature I had ever seen. And how blessed I was – looking into her eyes that morning changed my life. Thankfully, I quietly returned to the house and Sharpie finished.
As a result of this beautiful, close encounter, I have an interest in urban raptors that has grown over the years. Sharpie still comes to visit the garden. Of course, I now also know that Sharpie is a male! He is very cheeky – always pausing to see if I am watching from the window he will turn his head til our eyes meet and then he flies away. I always wonder where he roosts and how far his territory extends. It seems that the peregrine falcons are in the centre of the downtown area which is between 4 and 4.6 km away from where I live. So it would seem that their territories do not overlap. It is curious. I think he has a route and I know that he is ‘mad’ at me for removing a twenty-foot tall cedar tree. The little birds would get inside that tree filling it up. Sharpie would come ripping through a small space between my house and the neighbour’s making a sharp right angle turn into the tree. He was always successful at hunting – always. Sadly for all of us, we had a four year drought and no matter how much water the tree was given it simply was not enough and wasn’t the heavy rains that nature provides. It died and had to be removed. Now, Sharpie really has to work for his lunch. And if you are wondering, yes, I have thought about planting another large conifer for Sharpie! It isn’t a cat or dog that rules our house but the garden animals!
Sharpie was very puffed to stay warm on his last visit. It was -32 that day. He is sitting on his plucking post and if he raises his head slightly, he can see me watching him from the kitchen window. I do not go outside when Sharpie is hunting so all of the images are through glass – and he is fast. Not as fast as a Peregrine Falcon, of course, but fast enough for me not to be able to grab my good camera — unless, of course, he is eating lunch which takes about 35-40 minutes.
He glances back to me and is gone in a blur. Such a beautiful much loved raptor.
Robert Yolton writes a great blog on urban raptors. His focus for years has been the Red-tail Hawks that live in and around Central Park in NYC. While he writes about other birds in the area, I really enjoy this time of year when he begins to report on the hawks preparations for spring breeding season. On 16 February, five days ago, he has lovely images of the couple whose nest is on a balcony of a high rise apartment at 84th and East End Avenue. He wonders if they are merely working on the nest or if the eggs will be laid early this year. And that, of course, is what we are wondering about Big Red and Arthur. Yolton’s reports are always accompanied by beautiful photographs. One other recent one has images of hawks, Kestrels, and a Great Horned Owl in Central Park. I urge you to take a look at his blog: urbanhawks.com You will not be sorry!
I have checked in on the three Osplets at the Captiva nest in Florida on and off today. It was actually wonderful to see my daughter today which meant that I was not sitting and counting the bites Little Bob got in a feeding! Here they are all lined up from the eldest on the far end to Little Bob on the end close to us. They look like a choir. I hope this continues. It reminds me of the three Port Lincoln lads (until they fledged).
Speaking of Port Lincoln lads, if you missed it, Ervie visited the barge yesterday. He was there from 19:15-20:31. He missed seeing Dad who arrived half an hour after he left.
Port Lincoln has asked everyone along the north shore to kept an eye out for Ervie. This is his latest tracking in the area. The green pin indicates his position at the time of the tracking. Continue to notice that Ervie goes back to the nest on the barge. For several weeks I have said that I felt Ervie would continue to stop in. Let us all hope so! It was lovely to see him yesterday. He is in good form.
One of Ervie’s greatest fans is ‘A-M’. She believes that Ervie stopped by to see Dad and to tell him, “ I found a place, it’s cool. I need help moving sticks and nest stuff. Come visit and bring fish!” It brought tears to my eyes. This is the first time I have been able to watch the interaction between the adults and the juveniles after they have fledged other than the adult bringing a fish and getting out of the way quickly. There was something very heartwarming about seeing Ervie and Dad just sitting around the sticks, as if it could be a campfire, with one another.
So keep watching the Port Lincoln Osprey barge. You might catch a glimpse of our handsome Ervie.
After seeming to be missing in action for two days, the male GHOW at the Savannah Owl nest has returned. The Mum was so excited. His return is on video when he brings a nice fat rodent for her to feed the owlet. The sounds from the owls is adorable.
That is excellent news. With all the intruders at that nest, including that Red-tailed Hawk, it would have been almost impossible for the Mum to raise the owlet alone. Cornell did a very cute video of the female GHOW feeding the two-day old owlet Dad’s prey. Have a peek:
Gabby and Samson are doing a great job trying to entice NE26 and 27 to self-feed. Fish are brought to the nest unzipped and left for the two hungry eaglets. So far NE27 who learned to feed itself more than a week ago has done the best. After the eaglets work on the fish then either Gabby or Samson comes in and fills the two up! This nest is doing so well. No one is hungry.
That old saying is knock on wood. And that is what I am doing. It seems that the nests are doing well. If you are a fan of the National Arboretum nest, Lotus laid her second egg yesterday – the 20th of February – at 18:39. Bella and Smitty are both working on the NCTC nest. Another eagle has been seen soaring and both Bella and Smitty have taken to easing it out of the territory.
The couple at the new Bartlesville Oklahoma Bald eagle nest are incubating two eggs laid on 15 and 18 February. I grew up in Oklahoma and it will always hold a special place for me. I hope this couple are successful and have to great fledges. The link to the camera is:
Look closely at the image below. Do you see a ‘meadow muffin’ or a ‘cow pie’? Looks like the Oklahoma eagles have a unique item that they are going to line their nest with!!!!!!! Can I say ‘only in Oklahoma’?
Thank you so very much for joining me today. Take care everyone. See you soon!
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams and FB where I took my screen captures: The Sutton Group, Port Lincoln Osprey Project, Window on Wildlife, Cornell Bird Lab, and NEFlorida Bald Eagles and the AEF.
Dad just missed seeing Ervie. In fact, Dad has come several times as if he is checking to see if Ervie is on the barge. Oh, I wish they had connected. Ervie arrives on the barge 17:41.
Here comes Ervie. He is in really good form flying in. No one else is home.
Oh, what a handsome Osprey you are, Ervie! We are so lucky that the cam operator noticed you Ervie and zoomed in so we could have a good look – and also confirm that it was, indeed, you.
There you are. You did come back to the barge as I expected. I think the barge will remain your stopping off point. Oh, I hope it will be!
Ervie, do you have to get to your own home now since no one is on the barge? Were you waiting to see if anyone would come?
Off you go. It is 20:28. You need to get home before it gets really dark. Maybe we can figure out where that is from your tracking, Ervie.
Sadly, Ervie, you missed Dad after waiting for so long by only half an hour.
Dad arrives at 20:58 on the perch.
Dad stays until after 02:25 and then he must fly over to the old barge. Ervie, he would have loved a chat down in the shed with you. He will also want to know that you are hungry or not. Have you found a good fishing spot? Can he quit worrying about his youngest?
It was so nice to see you Ervie! If your fans want to check the footage, they can still see you on the re-wind camera for awhile. The link to your camera is here:
After checking on you Ervie, I went over to see the little osplets at Captiva. They are doing really well. The little one reminds me of you, Ervie, standing tall and getting your food between Bazza and Falky sometimes. This one likes to be up front, too. Hopefully they will be good to one another in the nest like the three of you were.
Thanks for dropping by so all of us could see that you are doing well, Ervie. You are missed enormously.
Thank you for joining me this morning and thank you to the streaming cams at Port Lincoln Osprey Project and Window on Wildlife where I took my screen shots. See you soon. Take care everyone.
Everyone is hopeful that if the young female returns there will not be a horrific fight between her and Bella. I gather she was not near the nest today as Smitty and Bella got down to all those important preparations for eggs! They did not waste a second.
More love stories with the eagles! A very handsome 4 year old, A-14, named Andor is making a nest with Cruz at Fraser’s Point on the Channel Islands. Oh, goodness, another young dad. It was fantastic to see the young male at the MN-DNR last year. He was quite incredible once it all got figured out. Here is the link to the Fraser’s Point streaming cam. If you like the sound of frogs and crickets, turn it on at night!
The barge at Port Lincoln sure looks empty. It was full of pigeons yesterday cleaning. There is an Osprey sleeping on the perch and it must be Dad. I wonder if he is missing Ervie, too? They got to be good buddies. Wasn’t that fabulous?
Port Lincoln has uploaded the latest tracking on all three Osprey. Our Ervie is really getting around! The green pin indicates the last place he was. His pattern still seems to return to the barge. I do wonder if he will stop in again. He is also going along the coast for the most part which is what he should be doing. It is unusual for the Ospreys to inland but Solly did that last year, remember? Notice, there is a spot in the bay where he appears to have stopped to fish.
So glad that Ervie’s tracking is working and we can follow our favourite Osprey juvenile as he becomes more independent!
Andy brought in a really nice fish for Lena and the three babies this morning. Someone said it was a nice trout.
Lena, we want to see the babies not your tail!!!!!!
Andy looks awfully handsome with his crest fluffed up.
Can you say awwwww?
Each chick ate well.
At the 11:27 feeding, you can get a good look at all three of the babies. Andy brought in a whopper of a fish!
The new parents are getting used to being really busy. Andy has to provide food and security and Lena has to feed and keep them warm plus try to take care of herself. They are doing well. That is Little Bob on the right.
Parents are alerting. Now Little Bob is in the middle.
Everyone had fish. We have to remember that Big Bob will eat more than the newly hatched Little Bob. Don’t worry if it looks like he is getting all the food. They all ate well and Lena is a fabulous Mum.
Look at those little crops.
Here is the link so you can watch this fantastic Osprey family:
The soon to be named eaglets at the NEFlorida nest of Samson and Gabby have pin feathers! They continue to work on self feeding – particularly NE27. In fact, Samson dropped a fish in the nest to see what would happen. NE26 looked at it, NE27 had a go at eating. Then Samson jumped back in the nest and fed both of them. We are over the hump of worry and can look forward to lots of activity in this nest once they start working those wings.
You can see the pin feathers coming in on the wing of the chick on the right.
Adorable. They are both very interested in what is happening off the nest and the comings and goings of Gabby and Samson.
The chat moderator at the Kistachie National Forest (KNF) nest of Anna, Louis, and Kincaid got in touch with Lady Hawk and told her about the 20 fish deliveries . Tonya said she twisted her arm to make the video when she gave Lady Hawk all the time stamps for the 20 deliveries. I know that it is difficult to believe but I have been saying all along that Louis is the best pantry filler I have ever seen! Once I giggled that maybe he was in competition with Samson but he has blown all of the males out of the water with this last barrel of fish. Twenty fish in one day – during daylight hours only. Here is the proof. Have a look:
It is time to check on Iowa. It is now reported that the number of Bald Eagles in Iowa has risen. The Des Moines Registrar states: “Stephanie Shepherd, part of the Iowa DNR’s wildlife research staff, estimates the average number of bald eagles in any given winter to be about 3,500. But that number has increased to nearly 6,000 this year, the National Midwinter Bald Eagle Survey says.” Wow. Where did they come from? are they moving further north because of the weather? It is curious. Certainly other birds are moving farther north.
As of yesterday, 19 February at 16:15, there were two eggs in the nest at Decorah North home to Mr North and DNF (Decorah North Female).
Wow. Look at that beautiful straw and corn husk nest. Gorgeous. You don’t see that in Louisiana or Florida!
There are no eggs on the Decorah Bald Eagle nest (not to be confused with Decorah North). How lucky can you be with a trout fishery right across the road!
It is the 7th or 8th year for the Bald Eagles at the Denton Homes nest. They are named the Majestics. No eggs yet but this nest is currently on egg watch. Becky has been jumping around the nest for the last few days.
We are all holding our breath for Jackie and Shadow at Big Bear. Their first egg was laid on 22 Jan and the second on 25 Jan. Believe it or not we will be on pip watch for Jackie and Shadow on the 26th. Everyone is wishing this much loved Bald Eagle couple success this year.
Doesn’t Jackie look gorgeous as the sun rises over Big Bear Lake?
Here is the link to their streaming camera. Do check in and send all your positive energy to these two fabulous eagles. Maybe this year will be a golden one for them! Thousands and thousands will be crying with joy if it is. Like Captiva, the nest has been plagued by predators and thin egg shells from the DDT that is still in the region after 50 years. We keep our fingers crossed.
Smitty has been bringing in some grasses to the NCTC nest that he will hopefully share with his mate, Bella. I have not seen her this morning nor have I seen the new female (NF). Fingers crossed that there is no horrid confrontation between the two females and one gets injured – again. It had to be difficult for Bella when she was hurt on 1 February and had to leave her nest. Positive thoughts.
All of the nests seem to be doing well today. It is hard not to just watch those little osplets at Captiva and ignore everyone else. They are so cute and we all know that they will grow fast. It is a consolation to have them when we are all missing Ervie so much. Thank you for joining me today. Take care everyone. Looking forward to seeing you soon.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen shots: Window on Wildlife, Friends of Big Bear, Explore.org, Denton Homes, NEFlorida and the AEF, and Port Lincoln Osprey Cam and FB page.
For all of us missing ‘our’ Ervie, it was a real treat to be watching the Captiva Osprey cam when the little one inside that third egg pushed its way out into the world. Lena was feeding the older two and was completely caught by surprise! But, she moved into high gear and got over and covered that little one up fast. So fast in fact that we barely got a glimpse! Dad Andy kept coming in wanting a peek just like the rest of us.
I really hope that this nest has a success. Andy had brought in a Needlefish and Lena was feeding the wee babes. It would have lasted the nest til tomorrow but, because of the predators, Andy removed it. In doing so, it is believed that he dropped it. The wind was blowing hard. I have checked periodically and have not seen a fish brought back to the nest. No, nothing. The new hatch will not need anything til tomorrow but the older ones are going to wake up ravenous. I hope Andy is right there with a nice fish the minute they squirm.
This is the closest I could get to capturing an image of the new baby.
Lena is tucked in tight calling Andy occasionally to get a fish to the nest!
Sleep well.
The pigeons have taken over the Osprey barge at Port Lincoln. It is like someone put up a sign that said Ospreys gone! I was thinking how much Xavier would want one of those birds!!!!!!
The American Eagle Foundation (AEF) that sponsors the camera on the NEFlorida Bald Eagle nest of Samson and Gabby will be holding the name contest for NE26 and NE27. They posted on FB an image of the two cutie pies saying contest information will be posted on Monday. I will get it out to all of you so you can take part if you wish. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to name an Eagle?!
Gosh, Gabby and Samson’s kids are cute.
All you have to do is blink. B15 at the Berry College Eagle nest of Pa Berry and Missy went from looking like NE26 and 27 a week ago to getting tonnes of juvenile feathers. Oh, my goodness.
I could hardly believe it was the same little sweet eaglet that was half that size.
Notice the rails on the nest that Pa and Missy have built up on the old rails. No little eaglet would fall out of those. What a fantastic nest.
I have to admit she is gorgeous – Bonnie of Bonnie and Clyde, the GHOWs that book over the Bald Eagle nest on Farmer Derek’s property in Kansas. Bonnie is incubating one egg so far.
Farmer Derek has installed a really great overhead cam, too. All I can think of is that there are going to be so many hatches around the middle of March we will not be able to keep track of them. At the same time the UK and European Ospreys and Storks will be returning home to breed. It is going to get crazy.
That is just a peek at what is happening out in Bird World. Wish for a fish for Captiva! Thank you so much for joining me. Take care all.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Port Lincoln Osprey, Window on Wildlife and the Captiva Ospreys, Farmer Derek, and Berry College Bald Eagle cam.
The chick inside the third egg at the Captiva Osprey Nest is actively hatching right now. You can visibly see the shell breaking apart on the streaming camera.
Andy is an excellent fisher and he has been supply all kinds of fish for the first two osplets to eat. That long pencil shaped fish just came in. Sorry I simply am not good at IDing fish.
The second one did not get as much fish as the first one. There is plenty of fish left and the wind is blowing strong. Meanwhile the egg is moving.
Just look at Lena’s face when she notices the third one! Yes, Lena – there are three.
Osplet 1 got the bulk of the new fish at first and now Lena has moved to Osplet 2 who waited patiently. Oh, my. There is going to be three and the little one will be so tiny compared to these two. I hope that it has the fortitude and cunning to survive well like Tiny Tot Tumbles, Tiny Little Bob, and dear Ervie.
You can catch the last of the hatching on the streaming cam:
Thank you for joining me. Congratulations will be in order for Lena and Andy shortly and all the folks at Captiva.
Thank you to Window on Wildlife for the streaming cam where I took my screen captures.
