Tag Archives: wildlife

Tuffy reads Ruffy the riot act!…Second miracle chick at NCTC…Berry eaglet dies…Thursday in Bird World

11 April 2024

Good Morning,

My plans for Friday and Saturday have altered. There will be blog posts but they will be briefer than normal for those two days.

It is Wednesday evening. The second egg at the NCTC nest of Bella and Scout is hatching. The chick can be heard on the microphone. Thanks ‘T’ or your keen eye! Send the most positive energy to this nest so that Scout does not kill this second miracle chick! Perhaps Bella will feed the little one when he is there so he can understand that it is not a prey item.

For dear Bella, I hope, like each of you, that this little one fledges and thrives.

Scout has been acting ‘odd’ again. We will just have to wait and see what happens.

It was another gorgeous day on the Canadian Prairies. 14 degrees C. There was a cool breeze blowing off the lake at the nature centre that made it feel much chillier. The geese and the ducks arriving did not mind! Everyone walking on the trails was happy and one of the rangers remarked that the muskrat had been seen in the swamp. There were Saw-whet Owls, a Blue Heron heard but not seen, woodpeckers, geese, ducks, Red-wing Blackbirds and the Song and Fox Sparrows have returned from their migration.

I heard the Saw-whet Owl but did not see it and this is not unusual for these nocturnal birds.

Cornell Bird Lab gives us some cool facts about these smallest of owls.

  • Cool Facts
    • The Northern Saw-whet Owl may have been named for giving a call that sounds like a saw being sharpened on a whetting stone, but there is no consensus as to which of its several calls gave rise to the name.
    • The main prey items of the Northern Saw-whet Owl are mice, and especially deer mice of the genus Peromyscus. Saw-whets usually eat adult mice in pieces, over the course of two meals. 
    • The female Northern Saw-whet Owl does all of the incubation and brooding, while the male does the hunting. When the youngest nestling is about 18 days old, the female leaves the nest to roost elsewhere. The male continues bringing food, which the older nestlings may help feed to their younger siblings.
    • The female saw-whet keeps the nest very clean, but a mess starts to accumulate when she leaves. By the time the young owls leave the nest, 10 days to 2 weeks later, the nest cavity has a thick layer of feces, pellets, and rotting prey parts.
    • Migration in saw-whets has historically been poorly understood, because of their nocturnal, reclusive behavior. In the 1990s researchers began Project Owlnet, a collaboration that now consists of more than 100 owl migration banding sites. Researchers use the too-too-too call to lure owls in to mist nets, and band thousands of saw-whets every fall. 
    • Migrating Northern Saw-whet Owls can cross the Great Lakes or other large bodies of water. In October of 1999, one landed on a fishing vessel 70 miles from shore in the Atlantic Ocean near Montauk, New York.
    • The oldest Northern Saw-whet Owl on record was at least 9 years, 5 months old when it was captured and released by a Minnesota bird bander in 2007. It was originally banded in Ontario in 1999.

In the urban area where I live, habitat loss is one of the primary reasons for wildlife decline. My goal over the past decade has been to create a corridor or the birds – an area populated by bird feeders, bird houses, bee houses, and, ironically, safe places for the feral cats to feed, drink, and sleep. (I have discovered that the feral cats do not bother the birds at the feeders. It is the domestic pets that do!) Cornell Bird Lab is reaching out and asking that each of us do something to provide habitat for the birds.

TRES_DeborahBifulco_550x230px
Make a Difference for Birds Facing Habitat Loss “As I was setting up the nest boxes, I saw my first Tree Swallow of the season and had a pair of bluebirds checking out the boxes right after I put them up—looks like the boxes are bluebird approved!”—Kim Savides, Ithaca, NY Experiences like this are more common than you might think! Creating a nesting space for birds helps replace missing habitat elements and alleviate competition for good nest sites. Cavity-nesting birds like bluebirds, chickadees, swallows, and titmice will appreciate the additional space, while you get to enjoy the magic of witnessing nature close to home. You can get personalized guidance on which nest boxes to install for your region and habitat—along with free construction plans—on the NestWatch website. Don’t have space for a nest box? Create other nesting opportunities by hanging flower boxes or adding potted plants to your outdoor space. Just don’t wait too long; birds are looking for the ideal nesting spot right now!

I promised you some images of ‘The Girls’. Missey and Hugo Yugo have been getting into far too much mischief. They have their own ‘feather’ collection, which consists of a vase full of Canada goose feathers, which they can play with at any time. Ah, but since one feather looks like the other, they have also been into my Pheasant and Peacock feathers vase. The Peacock feathers are quite old. My grandmother’s younger sister raised peacocks on her farm in Oklahoma. I remember their tails fanned out in the front garden as a child.

I there is trouble or anything ‘going on’ you can count on Hugo Yugo being involved. Dear Hope was sitting minding her own business when Hugo Yugo decided it was time to play!

Remember. Hugo Yugo is very, very tiny for her age. She easily fits into that shoe box with room left over. She plays like a kitten and continues to be the size of one even though she is seven months old.

Hope loves to watch the squirrels out of the window and is very curious about the ‘outdoor’ cats. Here she is sitting minding her own business.

Hugo Yugo has spotted Hope and is ready to play!

Hope has so much patience – like the others because of Hugo Yugo’s size.

Hugo Yugo never seems to get tired of play fighting.

She easily pushes Baby Hope over on her back.

Finally, after about twenty minutes, Baby Hope gets some peace. Hugo Yugo’s battery is out of juice.

The sweetest cat…Calico.

‘J’ sends us the latest update on Meadow:

Mid-week Meadow update: We sent the DNA sample to the lab on Monday, so we expect results back sometime in the next couple of weeks. Meadow is eating well from tongs in the kennel — and all that food gets pretty expensive! Meadow is fed four times a day, as eagles grow incredibly fast in order to leave the nest at 12-14 weeks. The average Bald Eagle rehabilitation costs our Center more than $5,000 including medical care, housing, and food. To support Meadow’s care, please contribute at https://act.audubon.org/onlineact…/ar8crC6bIUGX9UsdFBWdnw2

‘H’ brings us the fully daily report from Moorings Park:

“Harry brought a small whole fish at 0711.  Tuffy received one bite and was beaked by Ruffie.  Tuffy moved away and Ruffie ate.  At 0716 Tuffy was beaked again even though he was not in a position to eat.  The fish was gone by 0722.  One bite for Tuffy.

At 0920 Harry delivered a large live fish.  There was no initial aggression toward Tuffy other than ‘the look’, which was enough to keep Tuffy from the table.  At 0928 Tuffy got one bite and was beaked and driven away.  One more bite for Tuffy at 0934, and he was beaked.  Tuffy ate another bite of fish at 0937 and was severely beaked by Ruffie.  By 0940, Ruffie quit the feeding, but she  blocked Tuffy from Sally.  There was still a fair amount of fish remaining.  Sally ate some, and at 0945 Ruffie ate some more.  At 0946 Tuffie started to make his move to get around to the other side of Sally, but by the time he got there, Ruffie was finished eating and moved away.  At that point Tuffy was fed a nice breakfast.  Tuffy was seen crop dropping a few times to make more room.  The fish was gone by 0959, and Sally found a few scraps off the nest to offer Tuffy as well. Tuffy ate at least 63 bites of fish.”

… At 1131 Harry brought a headless fish.  Tuffy moved away as he has been conditioned to do.  Ruffie was fed.  Ruffie wasn’t very hungry and moved across the nest at 1135.  Tuffy could not believe his luck!  Tuffy had Sally and the fish all to himself, and he ate at least 98 bites of fish by 1147, at which time he walked away from Sally.  Then, Ruffie ate again for a few minutes, and Sally finished the fish tail.

…At 1519 Harry delivered a fairly large headless fish, four hours after the last fish.  Tuffy stayed near the front, but turned away from Ruffie, and Ruffie was fed.  At 1521 Tuffy received one bite, then was intimidated by Ruffie with ‘the look’.  The video live stream froze at 1524, and resumed at 1536.  So, while we have no idea what transpired in those 12 minutes, we found the siblings eating side by side.  The meal was over by 1539.  Tuffy had a huge crop…enough said!

‘H’ caught Harry coming in with two fish! A double-header.

“Master-fisher, Harry, delivered two whole fish at 1655, a medium-sized one and a large one.  Harry flew off with the larger fish.  Ruffie ate while Tuffy stayed back.  Tuffy still had a decent sized crop from the 1519 meal, and he did not seem hungry.  Sally and Ruffie ate all of the fish by 1703.

… At 1703 Harry returned with the headless one.”

Everyone loves Tuffy and MM caught this great image! It sure looks like Tuffy is giving Ruffy an earful. ‘MM’ says that Ruffy did not retaliate. Yeah for Tuffy.

This image of Tuffy telling Ruffy the what for touched so many hearts. After I saw MM’s image and H’s little video for me, The Tuffy Fan Club lit up my inbox. If only this little osprey knew what a cheering section it has – my goodness. This is a memorable moment. This is what it is all about—watching the very difficult times and seeing some of these little ones come out fighting and surviving. You never forget them.

‘H’ captured the moment in the video, making my day. I love it when these little beaten ones turn around to their perpetrator. You know that this nest is turning around.

And then, there was a late delivery. ‘H’ writes: “Harry dropped off a small partial fish at 2150.  Sally ate, and she had a difficult time connecting with little beaks due to the darkness.  It was peaceful, but Ruffie got the most simply because she could reach out further to Tuffy.  Tuffy ate 5-6 bites.”

Thursday morning report at Moorings Park from ‘H’: ‘At 0759 Harry arrived with a very large headless fish (possibly catfish).  Ruffie beaked Tuffy immediately, setting the tone.  Tuffy tucked.  At 0808 and 0810 Tuffy tried to approach Sally, but he was intimidated by Ruffie, so he moved further to the sidelines.  Tuffy remained tucked at the sidelines for a very long time.  Ruffie was not being fed that entire time, but she kept an eye on Tuffy. The fish was very tough, and it was slow-going for Sally.   At 0825, Tuffy started to slowly inch closer to Sally, and by 0826 he was at her right side letting her know that he was ready to eat…but, Ruffy was obviously ready to pounce.  Sure enough, at 0826 Sally offered Tuffy a bite, and he was immediately beaked by Ruffie.  At 0832 Tuffy scooted even further away from the feeding line, but Ruffy followed him.  At 0835 Ruffie saw that Tuffy was trying to sneak around to the other side of Sally and she moved across the nest and beaked him.  By 0849 Tuffy was still tucked at the far rail, and Ruffie was getting bites of fish whenever she could as Saly continued to struggle with the tough fish.  It’s Interesting to note, that since Ruffie has grown so much, she can reach Sally’s beak from almost across the nest, so at 0850, Ruffie was still getting a few bites from Sally all the way across the nest.  This increased range of Ruffie seemed to greatly reduce Tuffy’s ability to sneak around to get into a better position.  Slowly, Ruffie seemed to be relaxing as she got full, and Tuffy was once again near Sally at 0852.  Tuffy ate 6 bites of fish and was beaked.  Ruffie soon moved away from Sally, and by 0855 Tuffy was finally being fed.  Ruffie laid down across the nest and Tuffy had a private feeding.  Tuffy ate at least 102 bites of that tough catfish!  This feeding of Tuffy was made possible because of the large size of the fish Harry brought.  For survival of the non-dominant osplet.. size matters.”

‘H’ said that right! You can count fish, but you need regular deliveries of large fish to prevent siblicide. The delivery of 8 small fish does not help! Catfish also seem to help. The head is tough going and slows down the feeding. The oldest gets full and goes away leaving fish for the little one. Diane’s catfish at Achieva certainly pulled that nest through tough times.

‘H’ also caught the second egg at Carthage – four days after the first and Mum has been doing hard incubation since the first one was laid. Can I say, oh, dear before they have even hatched? All chicks were lost on this nest last year.

‘H’ reports that “First egg at Forsythe today, 20.10.02.” Opal is the same Mum from last year but this is a new Oscar.

Like so many others in the area, this nest was hit hard by the Nor’easter in June and then the overfishing of the Menhaden.

The weather is horrible at Loch Arkaig’s nest 2 with Louis and Dorcha. Dorcha is there in the middle of the wind and snow and it appears she could be laying her first egg.

‘J’ sends us Karen Mott’s photo of the three eaglets at Centreport on Long Island. What a surprise when their heads all pop up!

Unless you are an expert on California Condors, I really suggest you grab a cuppa’ and watch this 24 minute film. It’s new. It is by Tim Huntington and the cinematography is gorgeous.

Watch-New-Condor-Film-by-Our-Partner-in-Condor-RecoveryDownload

It feels like video day! Dani Connor Wild gives us her last instalment of her trip to Antarctica with leopard Seals, more Penguins, and story after story.

JBS20 continues to make his fan club nervous as he continues to explore the tower that would be a tree. Fledging within the week probably.

Despite the miserable wet weather, Bonnie and Clyde keep their eaglets fed and warm.

The weather is wet and miserable for the Little Miami Conservancy eagle family, too. Bette is doing a great job as Umbrella while Baker is keeping food on the nest.

The ND-LEEF babies of Dad and Gigi appear to be doing fine.

USS7 – Claire and Irvin’s little one – is super! We can certainly be thankful for these little ones with their soft downy heads and little wings and feet.

Ellie and Harvey filled up Cheyenne and Wichita on Wednesday.

I know that the prey deliveries get fewer as the eaglets get older, but after hearing about Meadow being emaciated, it would be so nice if the parents could keep up the deliveries like they did when the eaglets are in their growth period. The Dukies would have liked some more today I am certain.

Hearts continue to break for Jackie and Shadow and their dream of a family.

Port Tobacco’s ‘Only Eaglet’ is certainly benefitting from all that food brought to the nest and not having to share but Chandler, the Dad, is missing.

Update: B17 has died. Please send your good wishes to Ma and Missey at the Berry College Bald Eagle nest in Georgia. Their only eaglet B17 appears to be unwell. Did it get sick from the damp weather? This photo is from Tuesday.

This is the today’s state of affairs at the eagle nests from ‘J’:

New eaglets:
Bald Canyon 2
Folfan 3
Avon Lake 2

Eaglet died:
Berry College

MIA:
Chandler, the male, at Port Tobacco. Not seen at the nest since 9 April. Intruders about.

‘J’

The eaglets at Decorah North must bring us some happiness. They are lovely.

Raptor-Resource-Project-Bald-Eagle-and-Bird-of-Prey-CamsDownload

We have a Finnish Osprey at home. Cara arrives at the Janakkala Nest on Tuesday the 9th!

Then, almost simultaneously, Stefu arrives at the Seili Nest! They are coming home.

Falcons hatching in Eindhoven and in Japan!

At Port Lincoln, Bradley loves to show off his fish!

‘A’ brings us news of the Mums at Taiaroa Head Albatross Colony: “The mums are obviously foraging closer to home than the males in the Royal Cam families, with both BOK (arrived 12:46) and LGL (13:04) coming in to feed their boys some lunch today (11 April). I thought you might be interested in this footage, not for general consumption because it is a bit long (18 minutes) but it is the beginning that was fascinating to me. The story here is that BOK returned when she was ready to find a mate (so probably aged about four) and this bird, at the time known as Red, was her preferred suitor. This was the footage of the day Red was banded and became WYL, father of TFT chick with his mate, BOK. The thing that interested me the most was that this is a mature bird, ready to court and find a mate. They don’t return to Taiaroa Head until then. So Red must have been at least three and probably four or even five years old. And he allowed the rangers to approach him, extend an arm (for self-protection) and pick him up while holding his bill closed. There is no attempt to flee, struggle or engage in self-defence. He just quietly submits to the rangers’ tender care, while they equip him with the White, Yellow and Lime banding that identifies him as WYL. Imagine doing that to an eagle at the same age! You’d lose a limb. And an eye or three. The stately gentle beauty of these amazing birds never ceases to take my breath away. Looking at those adorable little snowmen with their tiny little fluffy wings that will soon become like the wings of a glider plane, steering their direction as they ride the thermals. These are wings designed not to flap, which would be pretty much impossible given their enormous spread, but to surf the wind currents. Truly amazing birds. So very precious. A haven such as Taiaroa Head shows human beings at our best. Those rangers (and the NZ government that finances their work) dedicate themselves to the wellbeing of the toroa, which are particularly special to the Indigenous people of NZ (the Maoris). How wonderful is it to know that these chicks are hatched in an incubator to protect them from fly strike, and are then weighed weekly, supplementary fed if necessary, and generally given optimal care throughout their prefledge period? Or knowing that the adults, too, will receive supplementary feeding and/or hydration as required, such as if one parent does not return to relieve its mate for an over-long period of time? Or that the sprinkler system will be turned on to keep the chicks and adults on the nests cool on days where heat stress might otherwise impact them?  What a joy. 

Small colony of Dorset Puffins on the brink of extinction.

Last-English-south-coast-Puffins-on-the-brink-BirdGuidesDownload

Thank you so much for being with me today. Please take care and feel free to send me any bird news that you see!

Thank you to the following for their notes, photographs, screen captures, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, AE, Geemeff, J, H, MM, T’, Deb Stecyk, NTCT Eagle Cam, Audubon Centre for Birds of Prey, Moorings Park Ospreys, Carthage – DTC, Forsythe Osprey Cam, The Woodland Trust, Karen Mott-Centreport Eagles, Ventana Wildlife Society, DaniConnorWild, JB Sands Wetlands, Cardinal Land, Duke Farms, SK Hideaways, Port Tobacco, Little Miami Conservancy, Kansas City Eagles, ND-LEEF, Pix Cams, Berry College Eagle Cam, Finnish Osprey Foundation, Yvonne M, Japanese Falcon Cam, Port Lincoln Ospreys, Lady Hawk, and BirdGuides.

Tuffy’s great day…Wednesday in Bird World

10 April 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

Spring is here and the geese continue to fly in. The songbirds are quickly following! The Prairies are waking up from a not-so-bad winter.

This pair of Geese kept their eyes on me while I read my book and sipped some mint tea at the nature centre. It was a perfect afternoon to fall asleep in the warm sunshine.

The Blue Jays – now six – are coming to the garden and have difficulty deciding which peanut to take when there is a big pile! It is incredible how long they ponder the selection if Dyson is not rushing them. The squirrels and the Blue Jays have arranged to take turns at the feeder.

This is the one!

After the other birds and squirrels are gone, the Black-capped Chickadees arrive for seeds. They are making a nest in a Blue Spruce tree in the front garden to my sheer delight.

Dyson and the kits are now moulting. Everyone survived the winter. It feels so good to see all of them.

‘The Girls’ are fantastic and I will get some new images tomorrow for you.

Did Tuffy figure it out? Did Mum Sally position herself so that her little one could get on one side away from Ruffy? We won’t know, but both happened and Tuffie got most of the breakfast on Tuesday!

‘H’ reports: “At 0820 Harry brought a whole fish to the nest.  The usual feeding scenario took place between the siblings.  Tuffy got a couple of quick bites, then was beaked by Ruffie.  Over the next 20 minutes or so, Ruffie made sure that Tuffie could not eat.  Tuffie had been slowly moving around to the other side of Sally, and at 0845 Tuffie started to receive more bites from Sally.  Ruffie appeared to be thinking about acting tough, but ultimately decided to let Tuffy eat.  Tuffy had a private feeding for the rest of the meal.  There was a break for a minute as Sally was alarming due to an intruder, and both osplets pancaked, but then the feeding of Tuffy resumed.  Tuffy had eaten at least 110 bites of fish by 0901, and then he moved away from Sally.  Sally finished the fish.”

Harry brought in a second headless large fish at 11:24. Tuffy was in a bad position and did not move up to eat at the beginning. Sally was hungry and fed herself and Ruffy. At 11:28 after scooting around, Tuffy got in position and Sally gave him a bite of fish. Tuffy moved a bit and returned, had some more bites before Ruffy approached and Tuffy backed away afraid of being beaked.

‘H’ reports: “Harry brought a headless fish at 1122.   Tuffy automatically moved away instinctively to avoid being attacked by Ruffie..  Ruffie was fed.  Tuffy did try to approach the feeding a few times, but shrank away after getting the ‘stink eye’ from Ruffie.  At 1130 Ruffie backed up to PS, and Tuffie got one bite.  Ruffie returned to eat.  At 1132 Ruffie went out of her way to move across the nest and beak Tuffy even though Tuffy was nowhere near Sally.  Tuffy got a bite of fish at 1135.  At 1136 Ruffie was full and moved away from the table.  Then Tuffy ate until 1142, when he started refusing Sally’s offerings.  Tuffy was crop dropping at 1145, then he ate some more.  More crop dropping by Tuffy at 1147, and by 1148 Tuffy  was just too full to eat any more and turned away.  At 1150 Ruffy returned for a few more bites, but quit at 1153.  Sally finished the fish.  Tuffy ate at least 53 bites of fish at this meal.

At 1514 Harry delivered a small-ish whole fish.  Tuffy did not initially make a great effort to get to the table, nevertheless, Ruffie beaked and harassed him.  And, while Ruffie was eating she took the time to pivot and harass Tuffy a few times.  By 1532 the fish was gone.  Zero bites for Tuffy.”

Tuffy is aware of Ruffy’s every move and chooses not to be beaked. Instead, Tuffy will move away. He will return and get a nice private feeding.

‘H’ catches us up at Moorings Park: “At 1602, less than an hour after Harry delivered the last fish, he dropped off a headless fish.  Ruffie should have been full from her last recent meal, which would have favored Tuffy’s chances of eating…but, it didn’t work out that way.  Ruffy blocked every attempt made by Tuffy to get up closer to Sally’s beak.  The fish was gone by 1624.  Tuffy did not eat.Wow, good for Harry, he brought the third fish in two hours time… a nearly whole fish at 1715.  Tuffy started to get bites at 1718, and ate a total of 14 bites before Ruffie beaked him.  By 1724, Tuffy was back at the table, and was eating freely beside Ruffie.  Tuffy ate 59 bites by the end of the meal and then Sally found 5 scraps to give to him.  Total for Tuffy = 64 bites.

Total bites for Tuffy so far today: at least 227 bites of fish.

That was not the end of Harry’s fishing. ‘H’ has a last report for us unless Harry brings in another fish!

“At 1822 Harry delivered a large headless fish (6th fish of the day).  The osplets ate side by side for the entire meal.  I did not count bites for Ruffie, but it really seemed that Tuffy had more to eat than Ruffie.  Total bites of fish for Tuffie at this meal = at least 121.

Total fish bites to Tuffie so far today = 348.”

Tuffy having bites of fish this morning:

‘A’ brings us news of Angel and Tom: “After a no-show day on 8 April (related to the eclipse?), we were graced with a brief afternoon visit from Angel and Tom today. She arrived at 4.41.39pm, with Tom flying in soon afterwards (4.42:22pm). Interestingly, neither brought any nesting material with them. Angel just stood in the middle of the nest, surveying her surroundings. Tom stood on the side of the nest, watching her intently. She clears any fallen debris out of her nest bowl. Tom seems fascinated by that nest bowl. She then moves a couple of sticks. Again, Tom watches her every move, giving her actions his absolutely total attention. After Tom flies off at 4.43:39. Angel remains until shortly after  4.45pm, flying off at 4.45.1The behaviour was interesting today. There was no nest-building material brought in, and the only nest arrangement that was done (by Angel) involved moving a couple of items that had fallen into or over the nest bowl since their last visit on 7 April. Before she left, Angel did a big rouse, which began with her feathers slowly standing up a bit, until she look like she was wearing a puffer jacket. Then the rouse. Then the gradual lowering of the feathers back to their usual ‘flat to the skin’ positioning. It was fascinating to watch. Searching as we are for any sign that Angel is going to give us an egg at any moment, I am wondering whether this puffed-up eggy’ look she has is just my imagination, and whether the fact that they have finished the building phase and are only lining the nest bowl with bark etc (6 April and 7 April) or moving things that have blown or fallen down over the nest bowl. So that should mean that eggs MUST be nigh. Surely. We wait, talons crossed. Speaking of which, how absolutely exquisite are Angel’s ‘nails’? She must be at the nail salon every week to have them looking like that. So perfect. She is such a miracle of nature. I give thanks every time I get to see her on cam. And what a handsome, healthy falcon Tom looks this season. I cannot wait to see him being a mature dad this time around. “

How many would have liked to have transported either or both of the NCTC or Hanover eaglets to the nest of Shadow and Jackie?

Morning diamonds pouring down on the dreams of these two Big Bear Eagles.

Jackie partially buries the eggs Tuesday morning.

The time passes so quickly and Lady and Dad are working on that nest in the Sydney Olympic Forest!

Meanwhile, in the UK, Threave is wishing for their first egg.

At Dunrovin, Swoop arrived and Harriet was not there. She is late. Will she return this year?

Swoop waits…

Geemeff writes excitedly: Now all three, Prince, Garry LV0 and Affric 152, are back – the Lochenders soap opera continues! —– This is the old nest of Louis and Dorcha at Loch Arkaig.

We need to be ever so thankful for those little eaglets that did survive this year. So many nests failed alongside the many tragic moments. ‘J’ has been keep track of the Bald Eagles and this is the tally this morning:

Overview Chicks:
111 eggs
67 chicks
2 died
1 got killed by sibling
2 got killed by dad
1 rescued
3 fledged

No chicks this season:
Big Bear still incubating 3 non-viable eggs
Chippewa Falls both eggs did not hatch
Dulles Greenway abandoned
Hanover died within hour, killed by it’s dad
KNF E1 abandoned due to Anna’s death
KNF E3 abandoned due to Andria’s death
NEFL one lost in nest, one abandoned
Pittsburgh Hayes crushed egg
Sauces crushed egg
Two Harbors nonviable egg

Deb Stecyk and what happened on Monday.

Thankfully everything is positively fine with Claire and Irvin’s new arrival at US Steel.

So far all is well at Fort St Vrain and their new arrival in Colorado, too.

The pair at Decorah North have thermal down and don’t look anything like those little cutie pies in the golden sun last week – and thank goodness for that. They are growing and doing well.

The trio at Little Miami Conservancy are – so far – doing fantastic. Quietly think of the effort these parents have to make to feed a family of five!

Viper at Bluff City is huge! Mum Frances protects the only surviving chick (siblicide) in the rain and is well-fed as it gets its juvenile plumage.

Franklin flew in with a big fish dinner around 1831 for Frances and Viper.

Leaper and Jersey are doing well. How long ago was it when we worried that little Jersey would survive? Well, a change of fortune at Duke Farms certainly changed that – juvenile feathers coming in nicely now.

A comments: “Watch the 10.45am (9 April) feeding from Duke Farms today. Mum brings in a nice fresh whole fish and Jersey is at the table when she arrives. He stays there without any sign of submission. He just sits up at the table, waiting for mum to prepare a bite. Leaper lumbers up beside him and he does not move. He does not duck his head or even lean away. He just waits for his food. Leaper sits nicely beside him. When the first bite is ready, mum offers it to Jersey (she has moved the fish slightly to one side so that Jersey is favoured) and he takes it without any hesitation. Not even a glance to check on Leaper’s mood or position. It was MAGNIFICENT. This nest is a triumph for our wonderful mum. It made me SO happy. “

Just look at those crops!

In Scotland, Louis is making certain that Dorcha is well fed and strong for the new breeding season.

Good thing for all that fish – watch this stick display in fast motion.

News coming from Paula in the Forum at San Jose City Hall Falcons from ‘AE’:

Here is the video!

https://fb.watch/rlvtNO9nhS

Incubation time has been going smoothly most days with an occasional floater coming thru but nothing of a concern so far. :-). Monty has really matured into a really great mate for Hartley. He comes in fairly early to give Hartley a break from all those overnight hours of incubation duty. Hartley takes full advantage of her breaks and at times is very hard to find taking her breaks. This morning I was lucky enough to capture her as she flew up to the cam 2 bar that attaches it to the roof of the City Hall building. Sometimes we will find a bit of her tail feathers to let us know she is up there OR finding the shadow of the full bar may give us a clue.

Have a wonderful day!
—
Paula A.
Forum Moderator

Archie’s has a nap while waiting for his turn to incubate the eggs at The Campanile.

At the Achieva Osprey nest, it has been noticed that one of the eggs has collapsed and is now bean-shaped. We will have to wait and see if any of the eggs are viable and what will happen to this one. My understanding is there is no obvious pip – the shell just began collapsing over the course of the day.

That egg is clearly crushed this morning.

Everything and more you wanted to know about Osprey eggs. I had hoped to find more information on these collapsing eggs. Is it humidity or is it something else?

Everything-You-Wanted-To-Know-About-Osprey-Eggs-But-Were-Afraid-To-Ask-Osprey-Camera-BlogDownload

There is a new streaming cam at the Port of Ridgefield Osprey platform. It is run by Clark Public Utilities in Washington State.

Good news at Abernathy.

The water is beginning to thaw in Finland. Ospreys returning soon.

Bradley and Mum were seen eating fish together at Delamere. I continue to marvel at this wonderful year at Port Lincoln and the fact that brother Ervie is often seen with Bradley, Gil, Mum, and Dad, too.

Congratulations E23. You have now passed the 100 day mark and are 101 days old! What a fabulous season you, your Dad M15 and your new mum, F23 gave us.

Fraser Point kiddos have so many bugs in their nest but they are doing fine.

Maya continues to be monitored at Rutland Water. Please send her positive wishes.

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We are in agony when any of our little raptors die. Imagine the beautiful Hen Harrier chicks stomped to death in their nest or shot from the sky after fledging. This happens consistently near the grouse moor hunting estates in the UK. When will society have enough of this killing simply to protect the sport of grouse hunting?

New laws are coming into place, but will they be enough? And will the law provide the kinds of sentences and fines to finally deter this medieval practice?

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I want to close with a rescue. You might have seen it, but it makes our hearts warm and glad when a human reaches out and gives a second chance to one of raptors and that is precisely what happened to a Bald Eagle.

The news comes from World Bird Sanctuary: On 3/23/24, a fisherman noticed 2 Bald Eagles floating in the Mississippi River. One was making its way to shore and flew off once it reached land. The other appeared to be drowning, struggling to keep her head above water. The fisherman was able to haul the bird up onto a bank and called Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) for help. MDC picked up the exhausted eagle and transported her to our hospital for care. Upon arrival, the eagle, now patient number 24-120, appeared near death. She was limp when picked up from the transport box, unable to even hold her head up. She was suffering from hypothermia and was soaked down to the skin from her swim in the river. Her breathing was wet and heavy. In this condition, the stress of being handled for an exam could be enough to kill her so our only treatment option was to provide her with heat and oxygen support and hope she survived the night.

24-120 was placed into our eagle oxygen therapy unit and propped up in a support of dry towels to both absorb some of the moisture and put her in a more comfortable breathing position. In the morning, we were delighted to find her standing and alert. An exam showed bruising to her left wrist as well as to the top of her head and her face around both eyes. The pattern of bruising makes us suspect that it was from impact with the water and that head trauma from the impact likely contributed to her inability to swim to shore.

24-120 recovered quickly and was ready for release after 2 weeks in care! It was windy at release time but 24-120 was up for catching the breeze to gain altitude. The MDC officer who picked her up was able to be there to open the door and send her on her way back to the skies! We are so grateful to fellow organizations and individuals who care about our bird species and help make our mission possible. This bird would not have survived without the fisherman who pulled her ashore and the MDC officer who rapidly responded and transported her to our hospital.

Thank you to everyone for being with us today. It was certainly a good day for Tuffy. I hope that you, like me and ‘H’, are beginning to feel that this nest is turning around and that the little one who longs to live so much will thrive!

As always, a first big thank you to ‘H’ for her diligence in keeping up with Tuffy. Thank you also to the following for their notes, posts, comments, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, AE, Geemeff, H, J, MP’, Moorings Park Ospreys, Window to Wildlife, FOBBV, Gaye Kelly, Threave Ospreys NTS, Kitty Carlyle, Red Wing, Deb Stecyk, Gracie Shepherd, Jenna Dorsey, Raptor Resource Project/Explore, Little Miami Conservancy, Bluff City-ETSU, Duke Farms, Geemef, Paul-San Jose City Hall Falcon Cam, JB Sands Wetlands, SK Hideaways, Osprey Camera Blog, Clark PUD, Jeff Kerr-Abernathy, Finnish Osprey Foundation, Port Lincoln Ospreys, SW Florida Eagle Cam, IWS/Explore, Oakhum Nub News, World Bird Sanctuary, and The Guardian.

The Miracle that turned into a tragedy for Bella…Tuesday in Bird World

9 April 2024

Good Morning,

I have said it before and I hoped not to say it again – it has been an incredibly tough year for our Bald Eagle families. Send your warmest and most caring thoughts to all the nests who have lost eaglets or adults – and continue to send supporting energy to those who have eaglets in the nest. They need it! Life is not easy this year.

Monday 8 April might have been the day of the Solar Eclipse, but it was also a day of joy that ended in tragedy in two of the Bald Eagle nests in the US – NCTC and Hanover. It is not the first time this year a young male eagle has mistook its newly hatched chick for prey and it won’t be the last, but for Bella, this is such a bittersweet moment. I cannot even imagine what she will be thinking when she finds her baby gone.

Regardless of its tragic ending, I want to document what happened at the NCTC nest. We have seen eagle eggs left in the cold and eaglets hatch. The best example I can recall is the Latvian White-tailed Eagle Milda when her mate Ramis died several years ago, right after she laid her eggs. Milda incubated for eight days without eating. She left her eggs in cold weather for approximately six hours to forage so she did not starve. No one believed the eggs would hatch, but they did. Sadly, the ending with the new male was the same result as at the two nests today.

This is what I wrote before I knew the ending: Miracles do happen. Not always when or where we want them, but this is a delight for Bella and Scout who have had difficulties this breeding season. A chick is hatching on Monday in eggs, which is believed non-viable!

From Deb Stecyk: Monday, April 8, 2024 – Welcome to Bald Eagles (BE) 101. Could a miracle hatch be underway at NCTC, we think so!! These eggs were left uncovered and not turned for long periods of time in cool temperatures, so we believed these eggs were nonviable!!! However, yesterday we noticed a small pip hole (Day 37) in one of the eggs and Bella’s behavior was highly suggestive that something was going on. Bella was fussing, more attentive and listening to the eggs. She also was sitting up higher while incubating the eggs. A brooding position is sometimes seen when a hatch is in progress. We also thought we heard chirping coming from one of the eggs. Just before dark, Bella took a break while Scout incubated. Bella returned with a catfish, which she did not want Scout to eat!!! The catfish remains on the nest! All these signs are highly suggestive of a hatch in progress. Despite these positive signs we remain guardedly optimistic and glued to our seats waiting to see if Bella and Scout are blessed with a miracle hatch!!! Talons crossed for this new pair!!! If a hatch occurs at this nest it will be precedent setting and unheard of in the eagle community.”

Well, that miracle happened. Remember.

The miracle baby’s first feeding – I hope they call this little one ‘Miracle’. Seems fitting under the circumstances.

It was Stella’s first eaglet to hatch in a few years after losing her mate Smitty. It was the miracle and now at 1930, Scout removed the eaglet from the egg cup and ate it.

The hatch at the Irvin plant of US Steel – parents Claire and Irvin – made the news. Let us hope that this little one remains safe.

Everything is good at the Redding nest of Liberty and Guardian. Experienced parents!

The accidental burial the day prior at Redding.

The little trio at Denton Homes are adorable. Treasure those three heads – this will be a huge effort for the parents to get them all to fledge.

Cheyenne and Wichita are doing fine on a nest piled with fish on Farmer Derek’s property in Kansas.

The two eaglets at Decorah North are getting their thermal down, and some pin feathers. Little treasures they are.

And this is the news you have been waiting for. Every day we hold our breath afraid to check on that Moorings Park nest. The news is good today, too…so read and look! (It always starts out rough but gets better as the day goes on…). It is after 1000 and it is hot on the Moorings Park osprey nest. Tuffie is doing what it can to get some shade. No fish in to the nest by Harry yet. Tuffie hanging in there.

‘H’ reports: “1031 – Harry delivered a beautiful whole largemouth bass.  Tuffy was beaked into submission. Ruffie made sure s/he reinforced Tuffy’s ban from the feeding a couple of times. Sally and Ruffie ate the whole fish by 1049.1219 – Harry delivered a whole tilapia. Tuffie was immediately beaked into submission.  The feeding was mostly blocked from view.  At 1226  and 1229 Tuffie tried to get closer and was driven back each time.  At 1230 Tuffy moved to the other side of Sally, but Ruffy followed and beaked him.  At that point, with Tuffy out of view, we didn’t know if he was getting bites, but thought it unlikely since he was still next to Ruffie.  At 1248 Ruffie moved away from Sally for a couple of minutes, and we knew that Tuffy was eating, then Ruffie returned to the table.  Again at 1256 Ruffie moved away, and we knew that Tuffy was being fed.  Ruffie later returned to the table, and by 1320 the feeding was over.  Sally was still blocking our view of Tuffy.  It wasn’t until 1338 that Sally moved and we were able to see that Tuffy had quite a large crop!  Yay!”

“At 1507 Harry dropped off a headless fish.  Tuffy had been sleeping and did not approach the feeding line for a minute, but when he moved toward Sally he was out of our view.  At 1512 we got a brief glimpse of Tuffy, and he was laying down, not eating.  Then at 1524, we could just barely see over Sally’s shoulder to note that Tuffy was eating.  At 1527 Tuffy was beaked by Ruffie and he moved away.  At 1532, we once again could see Tuffy getting bites of fish, and by 1533 the meal was over.  Tuffy was seen with a nice crop after the meal.

At 1705 Harry arrived with half a fish. From 1706 to 1710 Tuffy was beaked or intimidated several times to keep him from eating.  At 1712  Tuffy managed to get 6 bites, then he was beaked.  At 1718 he got one bite and was beaked.  Tuffy moved further away from the feeding.  Finally at 1731, Ruffie moved away from Sally.  Tuffy moved into position to eat but was out of our view.  Sally began obviously feeding Tuffy.  We could not see the fish pieces actually connect, but just counting the number of times Sally turned in Tuffy’s direction, Tuffy may have eaten 72 bites of fish.  Total  bites of fish for Tuffy at that meal = 79.”

‘H’ continues her reporting with a new fish arrival at Moorings Park: “At 1830 Harry delivered another headless tilapia.  Tuffy was beaked and stayed away.  Tuffy received 3 bites at 1837, then he was intimidated and moved away.  Ruffy did not seem very hungry, but focused mainly on preventing Tuffy from getting near Sally.  At 1841 Tuffy got a few more bites, then a few more bites at 1843.  By 1846 Tuffy was eating solo, while Ruffie just laid there and watched.  At 1849 Ruffie had a little more to eat, and they ate side by side.  At 1851 Ruffie quit the meal for good.  And, at 1852 Tuffy quit eating, walked away, and laid down on top of his large crop.  Sally continued to eat for a while, but left a large tail portion on the nest.  Tuffy had started the meal with a crop, and was noted to be crop-dropping a few times during the meal.  Tuffy ate at least 55 bites of fish at this meal.”

Settled in for the night, you can really see the size difference between Ruffy and Tuffie.

There is beaking at the Fraser Point nest of Andor and Cruz. Nothing to be worried about right now – . Remember that it takes time for the eyes to adjust (for falcons this can take up to 5 days) – and a beak, any beak might mean food.

Mamma Cruz sits on them when it gets too be too much. Too funny. She has been chatting with Thunder.

And this is how you do it – constant food and diligent parenting. Thunder and Akecheta at the West End nest raise three.

At the University of Florida-Gainesville Osprey Platform of Talon and Stella, ‘R’ reports that at day 8 (as predicted), “the bonking has started”. Talon continues to provide lots of fish and the trio are doing well, otherwise.

In the second image, Talon is helping Stella feed the trio that hatched within 36 hours of one another. There is no little and no Big – isn’t it amazing. Eggs laid six days apart and hatch 1 and hatch 3 are the same size. We will see as they age but I am hoping Talon and Stella have them selves three nice little boys.

In contrast to the previous year, ‘R’ notes that the fish are larger this year and that it has been relatively wet as opposed to dry.

‘MP’ confirms that JBS20 has branched at the JB Sands Wetlands on Monday the 8th of April. When there isn’t a tree you must consider that both feet are off the nest and JBS20 flew to the rail. Well done!

‘AE’ sent this gorgeous image of JBS20. She will be fondly missed when she fledges.

The adults have had many problems to overcome at the JB Sands nest this year – the death of JBS21 and Mum’s injury and, the many intruders that still trouble the nest. ‘MP’ describes the scene below: “Dad or Pa at JBS has an intruder chase him as he brings prey (white bird) home with chick quite the spectator. The nest is bussing with activity the last coupe of days. The intruder is the one on the bottom and Pa is above with the white bird.”

I don’t want JBS20 to get knocked off that nest before she is ready to fly.

Mum is still doing all the work at the Trempealeau Eagle nest. Two eaglets. They are often left alone because Mum has to go hunting for food. She is trying. She can brood them without food or hunt and keep them alive as best she can. We have seen this before – M15. Decorah. It is not an easy thing to do, but there is little choice for single-parent couples or those that have a partner who is injured or MIA.

This is the latest news about Meadow from the Audubon Centre for Birds of Prey.

I began to wonder that if Meadow was in this rough of a shape, what is the condition of Swampy. Every eagle nest is infested with bugs, but were the eaglets getting enough food those last days before Meadow was blown off the nest?

Did you know that the folks that rescued Meadow had already rescued 18 eagles this year and it is only April?

There is distress at the Hanover Bald Eagle Nest. The little eaglet hatched and all were excited. Then, like Tom at Angel’s nest last year, the new male attacked and killed the eaglet. Condolences go out to all.

Geemeff noticed Maya’s laboured breathing a few days ago. Now Rutland have called in Osprey expert Tim Mackrill to see what is wrong.

Flora and Harry at Alyth.

Beloved Gary returns to nest 1 at Loch Arkaig.

Dorcha and Louis have an intruder doing a fly-by.

Images of Mr President and Lotus and at least one eaglet.

There was a double rainbow at Loch of the Lowes, too. May Laddie and Blue NCO’s breeding season be doubly blessed.

Send your positive wishes to Bella and the Mum at Hanover who lost their eaglets today. They will be devastated that those healthy, bright-eyed eaglets are gone.

Thank you for being with me today. Please take care. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, screen captures, and those operating streaming cams who assisted me in writing my post today: ‘A, AE, Geemeff, H, J, MP, R, SP’, NCTC, Deb Stecyk, PIX Cams, FORE, Trudi Kron, Judy Eddy, Denton Homes, FARMER DEREK, Moorings Park, Florida-Gainesville, MP, AE, JBSands Wetlands, Audubon Centre for Birds of Prey, Rutland Osprey Project, Stephanie Scofield, Geemeff, American Eagle Foundation, Loch of the Lowes Visitors Centre, and Livia Armstrong.

Monday in Bird World

8 April 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

I had a marvellous day and, as a result, this post might be rather short. The weather has been splendid on the Canadian Prairies and at 15 degrees C, we begin to believe that summer is here – not spring – LOL. Everyone is out on their bikes, their electric scooters, walking their dogs, and generally being of a good humour.

I headed out to try and spot the arrival of some of the first Sandhill Cranes. No luck. Instead, I was treated to a magical ten or fifteen minutes with thirteen Snow Geese. They were riding the thermals way, way above my head, dancing with the wind. It was magical. (The images below were taken with a 600 mm lens and cropped! I have no idea how high they were.)

They are heading north up to the top of Manitoba and the Arctic Circle.

Speaking of heading north, I will be going on a short holiday north of Winnipeg, hoping to see the Sandhill Cranes, more Snow Geese and Tundra Swans, and eagles and Canada Geese. There will not be Wi-Fi available where I am going (except for my phone), so I will not be posting any news on Friday and Saturday. Everything will return to normal on Sunday. Please continue to send your images, videos, and news. I will catch up with all of them late Saturday and put them in the posting on Sunday with much appreciation. Thank you!

Today, I want to start with something so beautiful. How many times have you seen a double rainbow? Storm Kathleen was quite frightening and now that calm has arrived, Louis and Dorcha’s nest has been double blessed.

The nest that is on everyone’s mind is Moorings Park. It is nothing short of agonising watching Tuffie wanting fish and being beaked into submission continually by Ruffy. Like people, the osplets and eaglets lose their confidence despite their hunger. Some are very clever and muster enough energy to devise ways to survive. Others not only devise those ways but also have a Mum that sees and understands and finds ways to help. Some simply wait to be fed if a feeding happens. Right now that seems to be where little Tuffie is. — But if you want to remember clever and determined, then I remind you of the fourth hatch at Patchogue in 2023 named by many ‘Tiny Dancer’. Or the third hatch Tiny Tumbles at Achieva in 2021. There are, of course, a number of others. We can only hope that Tuffie gets its strength up, that it gets enough fish to last through the Reptilian phase, and that Harry continues to deliver at least 5 fish on the nest, perhaps more.

‘H’ has been wonderful to watch over this nest for me for the past few days and I am so grateful. She writes:

“At 0651 Sally picked up the leftover fish and began to feed. There was no initial aggression, as Tuffy was still quite sleepy and showed no interest in eating, so Ruffie was fed.  At 0658 Tuffy was finally awake enough to show interest in the meal, at which time Ruffie beaked Tuffy into submission.  Sally stopped the feeding at 0705 with fish remaining.  No bites for Tuffy.  The remainder of that fish was removed from the nest.

1029 Harry delivered a live bluegill. Tuffy was already at the side of the nest and didn’t bother to head toward Mom.  Sally fed Ruffie.  At 1043 Tuffy finally approached the feeding line, and was promptly beaked into submission by Ruffie.  At 1050, with the fish nearly gone, Ruffie moved away, and Sally finished the fish.  The bluegill was not nearly as big as the tilapia that Harry frequently brings in, so there was not an opportunity for Tuffy to eat after Ruffie was full.  No bites for Tuffy.”

“At 1734 Harry delivered another large headless tilapia.  Tuffy got 5 quick bites before he was attacked by Ruffie.  At 1734 Tuffy got 4 more bites and then was brutally attacked.  Ruffy ate some, but wasn’t very hungry.  Sally ate.  At 1744 Tuffy got 1 bite.  At 1748 Tuffy ate 3 bites.  Then, starting at 1749 Ruffie left him alone, Tuffy had a long feeding, and he was seen crop-dropping several times.  Tuffy ate an additional 90 bites of fish, for a total of 103 bites at this meal!  After his last two bites at 1806, Tuffy was so full and tired, he simply scooted away from Mom and laid his head down.

So far today, Tuffy has eaten at least 133 bites of fish.”

“Harry delivered a smallish headless fish at 1852.  Ruffie was not aggressive toward Tuffy, although a couple of times Tuffy moved away slightly because he thought he was about to be attacked.  Tuffy ate at least 40 bites of fish.

Total for the day so far = 173 bites for Tuffy.” I don’t know about you, but seeing that little one – and it is so little compared to Ruffy – an indication of the difference in good and gender – with a bulging crop just makes me weep.

‘H’ sent me a short video of Tuffy’s PS. I thought it was good. It appears that our little one is ‘allowed’ to eat at the end of the day if there is enough fish.

Relief for another day.

This video is from a couple of days ago but what a lovely family, all eating. Thunder could send out booklets to all the Mums on how to take care of bonking.

At Big Bear, Jackie and Shadow might be thinking that the eggs are not viable and they will soon move on.

Louis and Dorcha are alright. It looks wet at Loch Arkaig but the gale force winds from Storm Kathleen seem to have subsided.

Mum and Dad working on the nest at Boulder County Fairgrounds.

The names of the two eaglets at the Kansas City Bald Eagle nest on Farmer Derek’s property are Wichita and Cheyenne. And just look at them. It feels like they only hatched a couple of days ago!

JBS20 is about ready to fly. Thanks ‘AE’ and ‘MP’ for these wonderful screen captures. There were a lot of worries at this nest including the death of JBS21 and Mum’s injury. We are nearing fledge. Fingers crossed that all goes well.

The two little ND-LEEF eaglets of Dad and Gigi are so cute and so tiny and before we blink they will look like JBS21!

All is well at Duke Farms. Mark your calendars. Leaper and Jersey will be banded, weather permitting, on 12 April at 10am.

The trio at Little Miami Conservancy are adorable.

Peach (aka BC17) is already out of the nest bowl and over to the rim! Goodness. I am glad that I did not see this live.

Only surviving eaglet renamed Viper at Bluff City appears to be thriving.

Dixie and Mason at Superbeaks are big kids now. We can see them with east on the side cam!

DNF did not let those two little precious eaglets of hers be out in the damp cool weather in Iowa for long. Both are doing well.

US Steel welcomes USS7 who hatched from that rather crushed shell Sunday morning.

It looks like Swoop might have arrived at Dunrovin! Now for Harriet.

‘A’ sends us news of Angel and Tom: “

They have been back since 3 April, and though neither turned up on 4 April, both have visited each morning since. Many people seem to think the eclipse on 8 April may have something to do with her tardiness in her egg-laying schedule but personally, I’m somewhat sceptical. On the other hand, anything that disrupts the ‘pull’ of the moon in a major way could in theory impact egg laying, and presumably ovulation in humans. No-one will convince me that in a creature that’s about 75% water, as we are, the length of the cycle of the moon just coincidentally happens to exactly coincide with the female ovulatory and menstrual cycle, especially when the moon’s cycling demonstrably influences the movements of bodies of water on our planet, in the form of tides etc. In other words, there is a logical reason why it COULD be so, meaning perhaps it IS possible. If so, according to the theory, after today (8 April), she may lay her egg/s.

They are both continuing with their nest-preparation behaviour albeit in a very limited way – at this stage the only thing they are bringing to the nest is tree bark for the nest bowl, no sticks at all. Other interesting behaviours of note include beakie kisses between Angel and Tom, Angel plucking at her brood patch and, for me most exciting of all, Angel getting in some chick practice by allopreening Tom’s head. Shades of Deyani!!! 

She is definitely getting ready to lay an egg.  But then, I have said that before … This nest has appeared ready for at least three weeks now. The question has been whether Angel and Tom are ready. But small things are different. No sticks, just bark to line the nest bowl. Cautious behaviour too – standing in the nest looking carefully around for example, as if checking for intruders. Tom is also being annoyed by a few of the smaller birds (last year they buzzed poor, stoic Angel almost constantly but seemed to leave Tom completely alone – that is no longer the case). 

Can you tell I am OVER THE MOON that my gorgeous Angel and oh so handsome Tom are back at their nest? Now for an egg or two. Just so excited. “

And, look, Bradley with a puffer! So nice to see you 173 day old Bradley.

Is there a miracle happening at the NCTC nest of Scout and Bella?

“The Girls” and I have finished two books. The first one they want to tell you about is Tim Mackrill’s The Osprey. I did not think that Tim could do any better than his book for the RSPB, RSPB Spotlight Osprey, but he did. This is a wonderful volume and will be a great addition to the library of anyone who loves Ospreys and wants to know as much about them as possible. Over 300 pages. There are charts, reference materials, and excellent colour photographs (not tonnes but enough to illustrate his points). Tim is a gifted writer and is one of the leading authorities on Osprey migration. The book covers everything from nesting behaviour and raising chicks to migration issues and considerations. Discussion is not just limited to UK ospreys either. I much appreciated the discussion of their wintering habitats and discussions of the threats to their survival. Even the girls gave it a 10 out of 10. The price is $60 CDN for the hardcover. If that is more than your pocket will bear right now, but if you are looking for an excellent book on Ospreys, go for the RSPB Spotlight Osprey, which is $24 CDN. I prefer it to Alan Poole’s larger more expensive edition on ospreys, actually.

The second book is Chris Packham’s Birdwatching Guide from Beginner to Birder. Chris must have been a teacher in a previous life. The book is laid out, like Tim’s, in a logical way, covering every aspect of birdwatching from the purchase of binoculars, setting up a hide, what to wear birding to bird behaviour. There is a good discussion on wing shape and caring for your garden birds. I loved the one with images of the feet to show you the relationship between the feet and bird species. The illustrations are very good. I would definitely buy this for someone who is beginning to watch birds. And if you are feeling a little bit flush and wanted to add something more, how about a map of good birding spots in the individual’s location, a pass to a nature centre, or add a pair of binoculars along with this book. It will get them going. The price is right. 12.99 GBP. Hardcover.

Thank you so much for being with me today. Take care of yourself. We hope to see you here again soon!

Thank you to the following for their notes, observations, posts, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post for today: ‘AE, H, J, MP’, Geemeff, Moorings Park, Lady Hawk, SK Hideaways, Geemeff, Boulder County, FARMER DEREK, JB Sands Wetlands, ND-LEEF, Duke Farms, Little Miami Conservancy, Sharon Lee, Bluff City-ETSU, Superbeaks, Raptor Resource Project, PIX Cams, Kitty Carlyle, Window to Wildlife, Port Lincoln Osprey, Deb Stacy and Bald Eagles 101, and Amazon.

Tuffie’s crop is as big as he is…Sunday in Bird World

7 April 2024

Hello Everyone,

It was a sad day in the garden on Saturday morning.

Everyone always talks about a Spark Bird. There can be several of these significant birds throughout our lives. As a child in Oklahoma, it was the Blue Jays and Cardinals that my dad fed out of his hand. As a teenager, it was the Red-tail Hawks. Then, decades later, there was the most magical moment. It changed my life. It was a winter morning in the garden when my eyes connected with those of a female Sharp-shinned Hawk within half a metre of me. Since that day, hawks have been visiting the garden in search of a “Sparrow Blue Plate Special”. Now, to have an Immature Cooper’s hawk die in my garden is simply heartbreaking. The carcass is going for testing for HPAI, as there were no obvious signs of trauma. However, I suspect the hawk flew into the garage belonging to the house next door or somehow broke its neck, colliding with the thicker branches trying to catch a songbird.

The happy ending to this, if there could be one, is that the hawk’s body is going to our local museum as part of their specimen collection. If you find a bird whose carcass is in good condition, check with your local natural history museum or wildlife centre to see if they would be interested in having it as part of their specimen collection.

It was 14 degrees C Saturday afternoon at the nature centre. The Canada Geese had moved from the main lake to the smaller ponds and fields to forage. There were hundreds of Dark-eyed Juncos, several dozen Chickadees, Woodpeckers, and House Sparrows enjoying the warmth as a huge hawk flew overhead.

Meadow is at the Audubon Centre for Birds of Prey and is getting the first-class care this rehabilitation centre is known for!

Meadow being weighed.

An ambassador celebration at Audubon!

Two little eaglets being fed at the ND-LEEF nest. Looks like the new Mum has been named Gigi.

There has been some concern for the One eaglet in the nest at Tremplealeau, Wisconsin. The male disappeared and the female is alone.

UPDATE: Dad has returned to the Trempealeau Nest and two fish have come in already – Saturday! Yeah.

The situation at Moorings Park improves for Tuffie bite by bite.

Tuffie had some of the leftover fish early and it appeared that he might have had some other bites. It was when I returned from my walk at the nature centre, that Tuffie had a nice feeding. After Ruffy ate, Tuffie was fed and then both of them ate together.

‘H’ gives us a more detailed day’s report for our little one at Moorings Park. “Tuffy ate at least 54 bites at the first meal of the day; 1109 headless fish, Tuffy was attacked by Ruffie, Tuffy moved away to the rail and never went back to eat. Harry removed the leftover fish;1156 Harry returns with what appeared to be the leftover fish.  Tuffy is beaked several times and was not able to eat;1455 Harry in with whole tilapia, Tuffy is beaked and intimidated several times while Ruffie is fed.  At 1526 Ruffie moves away, and Tuffy is finally able to eat.  At 1533 Ruffie returned to the table, Tuffy was intimidated and turned away.  Ruffie ate until 1538, then Tuffy moved up and the two ate side by side until 1540, when Tuffy was beaked again.  Ruffie finished the fish.  Tuffy ate at least 66 bites at this meal.”

With my bad math, that would seem to be at least 120 bites of fish for Tuffie today – more than the two previous days counts.

Oh, the size difference between these two! So glad that third egg didn’t hatch.

Last instalment from ‘H’ – what a good day for Tuffie all things considered. “1710 large headless fish – Tuffy got 3 quick bites, was intimidated and turned away, later got 3 more bites and was beaked.  Ruffie ate until 1722 then moved away.  Tuffy had a short private feeding until 1726, then was beaked by Ruffie. Ruffie ate some more, then Tuffy got a few more bites starting at 1730.  Ruffie quit the feeding again at 1736.  Tuffy voluntarily moved away from Mom from 1738 t o 1740.  Tuffy ate a few more bites at 1740, and then Tuffy went and laid down at 1742.  Total bites for Tuffy at this meal = at least 77 bites.Total bites to Tuffy for the day so far = 197”.

The crop is almost as big as Tuffie!!!!!!! Get the tissue box.

The little bottom sticking out from under Sally belongs to Tuffie who, all in all, had a reasonable day. Each day is getting better in terms of food intake for Tuffie.

Over the past seven years, turning points come on nests like this one. Whether or not it is the change from the Reptilian Phase into the period when juvenile plumage is coming, or if the weather shifts and the fishing gets better, or if the female ‘decides’ that the little one is going to live and begins to feed it, we should be watching and waiting to see what it is on this nest.

Many of you will have shed tears of joy for little Tuffie today. He is hanging in there and all that good energy from the Tuffie Fan Club must be helping!

The second egg was laid at the Patchogue Osprey platform on Long Island Saturday morning around 0858.

Storm Kathleen is hitting the UK hard.

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In the UK, Storm Kathleen is hitting areas hard. Dorcha was just blown off the perch at Loch Arkaig.

The storm is not blowing so hard at Loch of the Lowes, yet.

The winds were howling at Alyth, where Harry and Flora have their nest.

Storm Kathleen is kicking up waves at Rutland as Maya and Blue try to protect their eggs.

Idris holding on to a huge fish while the gale blows at Dyfi.

Telyn is soaked.

What a great screen capture of Idris and Telyn.

Extremely gusty at Glaslyn.

Same gusts at Llyn Brenig where there was a fish delivery. You might recall Blue 372. She was over at Glaslyn with Aran and flitting from nest to nest. She is trying to find a mate…well, this is her! And this is what is happening in the image below: “LJ2 has been joined on the nest by Blue 372 this afternoon.Blue 372 is a 3 year old Scottish female translocated to Poole Harbour in 2021, she has been seen on a number of Welsh nests over the past week or so and is now braving the winds up at Llyn Brenig. LM6 our regular female has not yet returned from migration.”

She is determined. Will this be her nest?

‘H’ reports that the Mum at Carthage laid the season’s first egg. Saturday the 6th of April at 10:17:10.

Confirmed pip at US Steel’s nest of Claire and Irwin – and now it is a hatch. looks like another crushed egg hatch. Little one alive and squiggling this time!

Darling Big Red never seems to age except for her feet and legs. She and Arthur continue their dedicated teamwork to hatch those four little hawklets.

Iris might have wished she had waited a few days to return to Montana.

Do not get upset if you check on the little owlet at Wolf Bay. They are both fine. There is a prey item currently on the nest, Saturday evening, that is white.

JBS20 is getting those wings strong. Adult in to fed but JBS20 is good at self-feeding!

Was it a quail lunch at the Redding Eagle nest? or a Guinea Fowl? Both eaglets are doing very well.

E23 gets a fish delivery from Mum. It must have been delicious. The fledgling ate all of it.

A family portrait at the West End nest of Akecheta and Thunder.

Little heads pop up for dinner at the Fraser Point nest of Cruz and Andor.

All is well at Denton Homes.

Happy eaglets at Decorah North.

Diana Persinger recorded a video for FB of a very messy meal for these two at Decorah North.

Everything is good at Little Miami.

Little fluff balls at the ND-LEEF nest.

Worried about Angel? She was on the nest with Tom on Friday.

There are no worries about Leaper and Jersey. They had crops most of Saturday and were about to burst late in the day and Dad had a fish in his talons and Mum had one, too!

The fortune of a nest can shift from good to bad to good. Let us hope this is what is happening at Moorings Park.

Hatch watch has begun for the Fort St Vrain Eagles in Colorado.

There is some thought that the ‘original’ Dad at Pittsburgh-Hayes has returned to the nest after being gone for a very long time. (I would have to check my Memorial Page). Is it possible he was in care, rehabilitated, and released and came home?

This was posted by WingsOfWhimsy with the photos below. They sure look alike.

“WingsOfWhimsy 20 hours agoA little bit of interesting news to share. I will say right up front that I have VERY little personal knowledge to go on here, so I will direct you to either the live cam: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l95k-… or the Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/36054… for additional info. There is a theory that the original “Dad” from the Pittsburgh Hays nest has returned. Dad has been away for quite some time, and HM2 has bonded with Mom, although their egg failed to hatch this season. (I believe mom was first seen with HM2 in September.) Recently a visitor has been on the scene, and I have to admit… even I see the similarities! Could it be that Dad has returned? This is certainly exciting, but also a bit concerning. If this is Dad, both he & HM2 likely consider Mom and the nest to be theirs. These comparison photos were shared by a FB Group user: Lynda Philips, comparing Dad and the recent visitor. This is all I know right now, but I will update as best as I can. The folks in the group or on chat are surely more familiar than I am, though. Please consider checking in with them for more details!”

Yesterday I included a video by DaniConnorWild to show you the penguins in Antarctica. Today, here is a sobering article on the unprecedented heat rise on that continent and the fears that it has for the penguins and for humans. The author says with the rise to 38.5 C, “These events have raised fears that the Antarctic, once thought to be too cold to experience the early impacts of global warming, is now succumbing dramatically and rapidly to the swelling levels of greenhouse gases that humans continue to pump into the atmosphere.”

‘Simply-mind-boggling-world-record-temperature-jump-in-Antarctic-raises-fears-of-catastrophe-CliDownload

Killing Owls to save Owls. Is it really the answer?

Killing-owls-to-save-owls-the-US-wildlife-plan-that-sparked-an-‘ethical-dilemma-Conservation-TDownload

Thank you so much to the following who sent me comments, news, their pictures, screen captures, videos, articles, and those who operate the streaming cams that helped me to write my post this morning: ‘Geemeff, H, J’, Audubon Centre for Birds of Prey, Stephen Basly, Tremplealeau, Moorings Park, PSEG, The Guardian, Geemeff, The Scottish Wildlife Trust (LOTL), Alyth SS, LRWT, Dyfi Osprey Project, Marissa Winkle, Bywyd Gwylld Glaslyn, Llyn Brenig, DTC, PIX Cams, Cornell RTH Cam, Montana Osprey Project, Wolf Bay, JB Sands Wetlands, FORE, IWS/Explore, Denton Homes, Raptor Resource Project, Diana Persinger, Little Miami Conservancy, Window to Wildlife, Duke Farms, and Sassa Bird.

Leaper and Jersey not rattled by earthquake…Saturday in Bird World

6 April 2023

Good Morning Everyone!

The girls hope that you have a wonderful start to the weekend. They have been enjoying the +11 C temperatures and the life that has come back into the garden. The squirrels, the Blue Jays, the Dark-eyed Juncos, and an array of Sparrows including some Pine Siskins have been keeping them busy.

Calico ran from one corner of the conservatory to the other – yes, Calico ran! watching the squirrels gather peanuts and hide them.

Hugo Yugo played and slept in her basket and kept an eye out when Dyson was on the fence. I clean her eyes twice daily but she still has the drippies.

Baby Hope looked beautiful watching the birds fly over the glass ceiling.

My friend Ruby was visiting. She is an indigenous healer. Her knowledge about the natural world is abundant as are her observations. The Snow geese could be seen on Tuesday at a particular point near to where she lives. For her, this signals that there is no more snow coming to us!

Today, driving through the agricultural fields north of Winnipeg, yielded huge numbers of Canada Geese on the shallow waters foraging from what was left of last year’s crop that they fed on when they migrated south. There were Snow Geese and Tundra Swans mixed in.

The Snow Geese arrive in early April and will be with us until November – just like the Canada Geese. In the late fall they will congregate south of where I live to fill up in the corn fields that have been cultivated – a boost to them for their long flight south.

The Tundra Swans normally arrive before all the snow is gone and forage in these flooded fields like they are doing today. They will make their nests along the coast of the Arctic at the top of Manitoba near Churchill. These nests will be large mounds of material along the shoreline. The female will incubate 4-5 eggs for 31-32 days. The geese are ‘dabbling’ waterfowl and forage along the surface for aquatic vegetation and invertebrates. They also eat tubers and, as we see here, grain left after cultivation.

It was positively joyous seeing the geese playing in the water and foraging for plants. I wish some of the ones in the urban areas would take flight to the country.

Two news items coming in this morning about Ospreys in the US.

USFWS says it is legal to put deterrents on light poles to keep ospreys form nesting.

Osprey catches prized Golden Rainbow Trout.

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Thank you to everyone who sent me news items. I am so grateful to all of you. ‘R’ is watching the Gainesville nest and ‘H’ is keeping a keen eye on what is going on at Moorings Park for me. Watching the osprey nests is extremely difficult when there is a chance of siblicide. It wrenches your stomach, causes you to have indigestion, and a great sadness comes. As I continue to say, it is never easy and over the past seven years, this year has been the hardest. When ‘H’ and I start counting bites – we hope that there are at least 100 a day, minimum. Tuffie had 99 on Thursday. Let’s see how that poor little one winds up today.

‘H’ has kept eyes on Tuffie for me when I am not able. So thankful! This nest is so bleak compared to last year. She reports, “Tuffy has had a bad day.  S/he has suffered numerous beat-downs from Ruffie, even outside of meals.  And, at meals Ruffie would not let Tuffie get fed. Four fish so far: 0904 – whole fish, nothing for Tuffy; 1124 – partial fish, two bites for Tuffy; 1354 – almost whole fish, one bite for Tuffy;1607 – an enormous headless tilapia.  Ruffie had the equivalence of at least 3-4 meals on and off for 1.5 hours, while intermittently severely beaking Tuffy, and not letting Tuffie eat.  Finally, at 1734 Tuffie began to get fed.  Tuffie had eaten 4 bites up to that point, and ate a total of 46 bites before Ruffie decided that Tuffy had had enough.  At that point Sally fed Ruffie a little more, and then she walked away from the large leftover piece of fish.  She fed Tuffie three scraps off the nest.  At 1801 Harry arrived to remove the fish from the nest.  Total bites to Tuffie so far today = 53.”

Then an update -“Harry brought a partial fish at 2000.  Selly fed both osplets, and Tuffy ate about 42-43 bites at that meal.  Sally stopped the feeding early, perhaps because it’s too dark for them to see, but still plenty of fish left for breakfast unless Harry removes it.  Total fish bites for Tuffy today = at least 95.”

Sunday Morning Update: “4/6 – Around 0652 Sally picked up the large leftover piece of tilapia and began feeding Ruffie.  Ruffie beaked Tuffy several times, and was particularly brutal at 0707.  However, Ruffie eventually moved away from the feeding line and Sally was able to feed Tuffy.  Tuffy received several bites before Ruffie eventually moved back to the feeding line.  For several minutes Tuffy and Ruffy ate peacefully side by side, but for some reason, only Ruffie got bites for the last 4 minutes of the feeding.  I counted 54 bites that Tuffy actually ate. “

Sunday morning image:

The back of Tuffie’s head has been battered and is bloody – it isn’t feathers coming in…Send your most positive wishes to this nest, please.

Again, Sunday morning you can see the size difference. Tuffie certainly got a good name! This little one is like Hugo Yugo!

Tuffie being fed Sunday morning:

The peaceful side by side meal.

Reports of Meadow in care – and these are the same folks that are repairing the Achieva Osprey nest of Diane and Jack if you are looking for somewhere to donate:

This is the rest of the communique that says that Meadow will go to the Audubon Centre for Birds of Prey – that was where Connick rehabilitated along with some of our favourite ospreys.

They state: “Meadow made it here safe and sound. The eaglet is very thin. We have rehydrated it and are getting ready to start the baby on liquid food. This is our standard protocol for very skinny birds. The liquid food consists of carnivore care. This is a premium recovery food for carnivores with a poor nutritional status. It is a specialized formula that contains beneficial omega, fatty acids and easily digestible proteins that come from egg and chicken sources to support nutrient absorption, and optimize the energy levels of the bird. We do have a few other additives as the bird progresses in its recovery slowly switching over to solid food. Because this bird is eight weeks old, it is no longer safe to put it back in the nest, even if she was in perfect health, which she is not. There are multiple reasons for this, but for Meadow, even if she was younger, because of her nutritional status, putting her back is not an option. We will transfer Meadow to the Audubon Center for Birds Of Prey in the morning so that she can get continued excellent care under their Eagle experts, and she will be with at least 17 other eagles that are currently patients there. And she will be in the presence of adult eagles, which we feel is important.Will keep provide an update later on this evening. Please cross your fingers and say your prayers and think positive thoughts for Meadow. If you would like to support the raptor center of Tampa Bay and help us out with the things that we do to support our eagles and all other Birds Of Prey, please visit our website.”

A further update on Meadow. Thanks, ‘J’.

‘R’ reports on Talon and Stella at Gainesville: “All is well in G’ville. Talon is bringing in big fish and all 3 osplets are well fed and all about the same size.  Hopefully all 3 will thrive.”

The three eaglets at PA Country Farm are also doing well!

The earthquake that went through parts of New York and NJ did not make the Duke Farms eaglets even flinch. They had nice crops during the day and both Leaper and Jersey appear to have overcome the period of low prey delivery just fine. It would be nice if this would happen at Moorings Park – but the Mum at Dukes Farm worked hard for these babies.

Here is a video showing the nest at Duke Farms shaking during the earthquake.

Proud parents Liberty and Guardian at Redding.

Archie is taking very good care of Annie.

Likewise, at Loch Arkaig, Dorcha was equally happy to see Louis arrive with a fish.

This was after he did a beautiful sky dance at dawn.

The trio of osplets at Frenchman’s Creek are really looking nice as they get their juvenile plumage. What a difference – sorry Sally and Harry – but just look – this nest has three osplets that are thriving!

I absolutely would not mess with the Mum at Little Miami Conservancy. Her little bobbleheads are all doing fine.

That Johnson City Eagle nest is very windy! Did we blink? These two look like Swampy and Meadow to me.

There ARE three eaglets at FOLAN.

Two sweet eaglets at Farmer Derek’s Bald Eagle nest.

Swampy alone on the nest after Meadow’s accident.

The eaglet – JBS20- at John Bunker Sands Wetlands is 71 days old today. The average age of eagle fledging in the US is 77 days (unless it is Alaska where it is 85 days).

Angel the Leucistic Red-tail Hawk made an appearance at last year’s nest in Tennessee. There are no eggs and little activity for some time. I believe that Angel and Tom made an alternative nest to use this year somewhere close.

It is not unusual for raptors to change the site of their nest. Mr President and Lotus moved their nest, River moved her nest at Dale Hollow, M15 and Harriet moved their nest, Richmond and Rosie moved theirs this year, while Thunder and Akecheta changed sites in 2023. Sometimes the birds perceive a danger that we might not – such as the site being unsafe. “Excessive human activity near raptor nests in the early weeks of the breeding season may cause a pair to abandon the site; or if later in the nesting cycle, may cause an incubating or brooding female to flush from the nest, leaving eggs or nestlings vulnerable to fatal chilling or predation.”

We will never know the specific reasons and it is always sad if a nest has been on camera and we do not know what is happening, but, in the end, we have to trust that the raptors felt more secure in moving their nest and laying their eggs in a different location. For Angel, maybe she felt the old location meant a smaller nest and not a lot of room for 3 or 4 chicks to flap about!

There is an Osprey pair on the nest in Kurzeme, Latvia!

Osprey pair returned to their nest in the Lipka Forest in Poland on 4 April.

A great image from Sharon Dunne of the Royal Cam chick – so white and so fluffy.

Shadow is not giving up! I really do wish there was an orphan eaglet somewhere that could miraculously find itself under this amazing Dad.

Do you love penguins? There are some amazing shots of several penguin species in the following 17 minute video DaniConnorWild did of her photography excursion to Antarctica.

Human debris is coming to all of the osprey nests. There is hardly a single one that is not plagued by plastic. What will happen to the chicks and the eggs?

Sometimes the wind takes things away!

Looks like the geese are thinking about the Sandpoint Osprey platform as a nest.

Beautiful day at Lake Murray. Lucy is incubating those precious eggs.

The birds are migrating and some old friends are arriving at your feeders and bird baths. Thanks so much for giving them water and food. ‘L’ says that the Brown Thrashers are in Alabama!

Ending with that wonderful happy glow that spread around the world when Iris set down on her nest at Hellgate Canyon Friday morning.

Cornell has a free raptor guide for you to download to help you ID the birds.

Download-Our-Free-Raptor-Reference-GuideDownload

More about bird flu, the poultry industry in the US, the price of eggs….

A-Cruel-Way-to-Control-Bird-Flu-Poultry-Giants-Cull-and-Cash-In.-The-New-York-TimesDownload

Thank you so much for being with us today. Please take care. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their notes, images, videos, posts, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post this morning: ‘Geemeff, H, J, L, R’, WMUR9, WJAR, Moorings Park Ospreys, Raptor Centre of Tampa Bay, HDonTap, UFlorida-Gainesville Ospreys, PA Country Farms Eagles, Duke Farms, SK Hideaways, Geemeff, Frenchman’s Creek Ospreys, Little Miami Conservancy, Johnson City-ETSU, AEF, John Bunker Sands Wetlands, LDF, Utah Grosse, Sharon Dunne, DaniConnorWild, Steelscape, Boulder County Fair Grounds, PSEG, Sandpoint, Lake Murray, ‘L’, Montana Osprey Project, Cornell Bird Lab, and The New York Times.

Meadow is rescued!

5 April 2024

Everyone we can now breathe a big sigh of relief.

The folks at the Tampa Bay Raptor Rescue observed Meadow on the ground and Meadow has now been rescued!

Thank you to ‘H’ for alerting me and to everyone who cared for this beautiful second hatch of Abby and Blaze that got blown off the nest two days ago. This is the best ending we could hope for – other than Meadow being able to get back to its nest.

Tuffie gets fed, Meadow on ground…Friday in Bird World

5 April 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

I had a wonderful day on Thursday. Two sets of visitors – old friends and then the granddaughter. It was a real joy to see everyone, but I did not get to check all of the nests properly, not even half of them, so we are going with the most crucial.

Before the birds, the cats. The girls had fun. New plants to lay in and they got to show off their climbing and chasing skills to get to the top of the cat tree for everyone. I should not say girls. It was Missey and Hugo Yugo. These two are nothing but trouble spelt with a capital T.

Missey was the Queen of the Cat Tree and then decided that it was more fun to rest in the new plant pot and watch the newly arrived Dark-eyed Juncos. She used to do this with Lewis when I would water the plants. Oh, they had such fun. I miss darling Lewis.

Hope and Calico did not come out until they thought it was time for everyone to go home! It was too funny. It seems that Missey and Hugo Yugo love the attention of others while Calico and Hope prefer the house sans visitors. Go figure.

We are going to start off with Moorings Park because it is the osprey nest of most concern. I could not bear to check first thing this morning before preparations for the day got underway. Of course, the other problem is Meadow who was blown off the nest and who miraculously is on a large limb of the tree under the nest.

So, first things first. Moorings Park. FINALLY, Tuffie had enough food to do crop drops. It did not come until the end of the day, and the poor little one must have been ready to drop and expire. Tears. Thanks, ‘H’, for watching this nest for me on Thursday and for making a video clip so I could see that crop fill and drop, fill and drop. The tears were rolling down my face. As I said yesterday, it never gets easy watching Siblicide. Indeed, it gets harder. The joy comes when the little one triumphs. Tuffie had been battered so much and was so frightened and dehydrated that it was questionable whether or not this little one could hold on – both mentally and physically – until there was a moment when it could get fed.

So this is what ‘H’ sent me that started the tears:”Five fish so far: 0841  headless fish, no bites for Tuffy, (and several beat-downs by Ruffie at each meal except meal #5) 1104  large live fish, no bites for Tuffy; 1157  small headless fish, 2 bites for Tuffy; 1603  large headless fish, 3 bites for Tuffy; 1730  large headless fish, I counted at least 99 bites for Tuffy, and no beaking from Ruffie. Throughout the 1730 meal, Tuffy was seen crop dropping several times.”

When my company left, I watched the video and then checked the streaming cam. The first bite must have been the most delicious fish that Tuffie ever tasted.

The other good news comes from the Osprey nest in Wales, Glaslyn. Elen had been away for a little over a week after she first landed on the Glaslyn nest. Then, Aran, her mate, returned, but Elen wasn’t home. Then Blue 372 came calling. On Thursday, Aran gave in to Blue 372. Almost immediately, Elen returned home! Was she watching from the woods?

‘G’s thoughts on Glaslyn: “Elen is giving Aran a right earful !! She has eaten her own fish, then has taken his from him, she’s not hungry just claiming her rights! Refused his offer of mating – quite strongly!”

The happy couple. I hope Elen knows that Aran has spent several days putting Blue 372 off – he just got weak on Thursday. Perhaps he worried that Elen was not coming.

She is back with us for a good narrative of the goings on at Duke Farms. Thanks, ‘A’: “Mum woke up early and after flapping her waterlogged wings, she flew off the nest at 06:20 to search for food for her babies. This mother is just fantastic. I know I keep saying it, but she just keeps demonstrating it It is dad, though, who arrives back first, at 07:26:45, with quite a large piece of furred prey, very dark in colour and with a long non-fluffy tail and no stripe. Again, I have no idea (it’s an American creature). Dad looks to have half-healed wounds on one of his feet, which may tell us something about his activities last week. Leaper immediately spreads her wings as if to mantle the food. She even reaches out as if considering having a try at self-feeding. Not on this piece of prey, unopened and unprepared. But dad is hesitant about feeding the babies but wouldn’t dare eat this food himself. So he waits beside the food, uncertain. He begins to prepare the prey. Leaper moves forward expectantly. Jersey has turned his head the other way, demonstrating token submission. Dad quickly pauses again, looking around for mum. This lengthy wait annoys Leaper, who until now has essentially been very laid back indeed with Jersey, despite yesterday’s lack of food. It is not a severe attack, but it is more than I have seen in the past week. She plucks out some more of Jersey’s head feathers, then grabs the back of his neck and shakes him a little. It is not vicious but, rather, pure frustration. Leaper turns back towards the prey and dad, but dad flies off the nest at 07:29:40.  Forty seconds passes. Jersey is still ducked but not really tucked right over. He is just being careful. Leaper approaches the food again, contemplating how he might eat it. He is investigating it with his beak. Fortunately, at this point, mum flies in. She too has furred prey, much smaller and greyer than dad’s, with far less, and less dense, fur. Leaper heads towards her. Mum decides to start breakfast with her own offering and begins feeding Leaper. Jersey waits behind his sibling, his head quickly up. It is obvious he was not particularly intimidated by Leaper’s recent big sister moment. By 07:35 he is contemplating his options, and begins looking over his shoulder. At 07:37, mum finishes the last of her prey item. She moves on to dad’s. She grabs the prey and pulls it around the rails a little, towards Jersey, hoping he will have the courage to skirt around the rails to where she is. Oh how I love this mum. Leaper has had her immediate hunger appeased so mum begins to defur the food (it needs it). She is efficient. For once, it is Leaper rather than Jersey who is watching carefully and learning. At 07:39 mum is still plucking. Leaper continues to watch. As 07:40 approaches, Jersey turns his head towards mum and thinks about how to reach her. He decides to move closer to the rail, then head around the rails towards her. At 07:41, he stands up and begins his mission. Mum is still plucking – I am certain she is delaying as she is now plucking the long tail. Jersey is hesitant, and with mum still plucking, shortly after 07:42, Leaper again gets impatient and turns towards Jersey as if about to attack him again. As she does, we can see that she has a very respectable crop. She changes her mind and heads back to mum. At 07:42:36 she gives Leaper the first bite from the second piece of prey. With Hiis sister busy eating, Jersey takes the opportunity to skirt the edge of the nest, approaching the table around the rails. By 07:43:50 he has reached mum, and three seconds later, he leans over and grabs his first bite of food. Mum gives the next bite to Leaper, then turns to offer Jersey his bite. He takes it without hesitation. Mum continues to feed Jersey. He is still a little grabby, so she is very patient with him, re-offering him the food if he doesn’t get it or get it all on the first attempt. Leaper does not object for half a dozen bites, then leans down and pecks at the food. Mum keeps feeding Jersey. He has had a lot of bites in just under a minute when, at 07:44:43 Leaper leans down and grabs a bite of food. She takes three bites in a row before Jersey begins to compete. Mum now feeds them both and they compete for bites. Jersey is a little worse positioned than his sister so loses more bites than usual. But the bites he does get include the very biggest ones, which he grabs and turns away to eat. Again, the pair are side by side at the table, eating in a civilised manner and both getting enough to eat. This nest really has changed over the past week – yesterday was a very testing day indeed, and yet these two got through it all in a very friendlty and supportive manner. There was snuggling and allopreening, beakies and the using of each other as bedding. It was all very sweet. And even today, the one piece of bonking I saw was not vicious but frustrated and more a stamp of the foot than anything truly aggressive. Afterwards, Jersey was very cautious but not overly intimidated. The moment he got to the table, his confidence was not in question. Yesterday was about the weather, not the food supply. So let’s hope that now the weather has cleared up, this nest will continue to be a safe place for both these gorgeous eaglets to continue their journey in life together. They are so cute playing and cuddling together. I am convinced they will be best buddies very soon.”

“That mum at Duke Farms is really something very special indeed. She made the decision that her little one was going to survive. It was a deliberate decision, and she worked very hard to help him through those very dark few days when his very existence hung in the balance. Had she not done this, I am certain Jersey would not have survived. She saw determination, his efforts to self-feed (very good efforts they were, too), and she has done everything to help him regain his confidence and to eat when hsi sister was trying to prevent that. His fear would have been his downfall, had this mum not done what she has. I adore this mum. As I watch the pair of them, sitting nicely up at the table with little Jersey eating and eating while Leaper calmly looks on, I see two healthy eaglets, now so similar in size that I have to believe we have two boys here. Jersey has grown amazingly in the past ten days. He is looking fabulous. And to think how close he came to leaving us! This nest proves one thing we have often said: the difference between success and tragedy on a nest can often depend on the parenting skills on the nest. A mother like this one (or a dad like M!5 or Akecheta) can swing a nest, can ensure the younger chicks survive and can find a way to feed and protect their babies to fledge and beyond. A lesser mum and Leaper would be an only eaglet. “

Squirrel and a fish so far on Thursday.

Another feeding right before lights out at Duke Farms.

All is well at Decorah North as well.

Meadow on the branch, away from the tree trunk, wondering what to do to get back up with Swampy.

This is, as ‘H’ suggested to me, the ‘saddest’ image:

Meadow has fallen to the ground. Yes, he could be rescued. No, CROW is on Santibel and Fort Myers. Eagle Country is over by Cape Canaveral.

There is a beautiful dove on Iris’s nest, but no Iris yet. The rain makes this image of Iris’s nest look so sad. It is like the world is crying for our matriarch. Let her return safely.

At the ND-LEEF nest in South Bend, Indiana, there are now two little bobbleheads.

Two happy eaglets at Fraser Point for Cruz and Andor and they are showing their love with a dual feeding!

How are those eggs developing at Cal Falcons?

A five hour feeding at the nest of Thunder and Akecheta. How do you spell devoted parents? Three eaglets with equally full crops.

‘J’s list of eaglets that hatched in April – and we are only on day 5.

The handsome ‘Prince’ has been hanging around the Loch Arkaig nest 1. Might we get a mate for this chap? Someone might tell Blue 372!

I wonder if the one ring visitor might be a candidate or is she/he just touching down on the way to elsewhere?

Maya at Rutland has just laid her third egg.

Thank you so much for being with me today. Take care. We look forward to seeing you soon!

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, screen captures, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘A, Geemeff, H, J’, Moorings Park Ospreys, Bywyd Gwylld Glaslyn, Duke Farms, Raptor Resource Project/Explore, Eagle Country, Montana Osprey Project, Stephen M Basly, IWS/Explore, Sharon Pollock, Lady Hawk, Geemeff, and Rutland Mantou Bay – LRWT.

Thursday in Bird World

4 April 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

Today’s posting may be short. I was away most of Wednesday and visitors will be here most of Thursday! It is time for homemade soup, Focaccia, and apple crisp. I also need a slight break from staring and counting the bites that Tuffie isn’t getting at Moorings Park.

When everything seems rather bleak, it is good to turn to a couple that can raise three eaglets, where the female has the nest under control, and where the Dad steps in and helps feed and keep the peace. That nest is the West End with Thunder and Akecheta. It is also Manton Bay at Rutland where Blue 33 has helped dear Maya when they had four!

There is a big difference in size between hatch 1 and 3 at the West End, but no matter. Both are thriving.

Our thoughts are with Meadow and his sibling, Swampy, and Abby and Blaze at the Eagle Country nest after Meadow was blown off the nest during high winds on Wednesday. Meadow was on the branch safe at the time of writing. Meadow is 64 days old today. The average age of an eaglet to fledge in Florida is 11 weeks or 77 days.

Perched for the night. (more images below)

It is so difficult to watch a nest that is struggling and that is certainly what is happening at Moorings Park. It began with the transition to the Reptilian Phase and a perceived drop and lateness in fish deliveries by the eldest chick, Ruffy. The question is: will Tuffie get enough fish to survive this period?

Osprey chicks typically double their weight by day 7 or day 8. Between days 8-10, the soft grey down they hatched with is replaced by a wooly charcoal coloured down. They become more mobile in the nest. The data records that ‘H’ and I have kept indicate that it is during this period of time when the Reptilian phase begins that the chicks are most ferocious if fish is not plentiful. Darker feathers on their heads begin to appear – a kind of black oily spot and some gorgeous copper red ones down at the nape of the neck. When they are about three weeks old, the primaries, secondaries, and the rectories begin to appear.

          The chicks are kept warm by their buff-colored plumage of down feathers called the first down. The crop develops within the first week of its life, which stores food so that the chicks don’t need to be fed very frequently. They usually double their weight in the first week of their lives. Under normal conditions, a nest will settle, and the fear of siblicide will pass as the osplets leave the Reptilian phase. That is, of course, not always the case. There are exceptions, and Port Lincoln certainly showed us in its past history that chicks are not safe, even at 42 or 65 days of age, if the eldest is determined to kill them.

Tuffie keeps his beak open and is begging for food and there is none on the nest when Ruffy is asleep. I have seen females hide food or keep food back to feed these little ones. Sally is not doing this.

Tuffie got only a few bites. Nothing more. Ruffy had a crop. I am in the seventh year of my twenty-year siblicide study. It is never easy. In fact, it seems to get more difficult to observe every year, every nest.

In contrast, Duke Farm’s Mum found scraps in the nest and made sure both Leaper and Jersey had some bites.

The rain is coming down and is expected to continue for several days. The eaglets, Leaper and Jersey, will be banded at the end of this week. What an enlightened nest! Wish each nest on streaming cams would band their chicks. Thank you Duke Farms!

There are now three osplets on the University of Florida-Gainesville nest of Talon and Stella.

The three at Little Miami Conservancy are doing well. Mum even changes the side of the nest from where she is feeding to make sure all three get prey.

The first egg for the Patchogue Ospreys on Long Island was laid on Wednesday.

Maureen posted these images of Meadow on Naturechat. Meadow is still on the branch, can flap its wings, and is safe. Not back in the nest but the parents can feed it there.

Parents know where Meadow is and are caring for their second hatch.

We can see Richmond and Rosie – barely. They are quite a distance from the Whirley Crane and its camera.

Louis is keeping Dorcha supplied with fish!

As we sit and ache for dear Meadow on the branch and longing for Tuffie to have a real good meal, imagine why a person would kill over 3000 eagles? Have a read. This is horrible…

Man-pleads-guilty-to-eagle-killing-spree-BirdGuidesDownload

There was a confirmed pip in egg two at Fraser Point for Andor and Cruz Wednesday evening.

No eaglets. No matter. Their bond is strong. Our beloved Jackie and Shadow will forge ahead. — I am starting to wonder if they laid their eggs later if they might have more success or is it only the altitude and not the altitude and the weather.

I am not sure what is being served up, but the two Decorah eaglets are warm and DNF is making sure they are both fed in cold damp conditions.

There are two at Centreport. It wasn’t an April Fool’s joke.

Still no sign of Elen after some days at Glaslyn. Aran is now ‘considering’ Blue 372.

Mice. Introduced by humans to Marion Island continue to injury or kill both the Albatross adults and the chicks.

The New Forest in the UK has received funds to help with the restoration of wetlands, bogs, meadows, and heaths. Congratulations.

New-Forest-habitat-restoration-scheme-awarded-significant-grant-BirdGuidesDownload

Thank you for being with me today. Please take care. We look forward to seeing you again soon.

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, images, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘Geemeff, J, L, R’, IWS/Explore, Eagle Country, Moorings Park, Duke Farms, U of Florida-Gainesville Osprey Cam, Little Miami Conservancy, PSEG, Maureen and Naturechat, SF Bay Ospreys, Erica Crowley, Geemeff, BirdGuides, Gracie Shepherd, SK Hideaways, Raptor Resource Project/Explore, Centreport Eagle Cam, Bywyd Gwylld Glaslyn, and Agreement on the Conservation of Albatross and Petrels.

Meadow blown off nest, sad situation at Moorings Park…late Wednesday in Bird World

3 April 2023

Good Morning Everyone,

I had a marvellous day in the country. The air was warm and the sky was solid blue, not a cloud in sight. No wind. The geese were flying in and landing on the farmer’s fields. The deer were eating seed for the Chickadees and a hawk flew overhead landing in a tree near to where a woodpecker was eating.

I came home to some dire news about the Eagle Country nest. So, I plan to report on the two nests concerning me and what is happening at Eagle Country. There will not be a long post sent out Thursday morning as a result.

I continue to be concerned about two nests. One is the Moorings Park Osprey platform in Naples, Florida and the other is Duke Farms Eagle nest in Hillsboro, New Jersey. My report today will be somewhat short, but there is breaking news. Meadow, the second hatch at Eagle Country, has been blown out of the nest. The eaglet was not ready to fledge. She is clinging on to a lower branch of the tree. It happened at 12:57 when she was self-feeding on the right side of the nest.

Meadow is squeeing and telling Dad where she is. If Meadow is grounded, she can be rescued legally. They just have to get there quick enough. Some eaglets have managed to climb back into the nest but I am uncertain if that is possible at Eagle Country. Parents can also feed them off nest. The danger is predators in the area.

The situation at Moorings Park has not improved. It is now past 1600 and Tuffie has had nothing to eat. Harry has not been bringing in fish like he did last year. So far one and a partial fish. Ruffy continues its restless attack on Tuffie. When Tuffie finally got to Mum’s beak at 1608 there was no food for the little one.

Someone asked how long these little ones can go without food. That is a complicated question. It depends on whether or not they had a full crop of quality food at their last meal. We know that Tuffy did not have a full crop on Tuesday when he finally got fed late. The heat, the humidity, and the age of the osplet all play into how long they can survive. I once tracked an osplet that did not eat for 58 hours.

Tuffy is dehydrated, wants to eat, but is frightened – frightened enough not to go and eat even if starving. Imagine that mental state.

There is no food left. This is a drop of saliva.

The weather is miserable and there is no food at Duke Farms. ‘A’ writes: “at Duke Farms, it was the most miserable day. I saw no food brought in and there was nothing on the nest. Mum went out mid-afternoon in an attempt to find food but was unsuccessful, so she searched the nest and dug for leftovers, giving the few bites of heaven knows what to Leaper. The rain persisted the entire day, and mum was her usual stoic self, being the perfect mumbrella all night and all day. She left them briefly to try and find food when the rain eased briefly but otherwise, she managed to open her garage doors and keep the rapidly growing pair pretty dry for most of the time. What a mum she is.” She continues, “Even when mum goes out again for ten or fifteen minutes and returns with empty talons at 14:20, there is no aggression from Leaper. Jersey takes up a submissive pose, but he is not really tucked, just slightly ducked, and he was pretty much in that position anyway. So he just stayed where he was really. But Leaper was interested only in Mum, who quicky set to work trying to decide h9w best to position herself  to cover Jersey, as well as Leaper, who had done what Jersey normally does and headed head-first straight for the shelter of mum’s underfluffies. What a mother this eagle really is. She has been amazing in every respect. I cannot praise her highly enough. This rain just won’t let up. If it eases off, mum takes the opportunity to look for food but she has not had any success on the three occasions I have seen. But she keeps trying. She has four or five hours of daylight left, and of course dad could always put in an appearance, so we can hope that she finds the chance to fish. But it’s not looking great at the moment, and I am hoping that these two have been eating well in my absence and will have little difficulty going without for a day. It’s something they will need to get used to for the future in any case. It is my fear of the nest reverting to violence that is concerning us all the most. They are unlikely to starve in a day! So I am not going to panic about a wet day. Leaper has been exemplary in her behaviour today, so talons crossed things stay friendly and civil. “

Thank you to ‘L’ for first alerting me to Meadow’s situation and to ‘A’ for her lovely narrative about Duke Farms.

Thank you for being with me and thank to the streaming cams at Eagle Country, Moorings Park, and Duke Farms.