Tag Archives: Winnipeg

Day 10 Welcome to Winter…Diamond feeds Gimbir

12 December 2025

Good Morning Everyone! Hello!

It is -9 C with soft snowflakes falling on the Canadian Prairies. Toby has been out for his walk with Ellen. Because the snow is deep and wet, he wore his boots, hat, and his insulated play suit. He wasn’t so happy. Look at that grumpy face! He sure had fun, though, once he was outside.

Ellen gave him a good romp – 1.3 km in thirty minutes. That little puppy was quite zonked when he got home. My friends and lovely neighbours are making sure that Toby has an even bigger wardrobe. One is even knitting him a beautiful scarf with snowflakes!

Both Blue Jays were at the feeders again Thursday morning. This makes me so very, very happy. The Jays wanted peanuts, but one of Dyson’s kits just sat on the big table feeder, munching and munching. Nothing was going to budge that squirrel! The Jays were losing their patience. In this two-minute video, Junior, the male, spends the last half hoping to find a way to reach the feeder!

I want to thank ‘L’ for her note today. It touched my heart. She had a feral cat named Hobo. Worrying about him in the cold, she put a heating pad inside a gigantic dog carrier. Hobo liked it. Her letter gave me pause to reconsider what I might do for Brock.

As all of you know, I agonise over Brock every winter. He has indeed survived, but there is always a worry. I have a huge carrier that I got when we had Lewis, so I am going to order a heating pad and another outdoor extension cord. Then we will see if Brock goes for it!

Brock looks in the garden door after finishing his third meal of the day. If you look at the table to the rear and left of Brock, you will see the amount of snow that fell overnight. The young man was here shovelling the deck but it has filled up – again!

Jaine arrived and headed out onto snowy roads to take Don to the Y’s walking track for the afternoon. The Girls, Toby, and I are making cinnamon-cardamon rolls for her to take home when she gets back. I hope they are good.

We use the same dough recipe for everything from pizza to cinnamon buns and butter rolls. It is effortless, and like my grandmother, I don’t measure. If you want to try it along with us, here is what I did: Place a packet of active dry yeast in a bowl with 2 T sugar, 2 T oil (I used a fruity olive oil), and 2 t salt. Add 3/4 c of very warm (not hot but quite warm) water. Stir and let it froth. Once the yeast froths, add 1.5-2 cups of flour. Depending on the weather and the type of flour you are using, you might find you need a little more. Stir hard, knead, and let the dough rise twice. Punch down between rises. [I use a small Wolf counter oven instead of my big oven. It has a ‘Proof’ setting for 80 degrees F that is really helpful and makes the rising go even faster.]

When the dough has risen twice (which makes the rolls much lighter), flour your surface and roll the dough out into a big rectangle. (See below) Those are slices of butter (you can use either salted or non-salted) spread around. You can even melt the butter and brush it on. For this recipe, the more butter the better. (Don’t tell my doctor!). Then sprinkle a mixture of 1 cup of white sugar to which I have added 1 t of cinnamon and another t of cardamom. You can adjust to taste. You might not use all of this. If you want, you can omit the cardamom. During a visit to Copenhagen, I fell in love with the Danish cardamom rolls, and ever since, I have been adding cardamom to everything. Today, I also sprinkled some dried cranberries over the dough to try and make the rolls a little more festive.

Fold up the edges and roll into a jellyroll-like shape. Then cut into slices. Place these on a buttered OLD non-shiny pan. Do not use parchment, either, as it will make the bottoms soggy, just like a shiny pan. You can be neat and make the rolls all the same. I can’t be bothered! I do like them rustic. Allow the rolls to rise one more time before placing them in a 375°F oven. Bake for about 13-15 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown and, when pressed, spring back.

My family likes a lemon or orange glaze – just mix some orange or lemon juice with icing sugar and smear all over. Yummy, yum.

We decorated the box and included an ornament for her tree. I hope she likes it. I am so terribly grateful for her help and support.

So, let’s check in on some of the nests.

There are still two eaglets at the Superbeaks nest of Pepe and Muhlady in Central Florida.

The clock is counting down to SW Florida when M15 and F23 will welcome chick number 1.

In Orange, Australia, Diamond decided to feed Gimbir instead of Girri. Of course, Girri’s crop was about to pop! What a beautiful gesture to a great first-time dad who has been Daddy Doordash all season. I bet he was hungry.

It is NOT unusual (nor is it frequently seen) for adult males or females to feed one another. Which nests can you think of where you have seen this? The FalconCam Project caught it on video: https://youtu.be/1FOmMdoS6tA?

Girri looks like a juvenile falcon today.

SK Hideaways caught Girri soaking wet in a cute video! https://youtu.be/L2x4w5fqW3I?

Why does it always have to rain and why are there storms around fledge time? It always makes me so nervous. Girri will fledge soon. Enjoy her while you can! They do not normally return to the scrape very much, if at all.

Indeed, Girrir was flapping and almost went out the front. 12:34:52ish.

That was too close for comfort. She is not ready. She still has down and I want a week of sunny dry days not the storm clouds you can see in the distance.

The eagles at the John Bunker Sands Wetlands nest are working on that egg cup. This nest is looking really good. Just look at the size of it! The people who work at the centre say that visitors walking on the boardwalk often see the eagles flying overhead. Maybe you should visit JBSW if you live near Seagoville, Texas (east of Dallas).

The snow was really coming down at the US Steel nest. Evenso, nestorations continued. Those 7000 feathers kept those Irv and mate toasty warm and dry. https://youtu.be/1tK8d2JFE1Q?

Gigi and Pat were working at their nest, the ND-LEEF, in South Bend, Indiana, on Thursday despite the snow, too.

In Winnipeg, we are experiencing a very sad moment. Hundreds and hundreds of Canada Geese have been found dead due to HPAI.

Manitoba avian flu: Goose die-off could be tied to virusDownload

Another article with some good information.

Hundreds of Canada goose deaths in Manitoba leave wildlife experts perplexed – Winnipeg | Globalnews.ca
https://globalnews.ca/news/11572945/hundreds-of-canada-goose-deaths-in-manitoba-leave-wildlife-experts-perplexed/

This news just makes me feel very ill. I love our geese so much!

It is never good to go to bed angry and I don’t like closing my blog on a sad note. We watched T3, the only surviving eaglet of Mrs T, thrive under almost the sole care of its mother at the Trempeauleau nest in Wisconsin. There are bittersweet moments. Two other eaglets perished, but you will remember how much joy T3 gave us. Here is a lovely video about this determined young eaglet! Enjoy. https://youtu.be/OMa50gXbe18?

Mrs T was sleeping on the branch at the Trempeauleau nest on Thursday. They have snow, too.

Good night, Beau and Gabby.

Trudi Kron brings us up to date on the new couple at the Dale Hollow Bald Eagle nest.

A note from our Bird World reader ‘J’ in Berlin also brings some good news about Kakapo. Enjoy:

“https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKvDRPnj314

Thank you so much for being with us today. Everyone wishes you a fantastic end of the week!

HY knows how to stay warm.

Thank you so much to ‘L’ for the great suggestion for Brock! I am also grateful to the authors of the FB posts, the creators of videos, the owners of the streaming cams, and the authors of the articles included in today’s blog.

Day 9 Welcome to Winter

11 December 2025

Good Morning Everyone,

We hope you are well! It has been a cracker of a day, and it all started in the garden at the feeder…

A morning video of the garden and yes! Two Blue Jays. I am so relieved. Junior and Mrs J are alive!

Birds and Squirrels at the table feeder – and look two Blue Jays!

Today we have a news story about Cornell University and its attempts to protect Big Red’s nest during a construction project! Lovely. Now if we could get them to make sure every window on that campus had bird strike preventative measures.

https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2025/12/meinig-fieldhouse-built-protect-iconic-red-tailed-hawks

Suzanne Arnold Horning, the admin for the Cornell Hawk Cam Chatters FB group is posting daily images of events from the nest. Today it was a flap fest. Oh, goodness, these end of the year summaries and montages are really quite wonderful while we wait for all the action to start. Let’s see – third week in March for eggs for Big Red and Arthur? What do you think?

Suzanne picked the top five viewing moments. Aren’t they cute?

Speaking of protecting birds from window strike, I am ‘horrified’ that my city, under its mayor, Scott Gillingham, has altogether scrapped a programme to protect birds that came into effect only a year ago. Unbelievable. We will just have to try and fight this decision.

‘J’ in Berlin sent me a great announcement. It has to do with a young man that I mentioned several times in past years – Oliver Hellowell who lives in the UK. I love his wildlife and landscape photographs.

The Kat Awards 2025
I was born with Down syndrome and doctors feared I might never speak. Now I’m a filmmaker

Oliver Hellowell loves raptors and he has photographed many. He is quite the talent. Keep your eyes open for his work.

It might have been ‘only’- 10 °C, but it was cold on the Canadian Prairies. The snow keeps on giving, and today was the photo shoot in the park. Instead of spending half an hour, we stopped at fifteen minutes. It was that wet, cold to the bone. Of course, Toby loved it! We didn’t get a chance to take off our Dyfi toques – so the whole shoot is now dedicated to a great osprey pair, Idris and Telyn. If the pictures turn out, I will post some. I, who do not like to have my photo taken, promise.

We now having a warning for -40 C (with wind chill) coming for Saturday. The frigid cold is to begin tonight!

Heidi gave me the best holiday present. She made a montage of the indoor and outdoor animals set to holiday music for us – and she included dear Lewis. I broke down when I saw him. Oh, how I loved that boy. Since so many of you have been readers for years, you might enjoy seeing HY when she was little and dear Lewis along with everyone else. Thanks, Heidi – that is what it is all about. Giving of your time and love. I so enjoyed this montage. https://youtu.be/yKOeSsFwJcE

You forget how little they once were!

Hope with her first Christmas tree.

No plant was ever safe with Lewis or Missey! He was my darling.

Heidi’s video really hits the holiday spirit even if many, who knew Lewis and saw it, have wept. Please enjoy! There is even a baby HY in there.

Bella and Scout at the NCTC nest are working hard. Last year their three beautifully feathered eaglets perished when their nest collapsed. We wish them a great season this year.

While we wait for eggs at NCTC, we do not have to wait long for little eaglets at SW Florida. My calculations indicate that we should see an eaglet around Tuesday of next week. M15 and F23 are excellent parents. This is exciting.

Gabby and Beau will have to wait a little longer. Egg dates: 23 and 26 November. End of December eaglets!

Superbeaks (Central Florida) has two hatchlings. The third egg was laid four days after the second (Froto). We wait to see if it is viable. Mira and Froto are doing well.

We have eaglets at the Duke Farms nest! No eggs. Just nest prep.

Ron and Rose continue incubating at the WRDC nest. Egg dates: 12 and 15 November. I will be looking for a pip around the 18th of December or that first egg. That would be 35 days.

Clive and Connie at Captiva on Sanibel Island are also resting and waiting while incubating. Egg dates: 16 and 19 November. I do love that camera that Window to Wildlife have installed.

There are no eggs at Eagle Country. The river cam caught the eagles bathing.

Girri is 36 days old today. Female falcons, on average, fledge at 40-44 days, slightly longer than males, because they need to fill out that larger body mass and cover it with more feathers. Girri is quickly losing her baby to all that flapping! Could you take a look at that crop? Diamond and Gimbir keep their only baby full to the brim! I recommend watching because Girri is going to fledge soon, and whether she returns to the scrape afterwards is anyone’s guess.

That’s a wrap for today. Thank you so much for your comments and your letters. We are glad that you are enjoying this daily mix of pets and birds!

Thank you so much for being with us today. Take care of yourself. We will be back tomorrow!

Thank you to Heidi for that amazing holiday present. I am so very grateful – and for the spirit of love, care, and the time it took. These really are the best presents of all! To ‘J’ for sending me the news about Oliver Hellowell and to the owners of the streaming cams and authors of the FB posts, you have my thanks.

They Don’t Look like Ospreys!

Maybe it is better not to make plans! We have so hoped for rain and this morning the forecast said – ‘70% chance of rain’. My heart skipped a beat. If it would just pour. As I write this I can hear thunder.

One of my readers wrote to ask about the fires we are experiencing. First, just so everyone knows the area where are talking about you need to know where Manitoba is. Our province is on the Canadian prairies between Saskatchewan and Ontario. We are directly north of Dallas, Texas. If you drove without stopping, it would take you 24 hours to reach Manitoba if you started in Dallas.

There are two very large lakes, Lake Winnipeg on the east and Lake Manitoba in the West. Both are north of Winnipeg; it is about a 90 minute n drive to the southern tip of each. Many of the migrating shore birds and large raptors, Ospreys and Bald Eagles, have their summer breeding areas around these lakes.

Our provincial Department of Conservation and Climate reports that there are currently 159 wildfires in our province today. 17 of those started in the last 48 hours. They also reported that the yearly total of acres lost to wildfires is 904,111. That impacts wildlife. There can be no question. Here is the current fire map:

The purple areas are fires that are being monitored; the red areas are fires that are out of control; the green areas are fires under control while the yellow ones are fires being held. We are fortunate that fire crews from other provinces have come to help. The smoke from the fires impacts everyone but the city of Winnipeg is not under any threat. My concern is the area around the Osprey nests and that is in a monitored area.

That is the state of our wildfires. Of course, our thoughts are also with those people in California where the Dixie Fire is raging and has already scorched 275,000 acres.

With the promise of rain, we head to one of the most beautiful areas in our City: Assiniboine Park. It is named after one of the two rivers that meet here; the other is the Red River. The park has our zoo, an area known as the English Gardens and the Leo Mol Sculpture Garden (Mol is a noted local sculptor who worked in bronze) as well as the Duck Pond.

“Leo Mol Sculpture Garden” by D-Stanley is licensed under CC BY 2.0

Turns out this was a great decision. We managed to get lost and when we asked directions, a wonderful woman offered to show us the way. Then she stopped. “You know we have a family of Cooper’s Hawks right in that tree”. If it was not for pandemic restrictions, I would have thrown my arms around her in thanks. As it was, I quietly stood jumping up and down in my mind. It was simply magical.

The couple have three fledglings this year. They are all about the grounds catching bugs. The tripod proves cumbersome. Remember I have only practiced with this lens at home. This is the test to see if I can manage it.

A squirrel has the attention of the hawk in the back.
This hawk is looking up at a chipmunk.

Cooper’s hawks are about the size of crows. The Cooper’s are constantly confused with the Sharp-shinned Hawk. In flight, the Sharp-shinned has a squared-off tail and the Cooper’s is rounded. The prey for both are small birds, chipmunks, small squirrels and the books say small hares but Sharpie, who visits my garden) has never bothered the garden rabbit, Hedwig. The Cooper’s were busy eating bugs but also keeping their hawk eyes on a squirrel and a chipmunk! The eating of ‘bugs’ is not mentioned in any of the bird books. These hawks are adorable. It was fun to stop photographing and sit and watch the adults teaching the fledglings to hunt. They were having so much fun!

Next stop – Canada Geese! They are not Canada’s national bird. That is the Canada Jay – a grey version of a Blue-Jay (OK that is simplistic but it is a good description). The Canada Geese were in the pond but also seemed to be everywhere eating grass. Sadly, it looks rather dead in places from the lack of rain. Speaking of rain, we did get some. Probably not enough to even measure but it might help the grass!

And we have an update on your favourite goose – Arnold! The veterinary team at the Cape Wildlife Centre decided to remove Arnold’s bandage and boot today. Their assessment is that Arnold is doing great. He will not need any more bandages and will get to spend some time in the outdoor enclosure with a pool. Amelia comes every day and they get to spend time together having meals in the playpen. It will not be long until Arnold will be able to be in the wild with Amelia again. Isn’t that positive news?! What a great team.

@ Cape Wildlife Centre

Before I close, here is a reminder of a great fundraiser going on right now. I do not normally mention fundraisers unless I know that the funds really go to help the project – so I am delighted to mention this one again. I realize it is only August and everyone who has children or is a student is thinking about getting ready for ‘back to school’. I would like for you to think about birthdays and holiday gifts, too! If you are looking for something unique associated with the matriarch of Ospreys, Iris, whose nest is in Missoula, Montana – well, this is for you!

Dr Erick Greene of the University of Montana and the Montana Osprey Project gathers up the twigs that have dropped from Iris’s nest. These are twigs that Iris has broken off of trees and bushes in the area. The type of wood varies. Dr Greene then sends off a box of twigs to South Carolina to the workshop of master wood workers, Richard and Sharon Leigh Miles. They turn those twigs into beautiful pens. The patterns and colour depend on the type of wood. Iris goes out and gets Black Cottonwood, Douglas Fir and, sometimes, Choke cherry. Everything is sustainable and no one interferes with Iris when she is on the nest. Those sticks get knocked off and Iris will not go down on the ground and pick them up just like she won’t pick up fish that falls off the nest. This is such a unique fundraising even for the Ospreys but the number of pens are very limited.

I think they are gorgeous and can’t wait for mine to arrive. It is on its way. The cost is $45 USD. That includes postage within the United States and maybe parts of Canada.

@ Montana Osprey Project

This time I want to include the directions for you. Sometimes it is hard to find things on FB.
1) Send an email to montanaospreyproject@gmail.com
2) If your mailing address is in the US, on the subject line of your email, type your full name followed by Pen Order
For example To: montanaospreyproject@gmail.com
Subject: Your Name – Pen Order
3) If your mailing address is outside the US, on the subject line of your email, type your full name followed by International Pen Order
For example To: montanaospreyproject@gmail.com
Subject: Your Name – International Pen Order
If yours is an international order we will get back to you with a few additional instructions.
4) The email’s body should include the following information:
a) Your name
b) Your email
c) Number of pens you would like to order.
d) Total amount ($45.00 per pen). Shipping is included in this price.
e) Your mailing address just as it should be on the envelope.
f) Send the email to MontanaOspreyProject@gmail.com
5) For those of you who live in the United States, make out a check out to:
Montana Osprey Project – Erick Greene
(We are not set up to take credit card or Pay Pal orders. Sorry – has to be a personal check or money order)
6) Mail your check to:
Dr. Erick Greene – Montana Osprey Project
Division of Biological Sciences
32 Campus Drive
University of Montana
Missoula, Montana
USA 59812
7) For those of you who live outside of the US, send us the email with all of your information, but hold off on sending a check. We will get back to you with a few more instructions.

Thank you so much for joining me today. It is always great to hear from everyone. I have received a few letters this morning and there is some excellent information in those that I will share with everyone tomorrow! For those wondering about Malin, her feathers seem to be improving. We hope that her fish deliveries do the same. Take care. Stay Safe.

Thank you to the Montana Osprey Project FB page and the Cape Wildlife Clinic FB where I took my screen shots of the Iris pens and Arnold.

Sharp-Shinned Hawk

If you have come to find out about ceramics today, I am sorry to disappoint.  Today’s chatter is about some of the visitors to our garden.  One of the reasons that we have remained living in the urban centre of a growing Canadian city is our garden.  Twenty years ago a dozen lilac bushes were planted along the east side of the property at the back.  There is also a peony bush that thrives despite the fact I am told it is over fifty years old.  The wild roses climb about along with a flaming willow inspired by a friend’s in Kelowna, a super tall Brandon cedar, a myriad of thickets and Virginia creeper.  There are literally hundreds of birds every day, a pair of Chickadees and Nuthatches, a lone Downy Woodpecker this time of year, two grey squirrels, a red squirrel, and three rabbits.  And then, there are ‘them’.

‘Them’ refers to the Sharp-Shinned Hawks. These hawks are small ‘accipiters’.  That is they have short round wings and a long tail.  When their tail is folded, it appears to be square or notched, with a narrow pale tip.  When fanned it is slightly rounded in appearance.  Their head is small and rounded (not flat like the Cooper Hawks).  Their neck is short and they can rotate their head almost 360 degrees.  Their breast is rusty-barred and they have an orange eye.  They fly, according to Peterson, in several rapid beats with a short glide.  Petersons also says they are better adapted at hunting in the woodlands than most of the other hawks.  While several other books on Manitoba birds does not indicate it, Peterson says this:  “Habitat:  Breeds in extensive forests; in migration and winter, open woodlands, wood edges, and residential areas.”  Their food is chiefly birds and occasionally small mammals.

My first encounter was on March 29, 2018, when I came face to face with a female at 10 am – in my nightgown no less.  She was perched on one of the sheds that hold the firewood for our wood stove.  She was rapidly plucking something and thinking it was ‘the’ rabbit, I ran out in the snow to confirm and discovered- seriously, much to my relief- that the lunch was one of the songbirds.  [I need to add here that we do not feed the other animals so they will be a hawk buffet].  She was stunningly gorgeous and quite large.  We stared at one another for about sixty seconds.  I would like to think that day that our chat might keep her away from the rabbits and realising that hawks are endangered, I recognised that she also had to eat and feed offspring.  She and her mate came again in April.  The male is much smaller (about 22 cm tall) than the female (at least  35-45 cm tall) and his hunting skills weren’t very sophisticated last year.  If this is the same one, he has much improved.

Today, he was successful and then just sat, quite content on the edge of the firewood holder.  This appears to be his ‘plucking post’.  The hawks catch their prey with their long legs and sharp talons.  Normally, he would have left after he finished eating but, today, he was there – frozen still – for about forty-five minutes.  The songbirds in the lilacs and the grey squirrel on the suet did not move.  At the end of almost an hour, they even got a little squirmy.  Some were hiding in the Brandon Cedar.  Then the hawk flew away only to return to the thicket some five minutes later.  The photo was taken with my iPhone.  My presence, less than two metres from him, was not a bother nor were people walking up and down the back lane and cars.  Then he left again.  We were looking out the window to see if he had returned, talking about how well he was camouflaged, only to be surprised when we looked ‘to our right’ and there, on a 2 x 4 holding a solar panel to the outdoor lights, he was cheekily perched.  Several minutes later he swopped past the lilacs and away.  It was 4;40pm.

Has climate impacted these hawks?  Most of the bird books talk about their migration and the fact that they live in forested areas in the north, not in the City of Winnipeg!