There is definitely snow and more snow and it is either still coming down or blowing like it is! Goodness.
Both Mr and Mrs Chickadee were flitting around on the vines under the eaves trying to find a place to get out of the wind. The Starlings are waiting for the Butter Bark feeder to be filled and dozens of House Sparrows are eating snow. It is a ghastly day for them. And for people. I think my appointment for a hair cut is once again cursed. Wish me luck though. I am going to try and make it!!!!!!!!
In all the flurry of the storm news, I missed the quick change over at the Royal Albatross Quarry Track Nest. No sooner had YRK returned to relief OGK and he was back – in a day! Oh, the foraging must have been really good. That is fantastic.
There is the Royal Cam dad, OGK, first thing in the morning looking so content.
Someone is sleeping on the nest on the deck of the Port Lincoln Osprey Barge. Is it Ervie? Sleeping in the nest seems ‘odd’ for the adults. What do you think? Is that a sat-pak on the back of that Osprey?
The winter storm warning for the US appears that it will be hitting Oklahoma around 21:00 tonight and moving eastward. I wonder what some of the nests will look like tomorrow?
The eaglet-without-a-name-but-soon-to-have-one is really getting its thermal down! Changing every day. There is another duck delivery and a bird with white feathers was slipped in some time when I wasn’t watching. Wind and some slight rain at the nest currently.
It is a bright sunny day at Big Red and Arthur’s nest. The snow and ice has not reached there yet.
It is still nice and sunny and clear in Hillsboro, New Jersey where our Mum at Duke Farms is incubating two eggs.
It still looks alright at Berry College. B15 is also getting its thermal down and it is such a cute little baby. Pa Berry and Missy must be proud.
R1 and R2 are doing great. You can see what full coverage of that thick thermal down looks like when you look at them and then look up at the little eaglet at Berry where the thermal down is just coming in.
R2 is the one at the front holding on to the fish that it will continue to nibble on. These two can be real comedians.
NE26 and 27 are doing grand as well, the youngest of the eaglets now. If you want soft, cute, and cuddly that is the place to watch – NEFlorida with Gabby and Samson!
This has been a quick check on some nests. So far all looks great. The system that is moving through the US is going to impact lots of birds and wildlife as it pushes its way through. Hopefully nests with chicks on them or eggs will be spared the worst of it.
Thank you for joining me today. Stay safe. Stay warm.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: KNF Bald Eagles, NEFlorida and the AEF, NZ DOC, Berry College Bald Eagles, WRDC, Cornell Bird Lab, Port Lincoln Osprey Project, and Duke Farms.
The ‘Alberta Clipper’ is just starting to impact Winnipeg with some light snow flakes. We are in an extreme blizzard warning area until tomorrow morning when the winds and snow – getting up to 90 kph (or 55 mph) – dissipate. The garden birds were a little strange today. They ate and left. Normally they come and stay all day but a couple of waves of different groups came and went. I suspect they were going to try and find a place to hunker down for the duration. This storm system is also going to impact a huge part of the US including my childhood state of Oklahoma.
It is snowing on the Storks near Freiburg, too.
There is wind and blowing snow in Durbe, Latvia, the home of Milda, the White-tailed Eagle. The sound from the camera’s microphone makes you shiver – the wind is just howling through the forest.
The female Bald Eagle at Duke Farms is also under some snow and it looks like she might get more as this weather system moves through the eastern US.
There is good news in Bird World. Both of the USS Bald Eagles were seen at the nest today. The worry last night over whether or not there was an injury melted away. Nice.
The thermal down is coming in on the eaglet at the KNF in Central Louisiana. The light natal down is giving way to dandelions. Notice how much longer the beak is and how large the cere has become. The cere is the soft fleshy part above the black beak, seen below. The cere varies in shape, size, and colour amongst raptors. The beak will turn that beautiful yellow when this eaglet is approximately 4-5 years old and be pure yellow by the time it is 6 years old. At that time, it will also finish getting its adult plumage including that full beautiful white head.
The meals are more spread apart but the eaglet is eating longer and its crop is getting much fuller. Just look below. The crop is a pouch along the espophagus. It stores food before it gets to the stomach. It also processes prey items that cannot be processed in the stomach. The raptor will regurgitate a compressed pellet of those items that do not go to the stomach.
The Wildlife Biologist has just confirmed that this crop is at least 3-4 inches (10 cm) long! Wow.
Poor Baby. It took some maneuvering with the weight and flopping of that crop for it to get in a position to PS. Obviously the crop weighs more than the chick’s bottom does.
This baby has really grown in the last 4 or 5 days and is changing more and more with every blink it seems.
Despite being full to the brim and hardly able to move, Anna is making certain that the little one is topped up before bedtime.
NE26 and 27 are awash in Spanish Moss. The nest seems to be covered with it and fish. Lots of fish.
There are those sweet little fluffy dumplings in the nest bole.
Sleeping quietly under Mum.
At the WRDC Nest in Miami, R1 and R2 have popping crops, too. The pin or blood feathers can be seen coming in through the thermal down.
R1 is closest to you. R2 without the fluffy hair is in the back and also has a large crop. Both eaglets are doing well and there is plenty of food on the nest.
The 2022 Albatross Count on Midway Atoll is completed. Here is the information as it was posted by Friends of Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge today:
YRK flew in and switched places with OGK yesterday at the Royal Albatross Quarry Track Nest in New Zealand.
Lady Hawk caught that sweet reunion.
The camera is still offline in Port Lincoln. Would love to have had a good look at our Ervie.
Tuesday February 1 is Lunar New Year for many of our friends. For all of you celebrating the Spring Festival, we wish you a healthy, happy, prosperous Year of the Tiger.
Thank you for joining me today. So happy to have you with me. Stay safe, stay warm!
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Cornell Bird Lab and the NZ DOC, Friends of Midway Atoll WildlifeRefuge FB Page, KNF Bald Eagle Nest, NEFlorida Bald Eagles and the AEF, WRDC Eagle Cam, Duke Farms, Latvian Fund for Nature, and the Stork’s Nest Livestream.
The other day, Jean-Marie Dupart took photographs of a Scottish Osprey in the Saloum Delta in Senegal. The band on the leg, slightly obscured, could read JJ2 or JJ7. JJ2 was believed to be a female at the time of banding. JJ7 was believed a male at the time of its banding.
Here is the photograph Jean-Marie Dupart took of the Osprey in question:
The Woodland Trust and People’s Post Code Lottery put out the following announcement today:
I had so hoped it was JJ7 but, in the end, it is wonderful to see a healthy Scottish fish eagle that hatched in 2019.
In a sadder note, the H5N1 highly pathogenic strain of Avian Flu that killed the two white-tailed eaglets in the spring of 2021 is striking again in the UK. First swans were culled and now the Whitby Wildlife Sanctuary in Yorkshire.
Ervie has been waiting on the nest hoping that Dad would either bring him a fish or that he would catch one as he focused on the beautiful waters of the cove. And then, at 8:20:39, Ervie finds an old fish tail on the nest. He did several double takes when he saw it a few seconds earlier. What a delight! An old dried up fish tail for our lovely boy.
Ervie really enjoyed that old piece of fish.
Ervie had been standing fish calling to the parents missing that piece of tail down by his talons. In the image below you can see that this is not a big piece of fish but for Ervie, it must have felt like he had found gold in that nest.
Gosh, Ervie is a handsome Osprey.
Ervie is still working on that old piece of dry fish. He is not giving up.
And he is still working on it…
You can see from the time how long Ervie has been pulling this dry fish. He is making good progress. Ervie would love to share some of the fish from the KNF nest! But he is not going to give up until he eats every single scrap of this tail. That is why you are a survivor, Ervie.
While Ervie is dreaming of having a big fish soon, the eaglet at the KNF nest in Louisiana has been filled to the brim by Anna. Look at that crop. Incredible.
Anna is making up for missing the feedings yesterday afternoon but, at the same time, Louis did a fantastic job taking care of the eaglet. The baby was never hungry and always had a bit of a crop. Louis was extraordinary – just like Samson was when Gabby was away for 24 hours before NE26 and 27 hatched.
Diamond did not seem to spend the night at the scrape but she is on the ledge early this morning. I wonder how much the hot weather impacted her and Xavier? As you know, many Peregrine Falcons wound up in care from dehydration.
Last breeding season the Mum at the Duke Farms Bald Eagle nest spent most of it buried in snow. This year is starting off the same way. Whether it is extreme heat or extreme winter storms, our feathered friends are being impacted.
Mum will keep the eggs warm and dry. These eagles are amazing.
I wanted to do a last check on the WRDC eaglets, R1 and R2. They are doing fine. R2 is being fed at the moment which must mean that R1 is full! You can tell the difference between the two because R1 still has a big drop of light natal down on its head.
If you are a Pittsburg-Hayes eagle fan, the couple were just mating on the tree. Eggs are not normally laid til 15 February or after. I wonder if they will be early this year? Looks like they have a nice egg cup created. Last year this couple raised triplets. Yes, three eaglets. 3.
Thank you for joining me today and for all your letters and comments. I really enjoy hearing from you. Take care everyone. Stay safe!
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams or FB pages where I took my screen captures: WRDC, KNF Bald Eagles, Port Lincoln Osprey Project, Duke Farms, Charles Sturt University at Orange Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, Friends of Loch Arkaig Ospreys, and Pix Cams.
What a Saturday afternoon and night. It was such a huge relief to find Anna on the Bald Eagle nest in the Kistachie National Forest and that there had been either a misidentification or that Anna and Louis switched places at dawn. Whatever happened- Anna is alright. Both birds were stressed on Saturday. It is unclear what was the cause or was it a multitude of things together – humans, gun shots, other intruding birds or animals.
I just love the image below. Everyone is so happy and relaxed this morning.
If you are watching the KNF nest, listen for the ‘laughing’ frogs. They are actually called Southern Leopold frogs but because of the sound they make, they are nicknamed laughing frogs. I hope to goodness that is the only sound that the nest has to hear besides eagles today!
The eaglet is enjoying some of the duck that was delivered earlier.
Eaglet is in food coma. Hopefully by this time next week, this baby will have a name!
The Wildlife Biologist says this afternoon that Anna and Louis would not have made their nest in a place if they were bothered by humans being around. Yesterday was, however, different from any other time that I have watched this nest – last year and this.
I know that many of you are stork lovers. Did you know that there is a live streaming cam with storks at Dreisamtal, about 10 kilometres east of Freiburg, Germany? A pair of storks make their nest on the roof of the Church of St. Gallus. Normally the couple arrive in February but this year, they returned on New Year’s Eve 2021.
The couple come and go for foraging. They sleep on the nest at night. Here is the link to this camera to calm all of your longing-for-storks-to-return!
What gorgeous plumage these Storks have. Incredibly beautiful!
Ervie had a full crop and was being blessed by diamonds all around. Oh, our glorious boy! He has quite the crop in that image. While there are few fish deliveries captured on the streaming cam, it is now believed that Ervie is catching almost all of his fish himself.
Dad does still continue to deliver a fish on occasion when Ervie is crying on the nest. Ervie loves being an ‘only child’.
The other day a word showed up in respect to Ervie – extreme philopatry. Yes, it is possible that Ervie is tied as tight as he can, more than others, to this very nest and that he will not wander too far afield like Falky has done. Indeed, one day we might see Ervie as the adult male on the barge with his own family.
Look a Ervie’s crop! Our young man is doing well. It is a relief to imagine that Ervie is an excellent fisher now.
At the Achieva Osprey nest in St Petersburg, Florida, everyone is waiting for the first egg to be laid this breeding season.
Of course, we are also waiting for Big Red and Arthur to begin working on their nest. It is, actually, awhile still. Last year Big Red laid her eggs on 26 and 29 March and 1 April! So we have about 7 weeks and a few days til our beloved Red-tail Hawk is incubating.
About the time Big Red is laying eggs, Iris will be returning from her winter migration. It is a snowy cold day in Missoula. I hope Iris is enjoying the warmth of her winter home.
At this very same time – as Big Red lays her eggs and we are on watch for Iris to land on her nest, Milda will be laying eggs on the White-tailed eagle nest in Durbe.
When I looked at my calendar and saw those three events – Big Red, Iris, and Milda – there was a big exclamation mark. Of course, all of the Ospreys and Storks will be returning from their winter homes to breed in the UK and Europe! It is going to get really, really busy.
For now, I will turn my attention back to the Bald Eagles. I don’t think NE26 is being an angel but it appears that s/he is not a ruthless brute either to NE27 – that is all good. Samson continues to have the pantry full and the fuzz balls nothing short of adorable.
In the image below, NE 26, the tallest, was trying to peck at 27. 27 did a pretty good job of standing up to its big sib. Bravo!
NE27 still has quite a dominant egg tooth. Sweet little babe with the golden glow of the morning sun shining on it.
A banana leaf was brought on to the WRDC nest. R1 thinks it makes quite a comfortable bed! So cute. It kinda’ fits with having a Papadam Chair for a nest.
R1 and R2 with their charcoal thermal down are growing and growing. Both are eating well and Ron has just brought a nice big fish on to the nest. It will not be long til these two eaglets are walking with ease around the nest. Just look at how big R1 is – looks like Hulk.
The eaglet at Berry College is wanting to have an afternoon snack and is looking intently at what the adult is plucking on the nest. This little one is a real little sweetie. Look at that lovely soft down head. You can see the thermal down coming in on the body of the eaglet. In a couple of days that soft light grey down will be nothing but dandelions!
And, last for today, if you are a Thunder and Akecheta fan, Thunder laid her first egg at the Channel Islands Bald Eagle Nest at 16:54 on 29 January! This is Cheta’s third breeding season and he no longer minds incubating the eggs. Last year the Ravens (or Crows?) got the eggs so this year, hopefully, neither adult will leave them alone!
Here is the link to the Channel Islands streaming cam:
Whew. All is well at the nests. Thankfully. It is supposed to warm up and start snowing on the Canadian Prairies in a short time. It is a good day for a walk out in the fresh air!
Thank you so much for joining me. Take care everyone and just breathe a sigh of relief. Anna is fine.
Thanks to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: KNF Bald Eagle Nest, Berry College, Port Lincoln Osprey Project, NEFlorida and the AEF, WRDC, Explore.org, Latvian Fund for Nature, Montana Osprey Project, Cornell Bird Lab, Achieva Credit Union, and Storks Nest Live Stream.
Have you ever sat and watched a female Bald Eagle go through the pantry, choose what is for dinner, eat away all the while the chicks are watching and waiting? For days now I have watched Anna on the Kistachie Forest Nest go after her mate, Louis, when he comes to the nest and wants to have dinner with the family. Anna likes to eat! She is a great mother but it is a bit of a giggle. Today, Gabby was tearing into the fish eating the nice tender cheeks while the two chicks looked on waiting their turn.
Samson is security guard while Gabby broods NE26 and NE27. The pantry is full.
Samson is getting a turn to feed his chicks.
These little ones are absolutely adorable. During the times that I watched the feedings only once did I see even the slightest notion of pecking and that was NE27 going after 26s fluff on its head. 27 needs its eyes to focus better and his head a little more stable. Otherwise that would not have happened.
We are getting close to the announcement of the top three names for the Kisatchie National Forest Bald eaglet. Louis delivered a Coot today and Anna was delighted. Anna is so funny. Any food that lands on the nest is – to her – the property of her and the eaglet/s. Louis is not supposed to eat it. Interesting.
Just look at the difference between the two chicks above and the little eaglet below. The KNF eaglet is 14 days old today. Thermal down and feathers are growing in.
Louis might have wanted some of that nice Coot but he was having a difficult time getting permission to eat the fish tail! The eaglet was so full he was getting ready to fall asleep while Mum and Dad discussed meal sharing.
Missy and B15 continued to work on the hare that Pa Berry brought to the nest yesterday. B15 is growing just as much as the KNF eaglet is – they are in a big growth spurt period! And they are losing that ‘cute little eaglet’ look that NE 26 and 27 have.
I don’t always check on Ron and Rita’s two eaglets at the WRDC Nest. It was good today to find them both fed and again to see R2 over chewing on a piece of fish.
R1 is stretching its wings and getting its muscles stronger.
R1 has finished eating and R2 is being fed.
R1 is on the far right. R2 is close to Rita.
R1 is in a food coma. The parent is up on the branches and R2 is going after the fish like it did yesterday!
There have been storms, then good weather, and the camera is currently off line at the Port Lincoln Osprey barge. At 13:00 Ervie was on the nest calling for fish! It was sunny and there was no rain.
I took the afternoon off from the streaming cams. Everyone is doing fabulous! No worries. We went out to our local landfill to try and find the Bald Eagle hanging out there and then for a long walk at one of the nature centres in our City. The Bald Eagle was not to be seen. Just a murder of crows and a hawk in the distance. At the nature centre, I was blessed with a sweet little Black capped Chickadee, a White-Breasted Nuthatch, and a female Downy Woodpecker.
No one wanted to pose for me. The Chickadee would take the black oil seed and either break it on the feeder or fly over to a nearby tree and crack it on the branch.
I really wanted to see this cute little woodpecker sharing the feeder with the Chickadee.
Oh, when she turned around I realized she has a disease on her beak. I have seen this before and it looks like trichomoniasis. “Trichomononsis (also commonly known as trichomoniasis, canker, or frounce) is an infectious disease among many species of birds caused by the microscopic parasite Trichomonas gallinae.” I realized that the woodpecker was lucky to have the seed feeder as it appears it would not be able to peck hard into a tree to eat. However, the presence of the infection causes issues for the other songbirds eating at the feeders. It was reported and hopefully someone who knows more about these things will check out the little woodpecker.
The White-Breasted Nuthatch is so funny. Everything is the opposite even eating off a suet feeder.
The paths are nicely groomed for walking, cross country skiing and snow shoeing.
It was a beautiful day to be out in the forest.
There were quite a number of wasp nests – each different than the one near to where I live.
Then there were these large globular nests. They were all spherical in shape and were completely enclosed except for a very small opening near the top on the side of the nest.
I wonder who they belong to? Must find out!
When we got home we were greeted by Scraggle Tail, Dyson’s little sister. Oh, it was so nice to see her.
Dyson was here, too. He was up on the feeder. It made me giggle. Maybe Dyson was brushing off some seeds to rain down on his little sister!
It was simply a beautiful day to be outside knowing that all of our friends in Bird World are doing well. Thank you for joining me today. Take care. See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: NEFlorida Bald Eagles and the AEF, Berry College, KNF, and the WRDC.
All of the eaglets are doing well. It is a great Tuesday. It is seriously a great Tuesday with the hatch of 27 and the sighting of JJ7 in Senegal.
NE27 is only a little over 13 hours old and it is right up there with big sib having some fish. 27 looks almost as big as 26. Hopefully they will both hold their own and be nice to one another. Samson is not letting the pantry even think about getting low on stock! Gosh, I adore this Bald Eagle couple – Samson and Gabby.
These two are going to keep Gabby and Samson on their toes! That is 27 with its beak wide open calling for food despite the fact that it could live on the yolk of the egg for some hours, up to 24.
Pa Berry brought in a rabbit for the Tuesday nest feast at Berry College. B15 seemed to really enjoy it! It was caught on video and is impossible for me to replicate the joy in Missy at the rabbit’s arrival. Notice how B15 pancakes it as Pa lands.
Bless-Her-Heart Anna did the Mumbrella for more than 7 hours straight last night and early this morning so her baby would stay warm and dry in the torrential downpours in the Kisatchie Forest.
Anna and the nest were soaking.
When the rains stopped and things began to dry out, Anna started digging up the nest to aerate it. Her little eaglet isn’t so little anymore and was sitting up straight with its big clown feet today enjoying some fish. According to the rangers, the eagles have not eaten the turtle yet.
To be named shortly eaglet was doing a lot of preening with those itchy feathers coming in. This is the cutest little one. Anna certainly makes sure it is never hungry. The eagles have been bringing in pine to help with the insect problems and all that fish. The eaglet is 13 days old today.
Ervie woke up to thick fog this morning. By the time it had cleared, Ervie had flown off in search of fish.
Got a good look in the nest of Jackie and Shadow at Big Bear. No second egg yet but soon. What we can see is that the eagles have found some soft material to line that egg cup. It is not just sticks and twigs. Thanks cam operator!
Something very interesting is happening at the WRDC nest of Rita and Ron. R2 has discovered self-feeding and s/he is not giving up trying to eat that fish. I think this is absolutely brilliant. R2 is the one that often doesn’t get fed until R1 is stuffed. This is a solution. Feed yourself. This is definitely the sign of a survivor.
A little earlier both eaglets had nice crops which you can see in the image below. Just hold on and take a deep breath. They love getting to the edge and looking over.
At the SWFlorida Bald Eagle nest of Harriet and M15, both parents were feeding and both E19 and E20 had huge crops.
Indeed, it appears that someone has put a beach ball in their crops! What you are looking at is that wonderful thermal down that will remain under the feathers to help the eagles regulate their temperature. If you look carefully you can see the feathers coming in on the wing tips of the one closest to the bottom of the screen.
For the fans of Honour and Liberty at Redding, nestorations are underway!
And if the Redding Bald Eagle nest is not on your list, here is the link:
And last but never least, we are coming up to egg watch for Jack and Diane at the Achieva Credit Union Osprey nest in St Petersburg, Florida. They fledged three chicks last year….one of a handful of nests world wide on streaming cam to do so. It is a dreary rainy day and at least one adult, looks like Jack, has come and gone.
Look at that gorgeous bark!
Here is the link to the streaming cam.
Life is good. Everyone is happy. All have eaten. What more could we want?
Thank you for joining me today. Take care everyone. See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: Achieva Credit Union, Port Lincoln Osprey, KNF Bald Eagle Cam, NEFlorida Bald Eagles and the AEF, SWFlorida Bald Eagles and D Pritchett, Friends of Big Bear, WRDC, and Redding California Eagles.
Oh, the sun is so bright this morning! It is beautiful and, at the same time, it is cold. We have another extreme cold warning. That is the problem with sunny days. If it is cloudy, it is normally warmer. The birds are already coming in waiting for the feeders to be filled.
NE26 continues to do really well and Samson has piled on the fish for Gabby and 26. NE27 is now working its way through that shell with its egg tooth and there is a confirmed pip.
NE26, are you going to be nice to your younger sibling?
This is the state of the pip at 13:00. You can sometimes see the beak moving under the shell.
Gorgeous Gabby. The morning snow casts a beautiful golden glow on our Mum.
Berry College eaglet. The eaglet is bright-eyed this morning. Its left wing was stepped on yesterday when something frightened Missy and she stumbled getting up. B15 is eating fine this morning although I would feel a whole lot better if Pa Berry had more filled pantry.
A quick check on the eaglet at the Kisatchie National Forest nests shows that it is another expected 10-feeding day! The eaglet weights about 1 kg or 2 pounds now with the weight on its bottom area. You can see this easily from the image below.
E19 and E20 had a lesson in plucking before breakfast this morning! M15 arrives with a mystery bird and Harriet lines the babies up to watch. E19 and E20 had just finished up the last of what looked like a squirrel before the bird’s arrival.
R1 and R2 have their thermal down, like E19 and E20. They have both eaten today and other than some scary moments with the kidlets looking over the edge of the nest things appear to be much the same. R2 has learned to remain submissive until R1 is finished eating.
In the image below both of the eaglets, now 3 weeks old, are enjoying the sunshine and the really mild 14 degree C temperatures.
We are on the countdown to the arrivals of the Osprey in the UK. 49 days now. The staff at the nature centres are busy getting ready, making sure the streaming cams are working, and just looking forward to their arrival as it also marks the beginning of spring.
A new Osprey platform has arrived at Lyn Brenig in Wales. I have seen no word on any arrests of the individual/s who cut the pole down and frightened the Ospreys last season.
In the garden, the European Starlings and Dyson seem to have a truce. Dyson sits and eats on what is left of the big seed cylinder and the Starlings are eating off the ground and a smaller one. Meanwhile, the sparrows finally get to eat out of the flat feeder while the chickadee flits back and forth stealing seeds when it can.
Dyson has been eating for about two hours. His thick fur is keeping him warm in our -40 temperatures (with the wind chill). He is a real sweetheart…yes, you are Dyson.
The colours in the Starlings are nothing short of beautiful. In the sunshine, everything turns beautiful iridescent colours. In the shade, the patterns range from caramel to rust with some blue and green . Their beaks are so long. These two have already managed to remove all of the meal worms! Cheeky.
I hope the Starlings stay all year. They have really brought some life to the garden.
I will continue to monitor NE27s progress towards hatching and will check in on Ervie several times if he is on the barge. In the meantime, Daisy the Duck seems to have found another spot for her eggs. Or will she land on the WBSE nest the minute I post this blog? There seems to be no recent news on Annie and Grinnell and this time ‘no news’ is going to be taken as ‘good news’. For those of you following the illnesses that have beset the dogs walking on the Yorkshire beaches, the historic deaths of crustaceans and sea birds, it appears that the cause has been found. It is the dredging up of toxins that were once dumped in the area. In Manitoba we are very familiar with this as the dredging of land to build the northern dams to produce electricity for the south of the province have caused the water – drinking, in lakes, and in ponds – to not be able to be used for at least two decades if not more. This is very sad as the marine life and sea birds continue to die off the coast of northwest England. If you haven’t already, please submit your name for the Kisatchie eaglet. The deadline is 30 January. The three names most mentioned will form the short list from which the winner will be chosen at the end of the first week of February. I will keep you posted. You can send your suggestions to: nameknfeagle@gmail.com
Thank you so much for joining me today. Take care. See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams or FB pages where I took my screen captures: NEFlorida and the AEF, Berry College, SWFlorida and D Pritchett, Brenig Osprey Project, KNF, and the WRDC.
Is there a better way to spend a snowy Sunday than to watch little eaglets being fed in their nests?
Gabby and Samson’s NE26 hatched at 03:04 on the 23rd of January. It was caught in an image that Pascale Ragon posted on FB. What an adorable little eaglet! It is also very strong, holding its head up high and not bobbing along so much!
The image of this sweetie below shows clearly the very sharp egg-tooth that was used to break out of that shell. It looks like 26 has already caught on to the latest in eye liner styles!
This ‘new born’ is also eating large flakes of fish. I could not believe it. Oh, what a sweet little tongue.
Gabby and 26 have this all worked out. Mom tilts her big beak 90 degrees and baby brings its beak straight up the middle. Bingo! I cannot tell you how impressed I was with what was going on at this nest today — but mind you, Samson and Gabby are always at the top of my list for Baldie parents.
Look at this sweet one looking up to Mum. That is simply adorable.
Hi there.
I feel like a new grandparent showing off pictures — I could seriously have cut and pasted so many you would be bored to tears. It is hard to take your eyes off a 12 hour eaglet!
The eaglet at the Kisatchie National Forest Bald Eagle nest had 10 feedings today, again. They began at 06:47 and ended at 17:40. I compares the times from one day to another. So, on Friday, the first feeding was at 06:52 and the last one at 17:41. There was a similar pattern for Saturday. Does Anna have an app that tings at the same time each day? Or are the feedings linked to dusk and dawn? Bald Eagles are diurnal. They hunt and eat during the daylight hours. The little eaglets are trained and treated as such from the time they hatch.
You can see that this eaglet -who is 11 days old today- is beginning to change. The light grey fluffy down is giving way to the darker thermal down. This will mean that once that thermal down is all in, Anna will not have to brood the eaglet so much.
Today, Anna let the eaglet have quite a bit of warm, not hot, sunshine. Both her and Louis were close but they let the little one have some air!
In the image below, the ‘baby face’ is also disappearing. The beak is growing longer and the egg tooth is almost totally gone. If you look at the wings you can see little black lines. Can you believe feathers are coming??
I have had the Big Sur condors on my mind and was very thankful when Ventana Wildlife Society posted this message on their FB page today. What a relief! Little Iniko 1031 was only released back into the wild six weeks ago, on 4 December 2021, after being caught in the Dolan Fire and having a long rehabilitation.
The Kakapo Recovery are also very happy. This is the ‘white board score board’ for the eggs. It looks like it could be a really super year if they all hatch and the chicks survive.
Each time I went to check on Ervie, the nest was either empty or there were pigeons doing clean up.
Then, all of a sudden, at 13:00:51 Ervie comes flying in. He was sure putting on the breaks. Just look at those magnificent wings. Oh, Ervie, you are so special.
Ervie must have a motion detector for when Dad is coming to the nest with a fish! It was 13:01:09. Ervie arrived 15 seconds before Dad!
That timing is not a coincidence. So where did Ervie see Dad with the fish? Was Ervie on the old barge while Dad was fishing?
It was a really nice fish and Ervie will enjoy every morsel!
Ervie spends several minutes mantling and alarming before he digs into his lunch.
Ah, thank you Port Lincoln! Ervie is a beautiful bird.
Two hours later and Ervie is screaming for more fish!!!!!!!!! I bet they could hear him across the bay!!!!!! No wonder Mum and Dad don’t stay on the barge when Ervie is about.
R1 and R2 were well fed today. This is the coldest day Miami has experienced this season. It is currently 16 C – which on the Canadian Prairies would be considered a nice summer day! But, if you live in Miami, everyone would be cold.
Rita was making sure that everyone was eating.
Both eaglets had nice crops before Rita informed them it was bedtime!
Rita tucked both eaglets in as best she could to keep them warm from the wind and what would be to her, the cold temperatures.
There has been a bit of concern by the watchers of the Berry College Bald Eagle Cam. Missy stepped on the left wing of the eaglet. Something startled Missy about 20:12 and she got up abruptly. Is it hurt? I do not know. We will have to wait and see how it is doing tomorrow.
The eaglet was moving its wings fine at the time of the image below.
All is quiet now and then something startles Missy.
She gets up, looks to her right and stumbles around the baby.
Send warm wishes to this little one that everything is alright. They are so fragile at this stage and B15 is doing so well. Something startled Missy about an hour later, too. Everyone is tucked in now and we wait to see how the baby is doing tomorrow.
I will leave you with a nice shot of Ervie with his crop. What a handsome osprey you are, Ervie.
Thank you so very much for joining me today. With the exception of the worry at Berry College, Bird World is looking good. Take care everyone. See you soon!
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams or FB pages where I took my screen shots: The Kakapo Recovery, Ventana Wildlife Society, Port Lincoln Osprey Project, Berry College Bald Eagle Cam, NEFlorida Bald Eagles and the AEF, KNF Bald Eagle Cam, and the WRDC Bald Eagle Cam.
NE26 is here! There are so many hatch times posted that it is unclear when NE26 was officially out of that shell. Does it matter? The AEF is showing 07:28:38 but the eaglet is fully dry and fluffy so I think Gabby was hiding that hatchling, keeping it warm. It is noon and it is still only 7 degrees C or 44.6 F. Chilly for Florida!
By 11:30, NE26 was holding its head up and looking straight at you! Notice that the inside of the shell was, in part, a beautiful blue.
What a cutie pie! Hello.
I wonder if you will be strong and sassy like your big sibling, Legacy????
Samson just brought in a nice fish to the nest – and its got its head on! He is so excited about the little furry one and wants to make sure that Gabby and it are well fed.
Gabby checks to see if the baby wants to eat. That pantry is so far from the nest cup. Remember Legacy last year crawling up the bowl to get over to it? Sure made NE24 strong.
You are so precious with that big egg tooth!
Tired.
Gabby was hungry! And the little one needs to figure out which way to face the pantry! Not the grass! Gabby keeps checking to see if N26 wants to eat some fresh fish.
Proud Mama Gabby!
The growing eaglet in the Kisatchie National Forest Bald Eagle nest has already had 5 feedings between 06:47 and 11:45. I thought Anna might be slowing down but no…the feedings are just getting longer!
What a little cutie looking up at one of the parents on the branch above the nest. If you are looking for the turtle, it is still there amongst all manner of large fish and a beautiful Eagle feather.
A nice family portrait!
B15 at Berry College is doing well.
B15 peeking out between Mum and Dad.
At the WRDC nest of Ron and Rita in Miami-Dade, R2 has figured out to let R1 get full and then get up to eat. Once R1 is full, it doesn’t care what R2 is doing. So around noon, R2 started eating and it is getting really full. Whew!
For all who are teachers, the Raptor Resource Project can help you, from K through high school, from art to science. Why not teach about raptors?
It is a great Sunday. Everyone is doing well. There are big snowflakes starting to fall on the Canadian Prairies. They are swirling and are quite beautiful. But, please, no more snow! We are 50 days away from the arrival of the first Ospreys in the UK for breeding season! Do you have a favourite nest? I can’t decide but I am awfully keen to see some little osplets in the nest of CJ7. Hopefully she will return to Poole Harbour along with her hopeful partner, Blue 22. For those of you that might have missed it – Jackie and Shadow have their first egg as of yesterday and YRK has flown in to relieve OGK on the Royal Cam nest in New Zealand. It looks like it will be Mum on the nest this year when the hatchling is returned. The egg is in the incubator hatching right now! E19 and E20 are doing great at SWFlorida and Ervie has been sleeping on the perch at Port Lincoln all night – so all is well with the world.
Take care everyone. Thank you for joining me today. See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: NEFlorida and the AEF, KNF, Berry College, and the WRDC.
The snow that began last night is continuing to come down in the garden. It is gusty and blowing and the birds are having a difficult time finding a place to get out of the wind. I would love for someone to contradict me but, I do not recall this much snow in 15 years. Thankfully, there is no reason to get out, not even for birdseed. We have at least another two weeks on hand! There are times that I think the garden visitors eat better than their caregivers! It is the running family joke.
You might have felt that I am a little ‘shy’ of that WRDC nest of Ron and Rita’s. This is a new Bald Eagle couple to me. It is really difficult to see if R2 is getting much food. Clearly R1 is a bit of a brute. R3 would not have had a chance. The adults often stand in front of the camera so the view is restricted or, else, I can only see R1 bonking the little one. There is lots of food. Ron is a good provider.
I want to imagine that I am terribly wrong and that the adults are feeding R1 until it passes out in a food coma and then are making sure that R2 is full to the brim. If you have seen this please let me know! I would be delighted.
Some good news. There is no sign of Daisy the Duck on the White-Bellied Sea Eagle Nest in the Sydney Olympic Forest. Continue to send your positive energy to our little duck so she finds a safe place to hatch some eggs!
The bad news – unless you are a GHOW fan – is that Mrs Hootie laid her first egg on the Savannah Osprey nest of Scarlett and Rhett. Where will this longstanding Osprey couple lay their eggs?
The snow is melting in Ithaca, the home of Big Red and Arthur.
The Clark Fork River is open in places near Missoula, Montana. It is hard to imagine but in 9 weeks Big Red should be laying eggs and in 10 weeks we will be looking for Iris, the oldest Osprey in the world, to return to her nest at Hell Gate Canyon.
There is some snow in Latvia and like here in Canada, I expect that they will see more. Milda’s nest is waiting for her albeit there have been intruders.
The eaglet at the KNF nest was stretching its little wings this morning. It is 6 days old and is energetic, curious, healthy, and happy. What more could you want?!
Anna and Louis are quickly becoming one of my most favoured Bald Eagle couples!
Pa Berry fed B15 til it passed out in a food coma. I had missed seeing him brooding or feeding so this really put a smile on my face. B15 is a little character. Full of life! So happy.
Pa Berry was really aerating the nest this morning!
R15 is so cute. I wonder if R15 will get attached to ‘eggie’ like Legacy did last year?
The two eaglets of Harriet and Mitch are doing fine at the Hilton Head Island Bald Eagle nest. Have a close look. That second layer of dark grey down is covering them and there are feathers peeking through. Soon they will look like E19 and E20.
E20 looks on as E19 is eating at the SWFlorida Bald Eagle Nest. It will wait til E19 is finished and then will go and have food.
Ferris Akel posted a very short video of the Canada Geese and the Snow Geese from last Sunday’s tour. I had not seen so many since our migration in September-October here in Winnipeg.
Ervie is on the nest and will, no doubt, be ramping up the volume screaming for a fish once the dawn breaks at Port Lincoln. Oh, Ervie. Are you going to be another Izzi? We do adore you and we wouldn’t mind! On the other hand, you did get the sat-pak! Will the conclusion be that at least one male Eastern Osprey likes to stay at the natal nest? Oh, Ervie, you do put a smile on our faces.
Thank you for joining me today. It is so nice to have you with me. Take care! See you soon.
Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen shots: WRDC, KNF, Port Lincoln Osprey Project, Hilton Head Island Trust, SWFlorida and D Pritchett, Berry College, Cornell Bird Cam and Montana Osprey Project, Cornell Bird Cam and RTH, Cornell Bird Lab and Savannah Ospreys, Latvian Fund for Nature, and Sea Eagles@Birdlife Australia Discovery Centre Sydney Olympic Park.
