Well it sounds like everyone had a great time this weekend. I'm so glad many came out to see the falcons and meet the watchers. I so wanted to go but unfortunately, I had a prior commitment, house & dog sitting, (I knew it would be the weekend I couldn't make it). Oh well, there's always next year. I had fun watching you watch the falcons and posting MAK and Ei's reports. Thanks for waving on cam Saturday night  Safe trip home the ones leaving today.

Osprey Diary July 19, 2010
July 19th, 2010 by rboardman

The carryings on and dynamics amongst each individual becomes more and more pronounced. Mum tidies up alone on the nest,  juvie flies in, Mum flies off, and mimics same actions. At least a couple of behavioural actions here…And then there is the food situation, who catches, who sees the catch, who eats, who gives, who receives. Not satisfied, they squawk, full, they squawk, hungry or not. Pops remains aloof, was it fishing, guarding territory (and we do have a fair number of intruders and will continue to do so) or watching the golf?

“Ourâ€� female remains an extremely devoted parent. The juvies are still her priority. I would like her to eat more, she appears tired. Let us not forget that on Friday she caught 4 fish in as many attempts and did catch two (one too large to lift) yesterday afternoon in front of juvies and us visitors. Breeding  is a massive task. I remain hopeful that the young will soon be less reliant on the parents in order for her to recover from this very stressfull four months.

Calm and warm here at present. We shall continue to marvel, whether overseas, overair, or at the Loch of the Lowes, Perthshire, Scotland. Rinchen

The German storks liked plastic this year, too.   

So did the Hawks..

Osprey will also pick up teddy bears and all kinds of stuff.  Monofilament fishing line is a problem for everyone (including people, as it can get tangled around and into everything).

That disgusts me when people leave fishing line..(with hooks). There's no reason for this behavior.

7:28am: (MAK)&(Dan) on Ped bridge. 1 falcon on FCT and 1 on SE corner of OCSR.

The German storks liked plastic this year, too.   

So did the Hawks..

6:56am: MAK/Dan-less: All 3 flying over river near OSCR.

Ospreys love to bring garbage back to their nests. While out checking on nests I’ve found everything from rope, fishing line, flip flops, plastic bags, a Frisbee, hats and even a plastic crab in nests.  The problem is that every year while volunteers and staff are checking on nests at least one chick is found entangled in this garbage. Fishing line gets caught around their feet and legs and a plastic bag can entangle a chick.  If no one went out to check on these nests most of these chicks wouldn’t make it.  It’s not only the chicks that suffer from the garbage we throw out. Adult ospreys have been found dead and hanging from fishing line.  Ospreys and other species whose diet consists of mostly fish are particularly vulnerable to injury and death from fishing line and hooks.  During a visit to an NJ eagle nest a chick was found with a fishing hook embedded in its mouth.  I have also found horseshoe crabs and terrapins entangled in fishing line and these are just a few examples of  how garbage effects wildlife.
There are some simple steps that we can all take to keep trash out of the environment.

    * Pick up and dispose of any fishing line or hooks you use or find.

    * Use reusable bags instead of plastic whenever possible and encourage others to do the same.

Thank you!

Plastic bag in osprey nest


Rope and fishing line found in Osprey nest.

This site:  http://www.keepky.org/index.html

Has two more Osprey fledging videos posted, from the 2nd and 3rd chicks, as well as a video from yesterday where the chicks all returned to the nest to tussle over food...video and photo galleries can be accessed from the menu on the left.

That was cool Patti. Love how they tease like their gonna go but reconsider. Suddenly, "poof" gone, just like that. Thanks.

[2 Young Peregrines Spotted Flying WellJuly 16, 2010 - Toronto - King StreetFrank Butson Reports:]

2 Young Peregrines Spotted Flying Well
July 16, 2010 - Toronto - King Street
Frank Butson Reports:

I went to the St. Lawrence market this morning and had a look at the nest
ledge from afar and without binoculars and saw no Peregrines!  About 40 minutes later I was making my way back to the subway,when I heard the familiar squawks of a young Peregrine so my eyes went skywards!

I saw one youngster fly over the King Eddie Hotel. I think the second bird I saw was also a juvenile; it did not seem to have the fluid flight of an adult! I stood and waited and was rewarded by the sight of one adult (the body looked quite white compared with the youngsters I saw).
There was quiet and no activity for a few minutes and then squawking broke
out, frantic squawking, and I saw an adult with a food parcel fly from
southeast of the nest building over King Street in the direction of the nest
building. The youngster which was *on* the King Eddie flew from there to the nest building and then stopped squawking. By the time I had walked backwards a bit in order to see the top of the nest building the squawking stopped and the adult flew from that building eastwards. The adult had lost wing feathers both wings and I did not manage to make note of the tail before the bird disappeared from view.
I then saw the adult I had first seen, circle above the nest building and
then fly to the huge brown and glass building across Yonge from the nest
building where it perched - high up!
 Lyn

!!! Durand in Columbus, Ohio!!
July 18, 2010 - International, National and Local News
Kathy Reports:

Just a few minutes ago myself and several others from the BCAW Falcon board were finally able to clearly see the bands on the new female that has been making herself at home in Columbus, Ohio!  She was spotted a few months back by Chad & Chris in Ohio so luckily I still had her information at hand.

“Black 32 over Black X banded Pefa was produced at the Hamilton Sheraton hotel nest site last year in 2009, banded on June 2nd as a female at approx. 26 days old, weighing 1014 grams (empty crop) and was named Durand.

Her parents were Madam X and Surge - (Surge was hatched and produced at the Etobicoke - Bloor and Islington (Sun Life Centre) nest site in 2002.�

!!! Falcon Sighting!
July 17, 2010 - Toronto - Uptown Yonge and Eglinton
Kathy Reports:

Yesterday morning I had to go up to the Yonge and Davisville area for an appointment and I arrived early so I thought I’d take a look and see if I could figure out where this new family is nesting.

It was my lucky day as you can see the nest site building quite well from there so I walked up a few blocks and was rewarded by seeing 3 juvenile falcons in the air!  Two were playing tag and one was riding the thermals right next to them.  It was a wonderful sight and I was thrilled to finally see the new kids in town!

!!! Reunited!
July 17, 2010 - Etobicoke - Sun Life Centre
Kathy Reports:

We seem to have recovered our little lost Mercedes this week.  It’s taken me a few days to sort out what has happened and how many falcons are on site simply due to chaos that surrounded Jack’s return!  It seems he did not come back alone but Mercedes may have been with him or was somewhere in a bind and Jack was aware of his location and was looking out for him.  Really we’ll never know unless they start talking

The day Jack returned, several of us were outside and had seen the two older boys playing tag in the air and mom was on her web cam perch.  Suddenly out of nowhere I saw three juvies in the air briefly and was a bit confused, when suddenly mom dove off the web cam and started attacking one of the boys.   We were all shocked as she certainly wasn’t ‘playing’ with him, she obviously didn’t recognize him or as is her way ‘attack first, ask questions later’!.

Mercedes did manage to evade mom and his two brothers rescued him and dad dove off we assume to intercept mom as a few minutes later she and Jack were on the ledge having an intense discussion.  After about an hour Mercedes appeared on the ledge with both mom and Jack and hasn’t let her out of his sight since his return.  He also has cried non stop for food since his return and I did observe her feeding him on Thursday afternoon so obviously he is back in the fold.  He is behind the two older boys who are doing well and hunting on their own - with some help from mom of course - and they like to hang out on their own tower together.  They are advancing well towards dispersal.  Hopefully Mercedes will catch up soon but one thing for sure is his flying skill is quite good as he managed to stay a feather ahead of mom during her little episode.

I did wonder if perhaps one of Jack’s other sons had followed him back to our site which is why I wanted to make sure we did indeed have our little guy back.  Jack is back to his regular routine of visits and has been here and at his other site quite frequently again and his two other boys are also being seen together so it seems all is well again!

Ok, so Mercedes as been gone since July 9th and returned on the 17, so there is hope for Jemison to be accepted back. Fingers crossed.

Watcher's at Park for some "nest-overs" include: MAK, Brian, Kathy O, Don & Suzanne, Kapi, Ei, Jim P, ginha & Dave, Wendy, Colleen, Paul, Bonnie, jeanne, Carol, Lisa and Lou.

AB & C talon-tagging.

MAK and a few others out on bridge: C and B flew over river, then to jail, went behind TS and disappeared. Archer was on OCSR but also has disappeared. That's it for now. Watcher's waking up and gathering for round 2. Stay cool and have fun!

http://php.democratandchronicle.com/blog/birds/?p=3176

A small dark bird suddenly flew out from under the porch at the Sterling Nature Center Visitor’s Center.
It perched briefly on a wooden rail at the entrance ramp, then flew up onto the edge of the roof, then to a ledge on the corner of the building, and finally back around the side of the building to perch on an old wooden implement.  (continued)

[This is just not right...people are getting the wrong idea. It's not a free for all.]

MOUNT LAUREL — Animal rights activists and township officials alike are expressing outrage over a deadly attack on a flock of Canada geese here.

Authorities discovered over the weekend that about 18 Canada geese and wild ducks were slaughtered at a retention pond at the East Gate Square shopping center off Nixon Drive.

Many of the birds appeared to have been beaten and shot in the head, said Mount Laurel Police Chief Dennis Cribben Jr. Mayor Jim Keenan called the attack "disgusting."

"It's a horrendous act against the animals," he said Tuesday. "We don't condone something like that."
Related

In what officials say may have been a separate incident, five more geese were found dead at the retention pond Monday. Those birds showed no signs of abuse and may have died from botulism, said Bob Gogats, a Burlington County health officer.

Moorestown resident Chris Cramer said he discovered the slaughtered geese Sunday on his way to an area store. It appeared many of the geese were chased from a fenced-in retention pond into an adjoining parking lot, where they were killed.

Cramer said he took three injured geese in his car to a wildlife refuge in Medford.

While the birds' presence may be seen as a nuisance for some, Cribben said it is illegal for residents to take matters into their hands. Anyone charged with killing the geese faces a third-degree cruelty to animals charge, a penalty of up to $15,000 in fines and three to five years' imprisonment.

The incident comes on the heels of a controversial move last month, when about 133 Canada geese were euthanized in a township park with the approval of Keenan and township council.

Township officials said the decision to kill the geese at Laurel Acres Park was recommended by a U.S. Department of Agriculture team hired by the township to address repeated complaints about the birds.

The federal team previously had taken steps such as addling geese eggs so they would not hatch.

The gassing of the geese sparked a protest from animal rights activists earlier this month. The discovery of the dead geese Sunday brought some of those people back before township council on Monday night.

"It was an act of brutal animal cruelty," said township resident Tina Wilson in an interview Tuesday.

Wilson said she and others presented nonlethal methods for controlling geese populations to council members Monday. Wilson said animal rights activists fear the weekend's killing of geese may have been some type of response to the group's protest earlier this month.

Reach George Mast at (856) 486-2465 at gmast@camden.gannett.com

This is just not right...people are getting the wrong idea. It's not a free for all.

Osprey Diary July 18, 2010
July 18th, 2010 by rboardman

Damp morning, warm air, thus far.

Well, I left last night with the juvies calling for lunch and tea well into the evening hoping that either ma or pa would come through with fish for the family. Over the past 4 months I am constantly reminded of; the random timing of switchovers in incubation by each adult, the size or quantity of fish, what nesting material is brought to the nest, by whom,  when are the best fishing times and what are the ultimate conditions. Every day provides a different pattern, including yesterday with delivery of very few fish. Was the behaviour yesterday a separating process, encouragement, or a dispute between the roles of female & male, or non of the above?

I did leave pondering why or how odd it was not to note fish catch in our diary throughout the day. I knew of course that plenty of food had been provided for all the previous day and that the birds were not starving/dehydrating. Thank you blog people for informing me that infact a couple of fish have been provided over the  night and this morning.

 I expect today will provide more opportunity to see fresh skulls, intestines and all the other fleshy and gooey bits so exciting for ourselves and the osprey.

See, I have projected my pattern for the day. We shall see. Rinchen

6:00am: MAK/Dan: Archer and Callidora on HCBS, C eating breakfast.