Dyfi Osprey Day 73,75&76, Harrison Bay Eagles Mom & Dad Early Morning, Loch of the Lowes Osprey Day 81,83&84, Soddy Daisy Bluebirds Day 16&17 Fledge Watch!, White-bellied Sea Eagles Day 8, Video Of Fawn Playing With A Bunny

I'm not sure which of the Dyfi Osprey is on the perch. The 360 Observatory is in the background.

Here's one in the nest and one on the perch.

I recently posted about the Dyfi 360 Observatory being entered in a contest to win some lottery money. The results are in. Check it out at this link.

The Harrison Bay Eagle parents spent the night in the nest tree again. Dawn found them side-by-side on one of the Y branches.

Here's a video of Mom & Dad Early Morning on the branch. They sing, stretch, scratch, poop, and preen (5:10).

Mom checked out the nest.

Then went out onto a different branch.

The infrared camera turned off while she was still perched there. I like the color view better...

She eventually flew over to the large pine where they like to perch. Here she is in flight, the white dot to the right of center:

Tonight finds the parents back in the nest tree. They are spending a lot of nights in the nest tree. I wonder if this is a phase they go through each year. Maybe making sure they are available if the kids show up. Or maybe making sure they are really gone before they take off for the off-season... Whatever the case, I enjoy seeing them.

All three babies were in the nest at the Scottish Wildlife Trust's Loch of the Lowes Osprey nest.

The Crows like to pick through the nest when the Osprey aren't around. Here, the Crow is taking off from the front of the nest because it sees an Osprey coming in from the left.

A couple of frames later and the Osprey lands.

It's a tight fit for the Soddy Daisy Bluebirds. I didn't see them get fed very much today. The parents are encouraging them to leave the nest. I anticipate fledge tomorrow!

The White-bellied Sea Eagle nest has the nicest light at sunrise.

Mom is still having more misses than hits while feeding the babies.

The chicks know where the food comes from and are focused on the parent.

The chicks are growing like weeds. They are getting a lot stronger. They aren't bobble-heads so much any more...

They are so cute. I did see some sibling rivalry today, but I saw snuggly moments too.

White-bellied Sea Eagles are so pretty!

 

Check out this video of a fawn playing with a bunny (2:18).

Berry College Eagles Day 81&83 Family Time (& Fledge Watch Continues), Harrison Bay Eagles Day 37&39 Cute Self-feeding, White Rock Eagles Day 15&16 Chatter at Sunset, Dyfi Osprey Three Eggs, Backyard Deer Cinco De Mayo Party

I got some really great family s'caps today at the Berry College nest! But we'll go in order. A little feeding this morning.

I was happy when they turned toward the camera.

Then here comes the other parent with something large in tow...

They all crowd around to see what was brought to the nest.

Then something caught their attention and I was able to see everyone's face!!!

A few minutes later was another good pose by the family! These are my favorite s'caps of this nest this year!

Aren't these great!?

This last shot is right before Dad took off. So happy I got these s'caps!

I love the close-ups!

By the way, no fledge again today. Just hot babies!

Two peas in a pod at the Harrison Bay nest!

One of the babies decided it was hungry. Check out I'll Feed Myself (6:09) by clicking the link or the play button below.

I caught a pretty sunset at the White Rock nest. When Dad flew in, they talked up a storm!

Mom hopped right up and took off for a break.

My video capture program was messing up and I had to reboot. It looks like Mom returned while I was gone.

Zoomer knows where to look for Dad...

...even when he took a short flight to another perch.

This view shows where the overhead cam is located.

Here's the Chatter at Sunset video. (1:20)

I recorded the Dyfi Osprey nest overnight last night so I could see how many eggs they have. They won't lay any more at this point. And the verdict is... 3 eggs.

I had some backyard deer tonight at my neighbor's feeder. It was a Cinco De Mayo party (0:39) at the feeder...

So, do you guys like having the videos embedded right into the blog, so you don't have to go to YouTube? You can always click the link I provide, or select YouTube at the bottom right of the video to watch on YouTube. Let me know if you like it or not...

Bald Eagle Camellia's Location, National Zoo's Giant Panda Cub, Stop Feeding Deer, Dead Dog Ad Campaign, Live Bald Eagle Mascot, Washing Meat, Find Momo

Bald Eagle Camellia has also been bitten by the wanderlust bug. (In my post yesterday, I remarked that Bald Eagle NX finally got in touch with her sense of wanderlust.) I wonder if there is some imperative that hit them at the same time? A change in weather or something that spurred them to take a trip...

The two-week old Giant Panda Cub at the National Zoo is a girl! And they know who's-your-daddy...

If you've been feeding deer in Virginia, you have to stop until the first Saturday in January. From what I understand, it is to prevent hunters from baiting deer. And according to a DGIF News Release it is also illegal to feed deer and elk in Buchanan, Dickenson, and Wise counties at any time.

Dead dogs don't sell shoes! Wonder if the bonehead that thought up this ad still has a job...

The largest volcano on Earth is under the Pacific Ocean.

Boston College brings back live Bald Eagle mascot.

Doesn't everyone wash chicken before cooking it? I wash chicken, beef, everything but hamburger. I don't know what's on it from when it was cut and packaged. But according to this article, I could be spreading yuckies by washing it... I'm on the fence here. I always use a gentle stream when washing meat, so I think I'm ok by doing so. I'm just not a big fan of leaving yuckies on something, killing it in the cooking process, and then eating dead/cooked yuckies.

Today's Find Momo is really good!

Training Update for Bald Eagle Buddy, Local Wildlife, Rat Trap Mishap, Finally: A Cicada In My Yard, Hallie Art

Yesterday, I asked if anyone was reading my blog and I got 4 responses. I really appreciate everyone that follows my blog. I had considered just going back to posting on the forum. But I like the blog because I don't have to be as "pc" as I do on the forum. Plus, if people click on my ads, I get money that I then donate to various charities that support wildlife conservation. (I have to put in a disclaimer here: I'm not encouraging anyone to click on my ads in order to increase my revenue from them. The program can tell if I'm getting bogus clicks and I can be banned from the program! So, please don't do that! However, if you really do see something that interests you, I'd appreciate it if you navigate to it by clicking on my ad!) Bottom line: I'm happy that people find my posts interesting. Please keep coming back! I'd burst if I didn't have a way to share all the neat stuff I find!

There is a training update for Bald Eagle Buddy. He is still in vacation mode while some of his flight feathers finish growing in. But he is still being trained -- for now, they are working on his manners!

I have some observations from my yard:

 I live on wetlands. Half of my property is wetlands. And it's the same for the two neighbors to my left and the two neighbors to my right. If you continue one way, it's water. If you continue the other way, there's maybe an acre of woods. You wouldn't think we'd have a lot of wildlife. But we've got a family of deer. I see ducks and egrets out back occasionally. There's a tree down by the water where Bald Eagles and Osprey like to perch. In the fall I've got raccoons and possum in my yard all the time because of my persimmon tree. The two big nuisance animals are muskrats and rats. And the other night, surprise! A fox!

Speaking of rats... (I'm going to start by saying that I really thought I was being careful. I was mindful of the potential problem and thought I was careful enough...) I'd spotted a rat on my back deck a couple of times. I try to peacefully coexist with wildlife here. But I can't have rats on my back deck. (I have three dogs and rats carry diseases...) So, I bought one of those spring loaded rat traps and baited it with a lump of cheese. I'm not talking about some little mouse trap. I got a big ol honkin' rat trap. And I caught a rat. Then I baited it again and tonight when I checked it. Darn it. I got a bird. (I'm really upset that I killed a bird. It died instantly -- at least it didn't suffer.) I really thought I had placed it where birds wouldn't be interested in going and it's one of the places I'd seen the rat. How do you place a rat trap so it will be accessible to a rat but not a bird? Seriously. Any suggestions?

Tonight I spotted a Cicada in my yard. Finally! On May 28th, I blogged about the Cicadas in Fredericksburg, VA. There were so many! And finally tonight is the first one I've seen here. Another notable thing, this is the first time I've seen one before shedding its skin. It had a slight crack along its back. I just went out and checked on it and took the following picture (isn't it pretty!) If I'd known it was going to shed its skin that fast, I would have stayed out there and watched it: 

The other day, I blogged about Hallie Art. Well, I have to admit that I bought one of the paintings... I feel like it's really an over-the-top indulgence. But I love three things about it: It's original artwork. It's done by a (blind) dog. And it benefits a good cause. This is the one I bought. It's called, "song birds." It arrived in the mail today and it's so pretty! I'm happy I bought it -- I've been interested in buying some original art... And I think this counts!