Saturday Miscellany-Sutton Eagles, NYBG Great Horned Owl, Blackwater Osprey, and Hilary's Canada Goose Nest Problem

PHOTOGRAPH BY PAT GONZALEZ
Pat is referring below to the photographs of the newly fledged Great Horned Owls in the New York Botanical Gardens posted yesterday. This is Mama Owl looking at Pat look at her newly fledged Owlets.--

Pat said, "I meant to include this photo with the others in my last email. This is the momma owl watching me rather intensely as I photographed her offspring. Her ear tufts are rather flat. Is that a bad thing?"

I answered, "Well as she is looking at you look at her babies, it likely isn't a good thing. In fact I suspect that had you gone a few steps closer to her progeny, she might well have gone for you."

And a Great Horned Owl going after you is no joke. When I was in training, I met two ornithologists who had lost eyes to Great Horns while attempting to band the young on the nest. (I don't remember them wearing hard hats way back when. They've wised up since.) I don't want to scare you, particularly as you've done just fine so far and this Great Horned Owl is undoubtedly somewhat habituated to people being closer then would be normal, or she wouldn't be in the Gardens, but I suggest that you wear a hat from now on.


Supposedly, I was told this anyway, in an Owl attack if you are wearing a hat and the owl goes for you, you grab off the hat and pitch it at the owl. The owl will then go for the hat, sink her talons into it, take off with it, and shred the you-know-what out of it... instead of shredding your head. So you loose a hat, no biggie. Better than the alternative.

And like I said this owl is no doubt much more used to people being around than your usual wild owl who nests in the countryside and sees people infrequently therefore don't make yourself crazy over it. Just a suggestion for a rather far fetched possibility.

Great Horned Owl video also from Pat--
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBcVMzOGF5I&feature=channel_page


Screen Capture Courtesy of Jackie Dover, KJRH TV Tulsa, and
http://www.suttoncenter.org/eaglecam.html
A thunderstorm rolls into the Sutton Bald Eagle territory. Wonderful stuff from Jackie Dover of the Tulsa Hawk Nest Forum--


Jackie, Bville of the Tulsa Hawk Forum
Screen Captures courtesy of Jackie Dover, KJRH TV Tulsa, and
http://www.suttoncenter.org/eaglecam.html
These are screen capture sequences featuring the Sutton Avian Research Center's bald eagles at Sooner Lake, near Stillwater, OK. This nest is on an artificial tower built after the original dead tree site fell down. Here's the live cam link, from which folks can also explore the Center's website. http://www.suttoncenter.org/eaglecam.html


This series of captures is from the evening of April 18. Some nasty storm clouds reached the lake around 8 p.m. One eagle parent flew off the nest, the other immediately calling vigorously after it, it seemed.


The first quickly returned. The rain and frequent lightning lasted at least a half hour.

(Did it occur to anyone else that though it was grand that they put up a substitute nest stand for the pair, as they've made it out of metal, they have contrived for the Eagles to nest on top of one giganto lightning rod?)

Screen Captures courtesy of Jackie Dover, KJRH TV Tulsa, and http://www.suttoncenter.org/eaglecam.html
The parents sheltered the eaglet the entire time, huddling together in the same pose. In all these captures, the birds are revealed only by the lightning flashes, in both the wide and close shots. It was quite the display.


Screen Captures courtesy of Jackie Dover, KJRH TV Tulsa, and http://www.suttoncenter.org/eaglecam.html

I will shortly send you another series of captures at the same nest.
Jackie, Bville of the Tulsa Hawk Forum

Now there is parental protection for you. I suspect that the female is closest to the eaglet and dad is slightly sheltering mom while protecting little eaglet from the storm as well. Good luck Eagles!

Screen capture courtesy of Robin of Illinois and

the Blackwater Osprey Cam.

From Blackwater Watcher and long time blog contributor Robin of Illinois--

Posted on the Blackwater cam site: "We have our first egg of 2009! We could see one or two more, normally coming about three days apart."
(Interesting that a Red-tail usually can create an egg every other day while an Osprey takes 3 days.)

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Next up an email from Hilary Sortor, a New York City college student concerned about a possible disturbance to a Canada Goose couple's nest down near Pier 64 on the Hudson--

Hi Donna,

I hope you are well! I met you last year up at the Fifth Avenue nest and you subsequently helped me learn what to look for when watching the red tails nesting at City College.

I haven't seen much of them this year, sadly, although I had a really good look at one of them eating a pigeon in a pocket park on Broadway a couple of weeks back - drew quite a crowd and was subsequently chased off by the pair of kestrels that live in that area.

I continue to enjoy reading your blog and wish there was more time in the day for birds and other creatures... maybe when school is out.

I'm writing because I thought you might know who to contact about this: Pier 64 has been under construction up until three days ago, and is now open to the public. While it was closed, a pair of Canada geese felt it was sufficiently free of humans (and probably more importantly, dogs) to construct a nest on the lawn at the far end of the pier. I did not realize that's what was going on until I walked out there this evening with my dog and saw the female on the nest and the male standing guard (I moved my dog well away as soon as I saw the female wasn't getting up and the light bulb went off in my brain).

Hudson River Conservancy has roped off the area, but it's not much of a buffer - maybe 20-25 feet. The male was surrounded on three sides by people as he tried to keep an eye on everything - I try not to anthropomorphize, but both geese seemed very worried.

There were a lot of people out there this evening with dogs, etc. getting much too close.I'd seen them out there a couple of days ago, but the male was in the water and there weren't any other people around, so I wasn't sure there was a nest until tonight, or I would have contacted you sooner.

My fear is, that area will be packed over the weekend with the good weather, and I don't know how good that will be for the geese.

What can be done? Who should I contact? People around them tonight seemed pretty oblivious to the situation, or hopefully, they would have backed off. If you have any ideas, please let me know.Thanks for any advice you can give, I appreciate it, and enjoy the weekend!

Best,

Hilary


I forwarded Hilary’s email off to Park Ranger Andrew DiSalvo who has been helpful in the past. Though the pier is not within his current area, I’m hoping he will be able to point Hilary and the Geese to the Ranger or Rangers who may be in the Pier 64 area or as an alternative-- in whatever correct direction will help them.


Donegal Browne