Pele, saw an eagle change over.
PS. @Fuin Elda. Of course I missed you!
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Hello on the bird board. It is midnight in my realm and I am awake coughing again. So I will talk to you of jackdaws. They are black and silver and magnificent and often visit our bird feeder. I don't know if they are visiting the garden at the moment as it is dark.
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There are a plenty of jackdaws where I live, @VelvetineZone , but they don't visit my feeder. One appeared once or twice only.
Also, the nest of lesser spotted eagles here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdJXaFm8bpM - has been taken over by a black stork. It is sort of too small for the storks and the real owners might return any day.
Also, the nest of lesser spotted eagles here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdJXaFm8bpM - has been taken over by a black stork. It is sort of too small for the storks and the real owners might return any day.
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That feed is so peaceful with the wild sounds.
I didn't know there were black storks! We saw black swans last year.
I didn't know there were black storks! We saw black swans last year.
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@VelvetineZone if you can, keep your eye on this cam over the next week.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wSd4iXrCw0
The eagle you see is sitting on two eggs. The first is expected to hatch on, I think, Wednesday. The second next Sunday.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wSd4iXrCw0
The eagle you see is sitting on two eggs. The first is expected to hatch on, I think, Wednesday. The second next Sunday.
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@Chrysophylax Dives ooh fab! Saw the eagle.
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Still no chickling. But that eagle sitting on the two eggs looks so grumpy and bad-tempered. That may be me projecting, of course. I have a week with all the children home and am going insane so felt some compassion for the eagle - who does not realize how much more annoying life is about to get when that shell cracks.
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Ah, but there is one chick, hatched already yesterday. The other due by Friday or so. 
Zorro has brought a plenty of fish so it decorates the nest since the little one can't eat all of it.
Zorro has brought a plenty of fish so it decorates the nest since the little one can't eat all of it.~ I will be a healer, and love all things that grow and are not barren ~
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Wow!!!
I saw the fish, but not the chick. I was watching loads yesterday. Actually, I have just come from there (first gleams of morning light in Latvia) and cannot see the chick. Does the chick live underneath the eagle, just as did the egg?
I will keep watching.
I saw the fish, but not the chick. I was watching loads yesterday. Actually, I have just come from there (first gleams of morning light in Latvia) and cannot see the chick. Does the chick live underneath the eagle, just as did the egg?
I will keep watching.
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Holy Moly. Just saw the chick.
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2 chicks!
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@Pele Alarion here is a screenshot. I took it from the cam an hour ago. (Not sure about the image upload, though, so please let me know if you see nothing).
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Ohhh! Chicks!
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Ohhh, the second one arrive while I looked at other nests!
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This is awesome! babies!Chrysophylax Dives wrote: ↑Fri Apr 18, 2025 8:55 am @Pele Alarion here is a screenshot. I took it from the cam an hour ago. (Not sure about the image upload, though, so please let me know if you see nothing).
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My old friends Crowley and Maw came by for a visit the other day. Crowley has come by briefly about once a week but Maw (the pirate-legged one on the left) hasn't been by for a while.
We do have a mated pair that rule the street and the front of the house. The female is 'Bolt' and is one of Maw and Crowley's kids from a couple years ago. Joining her is 'Nut', a wary male from another clan in the murder. When Bolt and her brother Zoom were fledglings they would get close to get treats. But wary Nut has Bolt adhere to 'Raven Safety' 101... be wary of humans. I am working on him and we are getting an understanding, but the rule is they stay in the cypress trees or on the house roof to watch me distribute treats around the yard. Once I go in the door they descend to the ground. They are bit camera shy so I haven't yet gotten any pictures of them.
Also, there is an enforced agreement between Nut & Bolt, and Maw & Crowley that our front driveway gate is the 'line'. Crowley got after Nut for dropping down in the courtyard to get some food. Interestingly, this only holds with 'Nut'. Bolt seems to get a limited free pass from mom. I guess the ol 'in-laws' friction holds true for ravens. XD
We do have a mated pair that rule the street and the front of the house. The female is 'Bolt' and is one of Maw and Crowley's kids from a couple years ago. Joining her is 'Nut', a wary male from another clan in the murder. When Bolt and her brother Zoom were fledglings they would get close to get treats. But wary Nut has Bolt adhere to 'Raven Safety' 101... be wary of humans. I am working on him and we are getting an understanding, but the rule is they stay in the cypress trees or on the house roof to watch me distribute treats around the yard. Once I go in the door they descend to the ground. They are bit camera shy so I haven't yet gotten any pictures of them.
Also, there is an enforced agreement between Nut & Bolt, and Maw & Crowley that our front driveway gate is the 'line'. Crowley got after Nut for dropping down in the courtyard to get some food. Interestingly, this only holds with 'Nut'. Bolt seems to get a limited free pass from mom. I guess the ol 'in-laws' friction holds true for ravens. XD
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They have awesome eyes, and it's fantastic that they are that close to you in the video. I have tried to get closer to the city dump ravens in my part of the world, but have had no luck.
Is there a story unfolding in this raven family?
Is there a story unfolding in this raven family?
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It is lovely to gain birds' trust.
I keep cherishing my pigeon girl (as it turned out), and trying to keep an eye on all the webcams, but it is near impossible.
I keep cherishing my pigeon girl (as it turned out), and trying to keep an eye on all the webcams, but it is near impossible.
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Most definitely. It took several months for Maw to take food from my hand. Speaking of Maw, I got a bit worried about him as he hadn't been by for several weeks. Crowley would come by once or twice a week, but no Maw. I know there was a raven that got killed on the busy highway and I worried it may have been him, but I think what happened is Maw was 'promoted' in the regional murder and had some fill in duties. The reason I thought this was I saw him in the parking lot of the local IGA grocery story about a km away. He recognized me, but it was obvious he didn't have time for me there. Anyway, it must have reminded him to stop in, because he did today and we had our five minutes of fellowship as he collected the treats. He then took a couple swallows of water and off he flew.
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Cool, @Hanasian! That Maw recognized you is very interesting. I investigate your ravens because of their eyes. Are they Australian ravens?
Here is a photo of a crow that cawed on that branch for a good 10 minutes. I'm not sure what they were cawing about. I will have to learn how to distinguish between female and male crows.
Here is a photo of a crow that cawed on that branch for a good 10 minutes. I'm not sure what they were cawing about. I will have to learn how to distinguish between female and male crows.
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Beautiful crow! Yes, my locals are Australian Ravens. We have Australian Crows here too but they also have the cornflour blue irises. They tend to be somewhat smaller and their voice is distinctly different with their calls. We had a family living in a pine tree at the house we rented in 2019. One of the fledglings had a birth defect that had one of his legs about a centimeter shorter than the other. Made him rather clumsy learning to fly as he couldn't stick the landings.
An interesting thing I found out about the eyes of Australian Ravens and American Crows. The color progression is opposite each other. Our Ravens eyes are dark near-black when they are born, and as they grow, they turn brown, then dark gray then lighten to the light blue. The Crows young start with light blue eyes and progresses darker as they grow.
An interesting thing I found out about the eyes of Australian Ravens and American Crows. The color progression is opposite each other. Our Ravens eyes are dark near-black when they are born, and as they grow, they turn brown, then dark gray then lighten to the light blue. The Crows young start with light blue eyes and progresses darker as they grow.
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Love these birds!
The hooded crows from across the street sometimes visit and scare my pigeons away.
The hooded crows from across the street sometimes visit and scare my pigeons away.
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I was mostly popping by to stealthily check that this little corner of the internet was still going strong - glad to see it is! 
But since I am here, and since I seem to have entered the bird-watching era of my life, I thought I'd share some of the blue tit chick shenanigans I had the joy of following last month.
Sorry the photo quality isn't great. They're all screen-grabs of videos I recorded.
My favourite chick can be seen at the end. That one stayed in the nest for a whole extra 12 hours before deciding to venture out into the big unknown. All the others went within a 20 min period of each other. And I have to say, I fully respect the decision not to get peer-pressured by one's siblings.
Of 10 eggs that we counted at the start, 9 hatched and all made it to become fledglings - which quite frankly, I found astonishingly strong parenting skills.
But since I am here, and since I seem to have entered the bird-watching era of my life, I thought I'd share some of the blue tit chick shenanigans I had the joy of following last month.
Sorry the photo quality isn't great. They're all screen-grabs of videos I recorded.
My favourite chick can be seen at the end. That one stayed in the nest for a whole extra 12 hours before deciding to venture out into the big unknown. All the others went within a 20 min period of each other. And I have to say, I fully respect the decision not to get peer-pressured by one's siblings.
Of 10 eggs that we counted at the start, 9 hatched and all made it to become fledglings - which quite frankly, I found astonishingly strong parenting skills.
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@Nia ! So great to see you!
Blue tits are such amazing little birds. I'm kinda jealous that you got to watch 'em!
Blue tits are such amazing little birds. I'm kinda jealous that you got to watch 'em!
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Cute Blue Tits Nia!
Things have been quiet on the Raven front at my house the last several weeks. An occasional drop-in by Crowley here and there, and finally last week, Maw dropped in. He wasn't very interested in food. He just wanted to interact with me and take the food from y hand. I almost got him to hop onto my arm.
Then later that same day, Bolt (on the left) and Nut (on the right) dropped in onto the fence outside our sliding glass window to say hello. Hadn't see them around in a while either, and the Magpie pair 'Stormy' and 'Cloudy' started coming to our cypress trees.
Things have been quiet on the Raven front at my house the last several weeks. An occasional drop-in by Crowley here and there, and finally last week, Maw dropped in. He wasn't very interested in food. He just wanted to interact with me and take the food from y hand. I almost got him to hop onto my arm.
Then later that same day, Bolt (on the left) and Nut (on the right) dropped in onto the fence outside our sliding glass window to say hello. Hadn't see them around in a while either, and the Magpie pair 'Stormy' and 'Cloudy' started coming to our cypress trees.
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Just want to say I've been working through everyone's old bird photos and reading a backlog of these two from you has been wonderful. Lovely to have such prolonged contact with the same birds!Hanasian wrote: ↑Sat Jul 26, 2025 2:23 am An occasional drop-in by Crowley here and there, and finally last week, Maw dropped in
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I've known Maw and Crowley for two years now. And it's official. Crowley has laid her eggs. She came by the water bowl and got big drinks and had a splash and primped. I could see when she was bending down to drink her bottom was red and swollen. So maybe later this year Maw and Crowley will introduce their babies to us. They have had two the last two years; a male and a female (Zoom and Bolt in late 2023-early 2024 and Aud and Ghost in late 2024-early 2025).Androthelm wrote: ↑Sat Jul 26, 2025 4:59 amJust want to say I've been working through everyone's old bird photos and reading a backlog of these two from you has been wonderful. Lovely to have such prolonged contact with the same birds!Hanasian wrote: ↑Sat Jul 26, 2025 2:23 am An occasional drop-in by Crowley here and there, and finally last week, Maw dropped in
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@Hanasian You should write a book about your adventures with these birds.
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Pele Alarion wrote: ↑Mon Sep 08, 2025 10:54 am @Hanasian You should write a book about your adventures with these birds.
The Ravens and the Snowman! 
Well, I have been officially introduced to Maw and Crowley's young fledgling. We named it 'Shadow' as it likes to be stealthy. Reminds me a lot of last year's 'Ghost'. I'll get some pictures shared shortly.
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Yeah, I'd read that book.
I'm amazed that they would show you their 'kids'.
I'm amazed that they would show you their 'kids'.
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I've got bad news and good news on the Ravens.
First the bad news... Last Sunday we had a heavy storm cell blow through the area. It was so intense it managed to become a small twister. It hopped through the suburb, and the path was around 80 meters to the south of us. It destroyed a couple bus shelters and some fences and rooftops by the highway as the winds were clocked around 140Kph. Shadow the fledgling hasn't been seen since, and Maw suffered an injury to his neck. He also has a sore wing. They have been calling and flying around searching for Shadow for nearly a week now. I suspect Shadow got sucked up in the updraft and didn't likely survive. If it did it could be miles away. They went quiet today. I think they may have gone into mourning.
Now the good news. Our front yard raven Nut and Bolt hadn't been seen for some time, but today they showed up to introduce their fledgling to us! I think we settled on 'Spanner' as a name. It has only recently learned to fly and is a bit wobbly on its take-offs and landings. I fed Nut and Bolt while Spanner tried to play tug of war with a young tree in our yard, and once they softened the food some, fed it to Spanner. It was an honour to be introduced to their baby, especially since I sort of interrupted them having sex earlier in the year. Promised pictures are forthcoming. I need to upload them to my hosting site from my phone.
First the bad news... Last Sunday we had a heavy storm cell blow through the area. It was so intense it managed to become a small twister. It hopped through the suburb, and the path was around 80 meters to the south of us. It destroyed a couple bus shelters and some fences and rooftops by the highway as the winds were clocked around 140Kph. Shadow the fledgling hasn't been seen since, and Maw suffered an injury to his neck. He also has a sore wing. They have been calling and flying around searching for Shadow for nearly a week now. I suspect Shadow got sucked up in the updraft and didn't likely survive. If it did it could be miles away. They went quiet today. I think they may have gone into mourning.
Now the good news. Our front yard raven Nut and Bolt hadn't been seen for some time, but today they showed up to introduce their fledgling to us! I think we settled on 'Spanner' as a name. It has only recently learned to fly and is a bit wobbly on its take-offs and landings. I fed Nut and Bolt while Spanner tried to play tug of war with a young tree in our yard, and once they softened the food some, fed it to Spanner. It was an honour to be introduced to their baby, especially since I sort of interrupted them having sex earlier in the year. Promised pictures are forthcoming. I need to upload them to my hosting site from my phone.
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Oh, sad news about Shadow. We often overlook the impact of weather and climate change on various creatures.
I look forward to seeing some photos of Spanner.
I look forward to seeing some photos of Spanner.
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So sad that Shadow is lost. 
But at least you and your home remained safe.
But at least you and your home remained safe.
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I've been absent with my local raven news, but I felt like I was sharing too much and didn't want to swamp the thread with it. Haven't really been getting pictures, but there has been a lot of activity. Nut and Bolt's youngster is a male and we ended up calling him 'Washer' instead of spanner. He is a gregarious sort, and became quite friendly with me.
An interesting thing with the family dynamic is Bolt is Maw and Crowley's child, and after Maw and Crowley had their week of search followed by a week of mourning, Washer, would spend a day with his grandparents, giving Nut and Bolt a 'break' of sorts. Washer observed grandpa Maw take treats from my hand, and he later actually took one from my hand. He had to be higher than me though, and did it while perched on the fence.
A week later when Maw and Crowley were wandering around with me, Washer shows up and Maw wouldn't let him get treats. When he did get one, Maw got after him and chased him to the front yard, which is Nut and Bolt's territory.
And just yesterday, Maw was having attitude and had a beef with Nut. He would fly a wide circle over a few of our houses, and Nut was on the peak of the neighbors roof, and Maw came around and flew right into Nut, knocking him off the peak of the roof. Nut took off and they had a bit of a flying dogfight before Nut and Bolt left and went down the block. I got the vibe Maw doesn't like the son-in-law too much. Oh, Washer I think has reached the age where he got sent off to adolescent raven boot-camp with another regional murder.
I do have some photos, but they are on my phone and I need to reduce their size before uploading them. I'll get some up shortly.
An interesting thing with the family dynamic is Bolt is Maw and Crowley's child, and after Maw and Crowley had their week of search followed by a week of mourning, Washer, would spend a day with his grandparents, giving Nut and Bolt a 'break' of sorts. Washer observed grandpa Maw take treats from my hand, and he later actually took one from my hand. He had to be higher than me though, and did it while perched on the fence.
A week later when Maw and Crowley were wandering around with me, Washer shows up and Maw wouldn't let him get treats. When he did get one, Maw got after him and chased him to the front yard, which is Nut and Bolt's territory.
And just yesterday, Maw was having attitude and had a beef with Nut. He would fly a wide circle over a few of our houses, and Nut was on the peak of the neighbors roof, and Maw came around and flew right into Nut, knocking him off the peak of the roof. Nut took off and they had a bit of a flying dogfight before Nut and Bolt left and went down the block. I got the vibe Maw doesn't like the son-in-law too much. Oh, Washer I think has reached the age where he got sent off to adolescent raven boot-camp with another regional murder.
I do have some photos, but they are on my phone and I need to reduce their size before uploading them. I'll get some up shortly.
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I am bringing a report on how my Dūdiņa (how I call my pidge) is doing:
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THEY HAVE A LITTLE EAGLE FRIEND??? I LOVE THAT.
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Hehe, she doesn't really care about that plushie because spring is in the air and outdoor pidge guys put up fancy dances for her. She likes to go out on the balcony for a bit, so I have to keep an eye out for her...
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