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Post by bluemoth on Mar 22, 2012 12:08:24 GMT -8
A big event is currently under way. For the first time in 50 or 60 years a pair of Bald Eagles is nesting at Pinto Lake Wattsonville CA. If you plan to visit Santa Cruz County bring your binoculars or camera and stop by the lake to see the eagles. Also you can collect insects there to.
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Post by wingedwishes on Mar 22, 2012 16:51:12 GMT -8
I've noticed raptors making a quite a comeback in recent years. While there are eagles here, I am seeing Osprey increasing in strange places, like nesting on a light pole at the Burger King a block away. Good news!
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Post by johnnyboy on Mar 25, 2012 4:48:13 GMT -8
That's great news, such a magnificent bird. Raptors seem to be increasing in numbers in many Western countries due to reintroductions, less persecution and use of poisonous pesticides.
Here in the UK the Red Kite, a large and beautiful bird of prey, has been increasing in numbers due to reintroductions across the UK. They are now a common sight in places they were extinct for hundreds of years.
Johnny
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Post by bluemoth on Mar 25, 2012 10:42:52 GMT -8
Hay Johnny that is grate news about the Red Kite. Many years ago when I was younger my parents took me and my sister to Europe. I was always watching the birds. The only Kites I saw were Black Kites. Boy I sure wish I could go back and see the Red Kites. Money for such a trip is not easy to come by.
So Wingedwishes do you go and watch the Ospreys? I have seen live streaming video of nests on Ustream on the Internet. Makes for fun watching for any bird enthusiast.
The Eagles are still at the lake. They do fly off some times to hang out in the surrounding country side far out of sight of eager viewers. Last I was there they were far off over some fields and tryed to do a courtship dive ware they grip each others talons and cart wheel out of the sky. They missed catching each other after a few trys, then went separate ways. The tree they are building a nest in is very weak and flimsy in the breeze. We expect it to crash down soon from the wait of the nest. The eagles are young and inexperienced - possibly between 5 and 8 years of age. It is also possible they may not have eggs this year. They are strongly bonded together and will stay together for life as it is with eagles.
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Post by johnnyboy on Mar 25, 2012 23:31:06 GMT -8
If you ever come to the UK you will be able to see them quite easily, the red kite population has gone from a couple of hundred to 2000 plus pairs. They can be seen flying in groups of several individuals.
School kids are now having sandwiches snatched out of their hands by kites. It is thought the UK kite population will increase to several thousand pairs in a few years, their numbers have risen very quickly over the last few years. They mostly survive on eating road kill, people are feeding them as well.
In medieval times red kites were common scavengers, even in London, more common than crows in some places.
Johnny
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Post by saturniidave on Mar 26, 2012 16:23:10 GMT -8
They are not doing so well in other parts of the U.K. though Johnny, the population that were released on the Black Isle in Scotland were all but wiped out by illegal poisoning, as have been ones daring to stray onto grouse moors in the North of England.
But yes, in the South they are actually becoming a pest in places as, contrary to popular belief, they do not only feed by scavenging. I have a friend in Oxfordshire who loses a lot of chicks to them every year.
They are also starting to rely on handouts from certain people and are getting aggressive towards any other birds that stray into the gardens.
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