Re: [cayugabirds-l] OOB: Black Stork nest-cam in Latvia

2015-07-06 Thread Melanie Uhlir
This Black Stork nest cam is wonderful!

The nestlings are stretching their wings and one of them just 
redecorated the nest. Picked up a stick from the left side and carefully 
brought it over and tucked it into the right side.

Off-topic: I got to have a really close look at a Yellow-shafted Flicker 
today. Boy, was he gorgeous!

Melanie

On 7/5/2015 2:01 PM, Wesley M. Hochachka wrote:

 Thanks for posting the link to the Black Stork nest Dave!  Nest 
 locations often seem to be closely guarded secrets in western Europe, 
 and away from nests these birds don’t forage in areas where they can 
 be watched easily.  As best I know, with the exception of migrating 
 birds (southern tip of Spain, western Black Sea coast south through 
 the eastern Mediterranean) and a couple of cliff nests in a national 
 part in western Spain that I can think of, birders basically don’t 
 have a lot of guaranteed opportunities to see Black Storks.  So that 
 webcam is pretty special.

 In the background this (Latvian) afternoon I’ve picked out European 
 Robin, Eurasian Wren, Willow Warbler, a Chiffchaff briefly, and I 
 think a Garden Warbler.

 Wesley Hochachka

 *From:*bounce-119427645-3494...@list.cornell.edu 
 [mailto:bounce-119427645-3494...@list.cornell.edu] *On Behalf Of *Dave 
 Nutter
 *Sent:* Sunday, July 05, 2015 6:06 AM
 *To:* CAYUGABIRDS-L
 *Subject:* [cayugabirds-l] OOB: Black Stork nest-cam in Latvia

 A few days ago my Stefhan Ohlström sent me this link to a site with 
 several nest-cams in Latvia, which is east across the Baltic Sea from 
 the southern part of his native Sweden.
 https://www.eenet.ee/EENet/kaamerad
 Some of the nests were already empty, which may also be why some 
 cameras were not streaming, but the BLACK STORK nest is still active:
 https://www.eenet.ee/EENet/melnais-starkis
 This species was unfamiliar to me. I haven't traveled to its range. My 
 books tell me it's more uncommon, shy, and solitary than the familiar 
 rooftop-nesting White Stork of open farmland. The Black Stork 
 frequents lakes, rivers and marshes surrounded by woods.

 The broad platform nest is in a huge tree within forest. There are 2 
 nestlings, and they appear full-grown, so I don't know how much longer 
 they'll remain in view.  Despite their new feathers they look scruffy 
 to me. Their necks and backs are mottled with gray instead of pure 
 black; their legs are gray and bills yellowish rather than both being 
 bright red. Mostly they stand, quietly preening, or pacing slowly, 
 sometimes poking at sticks of the nest, or backing slowly toward the 
 edge to defecate. A couple times I have seen a single flap-hop. 
 Stretches of those black wings are impressive, but otherwise it's a 
 subdued scene. The background noise, in addition to wind, big 
 feathers, and a fly or two, seems to include a pigeon, a wren, and 
 some songbirds I don't recognize.

 It's worth waiting for a parent to show up, which I've now seen three 
 times. Even if you aren't watching, the sound will alert you. Suddenly 
 the youngters crouch down on their long tibio-tarsi and begin bobbing 
 their heads and calling. This can go on for several minutes while the 
 parent stands on a nearby branch, which may or may not be in view, or 
 may fly to a different branch and even seem to be uninterested. It can 
 take awhile for the adult to actually come to the nest and feed them. 
 I don't think the delay is from reluctance to face the huge and 
 intimidating babies. They actually look obedient, well-disciplined, 
 and patient, yet persistent, while they beg. Perhaps the adult needs a 
 lot of stimulation. Maybe the internal rearranging of food and 
 regurgitation-muscles takes awhile.

 Finally, wings spread above its children, the parent steps onto the 
 nest, extends its long neck forward and down between them, and opens 
 its bill. The excited youngsters are squealing, flapping their wings, 
 and poking and grabbing from either side when the parent coughs up 
 food. The first time I saw this the meal was a few anonymous bits 
 which were quickly gobbled up by both, then the parent departed.

 The second feeding I saw, the begging seemed interminable, during 
 which the sun rose through the leaves in the background. The meal was 
 a single fish almost the size of the bird's neck. It came out 
 suddenly. There was a very brief scuffle until one youngster got a 
 better grip and turned aside. I feared the fish would be lost 
 overboard, but the winner expertly swallowed it almost as rapidly as 
 it had been ejected from the parent. The sibling got nothing! I was 
 stunned. Then the parent bent over and produced a second, equally 
 large fish! Fortunately the hungry kid won that round and scarfed it 
 down. The parent flew off, leaving the youngsters to stand, rearrange 
 their swollen necks, and clatter their bills.

 As I was finishing writing, I was interrupted by a third feeding. This 
 time the parent flew almost directly to the nest, rapidly

Re: [cayugabirds-l] OOB: Black Stork nest-cam in Latvia

2015-07-05 Thread Peter
Very cool.
Thanks for sharing.

On 7/5/2015 6:06 AM, Dave Nutter wrote:
 A few days ago my Stefhan Ohlström sent me this link to a site with 
 several nest-cams in Latvia, which is east across the Baltic Sea from 
 the southern part of his native Sweden.
 https://www.eenet.ee/EENet/kaamerad
 Some of the nests were already empty, which may also be why some 
 cameras were not streaming, but the BLACK STORK nest is still active:
 https://www.eenet.ee/EENet/melnais-starkis
 This species was unfamiliar to me. I haven't traveled to its range. My 
 books tell me it's more uncommon, shy, and solitary than the familiar 
 rooftop-nesting White Stork of open farmland. The Black Stork 
 frequents lakes, rivers and marshes surrounded by woods.

 The broad platform nest is in a huge tree within forest. There are 2 
 nestlings, and they appear full-grown, so I don't know how much longer 
 they'll remain in view.  Despite their new feathers they look scruffy 
 to me. Their necks and backs are mottled with gray instead of pure 
 black; their legs are gray and bills yellowish rather than both being 
 bright red. Mostly they stand, quietly preening, or pacing slowly, 
 sometimes poking at sticks of the nest, or backing slowly toward the 
 edge to defecate. A couple times I have seen a single flap-hop. 
 Stretches of those black wings are impressive, but otherwise it's a 
 subdued scene. The background noise, in addition to wind, big 
 feathers, and a fly or two, seems to include a pigeon, a wren, and 
 some songbirds I don't recognize.

 It's worth waiting for a parent to show up, which I've now seen three 
 times. Even if you aren't watching, the sound will alert you. Suddenly 
 the youngters crouch down on their long tibio-tarsi and begin bobbing 
 their heads and calling. This can go on for several minutes while the 
 parent stands on a nearby branch, which may or may not be in view, or 
 may fly to a different branch and even seem to be uninterested. It can 
 take awhile for the adult to actually come to the nest and feed them. 
 I don't think the delay is from reluctance to face the huge and 
 intimidating babies. They actually look obedient, well-disciplined, 
 and patient, yet persistent, while they beg. Perhaps the adult needs a 
 lot of stimulation. Maybe the internal rearranging of food and 
 regurgitation-muscles takes awhile.

 Finally, wings spread above its children, the parent steps onto the 
 nest, extends its long neck forward and down between them, and opens 
 its bill. The excited youngsters are squealing, flapping their wings, 
 and poking and grabbing from either side when the parent coughs up 
 food. The first time I saw this the meal was a few anonymous bits 
 which were quickly gobbled up by both, then the parent departed.

 The second feeding I saw, the begging seemed interminable, during 
 which the sun rose through the leaves in the background. The meal was 
 a single fish almost the size of the bird's neck. It came out 
 suddenly. There was a very brief scuffle until one youngster got a 
 better grip and turned aside. I feared the fish would be lost 
 overboard, but the winner expertly swallowed it almost as rapidly as 
 it had been ejected from the parent. The sibling got nothing! I was 
 stunned. Then the parent bent over and produced a second, equally 
 large fish! Fortunately the hungry kid won that round and scarfed it 
 down. The parent flew off, leaving the youngsters to stand, rearrange 
 their swollen necks, and clatter their bills.

 As I was finishing writing, I was interrupted by a third feeding. This 
 time the parent flew almost directly to the nest, rapidly produced 
 several small items which were eaten before I could ID them, and left. 
 Still, the begging sound as soon as the parent approached allowed me 
 time to bring the view up. The contrast with the second feeding I saw 
 makes me wonder if each parent hunts different prey.

 Latvia is 7 hours ahead of us, so their sunrise is about 10pm for us, 
 and the place is dark during our afternoon and evening.
 --Dave Nutter
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Re: [cayugabirds-l] OOB: Black Stork nest-cam in Latvia

2015-07-05 Thread Peter
Dave and all.
I was quietly readying my emails with the storks in the background 
(cam opened and minimized) when I suddenly heard a very loud racket and, 
sure enought, just as Dave said, in came an adult with food for the 
kidsabout 9:20 am our time.
I won't describe what I saw as Dave as done a nice job of it and it was 
exactly as he described. And there were two feeding as the adult 
regurgitated twice...the first offering was difficult to see as his/her 
beak was blocked by the excited kids.
The second offering was visible and looked like a small pile of ???
Very cool.
Pete Saracino

On 7/5/2015 6:06 AM, Dave Nutter wrote:
 A few days ago my Stefhan Ohlström sent me this link to a site with 
 several nest-cams in Latvia, which is east across the Baltic Sea from 
 the southern part of his native Sweden.
 https://www.eenet.ee/EENet/kaamerad
 Some of the nests were already empty, which may also be why some 
 cameras were not streaming, but the BLACK STORK nest is still active:
 https://www.eenet.ee/EENet/melnais-starkis
 This species was unfamiliar to me. I haven't traveled to its range. My 
 books tell me it's more uncommon, shy, and solitary than the familiar 
 rooftop-nesting White Stork of open farmland. The Black Stork 
 frequents lakes, rivers and marshes surrounded by woods.

 The broad platform nest is in a huge tree within forest. There are 2 
 nestlings, and they appear full-grown, so I don't know how much longer 
 they'll remain in view.  Despite their new feathers they look scruffy 
 to me. Their necks and backs are mottled with gray instead of pure 
 black; their legs are gray and bills yellowish rather than both being 
 bright red. Mostly they stand, quietly preening, or pacing slowly, 
 sometimes poking at sticks of the nest, or backing slowly toward the 
 edge to defecate. A couple times I have seen a single flap-hop. 
 Stretches of those black wings are impressive, but otherwise it's a 
 subdued scene. The background noise, in addition to wind, big 
 feathers, and a fly or two, seems to include a pigeon, a wren, and 
 some songbirds I don't recognize.

 It's worth waiting for a parent to show up, which I've now seen three 
 times. Even if you aren't watching, the sound will alert you. Suddenly 
 the youngters crouch down on their long tibio-tarsi and begin bobbing 
 their heads and calling. This can go on for several minutes while the 
 parent stands on a nearby branch, which may or may not be in view, or 
 may fly to a different branch and even seem to be uninterested. It can 
 take awhile for the adult to actually come to the nest and feed them. 
 I don't think the delay is from reluctance to face the huge and 
 intimidating babies. They actually look obedient, well-disciplined, 
 and patient, yet persistent, while they beg. Perhaps the adult needs a 
 lot of stimulation. Maybe the internal rearranging of food and 
 regurgitation-muscles takes awhile.

 Finally, wings spread above its children, the parent steps onto the 
 nest, extends its long neck forward and down between them, and opens 
 its bill. The excited youngsters are squealing, flapping their wings, 
 and poking and grabbing from either side when the parent coughs up 
 food. The first time I saw this the meal was a few anonymous bits 
 which were quickly gobbled up by both, then the parent departed.

 The second feeding I saw, the begging seemed interminable, during 
 which the sun rose through the leaves in the background. The meal was 
 a single fish almost the size of the bird's neck. It came out 
 suddenly. There was a very brief scuffle until one youngster got a 
 better grip and turned aside. I feared the fish would be lost 
 overboard, but the winner expertly swallowed it almost as rapidly as 
 it had been ejected from the parent. The sibling got nothing! I was 
 stunned. Then the parent bent over and produced a second, equally 
 large fish! Fortunately the hungry kid won that round and scarfed it 
 down. The parent flew off, leaving the youngsters to stand, rearrange 
 their swollen necks, and clatter their bills.

 As I was finishing writing, I was interrupted by a third feeding. This 
 time the parent flew almost directly to the nest, rapidly produced 
 several small items which were eaten before I could ID them, and left. 
 Still, the begging sound as soon as the parent approached allowed me 
 time to bring the view up. The contrast with the second feeding I saw 
 makes me wonder if each parent hunts different prey.

 Latvia is 7 hours ahead of us, so their sunrise is about 10pm for us, 
 and the place is dark during our afternoon and evening.
 --Dave Nutter
 --
 *Cayugabirds-L List Info:*
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[cayugabirds-l] OOB: Black Stork nest-cam in Latvia

2015-07-05 Thread Dave Nutter
A few days ago my Stefhan Ohlström sent me this link to a site with several 
nest-cams in Latvia, which is east across the Baltic Sea from the southern part 
of his native Sweden.
https://www.eenet.ee/EENet/kaamerad
Some of the nests were already empty, which may also be why some cameras were 
not streaming, but the BLACK STORK nest is still active:
https://www.eenet.ee/EENet/melnais-starkis
This species was unfamiliar to me. I haven't traveled to its range. My books 
tell me it's more uncommon, shy, and solitary than the familiar rooftop-nesting 
White Stork of open farmland. The Black Stork frequents lakes, rivers and 
marshes surrounded by woods. 

The broad platform nest is in a huge tree within forest. There are 2 nestlings, 
and they appear full-grown, so I don't know how much longer they'll remain in 
view.  Despite their new feathers they look scruffy to me. Their necks and 
backs are mottled with gray instead of pure black; their legs are gray and 
bills yellowish rather than both being bright red. Mostly they stand, quietly 
preening, or pacing slowly, sometimes poking at sticks of the nest, or backing 
slowly toward the edge to defecate. A couple times I have seen a single 
flap-hop. Stretches of those black wings are impressive, but otherwise it's a 
subdued scene. The background noise, in addition to wind, big feathers, and a 
fly or two, seems to include a pigeon, a wren, and some songbirds I don't 
recognize.

It's worth waiting for a parent to show up, which I've now seen three times. 
Even if you aren't watching, the sound will alert you. Suddenly the youngters 
crouch down on their long tibio-tarsi and begin bobbing their heads and 
calling. This can go on for several minutes while the parent stands on a nearby 
branch, which may or may not be in view, or may fly to a different branch and 
even seem to be uninterested. It can take awhile for the adult to actually come 
to the nest and feed them. I don't think the delay is from reluctance to face 
the huge and intimidating babies. They actually look obedient, 
well-disciplined, and patient, yet persistent, while they beg. Perhaps the 
adult needs a lot of stimulation. Maybe the internal rearranging of food and 
regurgitation-muscles takes awhile.

Finally, wings spread above its children, the parent steps onto the nest, 
extends its long neck forward and down between them, and opens its bill. The 
excited youngsters are squealing, flapping their wings, and poking and grabbing 
from either side when the parent coughs up food. The first time I saw this the 
meal was a few anonymous bits which were quickly gobbled up by both, then the 
parent departed.

The second feeding I saw, the begging seemed interminable, during which the sun 
rose through the leaves in the background. The meal was a single fish almost 
the size of the bird's neck. It came out suddenly. There was a very brief 
scuffle until one youngster got a better grip and turned aside. I feared the 
fish would be lost overboard, but the winner expertly swallowed it almost as 
rapidly as it had been ejected from the parent. The sibling got nothing! I was 
stunned. Then the parent bent over and produced a second, equally large fish! 
Fortunately the hungry kid won that round and scarfed it down. The parent flew 
off, leaving the youngsters to stand, rearrange their swollen necks, and 
clatter their bills. 

As I was finishing writing, I was interrupted by a third feeding. This time the 
parent flew almost directly to the nest, rapidly produced several small items 
which were eaten before I could ID them, and left. Still, the begging sound as 
soon as the parent approached allowed me time to bring the view up. The 
contrast with the second feeding I saw makes me wonder if each parent hunts 
different prey.

Latvia is 7 hours ahead of us, so their sunrise is about 10pm for us, and the 
place is dark during our afternoon and evening.

--Dave Nutter
--

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RE: [cayugabirds-l] OOB: Black Stork nest-cam in Latvia

2015-07-05 Thread Wesley M. Hochachka
Thanks for posting the link to the Black Stork nest Dave!  Nest locations often 
seem to be closely guarded secrets in western Europe, and away from nests these 
birds don’t forage in areas where they can be watched easily.  As best I know, 
with the exception of migrating birds (southern tip of Spain, western Black Sea 
coast south through the eastern Mediterranean) and a couple of cliff nests in a 
national part in western Spain that I can think of, birders basically don’t 
have a lot of guaranteed opportunities to see Black Storks.  So that webcam is 
pretty special.

   In the background this (Latvian) afternoon I’ve picked out European Robin, 
Eurasian Wren, Willow Warbler, a Chiffchaff briefly, and I think a Garden 
Warbler.

Wesley Hochachka


From: bounce-119427645-3494...@list.cornell.edu 
[mailto:bounce-119427645-3494...@list.cornell.edu] On Behalf Of Dave Nutter
Sent: Sunday, July 05, 2015 6:06 AM
To: CAYUGABIRDS-L
Subject: [cayugabirds-l] OOB: Black Stork nest-cam in Latvia

A few days ago my Stefhan Ohlström sent me this link to a site with several 
nest-cams in Latvia, which is east across the Baltic Sea from the southern part 
of his native Sweden.
https://www.eenet.ee/EENet/kaamerad
Some of the nests were already empty, which may also be why some cameras were 
not streaming, but the BLACK STORK nest is still active:
https://www.eenet.ee/EENet/melnais-starkis
This species was unfamiliar to me. I haven't traveled to its range. My books 
tell me it's more uncommon, shy, and solitary than the familiar rooftop-nesting 
White Stork of open farmland. The Black Stork frequents lakes, rivers and 
marshes surrounded by woods.

The broad platform nest is in a huge tree within forest. There are 2 nestlings, 
and they appear full-grown, so I don't know how much longer they'll remain in 
view.  Despite their new feathers they look scruffy to me. Their necks and 
backs are mottled with gray instead of pure black; their legs are gray and 
bills yellowish rather than both being bright red. Mostly they stand, quietly 
preening, or pacing slowly, sometimes poking at sticks of the nest, or backing 
slowly toward the edge to defecate. A couple times I have seen a single 
flap-hop. Stretches of those black wings are impressive, but otherwise it's a 
subdued scene. The background noise, in addition to wind, big feathers, and a 
fly or two, seems to include a pigeon, a wren, and some songbirds I don't 
recognize.

It's worth waiting for a parent to show up, which I've now seen three times. 
Even if you aren't watching, the sound will alert you. Suddenly the youngters 
crouch down on their long tibio-tarsi and begin bobbing their heads and 
calling. This can go on for several minutes while the parent stands on a nearby 
branch, which may or may not be in view, or may fly to a different branch and 
even seem to be uninterested. It can take awhile for the adult to actually come 
to the nest and feed them. I don't think the delay is from reluctance to face 
the huge and intimidating babies. They actually look obedient, 
well-disciplined, and patient, yet persistent, while they beg. Perhaps the 
adult needs a lot of stimulation. Maybe the internal rearranging of food and 
regurgitation-muscles takes awhile.

Finally, wings spread above its children, the parent steps onto the nest, 
extends its long neck forward and down between them, and opens its bill. The 
excited youngsters are squealing, flapping their wings, and poking and grabbing 
from either side when the parent coughs up food. The first time I saw this the 
meal was a few anonymous bits which were quickly gobbled up by both, then the 
parent departed.

The second feeding I saw, the begging seemed interminable, during which the sun 
rose through the leaves in the background. The meal was a single fish almost 
the size of the bird's neck. It came out suddenly. There was a very brief 
scuffle until one youngster got a better grip and turned aside. I feared the 
fish would be lost overboard, but the winner expertly swallowed it almost as 
rapidly as it had been ejected from the parent. The sibling got nothing! I was 
stunned. Then the parent bent over and produced a second, equally large fish! 
Fortunately the hungry kid won that round and scarfed it down. The parent flew 
off, leaving the youngsters to stand, rearrange their swollen necks, and 
clatter their bills.

As I was finishing writing, I was interrupted by a third feeding. This time the 
parent flew almost directly to the nest, rapidly produced several small items 
which were eaten before I could ID them, and left. Still, the begging sound as 
soon as the parent approached allowed me time to bring the view up. The 
contrast with the second feeding I saw makes me wonder if each parent hunts 
different prey.

Latvia is 7 hours ahead of us, so their sunrise is about 10pm for us, and the 
place is dark during our afternoon and evening.

--Dave Nutter
--
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