First flight

One of the Osprey young took the first flight this morning.  Our boathouse is close by and long ago we installed a high perch.  A natural branch is attached so it attracts the Osprey, Kingfisher, Barn Swallows, Grackles, Crows  and many more.
The young Osprey flew to the branch and has been moving about today, even landing back at the nest this afternoon.  Momma brought a fish to the branch this morning and kept a great lookout on passing gulls.

Here is the young Osprey looking very spiffy in his early feathers.  I shot this after lunch, in the hazy hot weather.

I watched the young one swing his head side to side.  I observe this action among Osprey, I do not know what it means.  It seems to be an action of satisfaction, like a dog wagging a tail.

So we named this one 'Sagan' after the young rider on the Tour de France who likes to improvise his celebratory finishes:  young, strong and dancing! 

Young Osprey on the Nest

Two young Osprey are thriving.  The Pair have been busy protecting and feeding. The weather has not been perfect, but it is the weather.  Nothing terribly severe has come through, but now the heat is a factor.  Osprey shade the young from the sun by spreading their wings.  You can imagine how exhausting this is.  Luckily our young birds are big enough to withstand a quick escape from the nest by the adult for a cooling run and  a dip of the feet in the water.
Here are a few shots of one of the two young including the shading behaviour.  You will have to look close or enlarge the shot to see that young one near the bottom of the adult.  In the last shot the little one we cannot see is getting all the shade!

The Ospreys are back

Up and down the island Ospreys are busy with the carrying and arranging of sticks.  Our pair (we claim them because we built the platform for the nest) has returned and are just beginning to carry in sticks.  It's a great effort to watch.  Some sticks get knocked out and maybe picked up again floating on the water.  This is an established nest, so the preparations seem downright orderly compared to watching a brand new pair trying to get a nest done in 2 or 3 days.
The weather has been unusually warm, and I don't trust it.  The typical spring Nor'easters can can create a horrible 3 day cold rain and blow event which can kill the eggs by the time it's over.  But let's hope. 
Last year most of the nests failed up and down the island.  Here is to an easy year for our Osprey!

Here is our banded osprey just off the nest.

Osprey Update

Our Osprey pair were early this year and by their behaviour had eggs early but then lost the eggs. It is a very cold spring. The pair stuck together and to the nest and for the last two weeks they have been sitting on egg(s)? This cloudy morning I spent a bit of time on the pier watching the crabbers and the Osprey pair caught my eye. This is a shot of the pair changing places in the 'sitting' spot. The adult with the wings spread is walking gingerly to the 'sitting' spot.
I have never seen Osprey nest 'again' in the same season but it appears that they are doing just that!

Rainy morning

One of the ospreys sits sentinel in a short rain break this morning.

Eating my Fish

The male osprey has his evening meal on the boathouse branch. The wind was very strong today and you can see it is still blowing. This morning he had a small rockfish and the crows were licking their chops. The crows love fish and wait for the osprey to leave or drop bits. After eating ,the male will take the fish to the nest and the female will eat. I watched the crows go to the nest (after both birds were away) to grab bits of fish. They didn't have long, as the female made a quick return. 'Eating crow' would have a different meaning in this situation.

Osprey Pair

A beautiful day here on the sound, so nice that lunch outside was a must. With two kingfishers rattling about overhead I went down to the water with my camera to see if I could get a shot. Instead I found the osprey pair sitting on the tree. They made this one move but relaxed again. Not sure if I spooked them or a bit of wind caught them but they remained on the tree.
The female is on the left, the male has a band on his left leg. The female showed up around the first of March and the male arrived this past week. Up and down the island ospreys are returning to their nesting spots.

Osprey scratching

Back on the stick, the male Osprey was trying to sleep but the female kept up her calls. He got a bit of scratching in and so I caught him mid-way. It's a good look at the claws. Aren't they fine ... and sharp?

Osprey nest building, No picnic!

I don't know if this nest is going to hold. The sticks keep falling off the table and a pretty good collection is below. Enough sticks may catch eventually. One of the pair building this nest is the 'third' bird I wrote about hanging around 'our' nest. Suspect it is one of the young of our nest on it's first trip back.

All wing

With his dinner fish, the osprey adjusts his balance on the stick in the wind. This is a good shot of how much wing is in the bird.

Tough job

My male banded Osprey with another fish. This fish looks to be a large sunfish. Shaped like a perch, this is a tropical colored fish. If I can read the numbers on his band the person that banded him can tell me where the bird originated. I have two of the five numbers. So I have a nice job trying to catch that ring in the right spots. It's a tough job, one of persistence and I'm giving it a good try.

Egg Duty

Our Osprey is incubating the eggs. She is tucked down into the nest, especially in this cool, blustery weather. We will be looking for hatchlings around the first week of May.

The Pair at the Nest

The Osprey pair together at the nest. A third Osprey has been hanging around the last few days, showing off a fish and perched on nearby piers. The pair does not seem overly concerned. Lots of squawks and one chase. Perhaps this is a youngster back for the first time.

Osprey on his perch

The Osprey is routinely using this perch to eat his fish.

Working the nest

A stick is brought back to the nest. It was knocked out during some arranging and floated on the water.

A favorite perch

During the nesting season one bird is typically off the nest, eating or resting. These favored perches are nearby making quick access should an alarm call come from the nest. This is one of the favorite perches of our Osprey pair.

Ospreys are here

The ospreys have returned to the island. Here's one of 'our' pair with part of a fish in it's claw. The branch he sits on was attached to the boat house with the Kingfisher in mind. The Kingfisher prefers the higher post and branch constructed for the Osprey.

No Regrets

The young osprey is back at the nest calling, some may say screaming, for a fish. The calling can go on for long stretches. Many years ago when we first put up a nest platform for ospreys, we were told that we would regret it.
Not so, the whole nesting process is still a pleasure to watch and we learn so much. And we don't mind the screaming either. It will get pretty quiet in a month or so as the birds head south.

NICE Catch!

We heard the youngest osprey (last one in the nest!) calling loudly and saw an adult on a neighbor's pier. And what a fish he had, still flapping. Wish I had seen him flying in with the striper. He ate nearly 2/3 of the fish (this took awhile) and then carried the last of it to the nest. The fish catch is not always this fine, this was a good day fishing.

Practice makes Perfect

A young fish hawk pumps his wings in preparation for that first flight. Sometimes they lift off the nest as they flap. What a feeling that must be!