Sept 7, 2013

I checked on the juvenile who moved herself to another nest today. She was still sitting on her adopted nest alone. After 1.5 hours, her adopted father came with a fish for her...she grabbed it aggressively, and he went to a nearby power pole to sit and watch over her. Great male. She is keeping one eye closed a lot of the time, which worries me...but when she opens it, it looks fine. It's been like this for at least ten days. She flies well when she has the courage to leave the nest. I then visited another nest in the area and found another female chick sitting there alone too. Food begging whenever she saw another Osprey. This is how many female juveniles behave. When will they venture forth?
We have also been watching over an adult female who had some sort of eye problem...at first it seemed crusty and swollen...only open a slit and she did not leave the nest for many days. We were very concerned. Eventually she began to open it more, and began flying more...short distances, and was depending on her mate for food (fairly normal). She did fight the chicks for food when it was delivered. I last saw her last Sunday...eating a fish, next to her mate, on a cell tower a ways from their nest. Still keeping her eye closed a lot, but opening it to fly and land. I suspect they are on their way now...but I will look for her again tomorrow or Monday. We may not know about the final outcome with her eye until next spring. She is a middle aged female who has been a very successful breeder, so we do not want to lose her. Hoping to see her again in April! So I keep checking on the ones who I have concerns about. Still learning and documenting behaviors.