Still hot, and some Ospreys still here!

The heat continues here in Minnesota. I took a drive to western Wisconsin to visit a few potters studios and checked 7 osprey nests on the eastern edge of MN along the way. No Ospreys seen.  After visiting with some potters I headed back to check a few nests on the western side of the metro. I saw six Ospreys today! On my way out there I spotted an adult osprey perched on a cell tower so I put up the scope and and read his band....turned out to be a male who was fairly far from his nest. His three chicks seem to be long gone, but he is still exploring the area I guess! He flew off and I watched him soaring over a lake and then finally disappearing behind some trees. I also visited the nest where the property owner had concerns about the chick last week. I tried to hike out quietly, but with the trail covered with dry leaves, a silent approach is not possible! But I stopped occasionally to listen. I could hear some quiet peeps and intermittent, muffled, short food begging. It made me smile because without seeing her,  I knew exactly what I was hearing, where the chick was perched and that she had a fish. I was correct. As I got out to the spot near the nest, she was perched low in her secret eating perch and she had a fish. I love that I recognize their vocalizations well enough to know exactly what was happening before I got there. And dear old Dad was on his perch, on a small dead branch at the very top of a tree. I watched them silently for a while, and then had a little talk with them, since the winds are expected to shift to the north  in the next day or two and I suspect this may be their departure time. I requested that they be very careful, told Dad that  I looked forward to seeing him again next year, and I promised to think good thoughts for them...sending them my love. I peeked at two other nests also. I found one chick alone, waiting for food on her nest, and at another nest the chick was delivered a fish by her Dad. So, still a few Ospreys in town, and I managed to enjoy their company one more time. Here I am, still searching until the last minute, savoring their beauty, their behaviors, their vocalizations...squeezing out every moment with them that I can. Life is a lot less interesting when they leave.