Gone with the Wind…

 I woke up very early to the sound of strong winds….but by the time I got up it had calmed down a bit. I headed over to check on the orphan and her benefactor.

No one was there. So I waited. In about 30 minutes the male showed up with a good size fish. He did not go to the nest, but remained on a lightpole nearby and he really wolfed that fish down. His crop was pretty empty. Then he sat there, preening, snoozing for over two hours. I just watched him and marveled at him….took a lot of photos.

Then a bald eagle flew over and he gave an alarm call and chased him off. He returned to a nearby tree for another 30 minutes or so and then he flew off to the SE. I went looking for him and the chick, and I did not see either of them.

I visited three other nests, all of which had a chick nearby and in several cases a male stopped by. After each nest, I returned to check on the orphan and benefactor.

I did not see the chick at all today, so she may have started her grand journey. This is just what we hoped for….that she would go when she wanted to, when she felt ready….knowing that she could stay and be cared for. This male did this job perfectly, for at least five weeks, even tho it wasn’t his job to do. I ponder this a lot. I will go back tomorrow and look around again just to be sure…see if either of them is around.

Clearly other ospreys are still around. I saw the Arb chick on the nest this morning, but the male came by several times with a fish this afternoon and no chick came to the nest for food….so maybe that chick went today as well. He also did his job perfectly. I love to see those males staying until there is no one to feed.

I still have other late fledgers to check on, but maybe this captivating, engrossing episode has come to its conclusion. I wish that chick was banded so we would know her in the future, but chicks do change a bit when they go thru their first molt. I will know the male for sure if he returns next spring. I think that is what we all hope for, this devoted male to mate with the female who has struggled for so many years on her own, and for them to develop a real pair bond and raise some chicks together.

One of the chicks that is still remaining is the orphans half sister…she is about a week younger…so not quite ready, I guess.