Still running around to see who is in town! It’s fun and a challenge! Sometimes I have to wait a long time or search a lot to locate some ospreys. I rarely find any of them on their nests or easily visible…..and I wait, I drive around, I stop and listen. It’s amazing how many I find and it’s oddly rewarding! even with temps close to 90 and a dewpoint of 75. Ugh. So here are a bunch of photos….all different chicks and dads….all seen in the past few days! Enjoy!
The ospreys gave me a little reward today for all my work watching over them. Last week we had a fairly dramatic change in the weather that brought some strong north winds, which seems to have carried away quite a few ospreys. But we still have many of them to watch over…..those late fledging chicks and some that had some difficulties in their journey so far. So I have been driving from one side of the metro to the other to check on some remaining juveniles and their Dads. I love this time of year….when some ospreys are gone, tho I am very sad to see some of them go, and I am left with some lingering questions. But my load has been lightened a bit in the past week, so I am able to just enjoy hanging out with some of my winged friends. Today I went to check on a chick who had some stressful encounters with fishing line earlier this summer…and she has been doing very well. I finally noticed that I could no longer see any remnants of the line caught on her talon. Her leg and foot showed no sign of any injury and that annoying loop of line we have seen for so long is gone! I did some research and learned that monofilament loses 20% of its tensile strength every 100 hours when exposed to UV rays! So the line becomes brittle and easier to break and we suspect she was finally able to preen it out of her talons. I have checked her as often as possible and her sibling is long gone, as is Mom. But dear old Dad is faithfully bringing her food quite often. Many females do just hang around the nest crying for food…and inevitably people from the public ask me if a chick has been left behind or if something is wrong with these lingering juveniles. After 32 years of watching them I have come to think that these homebodies, these chicks that seem to just want to eat all the time, may actually be the survivors. These are the ones who will go into their migration with plenty of fat on their bodies, money in the bank! It’s actually the chicks that disappear early that concern me. So I am happy to see these chicks, usually girls, with their full crops, and a fish in their talons, as they food beg for more! This insatiable hunger is called hyperphagia, and it serves them well in preparing for migration. But sometimes I wonder about the other skills that will be needed to survive. Have they practiced their water starts? Just going in to the water and getting lift off is a big skill! Before they even try to actually catch a fish, they must master this first step. It is something I usually get to see somewhere each year, because I watch them for long periods and I follow them, search for them, and as I said at the beginning….they do reward me! Today I got to see this young chick finally fly out over the lake, and I was running with my binoculars to keep her in view….she disappeared behind a tree, and then I saw her flying up from the water! Then I lost her again….and when I emerged from behind another tree I finally spotted her floating in the water. My heart started to race a bit….was she ok? And then she flapped those big wings a few times and took off out of the water….and there I was on the shore shouting out loud, in public, “great job! You go girl! I am so proud of you!” Boy someday they are gonna lock me up! Thank goodness there weren’t many people around. But I was so happy to see her successful water starts! Now I know she is a little more prepared for the journey ahead. It’s such a treat to watch these youngsters….and when I put the effort into finding them, patiently watching them, they always seem to give me these special gifts. I watched her for three hours today….saw Dad deliver two fish to her, and saw her grand efforts towards independence.
And this visit was supposed to be a quick stop on my way to some other nests….but sometimes I just get to enjoy the way the day unfolds. I hope I get to see her and her Dad again before they leave….I treasure these September days with the ospreys, and I know the sadness that is coming when the last one has departed. But meanwhile….nothing soothes the woes of the world like spending quiet time in nature, especially with the ospreys. That special juvenile osprey made my day
I was out again yesterday checking nests, trying to get final outcomes, read bands etc….and things have suddenly changed. The weather made a huge shift and all those exhausting days of hi temps and breathtaking humidity have become cool, breezy weather… with wind from the north. Oh my. So many ospreys were either gone or hard to find. Ospreys migrate when the weather is right for it….when the wind is strong and from the north, all they have to do is put their wings out….
It seems a little early, but some of the nests that hatched and fledged early, well over a month ago, may just be on their way. Probably not all of them, but I suspect some early ospreys may be taking advantage of the change. Clearly, a lot of the adult females are on their way. We still have some late fledges that we are watching carefully….I am really putting on the miles to check nests in opposite sides of the metro that I am either concerned about or just curious about. So many nests I want to get back to one more time….but it may be too late. I am sure we will have some lingering ospreys until late September. Chicks that just fledged, like the one in the previous post from last weekends drama, will hopefully be around for at least a few more weeks. I checked on that female fledgling yesterday and she is fine, eating a fish on her nest. We have some other late fledging chicks that I will be watching as well.
Burning the candle at both ends these days….its been one stressful situation after another. Some young ospreys fledge so gracefully, without incident….but some really struggle. For the past three days I have been watching over one of our latest fledges who really got herself into some trouble. When she first took off from her nest on a cell tower she made a very awkward landing in a tight spot. She sat there for a very long time trying to figure out what to do about her predicament. She was wedged between two metal bars…and every time she tried to put her wings out, they got caught. I watched her for many hours…looking around crouching as if she was ready to spring out but the wing would get caught each time. Then she finally hopped up and further IN to the cell tower. Oh dear , a worse spot. Of course this nest was very far from where I live so I had to leave and hope for the best. I got up the next morning at 4:30 to get myself back to her nest by dawn. It took me over an hour to even locate her. She was not where I left her. I listened, searched the ground worked my way around the tower to examine it from every angle….then I saw a wing stretch! She was in a totally different spot perched low on a big round cable. There were some bars in front of her and she repeatedly put her wings out but did not have enough room to extend them fully. She would have to jump out first and put her wings out after she was out of the cell tower. Nope she just couldn’t do it….so she stared backing up and fell off the cable she was perched on, suddenly her legs were dangling below that level of the cell tower and she was beating her wings on the surrounding wires and structures. Yes, some obscenities came bursting out of my mouth. My heart was racing. What would I do to help? And then after just a few minutes, she fell completely thru the cell tower structure and came out below flying! I have no idea how that happened without her injuring her wings! So she flew a few loops and she saw her dad perched on the very top of this tower so she headed for him, but she almost landed on top of him so he flew off and she was sort of thrown right into the center of the tower, down in lower than all the surrounding bars. Oy vey. I watched her there for several hours….she was barely visible, but I kept trying to document each weird spot she landed. I had to leave for a previous appointment….so I asked someone else to check on her. She spent an hour there but couldn’t see her at all. My heart sank. This morning I got up again at about 4 am to get over there early, but a big storm came thru so I waited for the front edge of that storm to pass thru and then went over, even tho it was still raining. The strong winds had passed. I found the chick in the exact same spot I had last seen her. Sad that she was still there and unfed, but happy she wasn’t in a worse spot or injured on the ground. I watched her for many hours….sometimes almost invisible and occasionally flapping her wings which made her obvious. Sometimes just her head popping up above the bars. She was looking around, trying to figure out how to get out of there. The rain let up a bit and suddenly she sort of hopped/flew to a bar that was further out and she struggled to stick that landing, almost falling backwards and into a mass of wires. I gasped…..but she held on tight and managed to stay on that bar. But the vertical bars on either side would prevent her from putting her wings out and jumping off. I knew she would have to be brave and jump out first and then put her wings out. It’s something that older ospreys can easily do but for a newly fledged chick, that takes some real courage. The rain picked up so she sat there for a long time thinking about it. Then the rain let up and she did a lot of preening and drying out. Lo and behold, Dad showed up with a fish and perched one level below her. She eyed him and tried to figure out how she would get to him. Dad just ate the fish and did not take it to the nest. The chick finally screwed her courage to the sticking point and jumped and circled a few times and finally actually stuck her landing on the very top of the cell tower on an outer vertical bar, a safe place….where the adults often perch. Whew. The first good landing in three days. But still….no food! She food begged. Dad finally took off after another visiting osprey. Shortly after he left, Mom showed up. The chick finally took off, did a few loops and landed back on the nest that she left three days earlier. I could finally exhale. She was quite hungry of course and did some food begging, flew another short loop and returned to the nest and finally decided to lay down. Whew. I am sure she is quite tired and quite hungry, as was I. So I asked another monitor to check on her and she reported that she did get fed by mom, like a baby, until her crop was full.
Another 12 hour day in the field….i have been so busy trying to watch over chicks that were potentially in trouble. Sometimes it takes an experienced eye to decide if a chick needs help or just time and observation. I woke up very early after not sleeping well and received an email about a chick that had been sitting on a ballfield fence during high human activity, ballgames since sometime around 5:30 yesterday. So I left home at 6:30 a.m. and headed first to that nest. I was expecting that the chick would be back in the nest by then. But I arrived to find a chick sitting on a fence, near a parking lot. A man pulled up in his car and told me he came to check on the chick as it had been there, unmoved, for 12 hours. He had reported it to The Raptor Center. I explained that newly fledged chicks can act pretty weird and perch in odd places, but this chick should be hungry! I was also concerned about where the other chick was since it was not on the nest or anywhere I could see. I watched the chick on the fence. It was too tall for me to grab the bird. Someone was walking its small dog and the dog stopped right below the chick and put his paws up on the fence and the chick gave an alarm call, but she did not move. Many people walked right near the chick, never even noticing it. I finally spotted the other chick flying in and it landed on a lightpole near the fence perching chick. Mom was on another lightpole. After at least an hour, the male came with a small fish and mom and the flying chick flew to the nest. The fence sitter didn’t move. Its crop was empty. At one point the sibling flew a short loop directly over the fence sitters head and back to the nest, almost as if she was encouraging her sister to return to the nest. I emailed the monitor who watches this nest and she came! Thanks Vicky! We talked and watched and chick….and finally since I wanted to determine if something was wrong with this chick or not, I decided to approach the chick to see if I could encourage it to fly….and it finally did! Just a low swoop across the field to the same fence on the other side. Hmmmm. Flew well and landed fine. So Vicky stayed to watch while I went to check other nests….hoping that dad would bring a whopper that might motivate this girl to get back to the nest. Vicky called me several hours later to say The Raptor Center had sent someone to check on the bird but they couldn’t reach it either and it flew….a good strong, high flight and she had videos. You can’t catch a flighted bird! So they left and the chick returned to the fence! That’s just where she wanted to be! After I finished my nest checks, I returned at about 3:30 to find the chick a few feet from where it had been at 7 am. Still with an empty crop. The mom and sibling were in various places, coming and going. After an hour or so, the chick took off and did some very low loops and then started climbing , gaining altitude slowly and finally made it back to the nest….and almost landed on its sibling. She didn’t appreciate that but no aggression occurred. The flight was strong, and the landing a bit awkward! Typical for a newly fledged osprey. After 32 years of watching them, I always say, flying is easy, landing is hard! They just sat there side by side, the fence sitter dozing a bit, finally safe at home….and then finally the dad arrived with a good size fish! Of course both chicks dove for it….you all probably know that momentary chaos as they fight for the fish! But the fence sitter got it! The other chick just walked away, to the opposite side of the nest. Our hungry girl inhaled the fish, having not eaten for at least 24 hours. It was such a huge relief. After some time, the other sibling walked a bit closer and watched the chick eating, not trying to snatch the fish, but just being nearby, in case there were leftovers. She was very respectful of her hungry sibling. Whew! I felt like we had a happy ending, which was what I expected, but it took longer than I thought it would! So I went to recheck our single mom and her fledgling! Mom was not there in the morning when I stopped by, and that chick was still alone with an empty crop at the end of the day. Oh dear…..and then suddenly this young male began crying….that whiney food begging call and I knew Mom was on the way! Yes! She delivered a whole fish for her chick! I visited a few more nests on my way home, found another newly fledged chick…after a brief search…with its mom on a nearby cell tower. And so I finally made it home 12 hours after I departed. That’s my life these days! Long days, cheer leading for these chicks we love so much. I was there to do a rescue if needed, but was so happy it wasn’t necessary! It started with a stomach in knots, worried, and ended with a glass of wine. Not all days end well tho as we have lost chicks in recent storms, and I have seen a couple dead chicks on nest edges today. Some nests were empty that shouldn’t be. But we celebrate the ones that do survive, and do get back to the nest. And all the hours I spend watching over these birds, are still learning. I watched a mom as her chick flew off to a nearby nest, that had not been active this year but had two adults on it today that were unrelated to the chick! The mom started vocalizing….switching between the chirping call they give to unknown ospreys and an alarm call…it was odd, but was clearly a response to her chick landing on someone else’s nest! So fun to just be out among these birds, watching, listening, noting their reactions and behaviors. I never tire of it. Thanks again to Vicky and to the person who emailed me about the chick on the fence, and the other people at the park who expressed their concerns. It’s lovely when people are aware and concerned. We can sleep better tonight!
Well it’s that exciting and tragic time of year….
Many of you may remember the situation I wrote about earlier with a female who had a “two timing” mate….and shortly after she laid eggs, he abandoned her for his other nest, and other female. She managed to incubate alone, leaving only briefly to get a fish for herself that she would wolf down on the edge of the nest, before resuming incubation. She actually managed it all alone and hatched two chicks! Sadly, one of them didn’t make it. But I am thrilled to announce that her remaining chick fledged successfully this weekend!!! Not many females can pull this off alone. We had another female in the same situation, but she gave up during incubation and abandoned her eggs. This female, that succeeded, was heroic in her efforts and her devotion. Her chick is a beautiful male. Me and the monitors watching over her are so happy. Photos below of this young male and his momma feeding him like a baby….even tho he can self feed!
