Guardian Angel

 Another long day with some ups and downs….the day started out so gray and soupy….hard to get decent photos. I had to visit a nest where the monitor had reported a dead body in the nest. This nest had three chicks and all fledged successfully, but two of the chicks disappeared a few weeks after fledging….but one female chick was still sticking close to home. Then there was no one…..just a dead body in the nest. I went to look….the bird was face down wings out. It’s hard to know what happened but I suspect it may have been killed….we haven’t seen the male either…. We may not know until next spring if he survived. It’s heartbreaking.

I checked a bunch of other nests….saw some chicks, some dads and then I ended up back for a visit with the orphan and her benefactor, Daddy Warbucks.

At first there was no one there. I hadn’t been able to get back there for two days and thought they might have departed. I ate my lunch and then was gonna head to a little farm market for some tomatoes….but as I started to leave, the male arrived on the nest with a fish! He just stood there waiting. Looking around. He waited a good 5-10 minutes and then he flew to a nearby lightpole. He waited there too….looking around. It is so damn clear that he is looking for the chick! He brought the fish for her! I am so emotionally impacted by his care for her. He finally did eat the fish….and he was just snoozing when I finally heard the chick! But dang it….again….I could hear her and not spot her! After I moved my car and drove around I was able to spot her tucked in behind some leaves…I took a lot of photos of her. She had a full crop! Soooooo, had he brought her a fish before I arrived? Or did she catch a fish? I will never know. I even took a short video of her food begging. So both were there….and I decided to go get those tomatoes! When I got back the male was gone but the chick was on the lightpole. I waited with her for an hour….and then the male arrived with a whole fish for her and they both flew to the nest for the delivery. He quickly departed and she went back to the light to eat. This young osprey definitely has a guardian angel. He watches over her, he waits for her, he provides for her….with no biological reason to do all this.

It’s an amazing thing to witness.

The “unfamily”

 Another visit with the “orphan” chicks and her benefactor today. When I arrived the chick was waiting on the lights next door to the nest. No sign of the male. After a while the chick flew off and I spotted her perched in a tree by the lake nearby. I had to move my car to find her….and then she suddenly flew off and I lost her. I moved my car and then she showed up on the nest and apparently while I was moving, the male brought her a whole fish! She came back to the lights with her fish and wolfed it down. But I didn’t see the male! After she had finished she flew off to the SW as far as I could see…..so her territory of exploration is expanding. I looked at some maps and went to search the lakes in that direction, but I didn’t find her. Eventually I took a little break to check one other nest and when I came back both the male and the chick were perched together on their favorite light! So sweet. She was doing some hollering and eventually he flew off. Me and the chick waited for over and hour but he did not return. My two parking lots that have good views of their favorite perches and the nest were filling up for some special event so I had to move and during that move the chick flew off. I stayed for another 30 minutes but then decided to head home. So they are both still here, she is being fed and they are doing some hanging together, which is lovely.

No chick….

 A quick update…..I visited my favorite osprey friends today  for about three hours….and only saw the male. He went and got a fish and waited a long time for the chick. He finally started nibbling and stopping to look all around…and he finally finished the small fish and there was no sign of the chick. As he ate he was making these very quiet peeping sounds that they often make when feeding chicks…

Not sure what that means. He was thinking about her? He dragged out the eating of the fish….clearly so he would have something for her if she returned. 

I am concerned…..but I will go back on Wednesday. 

3 fish!

 A busy weekend….I spent Saturday visiting some nests I hadnt been to for a while to follow up on fledglings. All but one were found. At one nest I had fun watching two fairly recently fledged chicks. Both still flying and returning to the nest, but I saw no adult. Then they both took off, one by one, and flew in an odd direction, over the trees and down the hill….hmmmmm. Where were they going? So I , of course, had to use roads to figure that out….so I drove around and down to that area and one was flying around. She went over my car and headed in a surprising direction. So I followed them to a small pond where an adult was perched and they flew around and practiced some water starts! Fun! Now I know where they go when not on the nest. It’s so much fun to figure this stuff out.

I stopped to see the orphan on the way home and she was around but I never saw the male in 90 min.

This morning I headed back there…. When I arrived there was no one around in any of the places. After about 45 minutes the male showed up for a brief visit…and then he took off to the west. Hmmmm. So I went that way, checked some lakes but couldn’t find him. So back to the nest and when I got there little miss Muffett was on her tuffet, the nest. She was quiet and she just waited for quite a long time. Her crop was empty. I told her he would come….but she was getting desperate so she went across the road to a small pond and she perched in a tree for a while and then she began flying around the pond and diving in to the water! She did this over and over. I counted at least seven dives, but each time she came up empty. Then she came back and perched on some lights, soaking wet. Dropped her wings, preened for a while.

But then she took off again and went across a different road to the bigger lake. She perched in a dead tree which was very far from where I was so I could not get any decent photos….but she did jump off the tree and make at least three more dives. I can never get photos since I am shooting thru a scope and I cant follow movement like that so I just had to enjoy watching her. Each time she came up empty tho. This is the truth about fledglings tho…..they don’t catch fish for quite a long time. She is over 5 weeks from fledging now and she is doing some water starts and practicing but catching a fish does not happen very often with these youngsters, especially the females. She finally returned to the nest, all wet again. And she waited and preened.

Bless her little heart, she is trying, and those attempts are progress! Then the male appeared so suddenly I didnt catch it with the camera. I am not sure exactly what he brought but she wolfed it down. She was very, very hungry. And I started to wonder if he had seen her fishing attempts…because as soon as she finished that fish, or part of a fish, he brought another whole fish! Maybe 20 minutes later! I got a photo of them together….but I wasnt expecting him to return so soon!!!! The chick flewoff with the fish and for Pete’s sake, I couldnt locate her. I knew she was nearby….but I had to pee soooo bad so I left. I also went to check another nest.

When I got back I could hear her hollering and it was stupid how long it took me to spot her, hidden in a tree…and she could see the male on a lightpole. She cried and cried and cried…..with a full crop. I was enjoying watching her and then I noticed the male was gone again. Suddenly the chick moved back to the nest…..so I moved too. And then, sure enough, the male returned with another whole fish!

So tho today started with a very empty crop, and many efforts at water starts and fishing….our little darling ended up being very well taken care of by this devoted friend of hers. And that was just 3:30 this afternoon! There was probably more food this evening. This little world of theirs, that I get to slip in to, is an amazing place to spend time. I know you all enjoy hearing about it….but it’s pretty magical to experience it. It’s life at its best. I am so lucky.

The first photo is the fledglings from yesterday….then today’s adventures with our beloved unfamily.

Waiting….

 I just had to go check on my favorite ospreys today. When I got there a little before noon, the male was there on a light pole with a big fish. He ate a little but he was clearly waiting for the chick. He kept looking around in all directions. He would nibble a little, the head of the fish was gone. He and I hung out for 2.5 hours. No chick. He ate occasionally, and he watched for her. He is such a dear, extraordinary osprey. On the surface it looks like any other nest this time of year. Down the road at the polygynous males nest, he was perched high up on a dead branch of a tree, waiting for his offspring. She was not around. 

But we all know that the male I was watching is not the father, in spite of his fatherly behavior. After 2.5 hours he suddenly flew to the nest, and I wondered why. After a minute, I could hear the chick, and she came screaming in to the nest. He saw her before I did! He was definitely looking for her. He gave her the fish, and I missed the photo because I did not have the scope focused on the nest! But she grabbed it and started inhaling it. He went to the nearby building and perched where he could watch over, and defend her. He had been saving that fish for her for at least 2.5 hours! I cannot express how it feels to watch these two, knowing what I know. 

Two fish!

 Today’s outing to visit the “orphan” and her sugar daddy was interesting. When I got to the nest, there were no ospreys anywhere. So I made some rounds to all the places to search for them and I found nothing! Then I was at another larger lake and I spotted an adult male hunting. He made a dive and came up with a fish…..I tried to keep my eyes on him but he went behind some trees and I lost him. I searched everywhere again….sheesh. Couldn’t locate him. But then I saw a chick in a tree…..so I put up the scope and took a closer look….nope. Not our girl. How did I know? I hope these explanations and photos will help people understand how I identify them, in hopes that it will help people to do the same. First of all…I look at legs. No bands. That fits. Then I see the right wing and notice there is no wonky broken feather like our girl has….but the clincher was the dorsal feather pattern. I had been looking at this chick a lot so I knew immediately it was not her….so I have two photos of the tops of two chicks heads….I hope you can see the difference. Our girl has a sort of three pronged pitchfork kind of pattern. The other dorsal pattern is very different. So I congratulated that unknown chick on what may have been an actual fish catch! And I kept looking for our friends. Back at the nest…no one there but then suddenly she appeared on the nest, without any fanfare or squeeling. She was quiet. Her crop was empty. She looked wet. After a while the male arrived with a fish and there was a whirlwind of flapping wings and both birds flew off….the male went to a light, and the chick went to a different light. The male still had the fish tho and the chick had nothing! Oh dear. But when the chick landed on a light right near my car, something hit my car and bounced….it was a fish tail! It must have been on the lightpole! The chick hollered nonstop as the male really devoured the fish…and I told her she was playing this all wrong….she should go to the nest and he would bring her the fish…..she finally did it and the male immediately brought her what was left of the fish. It wasnt a lot, but it was something. She inhaled the fish and then she just waited on the nest….when the male left, I told him she needed more. After an hour of me watching her, taking photos, her snoozing…..the male appeared again with a whole fish for her! I always yell “THANKS”. She started wolfing down that fisn and then flew off. It’s stupid how long it took me to spot her….in one of her favorite eating trees, but in a totally new spot not easily seen from my usual parking place. But I did finally spot her when I was almost underneath her. That fish was gone quickly and she had a semi full crop. It was almost 3pm so I decided to head home. So she got,hmmmm, a fish and a half? Not huge….crop not bulging. But satisfied. And once again, this males devotion almost makes me cry. What a gift it is for me to be able to watch all this as it unfolds.

The first photo is our girls dorsal pattern….the second is the unknown chick….can you see the difference? I try to get photos of the tops of their heads for this purpose.

The rest are just fish deliveries and our well fed youngster…

Today I was thinking, I know more about these birds than they know about themselves. She doesn’t realize that he is not her dad….who knows what he is thinking. And mom….she doesn’t know that her chick is being so well cared for by this “friend” of hers. It’s so much fun to do what I do…

No feeding….

 It was a disappointing day with our osprey friends….when I arrived a little after 9 am….the male was eating a fish. As usual, as soon as he finished, the chick showed up screaming for food. She had an empty crop. Eventually he took off to the SE. the chick quieted down and about ten minutes ,after she took off in the same direction. So I looked at a map…..I had searched several lakes in that direction and never found them but today I noticed a smaller lake right before the other larger lakes….so I went down there and drove a road that had homes on one said the lake on the other with a lot of trees and brush blocking my view of the lake. But as I looked thru holes in the vegetation I saw something white….backed up and put up the scope. Sure enough it was an osprey…..it was the male. ( damn, I am good at this). I would know his head markings anywhere. He sat there staring in to the water. After a few minutes I heard the chick and she came flying past and tried to land next to him but she couldn’t stick the landing so sort of hovered above him and then kept flying….he watched her. Then he took off and I could not see them….started to head back to the nest and I looked up and they were both flying together above me. I know it’s that chick due to her broken feather that leaves a gap on her right wing. I got a few crummy photos….the male in the tree and the two of them flying. At first I was very happy. They were together and maybe she was learning from him! I thought they were heading back to the nest so I wanted to beat them and be ready to get some photos…..but they didn’t show up there. I waited, I went and got a coffee. Still no one around the nesting area. So I went back to this small lake….a d the male was back on his perch and the chick was nowhere to be seen or heard. I kept searching but found nothing. Then the male gave an alarm call and flew off so I followed him. He went back to the water tower where I first saw him back in June. He sat there for over and hour. No chick showed up. I searched all the places I had ever seen either of them and came up empty. I listened for her. Nothing. Eventually the male flew off again….and once again I found him in that perch that I could barely see. No chick. I went back to the nest again….nope, she wasnt anywhere around there. I checked the small lake again, male was gone. I finally came home. I was there for 6 hours and never saw the chick get fed, and I never saw her again after about 10:30, and I only saw the male eat the one fish early in the morning. At first I was excited to see them together at a lake….seemed like a step forward for them. But to see her empty crop in the morning and no feeding after that is concerning. I thought she had figured out yesterday that hanging around the nest was the best way to get fed. But maybe she is trying to feed herself. Today marks one month since she took her first flight…so it’s time. I have other commitments tomorrow but will check a few other nests on my way to and from and will recheck these guys on Wednesday. Hoping she is just beginning to be a little independent ….

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