Sept 26….still here!

 Did you think the ospreys were all gone? Nope! I found two chicks hollering for food today on different nests. I waited around for a while but didnt get to see the dads because I had to meet someone. One of the youngsters even gave an appropriate alarm call when an adult bald eagle was chasing a juvenile bald eagle in the area. She flew off and made some circles, giving the BE alarm call, then she returned to the nest and continued her occasional food begging. 

Some of the nests that I was watching last week, with chicks still on them, seem to be empty now, after the storm went thru last friday with strong NW winds….but I found these two occupied nests in a different area today. I am always happy when I manage to find an osprey to watch. I will recheck these nests on Wednesday…

September 23…..

 I visited 17 nests today that I had not been to in a while….only one had some ospreys. I found one female chick sitting quietly in her nest, her crop quite full. Then she suddenly erupted into loud food begging and Dad flew in with a HUGE fish! He dropped it and flew off. I noticed that he had an empty crop, and yet, he delivered this very large fish to his offspring…the whole thing. I thought I heard him say, as he flew off, “ that should keep her busy all afternoon”. She grabbed it and really struggled with it…hard to drag it around the nest. She got up on the edge of the nestbox with it….but I waited for 30 minutes as she snoozed a bit, then pushed food down in her crop, trying to make room for more. She was in no hurry to eat! She limped around the nest, dragging this massive meal, and finally started nibbling on those fish lips.

This is my test these days….can I find an Osprey? All these empty nests make such a sad and empty landscape….but so far I have been rewarded with at least one fun viewing every time I go out. Those Dads, I tell ya…so devoted to their young, staying as long as necessary. I honor their steadfast parental care for each last chick that isnt quite ready to go. How lucky I am to witness what I do.

September 22….still here!

 We still have a few ospreys in town! I am so happy that our little friend at the Arboretum cam nest is still around. I always hope for about a month of parental care post fledge for a chick to slowly learn the necessary skills for independence….as well as to pack on the pounds before migration. The chick at the Arb has been flying for just over a month now. Whew! Many thanks to our new and wonderful dad there, who has done a great job of providing for his offspring. I checked a handful of nests over the weekend and was able to find a number of juveniles and Dads. A shift in the winds since seems to have carried away some of those ospreys but I found another chick and her dad yesterday, still hanging out together. I sometimes find those adult males remaining near their nests, eating a fish slowly with no one hollering for it. I imagine they might feel a sense of accomplishment as they prepare for their own journeys ahead. I watched one such osprey on monday perched in a dead tree, quietly waiting, just in case….and gazing off to the south. I will stop by his nest today but I expect he may have taken off. Still I savor each sighting.

I will begin stirring the pot to find some volunteer help with repairing a few failing nest poles in the coming months as well as gathering the data together to begin the huge task of analyzing it all to see what the big picture reveals about our osprey population. The work changes but there is still lots to do. These final days tho are occupied by my desperate attempt to locate one more osprey to watch for a few minutes or hours. And still, after all these years, their beauty takes my breath away. Maybe its something about the golden September light….I notice the spots in the eyes of the older adults, and the pristine perfection of the young ones talons. I try to notice everything….its going to have to sustain me thru the months ahead.

Sad day….

 Boy I was hoping to end this year on a high note….have been so enjoying watching the lingering ospreys. Yesterday I was watching a beautiful female chick holding a whole goldfish in her talons as she food begging hysterically because her Dad was nearby, also eating a goldfish. Guess she wanted HIS fish!

She was still on her nest today, with her Dad perched on a nearby cell tower. We had a big storm go thru last night, the winds were very strong at my house and I had a lot of fallen branches to

pick up today. Sadly, I also got an email about an osprey dead on the ground. I went to examine it…..broken wing. A handsome, juvenile male. This one was just days from migrating. How terribly upsetting to have him make it this far and die like this. I suspect he slammed into a building or some other structure, possibly during the storm. Each loss like this reminds me of how fragile life is and it puts a pall on the end of the osprey season. I will be out and about tomorrow trying to replace that sad memory in my mind with something more uplifting. We still have a few remaining ospreys and I hope I can spot them, hear them, soak up all their beauty.

Bless the spirit of this lovely male whose life was just too short. Sigh.

Northwest winds…..

Feeling wistful these past few days. I am finally able to slow down a bit and spend time at a few nests where I still had questions, or just where one of my many favorite ospreys live. The weather has been perfect, finally cooler, drier, and that September light is drenching everything in golden light. The trees are already starting to change color. I am finding some of those lingering chicks, usually females, hollering for food. I also find some adult males, chicks gone, but they remain in their territory with a fish, waiting to see if someone shows up hungry. I am visiting some of my favorite ospreys…..was so happy to find one today, all alone, snoozing in the warm, late afternoon sun, a fish in his talons. I started this year talking about him, the male who had sustained a fractured keel many years ago and who I released back at his nest after a month in rehab. I was happy to see him and to say my goodbyes today, wishing him a safe journey.

Believe it or not, we still have one chick that has not fledged! Eggs were not laid in this nest until late May or early June which is so late. I also believe this nest is now a single parent situation…..just a female bringing fish and still feeding the chick. I hope this chick will fledge this week, but this one still has a ways to go to be able to care for itself. Will this female stay long enough for that to happen? We had a nest a few years ago where the chicks did not fledge until the end of August and that male stayed until the first week of October caring for them.

I visited another nest yesterday, where I was able to see all three chicks with their Dad. All hanging around together, all perching in a dead tree, like a Christmas tree all decorated with Ospreys! Lots of vocalizing, flying to the nest, practicing some water starts. It brings such joy to spend time with them.

I also stopped at a nest where one chick was food begging , her siblings all gone. Her Dad showed up with a fish, landed on a nearby perch and began eating the head off the bullhead. I was engrossed in watching everything he did….ripping the fish lips off, tearing apart the boney head, discarding the guts….my senses were heightened…..I marinated in the sounds, the feel of the breeze, the warm sun on my face, the stunning beauty of his clear bright yellow eyes. I wondered at what point he would stop eating and deliver the fish to his offspring ( when he got to the soft belly). I feel so lucky to be a part of their lives, to be able to watch them and learn from them. I treasure these experiences.

It’s been a long challenging summer….I have put over 9,000 miles on my car. We have been thru some very sad experiences with injured birds, and I have had a lot of personal struggles. It’s been a taxing year….and yet, when I am watching some of these ospreys that I have observed for so many years, I know what THEIR individual struggles have been like as well. It often takes my breath away.

The winds changed the past few days, bringing strong, gusty winds from the NW….and I know this will carry away many of our friends. I will keep searching until I can find no ospreys, and I will enjoy each and every encounter fully. Life is much less interesting without the ospreys. I ponder what is ahead for each one of them, and for all of us.