Bird Watching: Growing in an Osprey's garden., 0 by MargaretK

MargaretK wrote:
I think Old Ma's crankiness was related to the pain she must have been in with that eye along with increasing hunger.

Well, I thought Big Hook was a very placid girl until yesterday. When I got to the nest she was making a racket and was very restless. My first thought was that something may have happened to the chick (don't worry, it hadn't). Dad appeared with a headless fish and brought it to her and she flew off with it. She was in the process of returning to one of the branches when she dropped it into the river below. She made no attempt to retrieve it and she and Dad remained on the nest together, with her doing lots of pacing around. Then a couple of Ravens flew by, not close, but obviously close enough to perturb her and she took off after them. There was no way I could catch this action as they were wheeling all over the place. I looked back to the nest and there were Big Hook and Dad on the nest, but there was still an Osprey in hot pursuit of the Ravens.

I've suspected for many weeks that Aussie is still around. I've seen a third Osprey sitting in a dead tree that Aussie and Old Ma Osprey used to sit in at the end of the bay, beyond the reach of my lens. There'll never be any way of being certain, but I wondered if this third Osprey was Aussie. After it finished chasing the Ravens, it went into the same tree at the end of the bay.

Anyway, Big Hook continued to be noisy and restless and flew down into the bay. A poor Cormorant was flying by and just happened to be in her path and she knocked it into the river with a might splash. I saw the Cormorant resurface and seemed to be OK. Big Hook didn't appear to be on a fishing trip and this brief flight down to the water was just part of her general level of agitation. I've not seen her being irritated with Dad at all and yes, it is heartening to see them living so harmoniously.

This shot is of who I suspect might be Aussie from less than two weeks ago.