Bird Watching: They're ba-a-ack. Osprey season begins., 0 by MargaretK

MargaretK wrote:

When one of the birds alights on the nest when the other is already there, they both "mantle". That's the action of hunching their backs, spreading their wings a little and lowering their heads. Mantling is employed by ospreys during feeding if there's any thought that another bird, more often than not a sibling, might take their fish from them. I haven't been able to learn why both birds use this posture at other times - maybe it's all part of their pre-mating rituals. There's no aggression associated with this, although Dad's nictitating membrane is nearly always across his eyes.

In this photo, Dad is the smaller bird on the left and Big Hook, the much larger female, is on the right.