Bird Watching: Raising Aussie Osprey #5, 1 by MargaretK

MargaretK wrote:
Elaine, Aussie is well and truly flying now.

Burn, it's my pleasure to keep updating Aussie's progress.

Methodical, I don't know what happened to the eye. All attempts to decipher the band on her leg have been unsuccessful. I'll try to track down her story with the Dept of Conservation and Land Management (or whatever they're called this week).

I went out on the bay in my kayak today to escape the heat. This shot was taken at around midday so the lighting was at its worst and this shot was taken with my point and shoot because it's easier when you're bobbing around on the water than the SLR with big lens.

I could hear Aussie's call and saw her and one of the parent birds flying around really high. I'm the world's worst judge of distance but it looked like they were about 150' up. It was so good to see her gliding through the air with outstretched wings. They did this for about ten minutes then landed in this tree, the parent (presumably the mother because it was markedly bigger) landing with great ease, little Aussie landing safely but a little untidily.

If you look really hard, the adult is on a branch right close to the trunk and Aussie is near the trunk but towards the bottom. I've cropped the picture so that if you follow the trunk upwards from the bottom you may be able to make her out.