Bird Watching: Growing in an Osprey's garden #4, 1 by MargaretK

MargaretK wrote:
Thanks everyone.

Juney, from what I've read, young ospreys have the dark "bib" on their chests, regardless of what sex they are and until they're a couple of years old, there's no definite way of determining if the bird is male or female. They reach sexual maturity when they're two or three years old. We all tended to think that Aussie was a female, more because of the behaviours "she" exhibited, not because of her breast markings. With the adult birds, the female is larger and generally has a prominent bib, whereas the smaller male has much lighter markings.

Duc, it will be interesting to see what you observe. It's a shame you'll be looking at the nest from below, but then I think, hey this is a person who can take photos of Bald Eagles flying past her deck and perching in nearby trees and suddenly the sympathy I feel diminishes a little. LOL.

It was quite hot when I got to the nest yesterday afternoon. Harmony was lying in Big Hook's shade.