Growing in an Osprey's garden #2

Thanks, Lily_love. The only thing is, one of the two bird flying with the other is the one I believe is Dad. I was getting a little concerned about not seeing Dad until I remembered how full the chicks crop was and he is the only one providing dinner to the two on the nest.

That chick sure is cuter every day. The bright little eyes always look so sweet and innocent. I've said this before, but I sure learned a lot from watching this family.

Beautiful photos Margaret.

Stunning pics, Margaret. Baby is adorable, and I bet that is Aussie, hanging out with daddy when she can.

Great shots Margaret! The rate of growth is really amazing on the chick! Such a beautiful family!

Thank you Resin, for the info. So if infact those are good 'Ole Dad Osprey and the juvenile Aussie. Dear Father was actually teaching his young to soar the blue sky, and explore the ways of the world. No wonder, BH's calling from below, wasn't

Lily_love, although I'm fairly certain that one of the birds was Dad (and yes the same Dad as last year), it is pure speculation and wishful thinking on my behalf that the other bird is Aussie, although the fact that an Osprey goes to the exact same branch on a tree that Aussie used to rest on when it was still accompanying Old Ma Osprey when it started spreading its wings seems more than just coincidence. Whoever it is, it is completely independent and was soaring with the other bird purely out of the joy of flying in the strong wind. The call that Big Hook made was to who I'm fairly certain was Dad.

I didn't go to the nest yesterday - too darned hot. Cooler today so hopefully I'll have an update later this afternoon.

Wow! I just found this thread and what amazing photography of the beautiful Osprey family! Aren't they amazing birds? We have Osprey's here in Florida too but I can't say I've ever seen more glorious pictures than yours. Thank you so much for sharing ... now I'm going to backtrack to see your previous threads and photo's!

Thanks, plantladylin. I'm glad you've found it and hope you enjoy the previous threads. I believe the Osprey is in the process of being made the state bird of Florida. Any updates on that, GP?

I haven't heard anything lately...I'll try to check on that. The bill is probably sitting on someones desk.

OK, I searched and found this info. Last Nov. 4th, 78,000 children cast ballots for a new state bird. The Osprey won with 28,229 votes. When the Legislature convened in the spring, wildlife commisioners failed to follow up on their promise to ask lawmakers to ratify the childrens' choice. With the states' enormous budget shortfall, State Bird was withdrawn. They will now vote to make it a priority for the 2010 Legislative session. For now, the Mockingbird remains our state bird, as it has been since 1927.

Thanks for that GP.

The state legislature has been petitioned to name the Florida Scrub Jay as the state bird. Read the bottom of this page under Controversy: http://www.cfbw.com/statebird.shtml

I agree with the kids and would like to see the Osprey as our state bird!

Gardenpom: You are south of me in Brevard County but you get the same news channels out of Orlando that we do. Did you hear about the incident back in 2003 when a baseball player here in Daytona Beach killed an Osprey by intentionally hitting it with a baseball? http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/898983/posts Every time I see one of these majestic birds it brings back the memory of that horrible incident. I think he should have gotten jail time as well as the fine! The birds were a mated pair affectionately called Ozzy & Harriet and they had chicks in the nest. Some folks don't know that Ospreys mate for life. I never heard what happened to Harriet after that, other than she was mourning the loss of her mate. I hope she found another mate as time went on. Every time I drive by the ball park I think of that jerk who would intentionally hurt/kill an animal like that and it still makes me mad!

I barely remember that one, I do remember a story of a pro golfer who killed a Hawk a few years ago. He said he was mad because its' calls were disturbing his concentration. He claims he was trying to frighten it away, but the golf ball struck the bird and killed it.

Another idiot!

I remember that. It made me very mad.

What puzzles me is why didn't anyone act to stop him. The article says the bird had been struck after several pitches and he had laughed when he missed, which indicates that he was being observed.

It puzzles me as well! It's hard to believe someone would not speak up and say something! I know there were many people there when it happened as was the case that Gardenpom mentioned above about the golfer who killed the Red Shouldered Hawk in Orlando last year: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/golf/article3504068.ece I think people said after the fact they wished they had spoken up.

The hawk may have been making a racket because it had a nest with young nearby and was trying to protect it's territory. It is just so sad that some human beings are so cruel and sadder still that incidents like both of those could have possibly been stopped if just ONE person had spoken up!

Oh sorry that is the one I was thinking of, not the osprey one. Yes, silly people more enamored with a golfer than a beautiful hawk.

Oh Margaret that photo of dad is STUNNING.....

I just love all the photos of the adults with the chick. They all seem so peaceful and present such a serene picture.

We had a large hawk that lived in our woods ,there was a road kill on the road,the hawk was working on it,we had to slow down and he flew off.my girlfriend was driving out to our house later the same day, well the hawk was on the road,she hit him with her car,She said I thought he would fly off,GEEEZZZZ,like a hawk knows what a car is,anyway I went and got the bird off the road,I was sick he was huge,stupid things people do makes me sick . We did make her feel bad ,she had no clue that what she did was truly awful,there was no reason not to avoid it ,other than not slowing down,you could see it 1/4 mi away in the road.We do have another hawk living near by ,he likes our woods.

Thanks Nanny. He is a real darling. Peace and harmony reign supreme at the nest.


Tamara, I'm so sorry about the hawk. This type of event happens all over the world, unfortunately: sometimes through ignorance, such as when people believe the bird will know what a car is, recognize the danger and move out of the way. Other times such strikes are done with malicious intent. Whatever the reason, the outcome is the same. I guess the only way that this problem could in any way be addressed is when any of us see roadkill, we stop our own vehicles and pull the roadkill off the road and as far onto the shoulder as possible. This may minimize secondary kill of our beloved raptors and even other mammalian scavengers.

This message was edited Oct 20, 2009 7:15 PM

I wasn't able to get to the nest over the weekend, but spent a little time there yesterday afternoon. In the three days, once again the chick had noticeably grown and was so active.

I have heard the chick peeping but I think this was just a bit of exercise for the beak as there was no accompanying sound.

It is becoming increasingly aware of what is happening outside the nest and was gazing at something in the middle distance.

Its crop was quite empty.

But there's no cause for concern, as you can see by its plump little body when it had a stretch. Big Hook was getting a little restive and did a couple of quick circuits before returning to the nest and calling for Dad to go get supper.

Another stretch a few minutes later. You should be able to see the little pin feathers at the tip of its wings.

Big Hook was calling Dad. The chick gazed up at her, absolutely fascinated.

A quiet moment

margaret,I love the bum in the air shot ,too cute.Your photos are just beautiful,gives me goose bumps!!! I will bet Mrs_ed could come up with a caption for the bum shot !!! Tamara

Really nice to watch a nesting situation where the young aren't competing for food, or one is beating up the other one.

Great pix, Marggie. I am really enjoying the thread.

I agree GP!! After watching all those eagle nest over the summer...too much stress. The connection here between all 3 is so harmonious

Love the Mom and babe moments.

Beautiful shots Margaret!

Thanks, everyone. It's encouraging to think we won't be witnessing the dreadful conflict that occurred between Old Ma Osprey and Aussie last season. There's every reason to believe that this little chick will have a perfectly normal relationship with both parents.

I didn't go to the nest today, but yesterday went to the path below but closer to the nest and although I didn't manage to get any decent shots of the chick, I captured a few of Big Hook. Here she is on one of the nest branches.

Awesome shot, Margaret. Hey, what are we going to be calling the little one? Still no name?

Thanks, GP. Nothing has sprung to mind yet. I generally find that sooner or later an animals personality or some striking physical feature (such as with Big Hook) will help them name themselves.

I've been wanting you to name baby chick too. Hopefully a name will come to you soon. Your photos are fantastic and it's so nice to know this family appears to be happy together.