Osprey season 2010 - A new beginning.

I have MIA for a while from DG, and I am trying to catch up! Margaret and all... these are fabulous photos of the Osprey from "your neck of the woods"! I have really been missing our Osprey as they left the area a few weeks ago! I can get my "Osprey fix" through your thread! Wonderful!!!

Oh now I just love that last shot of the chick sitting there...tooo cute!

I was wondering where that silly wagtail was!

A little more action at the nest, as I can see. Love when that wagtail tries take on bigger then their own size. I'm sure Big hook get annoyed by it though. Great shot of the chick. And Mom and baby imitating her so cute.

Tamara, it certainly is a bit of a worry with the chick being far too adventurous. Madame X reports that the adults have been bringing in additional sticks to shore up the sides of the nest. They are obviously concerned about how shallow it is.

There's really not been much to report on. I didn't get to the nest for four days and the growth of the chick is obvious.

Thanks, duc and nanny. The way the chick sits, propped up on its wings and with its little feet out in front is so cute.

Welcome back, Wild Rose. I'm glad you can get your osprey fix here. I'm so glad ours don't migrate.

Pete, you'll be amazed at the difference when you get back.

Pelle and Burn, the Willie Wagtail is continuing to make its presence felt. I was sitting there yesterday afternoon and I could hear it working its way up and down the bay, pausing to badger some poor creature that it believes is encroaching on its territory. I could hear it slowly approaching down close to the water, then as it drew level with the nest, up it flew to give Big Hook a bit of a shake-up, before continuing on its way. Funny little things.

From the day before yesterday, Big Hook was attempting to pull that stick into the nest. The chick looks on.

..

It's a pity the chick had its head downwards and I wasn't able to capture the eyes. You may be able to see the pin feathers at the tip of its wings. These are the beginnings of the primary flight feathers, I think.

Four weeks old.

The nest is in shadow from about 4.15pm and apart from a few seconds where the sun briefly strikes it, that's pretty well it. Yesterday I moved position over where I could see the pole branch. When I first started viewing back in 2008, both the nest and the pole branch could be seen from my usual position, but the trees have grown so much, this is no longer possible. I don't know what it's going to be like next year.

Anyway, I'm glad I went over there. Dad had delivered a fish and then flew to the pole branch. I was taking photos of him and Big Hook flew in and landed on a small branch below him. I've never seen this happen before. She'd had a bath. He was in full sun and she was in part shade so it was a bit tricky with the lighting and she looks a bit darker than she really is.

That doesn't look too bad after all. I thought she was going to be too dark.

I don't know that she'll be all that keen to perch below him again. She was busy preening her beautiful, freshly washed feathers. All fluffed up and feeling refreshed at the end of a hot day.

Seconds later, he'd pooped on her. I never take photos of them defaecating, but you might be able to make out some white on her wings ner her tail. What was funny, she immediately went "skinny".

That really seemed to throw her, temporarily.

However, she resumed preening as the shadow crept up the pole branch.

I went to the nest again this afternoon. A very uneventful day, apart from .....

Big Hook doesn't tolerate the harassment as well as Dad does.

Willie Wagtail 1, Osprey, nil.

That was the 1st thing i thought seeing her sitting under him,hes gonna poop on her....the shot of the chick from behind is great you can see its stocky build,looks like it has grey flannel jammies on too..gosh growing leaps and bounds, can you tell if its male or female ?

No way of knowing the gender at this early age, Tamara. Females are generally larger, but there's nothing to compare this one against.

I wasnt sure if there was specific tell tale feature to determin the sex. so have you thought of any names yet ,other than Brutis !!! that would be a fitting name for a male.

This message was edited Nov 2, 2010 7:22 AM

Egads, it's like someone replaced that chick with another much older one. Lovely pictures. That Willy Wagtail is a hoot.

I think we should put the "bully" names behind us and observe it's emerging behaviors.

I agree, its build is amazing..

Amazing how much it grew in 4 days! Loving Willie Wagtail!

Yes, the growth is remarkable. Here's a shot from yesterday which shows just how stocky it is. This is a stretch. When they are going to poop, there's a subtle difference in the posture. Again in this shot the pin feathers can be seen.

Yes, Mrs Ed, I'm with you on the name. A name will emerge which won't reflect its earlier behaviours.

That photo of the two on the branch is very well done Margaret! I just knew that was going to happen! lol

With its inquisitive nature we already have a clue into it's personality. So I am sure a great name that is quite fitting will come along.

That little one is quickly growing. Love the photos of mom and dad. Before we know it, this chick will be as large as dad.

Willie Wagtail sure is small but tough. Great photos Margaret.

Glad to see the chick is growing fast. I guess the next big landmark is fledging. I will be interested to see when that happens. Of the nest I have seen 49 days seems to be the first time for fledging although this was possibly reduced to 48 days in the season just gone.

Mrs_Ed I am interested to hear that you are a Loch of the Lowes fan. That is now possibly the best osprey cam in the world although I am more attached to Loch Garten with all its dramas over the years. My streaming webcam watching began with DPOF (Brookehave NY) but that cam is sadly no more.

We (the group here) discovered the Loch of the Lowes webcam through the Blackwater Site here in the states. They have both Eagle and Osprey cams, along with a YouTube Channel. At some point they had a link to the Scotland site.

The Scotland site was nice because it had sound.

http://www.friendsofblackwater.org/camhtm.html

BUT I think our favorite (mine at least) is the Eagle Cam in Virginia. They do a great job. It's off for the season, but slide shows are still available.

http://www.wvec.com/marketplace/microsite-content/eagle-cam.html

Now if Margaret will get that tower built with a web cam so we can watch the Australian Ospreys… that would be great!

Yeah....we need an Aussie cam!!

After a long absence, this evening I came across the Bird Watching Forum again. I have no idea what happened and why it wasn't still on my "favorites" list, or "watched" threads ... but, I know it was something I did with the settings, trying to re-arrange my home page and I ended up fouling things up! Geesh, I should leave well enough alone. Anyway, I've spent the past couple of hours catching up on all the threads regarding Big Hook and Dad!

Margaret, I am so awed by your beautiful photography, and the continuing story of this Osprey couple! All of the photo's are really magnificent! I seem to look at four or five and say "oh, that's got to be my favorite", then a few seconds later another becomes my favorite ... and so on down the entire thread. I can just picture an entire wall with framed images of these beautiful birds, I'd never get tired of looking at them!

It's so sad about the loss of two of the young ones in this brood, but hopefully the remaining one will continue to grow strong and survive the perils of nature. I look forward to hearing what his/her name will be.

Pete: I want to thank you also for the wonderful photo's you've contributed to this story. You and Margaret are such talented photographers, capturing close up shots of these birds, showing such great detail! Keep up the good work ... I look forward to reading the continuation of the on-going story of this Osprey family!

Wonderful shots of Dad and Big Hook together Margaret!! That chick looks a whole lot bigger than last time I checked your thread.
The one Wagtail shot...looks like he's bouncing on Big Hook's head. lol

Its been a while, lots happened...great shots as always Margaret. That baby has grown! My only comment around all that has happened and the adventurous little one is that maybe he is a bit whoo-whoo in the head!LOL!

Wow Margaret how 'Brutis' has grown. It will be interesting at this rate of development to see if flight happens earlier. I love the wet t shirt shot with both the birds on the tree. I've never seen this before - often on the branch out from the nest but not here.

The chick has not been named yet,Iam soo sorryThat I had said that Brutis would be a good name.So sorry again..= {

Huggergirl: LOL, Brutus was the perfect name while the bullying of the sibling was taking place, he/she was being a brute! Now that the chick is an "only child", as it grows and sex is determined, a proper "forever" name can be given.

Oh yah, Hugger, no worries. I just thought that we could put that behind us. While the other was alive, i was also thinking Bluto and Olive Oyl! LOL.

We don't ordinarily honor our feeling (in our western culture); but it's important that we do. I honored mine and not feeling guilty that I 'voted' for Brutus. That being said; I also valued Mrs_ed, and Margaret's sentiment about awaiting for a proper name for the little chick 'til its sexes is determined, and that we let by gone be by-gone.
I hold firm my 'invisible shield' for a bright(er) future for the lives of the generation ahead. Thanks Margaret and Pete for those terrific photos of the Osprey family to the general public via DG.

You know, I don't think we'll know the sex at the young age, will we? That's why Aussie and Harmony were such great names.

Meanwhile. I guess I don't remember how red those chick eyes look. Seems really noticeable this year (to me).

Thanks, everyone. The Willie Wagtail is a hoot. Burd, it almost does look like it's using the Osprey's head as a trampoline.

Nanny, fancy you knowing that the two of them would eventually be seen together on the pole branch. I'm the same as Pete in never having seen it before - not to say that it hasn't happened.

Welcome back, Lin and thanks for your lovely comments.

Hi Rian. Yes, a lot sure has happened at the nest. Watching this surviving chick, I haven't seen anything that would indicate any deficits. If the accidental death of the other chick hadn't happened, it may not have so relentlessly picked on the last hatchling. If the surviving chick was the the first hatched, there was probably just too big a gap (5 days) between the two of them and it established dominance with great ease.

Tamara, don't concern yourself with any temporary name that the chick may have had. We'll just wait and see if its personality names it.

I only spent ten minutes at the nest the day before yesterday because it was drizzling. This is the major concern. Look at how close the chick is to the edge of the nest.




This message was edited Nov 6, 2010 6:58 AM

Oh my goodness ... the baby is right on the edge! I'm going to be keeping that little one in my prayers tonight for sure.

OMG!!!!!! Get that baby back!!!

We need to furnish them with a safety harness or safety belt...something! It is a great shot, Mags!