Raising Aussie Osprey

Wow Margaret, outstanding pictures. The spot you stand at, for the photos is so great for all the action going there. What a treat.

Thanks. It is an amazing spot, perched above the beautiful Swan River. There's always something going on there, even if the Ospreys are inactive. Just after I took that photo, the male flew off and the female positioned herself to protect the chicks from the early afternoon sun.

Here's some kids having fun.

From this morning. The male on the left had just brought a fish. Once again this isn't a clear shot, but the chicks are visible in front of the female.

This is the same picture cropped to show the chicks doing what siblings do best. Squabbling!

Very nice family portrait, that first one. Chicks squabbling...priceless!!

Wow, super shots Margaret! The chicks look like they have their beaks inside each others, perhaps trying to get the food! Gee you must never be at home, lol, hope you have an understanding other. :)

Good squabbling shot for photo contest?

LOL, love the squabbling shot Margaret!

Great pics, Margaret. It will be fun to watch them grow.

Hi gardenpom, aren't Margaret's pics fascinating? She is giving us quite the education on Aussie wildlife, esp., the birds. Lee

Thank you, everyone. It was raining, with sporadic thunderstorms today so didn't get to the nest. Went and bought chocolate instead. I did get down the swamp in the late afternoon.

Chocolate. Now that's a wonderful idea for my breakfast. Just had some lactose free milk. Yuk. Lee

CHOCOLATE! Now that's my gal! My DS brought me a chocolate pyramid. It has Belgian chocolate covering a mousse-like interior on top of a dense fudgey crust.

The photo with WW on pop's back gives true meaning to "get off my back!" Very brave little guy.

Post . . . 170 shows the great concentration and pride of the parents. I can see the babes are growing. Keeping fingers crossed that they continue to flourish!

I'm really living through your pics Margaret. Thanks.

Well, I start with the sad news that there is only one baby. I bumped into a fellow birder at the outlook this afternoon and before we had confirmed this, he was telling me of a friend of his who studies Ospreys who had told him that usually (emphasise usually as there are exceptions to every rule) only one chick survives.

The male flew in with a fish not long after I arrived there. It's a bit too dark, but you'll get an idea

This one's a bit better.

No 3

Here's the female on the nest when I first got there.

The surviving chick has grown since I saw it two days ago. The female is just starting to feed it.

Female and chick

If the chick was making a sound, I couldn't hear it but I like the way their beaks are both open. I wonder if the chick was imitating her.

She is so gentle when she feeds it.

She fed it for at least twenty minutes at the first sitting, then would interrupt her own meal to feed the chick every time it indicated that it had room for more.

Hungry little soul

Ah, the bitter sweet of watching nature. It is so sad to see the little ones not make it.

The little one left looks like it is doing quite well. What a treat to be watching this while I drink my coffee in the morning.

Thanks again so much for sharing your experience with all of us.

I have not seen any osprey here for a while, but they usually stick around until the water freezes, then a couple more days hunting at my bird feeders. They are a magnificent bird.

Even though the focus isn't sharp, I'm not as unhappy as I was with the images I took at the nest on previous days.

Thanks, cparts. Yes, it was quite a regretful pleasure I was getting from viewing this. In the back of my mind were thoughts of the missing chick.

I moved across to get a shot from a different angle. I quite like this one.

Wow! are you climbing in the trees or what? ^_^

Who could complain about life when they're sitting looking at an Osprey chick being fed and looking down on Bottlenose Dolphins cruising by below. Magic.

The male went out onto one of his favoured perches to relax in the late afternoon sun, when guess who turns up to drive him crackers.

The Willie Wagtail

cparts, I can't believe how privileged I am to have been given the OK to go onto this private land to take photos.

OP, the Willie Wagtails are astonishingly cheeky little birds. They have no concept of fear - or size for that matter.

The nictitating membrane can be seen over the Osprey's eye as this wildly chattering little Wagtail danced all over its back and head.

I just love the way the Willie Wagtail stops for a rest on the Osprey's back.

I've cropped this one a bit more because of the difference in size that can be seen between the Ospreys oversized talons compared to the Willie Wagtail's tiny little claws.

The sun started to go down behind the trees to the west (duh, of course it went down to the west) and put the protagonist and his target in heavy shadow. I love this shot.

Well, that's all from the Osprey's nest for the next couple of days as I have to go to work so I can afford to keep buying CF cards because I can't stand deleting things. (You all should see my pantry and fridge).

Margaret...I will have to repeat myself and say again how much I am enjoying this thread! Those pics of the female feeding the little one is too sweet and those shots with the Willy Wagtail are awesome. I think my favorites are the Willy Wagtail taking a rest and the last shot but I really love them all. Thanks for your hard work in bringing this to us!

Margaret,This is such an entertaining thread! The shots are excellent and I absolutely love all of them,especially the 5th one.

Sad news about the 2nd baby. I remember on "The Life of Birds" a sad portion concerning nesting Pelicans and how the largest baby knocks the others out of the nest on purpose. The Osprey looks a little annoyed on that one pic!

I must have missed that about the second chick being gone. Sorry to hear that.

Margaret, a great series of pictures. We are all entertained & learning a great deal. Lucy

Oh, Pelle, nature is so harsh. We know that awful things happen and can accept it, but when the reality strikes close to home, it is more difficult to accept. You're observing a new little life and suddenly that life is no more. Sad

Iris, I'm so glad you're enjoying it. I get a real buzz out of sharing with everyone.

This message was edited Oct 29, 2008 9:59 PM