Raising Aussie Osprey #3

Lol, I first read 'poop' instead of 'pop' with all that talk. You know you should be prepared for all events, lol, what an opportunity to pass up, having your scalp massaged by an Osprey!

and three seconds later could be heard an indignent cry of "filthy swine" from the river below.

OMG, that's hilarious margaret! Now THAT is some stop-action!

Lol! Good one!

Congrats Little Aussie on the bull's-eye!

Resin

LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

8~D Good one Margaret.

Now, that is funny!

You all can laugh now, but have you ever been plastered walking under a pigeon sitting on a high ledge? ghaaa!

Actually, I HAVE.

TOOOOOO funny.

Elaine

No, I haven't, but I have been under ducks that have plastered me ;o))

Multiple times by various birds. I swear those Rainbow Lorikeets take deliberate aim and it's always after I showered and washed and fought my hair into submission. %3?@#&*!

I went to the nest this afternoon. The chick was being fed when I got there. Dad was in his usual spot on the high branch overlooking the nest.

"Open wide"

"Wider"

Those fabulous wings are getting stronger. A lot of the feathers still have the casings on so the chick isn't ready to venture forth yet.

It's only been two days since I was last there and again the growth is obvious.

Continuing on with his meal of sushi

I just love this photo of the two of them gazing at a passing aircraft.

Almost directly overhead.

All of a sudden, Aussie decided he didn't like the thing in the sky and hit the deck. Mother Osprey couldn't have cared less and continued eating. The chick frequently flattens itself when a sail boat passes by, never when there's powered craft.

A post prandial beak clean. I've seen both adults doing this, wiping their beaks several times against a branch.

She almost went into a trance.  Even though it was her blind eye towards me, it was closed in what appeared to be pleasure.  They also bite at the end pieces of a branch.

This message was edited Dec 7, 2008 8:26 PM

Great pics, Margaret. Has the chick shown any effort to feed itself yet?

Thanks GP. No, I haven't seen it actively feed itself, but there is no prompting to get it to take food as was happening when it was really small. Back then it was more a primitive response, whereas now, it's a very purposeful act to take food and it also walks away from the mother when it's had enough, as it did this afternoon.

After she'd finished cleaning her beak, she checked on the chick and flew around the local area three times before settling on a branch much closer to the river.

This is the perch she chooses after she's had a bath or when she's having a break from the nest. This is where I feel like a circus performer to get an unobstructed view of her. She's so close that with 420 effective mm, I can't shoot in the horizontal plane and need to hold the camera vertically in one hand whilst balancing precariously, hanging onto a flimsy branch, in order to get a shot. I'm getting some fantastic biceps.

Just amazing shots Margaret, I'm running out of superlatives!

Thanks, knip. That's how I feel when I see other people's photos. I really have thought about having my thesaurus on my lap to refer to.

Super keeno!

GP, I was just going to ask that about Aussie eating on his/her own. That will be a fun thing to see. I just LOVE that shot of the two of them looking up at the airplane.

Absolutely stunning shots Margaret!

He certainly doesn't look like a chick anymore.

He's so bright eyed and healthy looking.

Mrs. Ed...Super Keeno???...LOL!!!

But I agree next ...second favorite shot ...after the one where they were gazing at each other.

Those are spectacular, Marg! Look at those wings! They are so big. Aussie will be packing his bags for college, soon. ;o)

Just awesome. Thanks so much for sharing with us. You need to submit some for the photo contest for next year. I would definitely vote for you.

Elaine

Yes I think next year's winner of the wildlife section is already decided!

Good grief, Elaine and Knip. You're far too kind. Thanks for your ongoing encouragement Pelle, Mrs Ed, Nanny and Kim and for your interest, Resin. Resin I asked my compatriot with the fantastic equipment if he'd be able to get a shot of the leg band. I've tried zooming right in and although I can make out an inscription, there's simply not enough detail to decipher it. He'll either find an old shot of his showing the band or will take a new one and if necessary, improve it with his CSI photoshop software.

The female was in the process of feeding Aussie when I got there this afternoon. She then went up onto the right hand branch. Not long afterwards, the male arrived and landed where you can see him, on the left hand side of the nest. That's him facing the camera. Well, didn't she do her lolly! She stormed down that branch and stomped across the nest scolding him the whole time. She went towards him, head down and with feathers bristling. She didn't physically push him off the nest, but intimidated him into leaving. The next few shots will show the sequence. Unfortunately I didn't get any shots of her passage down the branch and across the nest. The chick watched on, pleased as punch at this entertainment mum was providing. It was imitating her sounds.

I've cropped so you can see the chick gazing intently at mum's face, which was down at its level. The poor male is a bit nonplussed by this change in her attitude and doesn't quite know if she's joking.

Pity about the branch.

Aww poor Dad!

Little Aussie is still focussed on Mum's performance. Poor old Dad's outa there.

Hi Pelle.