When Ospreys Attack

Sunday afternoon was an exciting time as the juvenile Osprey I've been watching took its first flight out of the nest. Later in the afternoon, I left to take my son to the park for a bit. Upon returning, I took a quick look up the tree and was quite surprised to now see 2 juveniles...what....I know for certain only 1 was raised in this nest. There are many nests in very close proximity and most of all the juveniles have fledged. It quickly became apparent this "nest crashing" juvenile was not receiving a warm welcome from the resident mama. 

Nope...Mama was making it clear there were no vacancy or free meals in this tree.

Resident Mama was repeatedly attempting to get the trespassing juvenile to leave, but the juvenile seemed to be determined to stay. I quickly became concerned that this youngster was going to be injured.

Mama even came down and tried to discuss her concerns..."what part of get out are you not understanding???" she squawked.

When the talks failed...

it was back to the attacks.

After over a dozen attacks, the juvenile decided it was time to leave. I felt relieved the youngster was on its way. Mama escorted the juvi away. My relief was very short lived as moments later they both returned and this time the juvenile landed right in the nest.

And you guessed it, Mama was angrier than ever!

Nope, not happy...

Mama held the juvi down for several minutes and I was really worried the juvi wasn't going to resurface, but finally it did. This time it was smart enough not to return and the tree was drama free for the remainder of the day. I found these interactions interesting and did some reading on "visiting" juveniles. I didn't come across too much information, but did read that juveniles will occasionally attempt to nest switch after fledging. These juveniles are usually motivated to switch by hunger. Once a juvenile fledges the nest, they still rely on their parent for food to survive for up to 3 weeks as they learn to catch fish on their own.  I did read that some adult Ospreys will accept other young and feed them. Obviously this mama wasn't too accepting!

So You Think You Can Fly

For the past week or so I've watched the juvenile Osprey spend a great deal of its time preparing for its big upcoming adventure...fledging!

For up to 2 weeks before fledging, juvenile Ospreys prepare by exercising their wings.

For the past few days, the Osprey has been lifting off and hovering above the nest (also known as helicoptering).

Each time I see this, I'm certain the Osprey is just going to take off, but it doesn't.

I think the Osprey was even practicing its fishing catching technique.

Well, yesterday was the big day. The juvenile Osprey finally left the nest! Its first landing place was a large branch just above the nest. The Osprey stayed there for several hours. Some serious drama erupted during this time as a wayward juvenile from another nest decided to be a nest crasher...(my next post). The Osprey took a few flights later in the day as its mom shadowed close behind. 

Raising a Fish Hawk

In January of 2010, a pair of Ospreys started gathering sticks and moss and began building a nest in a large tree in my neighbor's yard. Less than a month later, the nest fell. In 2011, the Ospreys were around but there was very little nest building action in the tree. In 2012, a pair (not sure if its the original pair), successfully built a large nest. The pair spent several months in it, but did not produce any chicks.

A pair has been occupying the nest since January of this year. Finally, one Saturday morning, about 3 weeks ago, I noticed this tiny head!

The female adult Osprey spends most of her time in the nest, using her wings to shield the chick from the sun.

The male is rarely in the same tree. He does come by and drop off a meal from time to time. Mom also leaves the nest occasionally to catch a fish of her own.

Mom does not welcome other birds near the tree. There are several young Red-shouldered hawks in the area and the Osprey gives them a stern warning when they approach too closely as this one did.

The Ospreys aren't the only ones with a nest in this tree as they happen to share with some equally boisterous neighbors~Crows! On this occasion, Mama Osprey forgot her password to reenter the tree!

It sure is hot!

The adult Osprey gives the chick a bite of fish for about every ten bites she takes.

The nest about a quarter mile up the street recently fledged these 2 young Ospreys.

In the Hood

The presence of Pileated Woodpeckers is easy to detect thanks to the amount of noise they make while foraging for bugs. Last week I was really excited to see my first juvenile Pileated perched in an Oak in my yard. 

Dad was in a nearby tree looking for something to eat.

He then delivered a meal to his patiently waiting youngster.

Unfortunately my photo came out exceptionally terrible, but it was a cool interaction to observe (so I shared it anyway).

My neighbors have a Red-shouldered Hawk's nest in their yard. The three juveniles that fledged the nest still remain close by. The parents continue to bring food to the young hawks.

This in an adult (not sure if its one of the parents) that frequents my yard. It isn't very shy and will land in the yard when we are nearby.

Note to self: walk quickly when passing an Osprey in this position (yes, he is aiming for you).

One day on my way home for work, I passed this Osprey enjoying his dinner in the company of a Great Horned Owl:) I counted 7 decoy owls on this particular dock...they appear to have made friends with the neighborhood birds though.

Snakes are a very important part of the local food chain. The rodents feed the snakes; the snakes feed the raptors. I recent saw this Red Rat Snake, also known as a Corn Snake, slithering through the grass. I laid in the grass as the snake traveled toward me, then right on past me. If you look closely at the snake's eye, you can see the reflection of the sky.

And what goes great with a relaxing, outdoor Sunday breakfast...

...did you guess watching a Yellow Rat Snake land with a loud thud on the nearby cement boat ramp as it fell from a Palm tree clutching a rat that was fighting for its life. Well, that didn't happen during my breakfast, but it did during my neighbor's who preceded to call me over as I worked in the yard. I then watched the snake have its Sunday breakfast.

Interesting to see how quickly the snake swallowed the large rat.

A final wave goodbye...

And the snake was off. I was glad I had already eaten!

Osprey Action

Ospreys are plentiful around my house. There are actually nests every 1/4 mile for several miles. They have been partaking in nesting activities for several months. I haven't, however, seen or heard any babies in any of the nests.

Two's company, three's a crowd...yup...these Ospreys aren't fond of visitors. 

They usually quickly escort unwanted intruders away...

...with a stern warning to stay away or else!

The happy couple back together!

Dinner time!

I captured this Osprey yesterday evening enjoying its dinner as the sun was setting!