Whopper - heading towards independence at a leisurely pace.

Superb shots, It's really a treat to see them, up close. Sorry to hear you might lose that vantage point. But with your skill as a photographer, and description of the events, I'm sure it will be as pleasant from the other spot.

Thanks, Burn. I sure hope so.

Very nice shots, Margaret. Hopefully the nest will hold up for a few more years. It's difficult to find a vantage point like you have. Do you have any other Osprey nests close by ?

Anyway, I checked the one local nesting site that is only 2 minutes from my son's house. So, while on babysitting duties, I tend to stop by there quite often. I was there on Tuesday and saw no activity. But, today, both of them were at the nest.
What a great St. Patrick's Day present ! They made a safe return after being away for six months. They have been good parents for a number of years.

Charlie, that's great that the two ospreys returned safely. Now I guess you'll be volunteering for additional "babysitting" duties.

In the local area, as well as this nest, there's also the new one, at the very top of a Norfolk Island Pine, which is easily 100' tall, so no looking down into it. That area is much better for flight photos, though, and now I have the 500mm lens, I should be able to position myself so I get some reasonable flight shots. There's also a greater chance of seeing fishing shots at this nest site.

I don't know what has happened to the ospreys that for years nested in a Norfolk Island Pine along the beach front at Cottesloe. There's no sign of the nest and although I've occasionally seen an osprey oceanside, it may well have been one of the ospreys from the river, which is about a one minute flight for them. There are other nests within about a twenty minute drive, but there's limited accessibility.

Margaret, no volunteering for additional duty ..... 50 hours a week is enough.

I have never been able to get any real Osprey fishing shots. Unlike the Bald Eagle, which grabs the fish off of the surface, the Osprey often disappears into the water. But, that can still make for an interesting shot.

Wonderful shots Margaret!! Love the "flourish shot"! Whopper looks great.

Thanks, Burd.

Our hot weather persists and is expected to do so for at least another week. I did go to the nest yesterday afternoon as there was a bit of a sea breeze. Whopper was on what appears to be one of her favoured perches, right underneath the nest. She started calling so I knew either Dad or Big Hook was about to arrive.

It was Big Hook.

Both flew off, out of sight, to the northern end of the bay. Whopper is now only a little over a week short of six months of age. It will be interesting to see just how long she is able to be positively sighted.

And this is supposed to be autumn.

Good grief, when will it let up for you guys!!! Must cost a pretty penny to run the AC.

We use the aircon very judiciously, Burn and take advantage of any cool breezes overnight. But it is beginning to wear thin.

Just read thru this thread and must say thanks Margaret for your amazing photos and super commentary!

Awesome photos Margaret. Sorry the weather isn't cooperating.

I'm sorry about the lengthy absence, but the heat has drained the entire population. We're expecting rain on Thursday and IF it happens, it'll be the first drop of rain in 60 something days. It has been the longest, driest summer on record and here we are, more than month into autumn and it's still summer. We got to 94F today. We're still getting 11 hours of sunshine (not daylight, but sunshine) every day. Can someone explain what "blankets" are for?

Belated thanks for your lovely comments, sunnyg and duc.

I have continued to go to the nest, just to see how long Whopper, who is now six months old, sticks around. Some days I see and hear nothing. Madam X provides regular updates, so I know she's still there. I went this afternoon and she was on the right hand branch (Whopper, not Madam X), with a partially eaten fish. There's no doubt she would be catching all her own food now. Initially I thought it was Big Hook, she is so big, but after about 15 minutes, she started calling with the unmistakable call of a young Osprey.

I know this thread is getting a bit long, but I don't want to start a new one, because I'm kinda anticipating there won't be much to report for a while. If I'm wrong, I'll then start a new one.

Enjoying her meal.

I don't know what she spotted in the sky behind me, but it held her attention for a brief while.

Her attention was then redirected to the task at hand.

She became agitated and flew off. There's little that faze these birds, but ...

A jet-ski in a jet-ski restricted area doing burn-outs below the nest was too much and she flew off to the other end of the bay.

Not all that long after she left, beautiful Dad arrived on his favourite branch with a live fish.

He ate his fish in the usual leisurely fashion. By the time he finished, the nest was completely in shadow, but it was so beautiful there I stayed until almost sundown.

I'll update with any more sightings of Whopper.

Beautiful shot Margaret! Hope you get the much needed rain.

Oh they are both looking so gorgeous! Thanks for the update Margaret!

Gorgeous pics. of parent and child Ospreys Margaret. Thank you for bringing us their update. I hope you'll soon get some rain. It rained here last night but like crushed ice storm. The weather is better today but having hails falling on your rooftop is something one needs to experience to know for sure. Wished the temp. will cool down some for you too. So Madam X doesn't like 'shushi'? LOL, I'm glad she's so kind to keep you updated with the Ospreys' progress when you aren't there. Thank you once again.

Thanks, Nanny and Pelle. I'm glad to be able to give an update. I was thinking again of the easy life our Ospreys have when compared to their cousins from the northern hemisphere.

LOL about the sushi, Kim. I love your description of the crushed ice storm.

More breathtaking photos Margaret! Whopper is gorgeous and Dad is just handsome. I'm happy to hear you were able to see and photograph both of them.

I, too, hope you'll see some rain and cooler temperatures soon. This sure has been a strange year.

Thanks, duc. I was really happy to see them both. It was a pleasant surprise. Hopefully we'll get some rain tomorrow.

Stunning first picture of Dad!

Glad to know they are still coming to the nest, or branch. Gorgeous shot of Dad and Whopper.

Blankets: are nice and cozy, soft and toasty, you feel hugged when your wrapped up in them. :0). Come on over, and I'll show you what blankets feels like. ;)
How is the vegetation doing with this lack of rain for such a long time? Your garden must suffer big time? Wishing you some relief with some much needed rain tomorrow.

Thanks for the explanation of what a blanket is for, Burn, and for the invitation. I have a vague recollection of a blanket's use and will hopefully get to experience it over the next few days. Today is the first day that it has actually felt like autumn, even though the temperature still got to 84F. You're right about the garden suffering. It's been a tough summer for even our tough Australian native plants. At least three town in the very south of the state have had to truck in water as there's none left in their local dams.

Beautiful pix, Marg! Dad looks as if he is saying, "Well, are you gonna take my picture, too?!" "I'm posing just for you!"

What a terrible water problem. I will keep my fingers crossed that y'all get a very nice steady shower. Also hoping for cooler temps!

Nice shots of Whopper and Dad Margaret! So glad you are getting some kind of break with that heat you've been having.

Thanks Kim and Burd. The weather has cooled marginally and the nights are certainly more tolerable. We've had a total of about 8mm over the last few days. Enough to make a dusty car muddy, that's all.

I've been going to the nest most days - mainly to see how long whopper sticks around. She was there today, on the perch where I got the photos of Dad a few days back. This is from two days ago.

Whopper is such a beauty. I do hope that she'll stay in the area when it comes time for her to build a nest. Great photo.

Duc, they do tend to return to their natal sites, but there'd be now way of identifying most birds without a band or distinctive iris marks, such as Dad has.

Whopper is 7 months old tomorrow and is still around with Dad and Big Hook. It is a very peaceful, relaxed time of year for them. All three birds are spending quite a lot of time on the branches leading from or under the nest. I've been going to the nest every 2-3 days for a fix.

Whilst I was at the nest a few days, I saw 19 different species of bird, including a male and female Western Spinebill, which I haven't seen for probably 30 years. They were so close I couldn't photograph them. Same with the Fairy Wrens. They were within arms reach until they were chased off by a Singing Honeyeater.

This first shot is of Big Hook with a partially eaten fish from a few days ago.

The day before yesterday, there was a real ruckus and sure enough, Whopper arrived on the nest and immediately turned around to half-heatedly plead for food from Dad ....

... who had arrived at the same time with a fish, which he had no intention of sharing with his now independent offspring. Big Hook was on Whopper's usual branch under the nest.

This last one is of Whopper from the 18th of this month. She was close.

It's probably only about eight weeks until we can expect a start to nest reconstruction. I'll keep a watch out for Whopper, because it will be interesting to see just how long she remains in the area.

It will also be interesting to see if the ospreys that nested across the bay will re-establish a pair bond this coming season. I don't know if you recall the male osprey that had been in rehabilitation for several weeks and was treated like a pariah by his mate when he was released. He wasn't banded, so even if nesting takes place there, I don't think there'll be any way of knowing if it is the same male, or a new one.

They all look great and those are wonderful shots Margaret!

Nice photos as alway, Margaret. It's so nice to see Whooper and the family continues to thrive. Hope the rehabbed Osprey re-establish his bond with others. Thank you, for bringing some 'sunshine' kind of news.