Raising Aussie Osprey #4

We came from here: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/928885/

The chick continues to grow and mature. It is still being fed by the mother, but is having a good go at the food itself, going through all the motions of anchoring the fish with a foot and tugging at the food with lots of sideways head movements. It still makes the begging noises when it's being fed, but is now making sounds like the adults. It is very aware of and interested in its environment and follows what Mum is doing very intently, absorbing all the information like water into a sponge.

This message was edited Dec 12, 2008 5:53 PM

"Now listen, when your father gets here, you watch what I do because you'll need to use these techniques yourself one day".

The chick still hasn't ventured out onto the branch, but is doing a lot of wing testing and I've seen it a couple of inches off the nest platform several times. I'm wondering if maybe our Ospreys take a little longer to fledge as the pressure isn't on them to grow up and migrate fast before foul weather sets in, as happens in the higher latitudes in the northern hemisphere.

What fantastic wings. I couldn't see any feathers still encased in sheathes in any of the shots I took today. My compatriot at the site reckons it may be another couple of weeks before the chick takes its first flight. He judges this on multiple Osprey fledges he has observed and says the chicks have always been a bit bigger with more prominent breast markings beforehand.

This morning, the old man took me out into the bay so I could take some shots of the nest from the river below. It was such a beautiful day and the bay was like a millpond, there were a few clouds way off on the eastern horizon, otherwise the sky was its usual intense blue and the temperature was about 22 degrees Celsius (74 F).

This is the female on the nest. There was no sign of the male all day, but he must have been around because the mother and chick were eating a freshly caught fish when I got there this afternoon.

This message was edited Dec 12, 2009 2:47 PM

Here's the female. I think her blind left eye must be a bit sore as she had it closed most of the time today.

The nest isn't right over the water as I thought it was when viewed from above, but it's pretty close. Here's a shot of what it looks like at the waterline below the nest.

You'll probably have to trust me on this. The chick is sitting up in the nest next to Mum.

The chick is visible in this one, next to Mum. It was looking at us. The old boy whistled to the female earlier and she responded by turning her head, which had been facing away from us, and was clearly looking at us in the boat.

This was the next shot I took and I've cropped the quality out of it to show it looking down at us.

What fantastic shots...our nearest nest is very high up and no way to get closer. They usually come in Feb to start the nesting procedures and then lay their eggs usually in late March by early May we have babies...usually 3 but one year something happened and only one baby...this year we had the three. I look forward to seeing them return every year.

D

Thanks Iris. It's good that you are able to see them. There were originally two chicks here, but one didn't survive. No idea exactly what happened. One day it was there, the next it had gone and both chicks had appeared to be the same size.

Funny thing happened late this afternoon. I'm used to seeing the chick hunker down when planes fly over or when yachts pass below the nest. With Christmas coming up, the river is a popular place for revellers, both on shore and in boats. A couple a young guys came stumbling merrily along the path below, one wearing a pith helmet and the other with a strange, large, red and white apparatus on his head. No idea what it was supposed to be. They saw us on the platform above and with inhibitions obviously diminished in proportion with the booze they'd consumed, scrambled up the embankment, holding their bottles so as not to spill a drop, despite the uneven and very unstable ground, greeting us like Stanley and Livingston in the African jungle. The chick took one look at them and hit the deck. Look hard and you'll see the chick eyeing the two guys with apprehension.

That chick is already a good judge of character!

Your new pictures really give us a feel for the area. It is so much fun on this end of the computer, I can only dream what it would be like to be there!

Margaret, is the mother able to catch fish also, or does her bad eye make it hard to do?

Hello Margaret, Things with the ospreys seem so be going so well. Two questions: 1). How big is the nest. 2). What kind of tree is the nest on?

Lee

Thanks and LOL cparschick. It isn't any hardship going there, let me tell you. Even if there's nothing happening at the nest, there's always activity on the river.

GP, I've never seen the female return to the nest with a fish. It's always been the male who has provided the food. And I'm sure if he's a bit lax in going off to catch a fish, she starts communicating this to him in her own sweet way.

Lee, I'm not sure what sort of tree it is/was. Possibly Jarrah. At a rough guess, I'd say the nest is approximately 8 feet across. Probably more. I'll take good notice tomorrow. Looking at it from the river this morning it looks like it would be 12 feet from top to bottom.

Thanks Margaret. Silly questions, I know but was curious. Lee

Great new pics Margaret! Thanks so much.

I love the pix! I did not realize that the nest was so visible to those on the water.

ducky

I'm just wondering if anything happened to the male, if she would be able to catch fish for herself to survive.

Found the site on google earth . . . that rock is quite distinctive!

Resin

Down the shore Osprey mates get killed quite often (hit by trucks usually) and the mate goes on until getting another mate which usually doesn't take much time at all down there. Things might be very different in Oz. Maragret; have you ever seen her fishing?

Margaret or Resin, Do you have any figures on what the approximate population of Osprey is in Oz?

Love the second shot...

I hadn't seen my Aussie for awhile but I think one that has been coming this week maybe him. I have 2 very distinct groups of squirrels. One group has "normal" shorter bushy tails, they have been absent for a good while. The other has extremely long tails. They have been around the last 2-3 months.

Lee, I believe there's no such thing as a silly question. Sometimes you might get some silly answers.

Pelle, I've never seen her fishing. I guess as her mate is such a good provider, there's no need for her to go fishing. I'll ask around. I've tried googling Osprey populations here in Oz, but just from the headings on the sites, they look as if they are pretty area specific. Resin may be more savvy on where to access that info.

Thanks Nanny. Are the squirrels with the long tails the ones who flick them around like a stockman flicking a whip?

Kim, I have kayaked around that area and even though I knew the nest was there somewhere, I never saw it (because I didn't look). I think most people are so interested in what's going on at water level, that they tend not to look up. I know from being up above the nest and looking at the river traffic, I've never seen anyone glance upwards towards the nest. There's another Osprey nest in a Norfolk Island pine along the main beach strip in Cottesloe. Those Osprey fly around all the time and people going for their power walks or more sedate strolls seem oblivious to their presence. You do see the odd person, should I say the occasional individual, looking at them.

I posted one very similar to this, above, but this is the one I actually meant to post, with the chicks wing right over its mother's back.

Margaret...that last shot is too sweet for words! Just melts your heart doesn't it?

Sorry, nothing useful on population numbers in the books I've got

Resin

You are so right about people not seeing things.
I have seen so many people in canoes and kayaks smoothy sail by eagles watching them from trees,or a blue heron being startled and sailing over their heads etc and these people don't even swivel their heads to look. Guess I am a different type of person, every little thing is a wonder for me.

That last picture is really unique. Like a mothers day card. LOL

cpart - It's almost like tunnel vision for some people isn't it? Creatures are often so well camouflaged that they are easily overlooked. Aussie really blends right in with her nest especially when she hunkers down.

I've just spent the last hour catching up. Incredible photos, enthralling story, amazing setting. Next time around, Margaret, video taping?? I'd love to see the documentary.

Thanks Rose, cparts and OP. Funny, I'm already planning to have leave around this time next year so I can see it all again and will hopefully have a digital recorder to do just that. For the first time in ages I didn't go to the nest today - too busy down the ocean. We're expecting our first hot day tomorrow (approx 97 F) so won't go until late afternoon because it would simply be too hot - and I'm going snorkeling!

I'll have to see what's available locally regarding the Osprey numbers. Thanks anyway Resin.

The picture looks like Aussie is hugging her/his mom. I am a scuba diver. I love being underwater. Enjoy!

Oh, I have always wanted to try snorkeling...have fun!!!!!!!!

Thanks. It was hotter than forecast. We got 37 C (98.6 F) and the ocean was beautiful.

I went to the Ospreys nest late this afternoon. The chick still hasn't branched and was sheltering from the still hot sun at 5.30 pm. I took very few shots today. First there wasn't much happening and second the nest was being overtaken by shade.

Hopefully tomorrow will be a little cooler. I'll check it out again late afternoon

Margaret, still keeping up with the progress of the osprey. Hope your snorkeling went 'swimmingly'. Lee

She looks more like mum everyday!!

"Mum, what's the date"?

I know I said more than a week ago that it wouldn't be long before the chick branches. Well, it hasn't so far, but during its wing exercises it lifts a couple of inches off the nest floor.

Hard to tell, but same picture cropped within an inch of its life. The feet are off the ground.

The little darling was jumping all over the nest in joyful exuberance and it stumbled. It quickly righted itself, but it was just like watching a kid at play falling over.

Helicopter

Someday soon she will be flying with all those big "birds".....how exciting!