Blog #288 Empty Nest

Lucky on her maiden flight, July 18. Screenshot from Salt Point Osprey Cam. 

Lucky had been practicing his wing flaps and looking very lonely on the nest every time  Hope would leave him alone. Lucky showed great excitement whenever Hope would fly  and land. Lucky’s first fight came right after Hope left the nest on the morning of July 18: The flight was fueled by pure enthusiasm. Like many first flights, it was short with a  

modicum of control as he beat his wings continuously to stay afloat. Gaining altitude  was problematic as was steering, but he made it back to the nest. With time and practice, he will become a skilled aerialist in the grand Osprey tradition.  

Lucky’ time spent study his sister’s flying prowess was not for naught as he instantly  picked up some of the take-off techniques Hope did not achieve until several days in the  air. By the second day, Lucky was a capable flier. It’s easy to spot the novice flyers as  they continually correct their wings to balance as they fly.

Lucky’s first time in the air under the watchful eyes of Ophelia. Screenshot from Salt Point Osprey Cam. 

One thing is true of all fledglings, they make awkward first, second, and third landings.  Some fledglings don’t get the hang of it for quite a while, but accidents are few. Landing  skills seem to be independent of other flight skills and are perfected at each individual’s  pace. Every landing is fraught with issues: either the young birds approach the nest too  

shallow or steeply and too rapidly or they need altitude to reach the nest and barely  make it. Fledglings get tangled in leaves and repeatedly try to land on a twigs too weak  to support it. Landings are safest on the nest where there is room for miscalculations.  Landing on branches with leaves takes added precision and skill. Bare snags or  branches in the open are the easiest to land on.  

When the fledglings get more accustomed to flight they begin to fly from one perch to  another, but the activity still centers around the nest. The young explore the area farther  from the nest: flights now include flying north over the lake at the North Cove and to the  south along the near shore of Salmon Creek. Soon they will expand their flights east to  the meadow and start flying in a wide loop around Salt Point. As a fledgling becomes  more practiced, its flights become more elaborate, longer in duration, and more frequent as they expand the area they explore. 

Fledglings playing tag. 

Flying after siblings and playing tag is a popular sport among young ospreys, as well as  hounding other birds such as crows, gulls, great blue herons, and falcons for the fun of  it. The fledglings, flying enthusiastically, enjoy chasing each other or other birds in the  air. Gulls are a particular favorite to follow and dive bomb, although the gulls ignore it.  Hope started chasing a gull yesterday who reciprocated and the two took turns being  the aggressor as the flew circles over the lake. 

Ophelia, Lucky (in back), and Hope on the. Salt Point nest.

During most meals, Ophelia officiates preventing fights over the fish. She feeds her  offspring long after they can tear the fish by themselves, which is atypical for a raptors.  

Mother feeding fledgling, courtesy of Andy Morffew. Courtesy of Andy Morffew. 

Her actions probably serve to curtail competition among siblings and reduce the amount  of fish that is dropped to the ground while siblings squabble.  

Fledgling calling for dinner, courtesy of Andy Morffew.

The Osprey nest may look empty now, but it is still the site of regular family meals three  times a day and the concurrent commotion. The fledglings still use it to nap, although  the trees are preferable on the hottest hours. In between bouts of play and fishing  practice the fledglings are often perched on nearby snags and open branches.  

Like their parents, fledglings react strongly to intruders flying by the nest. The other day,  when Hope and Lucky were alone in the nest when another fledgling flew too close.  Later in the day, a fledgling, resembling the one seen earlier flew by again, back  tracked, and circled the nest again. Hope and Lucky screamed alarm calls as they  spread their wings, protectively mantling the nest. This unknown fledgling is probably  from a near the Cargill nest, which has fledged young. When they are older, Hope and  Lucky will join their parents in pursuing strangers.  

Eyes to the sky!  

Candace  

Candace E. Cornell  

Friends of Salt Point  

Lansing, NY 

cec222@gmail.com 

Featured photographer: 

Andy Morffew is a nature photographer, originally from England, who travels the world  capturing images of plants and animals. Andy spends half the year in the U.K. and half  in Florida and traveling about the U.S.