Blog #285 To touch the sky!

Lucky wingersizes after Hope just finishes. Screenshot from Salt Point Osprey Nest Camera. 

Fledging is a watershed moment for an Osprey—a rite of passage into adulthood.  Learning to fly is the first important step toward independence and requires confidence  and practice.  

If they follow the calendar, Hope will fledge any day now and Lucky is not far behind.  This is perhaps the most entertaining time at the nest as attempts at flight turn into a  comedy of errors. The nest, which looked so cavernous in April, is now overcrowded  with young birds spreading their wings as they ready to fledge.

The fledgling are the size of adults with most of their feathers, making the nest a bit crowded. Screenshot from Salt Point Osprey Nest Camera. 

Since the weather has been so hot, they are only able to “wingersize”—building up flight  muscles coined by nest cam watchers—in the cooler mornings and might need an extra  

Hope gets some air! Screenshot from Salt Point Osprey Nest Camera.

Fledgling practicing “wingersizing.” Courtesy of Andy Morffew. 

day or two before their maiden voyages. Both birds have been conscientious with these  exercises. Lucky and Hope can be seen “helicoptering”—jumping up and down while  flapping practicing hovering. They got some air today. The fledglings continually play  copy-cat—whatever Hope does Lucky will soon repeat. Emblematic footage of their  early morning flight practice can be found on the Salt Point Nest Camera for Jul 11,  2020 entitled “Hope wingersizes, flies to perch 20200711 111401 20200711 112314.” 

If the breeze is strong enough and the bird responds by rapidly flapping its wings, the  fledgling may take its first awkward flight. First flights often end quickly and, ideally, with  the fledgling landing back in the nest or on a nearby perch. 

Flight, no matter how instinctual, requires practice to develop strength and finesse. All  young birds on their first flights look unsteady, but young Ospreys take klutziness to a  whole new level. Orpheus and Ophelia watch protectively at this stage. Some observers  report parents using food to tempt their young to make their first leap; however, much is  left to interpretation by the observer.  

Hope and Lucky now have the freedom to walk around the nest, feed themselves,  spend long sessions preening, and stare for hours at the world below. Despite their  instincts to exercise their wings and practice flying, hot weather reduces their  motivation. Hope and Lucky practice their wing flapping in the morning until the heat of the day and sleep takes over. One day, if the breeze is strong enough a practice hover  will turn into a short awkward flight as the wind catches the young Osprey's wings and  takes it into the air. After a short flight around the platform, the fledgling will hopefully  land in the nest or on the platform. The fledglings seem disoriented when it happens.

Hope wingersizes and “flies” to the nest perch. Screenshot from Salt Point Osprey Nest Camera.

Lucky sneaks under Ophelia for some shade. Screenshot from Salt Point Osprey Nest Camera. 

If a strong gust blows a fledge off the nest so that it makes an awkward, uncertain  landing on a tree branch, a parent may fly to its side, modeling proper landing and  takeoff techniques. With coaching and practice, the young Osprey’s first awkward flaps  soon turn to soaring the skies.  

Fledgling from the Long Point nest stranded on the ground with its parents nearby.

Occasionally a fledgling lands on the platform and has trouble maneuvering back to the  nest. Often with encouragement by Ophelia, the fledge eventually will make the short  flight or walk back to the nest. Sometimes a fledgling will crash-land on the platform with an audible thud, or miss the nest entirely on the first pass and struggle to try a second  landing. It’s when the young birds are caught by the wind and land inadvertently on the  ground that they are at risk.  

Ospreys are magnificent flyers and skillful anglers but are not built for maneuvering on  land as are eagles and hawks. The young osprey fledglings look particularly out of their  element on the ground—so much so that people often mistakenly think they are wounded. As long as the bird is not near any hazards, it’s best to leave it alone. The  fledgling’s parents will most likely be on guard and feed it until it is strong enough to get  lift and fly. 

Subsequent short flights will follow the maiden voyage, and after a few days of flying,  the fledgling is adept at using the wind and positioning its wings properly. Landing  properly takes longer to master and can be comical in the beginning of the young bird’s  flight career. It takes practice, practice, and more practice for the young Ospreys to  become expert aerialists. 

Eyes to the sky! 

Candace 

Candace E. Cornell  

Friends of Salt Point  

Lansing, NY 

cec222@gmail.com 

What to do if you find an injured animal? 

Call the Swanson Center at 607-253-3060.  

The Janet L. Swanson Wildlife Health Center, an annex of the Cornell University  Hospital for Animals, is a veterinary hospital dedicated solely to the treatment of ill or  injured native wild animals. They provide expert medical and surgical care for over  1,000 patients annually, from locally and across the state of New York, with the goal of  releasing them back to the wild. The Wildlife Health Center operates within Cornell  University, a registered nonprofit, and relies largely on public donations. 

ALL EYES ON OSPREYS 

WATCH! 

Salt Point Osprey Nest Cam 

READ! 

On Osprey Time 

Ospreys of Salt Point 

VISIT! 

Cayuga Lake Osprey Trail