Blog # 351 Ospreys, Ospreys, Everywhere

Rosie and Lilibit flying in tandem in the sky, courtesy of Karel and Cindy Sedlacek. 

The Olympic Synchronized Divers have nothing on Salt Point’s tandem-flying fledglings.  Olan and Rosie rise in the sky in perfect tandem, crying out as they circle, dip, and  bank, anticipating each other’s moves. They are joined by Lili for a game of three-way  tag out over the lake. Today’s wind is strong and unpredictable, carrying the three birds aloft and tossing them about. Even the flight-tested gulls are having trouble staying in  the air. Wind currents abruptly switch directions leaving the Osprey without air beneath their wings. Leaning far to the left and falling wing first, Olan luckily caught another current to rise on. Suddenly finding himself hundreds of feet in the air being buffeted by  the wind, Olan decided to return to the nest. He traced conservative wide circles as he  slowly came into better view. 

Rosie rising in the air, courtesy of Karel and Cindy Sedlacek. 

Osprey Flight 

What bliss to rise 

from earthly weighted plain, 

leaving gravity for cloud-reft sky, 

touching the heights with something 

new to gain, 

up where tomorrow's 

nascent dreams may lie. 

 – Mary Lou Healy 

Olan and Rosie chase each other and the hapless gulls. At first their games were  centered around the nest area and the water just off the Point. Now their range includes  the hills along the shore and is expanding daily. All three fledglings are constantly exploring not only the landscape below, but the air currents as well. They must learn the feel of the different elevations and the forces affecting them as they fly. These  neophytes rock side to side like turkey vultures, trying to maintain their course. 

Sailing over the peninsula with a blue sky as a background, the young appear smaller  as they head toward the clouds. Circling over land and water, they are imprinting on the  sights, sounds, and smells of Salt Point, the gorge waterfalls and flowing creeks, the  laughter of children, the washing of waves on the shore, and the chugging slow train. The young explore the terrain, memorizing its features for the future—for their return  migration two years hence. Olan climbs steeply into the blue sky only to suddenly  plunge toward earth, obviously practicing his dives for hunting. Flying back to the nest  along Salmon Creek, Olan startled a great blue heron whose blood-curdling cries garner  unwarranted sympathy for the flying Pterodactyl. 

Orpheus brings a fish and Rosie and Olan dive for it. Lili is waiting her turn. 

At 11:10 AM, Lili starts begging at the nest and is soon joined by her squawking  siblings. The trio beg incessantly until Orpheus goes off to fish. Olan joins him leaving  Rosie and Lili begging. About fifteen minutes later and with huge fanfare, Olan returns  to the nest—a small fish in tow. His siblings go berserk. Olan hits the camera housing  with his wing, as often happens on his landings, making it clang in celebration of his  catch—his second ever (captured on the Osprey camera). Crying out, the fledglings  jockey for positions close to the perch trying to grab it. Olan mantles his prey to protect 

Olan bathing after eating, courtesy of Karel and Cindy Sedlacek. 

it until leaving with his prize. Announcing his accomplishment to all, he flies around the  nest squawking and dangling the small perch until settling in a cottonwood to eat. 

Like a good Osprey, Olan washes his talons after his meal. For days he had been flying  low over the water, testing it. This keen interest is a precursor to fishing and an  important way for the bird to explore the properties of water and sense its texture,  temperature, and fluidity. Feeling confident to touch it, the young aerialist flew over the  water dipping down to drag his talons across the surface ever so lightly, leaving a small wake. Olan’s talons touched the water four times in a row like a skipping stone. Circling  back to the nest, he playfully dive-bombed a small group of floating ring-billed gulls  scattering them in a noisy confusion of white feathers.  

The nest is oddly quiet as the begging has stopped, and the birds took to the  cottonwoods. Where is Orpheus with their lunch? Olan and Lili begin a call-and response round, exchanging begging cries from their respective branches. Gulls flocking around the end of the Point cry pleadingly as an entourage of mallard ducklings  browse in the weeds. Everyone at the Point is hungry—it’s lunch time.

Fledglings Rosie and Olan in tree, courtesy of Karel and Cindy Sedlacek. 

Strong winds and white caps make lake fishing challenging, but Salmon Creek has  finally cleared the murky sediment from all the summer storms and looks promising for  angling. Meanwhile, Ophelia sits in the cottonwood silently watching her brood. She can  fish for herself now, and is no longer dependent upon Orpheus. With her maternal  duties coming to a conclusion, she flies about, building back muscles that became  flaccid over the breeding season. Ophelia will leave any day now on a well-deserved,  leisurely migration to her wintering home in South America. Like her home at Salt Point, 

she returns to the same place in the tropics each winter to live in the tropical trees and  fish. 

Like clockwork, the fledglings all gather at the nest at noon followed by Orpheus toting a  foot-long white sucker. The three young hawks cheered. Wings unfolded, getting  entirely in the way, as the birds got ready to devore the catch. 

Lilibit look at the camera at the Salt Point nest, courtesy of Karel and Cindy Sedlacek. 

Eyes to the sky! 

 and be kind to one another. 

Candace  

Candace E. Cornell 

Friends of Salt Point  

Cayuga Osprey Network 

Lansing, NY  

cec222@gmail.com 

Guest Photographers: 

Karel and Cindy Sedlacek are for the birds. Both musicians and data analysts for  Cornell, the Sedlacek’s are usually on the trail of a red-tailed hawk somewhere on the  Cornell University or Syracuse University campus, videotaping their daily behaviors.  Karel and Cindy share my passion for Ospreys and monitor nine Osprey nests in the  Ithaca area for the Cayuga Osprey Network. Cindy has a knack for capturing the spirit  of our local Ospreys in her stunning photographs. Thank you, Karel and Cindy. 

EYES ON OSPREYS 

WATCH! 

Salt Point Osprey Nest Cam 2021 

READ! 

On Osprey Time—A Blog on the Ospreys of Salt Point 

VISIT! 

Cayuga Lake Osprey Trail