On Osprey Time

The Stewart Park Osprey catching a white sucker, courtesy of Cynthia Sedlacek . The third Salt Point hatchling made its debut into the world on Saturday, May 28, in the early morning and immediately joined its siblings as they slept in a pile. About an hour later, all three hatchlings made their way over to Ursula who was tearing apart a yellow perch. All three wee bobbleheads gaped with their beaks wide open trying to get the attention of their mother.  Two days later, the third chick can hold its head high and wobble its way around the nest to stay near its mother, the source of food and warmth. Osprey hatchlings are born “semi-precocial” or semi-helpless, down covered with eyes open and able to eat within a few hours of birth. They stand weakly with their heads bobbing and begging at any movement. The three will collapse into a huddle, each seeking the warmth of their siblings.  This year’s names for the hatchlings will be borrowed from the islands of Hawaii, a state rich i...

Every unwanted intrusion toward the nest is met with alarms, shrieks, defensive posturing, and counter-attacks if necessary. Ursula stays in the nest protecting her brood as Orpheus does the combat. It’s a tranquil morning at the Salt Point Natural Area. A merganser swims by with her brood of 12 vying for positions on her back as geese explode from the creek in a raucous explosion of honking. Ursula watches all the happenings from her catbird seat 50 feet above where she dutifully broods her young. Suddenly, Ursula casts her view directly overhead and gives off low-level alarm calls. As the intruder circles , coming closer, Ursula turns up the intensity of her defensive display by mantling and alarming louder. Orpheus. Joins her defense of the nest. Her shrieks become more intense as the distance closes between her and this insistent intruder. She stands, beating her wings and, in a rare move, takes off after the intruder, leaving her young hatchlings behind. The sequence of her behavi...

Ursula feeds her first two chicks (2 days and 0.5 days old). While screening this morning’s footage, I was stunned to see two tiny bobble-headed hatchlings wiggling under their mother. Since the first egg did not fully hatch until about 4 p.m. on Tuesday, May 24, I assumed the next egg would hatch 48 hours later, making it tonight or tomorrow. Ursula is full of surprises and is proving herself a capable young mother so far. This morning’s footage shows her feeding a yellow perch to both hatchlings as well as eating some herself. Even though this is Orpheus’s ninth brood, he is acting more curious than ever about these wee creatures stirring in his nest. He often walks around the rim of the nest, looking as if envious of his incubating mate, and stopping to examine the young when Ursula lifts to readjust.  One more egg to go. Third eggs are usually slightly less pigmented than the others in the clutch. This is probably due to Ursula having less pigment left in her shell gland produc...