Blog #413 Lessons in Play

This year’s crop of Cayuga Lake Ospreys fledglings are busy learning how to fish, a huge hurdle before gaining freedom. The nests are now used as a gathering place for the family. Meals are regularly brought to the nest and eaten there or taken to a tree. Time at the nest is limited to meals and sleeping at night, although fledglings often sit on the nest during the off-hours. As the fledglings become more adept at fishing, they will lose their affinity for their nest. 


 

Lani and Makani chased each other for fun, courtesy of Cindy Sedlacek.


Several weeks before fledging, Orpheus reduced the amount of food brought to the nest, possibly to encourage the young to fledge. Once they did, mealtimes went back to normal as the fledglings need their parent’s nutritional support while they learn to become proficient hunters. 


(Top and bottom) Lani and Makani chasing in the sky, courtesy of Karel and Cindy Sedlacek.


In the Northeast, young Ospreys usually remain at or near their nest for at least 10–40 days after learning to fly, during which time their fathers continue to bring fish to their offspring. Ursula, like other mothers, will migrate in mid-August, leaving the final rearing of the young birds to Orpheus.


Moana and Makani fight for the possession of the fish, courtesy of Cynthia Sedlacek.

Orpheus brings a white sucker to the nest, courtesy of Cynthia Sedlack.


to the fathers. For the first few weeks, the young follow their fathers on hunting trips to learn the best fishing spots. When the young are roughly three months old, they begin hunting on their own if they have not done so already. The race is on as they must migrate in September.


Orpheus catching a fish, courtesy of Cynthia Sedlacek.


The young are always within earshot of their protective parents. Salt Point’s fledglings often perch in the shade of the cottonwoods along Salmon Creek but fly to the nest when hungry. They beg incessantly until they hear Orpheus’s cries signaling a fish delivery to the nest. 


Yesterday a great blue heron crossed paths with Moana in flight, and immediately Ursula gave the heron the bum’s rush. She chased after it, diving occasionally, until the heron, squawking for dear life, was out of sight. Later in the day, Lani gave chase to an immature ring-bill gull who quickly turned the tables on him, becoming the aggressor.


Immature ring-bill chasing Lani after he teased the gull, courtesy of Cynthia Sedlacek.


Between meals and naps, the fledglings play to develop skills needed for defending their future nests and families. What looks like aggressive fighting in the nest teaches the fledglings many of the finer points of defending their future nests.

Moana pushed Makani off her perch, courtesy of Cynthia Sedlack.




Eyes to the sky! 

   

Candace 


Candace E. Cornell 

Friends of Salt Point 

Cayuga Osprey Network

Lansing, NY 

cec222@gmail.com 



Guest Photographer:

Cynthia Sedlacek, musician and Director of Data Administration and Reporting at Cornell University, is a surprising artistic talent. Cynthia’s affection and admiration for raptors are evident in her exciting photographs primarily of Ospreys nesting around Cayuga Lake and the red-tailed hawks of the Cornell Campus. Her photographs of local Ospreys are incomparable as she captures their essence, their jizz, and their inner bird. From the hard-to-see nestlings to the fast-flying adults, Cindy goes beyond the pale to catch all aspects of Osprey life in the Cayuga Basin. “My camera allows me to capture their beauty in many ways that the human eye can’t see,” she says, “like their spectacular wing positions and detailed feather patterns.” Cindy and her husband Karel are also avid nest monitors for the Cayuga Lake Osprey Network and video stream footage of the campus hawks.


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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


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