On Osprey Time

  Ursula mother feeding her 4.5-week-old offspring, courtesy of Cynthia Sedlacek. Four and a half weeks into the nestling period, the three chicks are almost adult size with the two oldest weighing just shy of a pound each. Full-grown adult males usually weigh 2 pounds, and females can be up to 4.4 pounds. Sleeping through most of the day and all night, the pile of chicks springs to life whenever their father, Orpheus, brings a fish to the nest. When awake, the nestlings waddle around the nest with their enormous feet, backing up to the rim to relieve themselves, and peering over the rim at the people below. They use their wings for balance and rock forward on them to get a good stretch. When it’s mealtime, the eager chicks make their way across the nest to get fed by their mother Ursula. Once their crops—their storage organs—are full of food, they find a place to snooze, usually in the shade of the greenery that has sprouted at the nest. This is Ursula’s second brood (at this nest), a

  Ursula flying back to her nest, courtesy of Cindy Sedlacek. Many amphibians, mammals, birds, and marine and freshwater fish migrate to more favorable habitats outside their normal ranges when pressured by climate changes. Our oceans and inland waterways are constantly mixing temperatures, chemistries, and nutrients, causing resident fish to adjust. Other more static aquatic organisms, confined to their environment, have no such opportunity and must adapt or die out. Throughout the millennia, climate change has influenced global biodiversity and impacted the structure and function of natural ecosystems. Adapting to today’s climate changes and man’s influences on the environment is among the most serious challenges facing wildlife and the ecosystems they depend on. Since the life of Ospreys are intricately tied to the freshwater fish they eat, let us look at how fluctuating annual temperatures, precipitation, and weather patterns affects Osprey prey species in fresh water lakes in the

  The 2023 Stewart Park (Youth Bureau) nestlings at @ 3 weeks, courtesy Cindy Sedlacek. At the end of their third week, the Stewart   Park (Youth Bureau)   nestlings are healthy and busily eyeing the world around them. They can now regulate their own body temperatures and cool themselves by panting and by laying in the shade of their mother standing with her wings out in the “mombrella” pose. Nestlings are susceptible to excess heat and cold and must be kept well-covered. They must find shelter during sunny days to prevent dehydration and UV exposure. In bad weather including cold snaps and rainstorms, they must stay warm. Wet chicks can perish when stressed. A major stress arrived without warning from the smoke of the Canadian wildfires, especially on hot days when they pant for hours. It is probable that weak nestlings in the smoke-affected area will succumb to the poor air quality ‘Mombrella’ pose of the mother shades her three chicks, courtesy of Cindy Sedlacek. Note the dark down

  “Mombrella” Ursula shading her three chicks (two are visible), courtesy of Cynthia Sedlacek. The Salt Point nestlings are growing like lightening, as they double their weight every week. In their third week, their staggered birth order is evident. Daily changes are visible as the young birds grow adult feathers and gain muscle strength and coordination. The three offspring are imprinting and forming critical attachments to their parents, and learning the finer points of being an Osprey. It is a race against time: the sooner the young mature, the more time they will have to learn critical life skills—flying and fishing—that must be mastered before migrating thousands of miles in September. Weeks four through six is a very intense period of rapid growth and behavioral development during which the nestlings practice flapping and helicoptering into the air. They approach their adult size by day 30. Food demands are highest during this rapid growth phase making fledglings vulnerable to st