Blog #453 Learn to Hunt or Go Hungry

 

Lilly flies about Salt Point, courtesy of Cindy Sedlacek.

The Salt Point fledglings are in their twelfth week at Salt Point and busily exploring the area. Since fledging, the young have spent their airtime perfecting the art of play, flying in circles, steering amongst the trees, and chasing any bird they can find. Proper landing techniques and being able to balance on perches come with repetition as the young become more confident.

All three fledglings use the small cottonwood snag on the lake edge for perching, preening, and resting between flights around the point. The fledglings sit on this perch for hours staring at the water as they develop search images of the fish they will soon hunt. Clinging to branches in the wind, they exchange distinctive low, repetitive whistles.

The other day, two of the Salt Point fledglings demonstrated how they continually adjust their balance and footing with the help of their wings. If a fledgling falls backwards, it counters by rowing its wings backwards as fast as it can.

The fledglings whistle and chatter to each other as they fly about the trees and change perches. The sound gets louder as they repeatedly trade positions, playfully switching between the cottonwood snag and the nest. It’s mealtime and the young gather around

the nest in anticipation of Orpheus’ arrival with a fish. Brown bullheads are the main

Twelve-week-old fledglings chase each other in play as they perfect their flying skills, by Cindy Sedlacek.

catch from the silty waters of Salmon Creek. Both Orpheus and Ursula have to hunt to keep up with the demanding fledglings. Fish is usually just dropped in the nest for the fledglings to share although occasionally a parent will stay around for part of the meal.

The fledglings still eat at the nest, but with increasing frequency, they take part or all of the fish to a perch to eat. Eating a fish on a branch is yet another skill that must be perfected. When Lilly took her first meal to the snag, she balanced the fish morsel on a branch instead of holding onto it and, predictably, it fell to the water. Ospreys usually don’t retrieve dropped fish. About an hour later, she brought a second morsel to the snag and lost this piece as well. The third time was the charm.

Fledglings chasing each other, courtesy of Cindy Sedlacek.

Playful opponent flattens in submission as attacker makes a second pass, courtesy of Cindy Sedlacek.

Fledgling flying over the water, courtesy of Cindy Sedlacek.

Landing on a swaying treetop in the wind can be learned, but there’s an art to sticking a landing on a thin moving branch. Compound that with learning to keep your balance and the challenge of landing becomes clear.

Earlier this morning, all five Salt Point Ospreys were flying together returning from Salmon Creek—five magnificent Ospreys in the air at once! It was thrilling. Orpheus

split off to hunt as Ursula and her young chased each other, playing follow- the-leader and circling Salt Point and Myers Park.

The fledglings perched in the trees along the west shore for over three hours yesterday staring at the fish in the water. Fishing from a perch or a drop dive is the first method they learn, and the easiest. In a week or so, when they are proficient at the drop dive, they will graduate to the iconic high-soaring plunge diving technique beloved by all Osprey observers.

The birds start the dive with a reconnaissance flight about 100-200 feet above the lake looking for accessible fish. When a fish is spotted, the bird hoovers until the prey is locked in its sights. Suddenly, the Osprey will dive head first, like a missile locked on its target, heading for the water at 50-60 mph. All this time the bird is correcting for the movement of the fish. Just as it reaches the water, the bird pulls a wheelie, jutting its legs in front of its head with claws wide open. It plunges into the water grabbing the fish and rows its wings backwards to reach the surface again. The Osprey adjusts the fish in its claws so that the fish is aerodynamically head first and easier to fly with.

In the winter season when the Ospreys only have themselves to feed, they use both fishing methods. Ospreys wintering along southern coastlines must plunge dive from high above when hunting schooling fish like their favorite menhaden and flounders. However, those spending their winter along tropical rivers typically revert to using the easier drop dive when fishing.

The Salt Point fledglings are developing their life skills quickly, and have at least six more weeks before they must leave. By then they should be strong, flexible flyers and skilled hunters, ready to take on the challenge of their lives—fall migration.

Fledgling dips in the water, courtesy of Cindy Sedlacek.

Eyes to the sky!

Candace

Candace E. Cornell

Friends of Salt Point Lansing, NY

Cayuga Lake Osprey Network 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.

EYES ON OSPREYS

WATCH!

Salt Point Osprey Nest Cam 2022-23

READ!

 On Osprey Time: Ospreys of the Finger Lakes

VISIT!

Cayuga Lake Osprey Trail Nests Driving Tour

Complete Cayuga Lake Osprey Trail

HELP PROTECT OSPREYS:

•Stay 300 feet away from nests during the breeding season.

If the Osprey vocalizes, you are too close! BACK OFF IMMEDIATELY.

•Carry binoculars to view wildlife from afar.

•Recycle used fishing lines, twine, and nets, which can kill Osprey.

•Join the Cayuga Osprey Network: cec222@gmail.com.

•Help keep local waters clean, healthy, and safe. Pick up trash and do not litter. Trash stays in the ecosystem a long time before it disintegrates. Plastic simply breaks down into smaller pieces.

Aluminum Can-------------------80 to 100 years

Plastic 6-pack Holder----------100 years

Orange or Banana Peel-------Up to 2 years

Plastic Film Container---------20 to 30 years

Plastic Bags----------------------10 to 20 years

Glass Bottles---------------------1,000,000 years

Plastic Coated Paper----------5 years

Nylon Fabric---------------------30 to 40 years

Leather----------------------------1 to 5 years

Wool Socks----------------------1 to 5 years

Tin Cans--------------------------50 years

    Source: NYSDEC