On Osprey Time

  Ursula shading and feeding her 6-week-old offspring, courtesy of Cynthia Sedlacek. Summer feels like it’s in full swing with temperatures soaring in the 80s and 90s. When not fishing, Orpheus takes cover in the cottonwoods, but his family is fully exposed to the elements. Despite the high temperatures, life in the Salt Point nest is progressing smoothly. There have been fewer intruders pestering the family this month, which means Ursula can devote her energy and concentration to her brood. However, a second-year eagle has been carrying out reconnaissance flights past the nest frequently in the early morning, triggering momentary apprehension, but causing no harm… as yet. The fully feathered 6-week-old chicks weigh over a pound each. When full-grown the adult males will weigh 2 pounds, and females will be up to 4.4 pounds. From week 4 until week 6, the young go through a rapid transformation as represented by the red circle around the inflection point—the so-called “super-fast growth

  Female perched on her nest in a mangrove tree, courtesy of Ben Wurst. An Osprey’s nest is a wonder of nature’s engineering, a seemingly disordered bundle of sticks woven into a cohesive structure. Ever wonder how strong and resilient an Osprey nest is? My interest was piqued during trips to see the Caribbean Osprey  ( Pandion haliaetus ridgwayi )  in the Turks & Caicos islands located a hundred miles  north of  Hispaniola. This subspecies is much paler than our northern Ospreys and has a weakly defined to no eye stripe across the eye.  In 2014, my husband and I surveyed every Osprey nest we could find in five days on Providenciales, the largest of 75 small islands and isolated cays, and North and Middle Caicos. We documented details of materials, general design, substrate, habitat, and activity. Transportation to the other islands and cays, where Osprey were known to nest, was not possible during our limited stay. Akin to their northern brethren, the Caribbean Osprey nested on a

  Orpheus rising from the lake with a large fish in the mouth, courtesy of Cindy Sedlacek. One week…two weeks… now three-weeks old and time is flying for the Salt Point chicks. Their race against time has reached the midpoint of their phenomenal transformation from newly hatched balls of down to their fully-grown adult forms  by day 30.  The sooner the young grow and mature, the more time they will have to master flying and fishing skills critical to their survival. Having more time to hone these life skills better prepares the fledglings for their grueling solo autumnal migrations to their new winter homes thousands of miles away in South America. Incredibly, the nestlings' growth is visible day after day as their adult feathers emerge and the birds gain muscle strength and coordination. The three nestlings– O’Connor, O’Leary, O’Shea– are imprinting and forming critical attachments with their parents and learning the finer points of being an Osprey. Food demands are highest during