Blog #472 A Time to Spread Your Wings
A male Osprey bringing a brown bullhead home for dinner, courtesy of Cynthia Sedlacek.
There’s an air of excitement at the Salt Point Osprey nest. In a flurry of feathers and flapping wings powered by fish, O’Shea (#3) and later O’Connor (chick #1) took to the sky on their maiden voyages yesterday afternoon. On O’Shea’s second flight, she landed in the cottonwood on the left side of the screen and sat for over seven minutes before returning to the nest. She is the smallest, most nibble of the group, and was the first to fledge. Flapping flight uses a great deal of energy, and the nestlings seem constantly famished as they complete their eighth week of life.
The remains of Hurricane Beryl will pass through the Finger Lakes within the hour and the wind and dark clouds are already building. Once one brood-mate takes to the sky, the others desperately want to follow. The pressure on O’Leary (#2) to fly like her sisters is intense today, but the wind may be holding her back. Meanwhile, if not asleep, the three chicks preen their new flight feathers, contorting to scratch and oil them. O’Leary nearly did an unexpected somersault in the nest as a gust blew her over while trying to reach her tail feathers. Twice yesterday and twice so far today, O’Leary attempted flight but landed on the nest camera’s steel casing. Repeatedly she’d try to get a grip on the casing, but her sharp talons scraped the smooth metal sounding like nails scratching on a chalkboard.
Some Osprey literature claims that the chick’s seventh and eighth weeks are spent “helio-coptering” or wing-flapping while jumping to coordinate their muscle movements and build up strength in their remaining two weeks prior to fledging. Accordingly, the weather on Cayuga Lake is usually too hot in late June and July for the chicks to actively practice “wing-flapping” for flight, but they do not seem hampered when it comes time to test flights. After reading Geoffrey Ruaux, et al., The Development of Flight Behaviors in Birds, 2020, I reconsidered the age-old nurture: nature arguments in learning to fly and the importance of maturation and experience. Movements detected within the egg show that embryonic birds stretch their wings and do flap-like motion that are analogous to many of their early movements once mobile in the nest. Apparently, the chicks are always practicing these movements and do not wait for their last weeks to begin such exercise.
Maiden voyage of a young female, courtesy of Cindy Sedlacek.
“I’m airborne!” courtesy of Cindy Sedlacek.
“Now what?” courtesy of Cindy Sedlacek.
Orpheus will continue hunting for his family until each fledgling has learned to fish and migrates on her own. This year’s Salt Point offspring have a distinct advantage over younger nestlings
who typically migrate by mid-September. By fledging at such an early date, the Salt Point fledglings will have two entire months to learn freshwater fishing and the location of his home more before migrating south for two winters.
Most maiden voyages are short, smooth, and yet terribly exciting. As we saw yesterday on the nest cam, the young bird approaches the nest rim with the deportment of an international cliff diver, leaping up and out before taking flight, and then looking down. Most aspects of flight are instinctual for birds, but landings take finesse.
Once a fledgling is airborne, it’s mother may protectively shadow it if it is flying too far. The fledglings tend to be rather skillful flying on their maiden voyages, but landing is another story that requires practice to land safely and gracefully. Elsewhere, parents have been seen guiding their fledglings back to the nest as first-time landings on branches and snags require practice to master.
Most maiden voyages go smoothly, but microbursts, severe wind, and unexpected gusts can blow nestlings prematurely to the ground leaving the fledge marooned on the ground. If you find such a young Osprey on the ground, ensure it is in a safe place and leave it alone until you determine if it can fly. Please keep an eye out for predators and hazards. It will most likely fly up to the nest once it composes itself. If the bird looks uninjured but is in a dangerous site, throw a blanket over the bird and slide it to a safer location. Again, keep an eye out for predators like foxes.
If you find an injured Osprey or another animal, please immediately notify the Janet L. Swanson Wildlife Health Center at 607-253-3060. Thank you! The Swanson Center, an annex of the Cornell University Hospital for Animals, is a veterinary hospital dedicated solely to the treatment of ill or injured native wild animals. They provide expert medical and surgical care for over 1,000 patients annually, from locally and across the state of New York, to release them back to the wild. The Wildlife Health Center operates within Cornell University, a registered nonprofit, and relies largely on public donations.
Eyes to the sky!
Candace
Candace E. Cornell
Salt Point Natural Area
Cayuga Lake Osprey Network
EYES ON OSPREYS
WATCH!
Salt Point Osprey Cam 2024 LIVE!
Salt Point Osprey Nest Cam 2019-23
READ!
On Osprey Time: a blog about all things Osprey
VISIT!
Cayuga Lake Osprey Trail Nests Driving Tour
Complete Cayuga Lake Osprey Trail
HELP PROTECT OSPREYS:
• Stay 100-300 feet away from Osprey nests during the breeding season.
If the Osprey vocalizes or flies off the nest you are too close!
BACK OFF IMMEDIATELY.
• Carry binoculars to view wildlife from afar.
• Dispose of used fishing lines, twine, nets, and plastics which
can kill Ospreys and other animals of the lakeshore.
• Become a nest monitor for the Cayuga Osprey Network: cec222@gmail.com.
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