On Osprey Time

  O Orpheus brings a brown bullhead for dinner. Screen shot from Salt Point Osprey Nest Cam.   Hope (50 days old) and Lucky (47 days old) have been busy building up wing muscles   and coordinate their wing and foot movements. In just over a week or so, usually around   60 days old, the young birds will take their first flights. They have been practicing flying,  but need to work on their wing coordination and power strokes. Flight training is a   serious business as they race toward fledging.   Family gathered at evening, (L-R) Lucky, Orpheus, Hope, and Ophelia.  Screen shot from Salt Point Osprey Nest Cam.   Hope and Lucky are now considered “fledglings” as they prepare for their first flights in a  week or two. Now the size of their parents with a full complement of adult feathers, the  only thing holding them back is their muscle strength. Normally the fledglings would be  spending much of their time practicing wing flapping...

  Orpheus bringing dinner to his family after the rain. Screenshot from the Salt Point Osprey Nest Cam.  The fully feathered Salt Point chicks are about six weeks old and almost the size of their  parents. The nestlings have been flapping their wings since they were small, but now  the flapping is more purposeful with far less space within the nest. Long before they  have any chance of flying, these nestlings practice flapping their wings to build their  flight muscles. At six weeks old, both chicks have a full complement of  flight feathers. Yesterday, first-born Hope started coordinating his/her wings and feet by walking around the nest flapping, and Lucky emulated this behavior today.   With foot-long bodies and nearly three-foot wing spans, the exercising chicks turn the  nest into a crowded gym. To avoid the whirl of wings and large, ungainly feet and  talons, Ophelia takes refuge on the nest rim or nest box perch.  Opheli...

  Many of us look to the sky to see a flock of birds flying by assuming they were like  robots going about their business. Robots, indeed! Birds are living, breathing, thinking,  sensing animals not that different than for us humans in many ways. An Osprey’s  experience is far richer, more complex, more deliberate, and thoughtful way than  humans ever imagined. Their lives are filled with obligations and risks, posing  challenges to surviving and having a successful family life.  Ophelia gently feeding fish to Lucky (left) while Hope waits (right).   Screenshot from the Salt Point Osprey Nest Cam.  Ospreys interact with the environment and make decisions constantly. Nest building, for  example, is instinctive and even nestlings get into the act, moving sticks and grass  around. The decision of where to build a nest is based on numerous parameters involving food availability, visibility, available substrates, and protection from...

What is the most prominent feature you see when you look at an Osprey? I see it’s huge front-facing eyes. Adult Ospreys have brilliant yellow eyes, but they are not born  with this color eye as it is hormonally regulated. The osprey’s eye color changes from  dark blue when first hatched to blood red in nestlings to orange-yellow in juveniles,  which remain like this for their migration to South America. When ospreys return north  to breed at the age of two or three, however, their eyes are bright yellow!  For birds of prey, including Ospreys, keen eyesight is absolutely critical for finding food,  spotting predators, and generally staying alive. However, Ospreys lead an active life  that could be very hard on the eyes: flying and diving under water at breakneck speeds to capture spiny, struggling fish can inflict damage.  The translucent nictitating membrane with a bluish tinge covering   the eyeball of this panting adult Osprey, courtes...