Observations & Images
18 April 2006
Age of nestling(s) in days: 7
THE NEIGHBORS
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Observations & Images
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| A muddy sky drenched in heat and humidity illuminated a small surprise revealed through a chance alignment with an opening in the nest wall. Movement in the nest as the female ripped a fish apart turned out to be the little head of one of the hatchlings grabbing his mother's attention for a fair share---and probably a little bit more! | |
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At left is the same picture above but with a box around the hatchling to highlight its position. The hatchling's bill is open to receive food from the female Osprey. It was quite exciting to actually see the object of all this work and time the adult Ospreys have put in over the past few months. |
| Another view of food being passed to the hatchling from the mother. Based on the female Osprey's movements, she was feeding at least one or two more hatchlings that remained out of view. | |
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The white box in this image indicates the hatchling looking up at the female Osprey during a break in the feeding. |
| The Ospreys must remain ever vigilant for threats to themselves and their hatchlings. | |
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The male Osprey on his lookout perch spotted a possible threat and began making loud cries to warn away the intruder. |
| The male Osprey leapt off the perch and headed toward the intruder which turned out to be a Vulture soaring into the area. The male halted and hovered while letting loose a barrage of loud cries which was enough for the Vulture to alter its flight away from the area. | |
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Rather than return to his lookout perch the male went off and collected a stick which he brought back to the nest. |
| The male Osprey then picked up a leftover fish from the nest which he took into the pines to eat. | |
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The male flew back with the fish after he had eaten his fill. The female took the fish from him and began feeding the hatchlings again. |
THE NEIGHBORS |
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| The fish protruding from the Otter's mouth made a valiant effort to elude its hunter but the Otter proved to be the better swimmer as it chased the fish around the water. The Otter family moved on after only the briefest of visits. | |
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A male Northern Cardinal brightens up the Brazilian Pepper. |