Observations & Images
29 May 2006
Post-Nesting: Recovery?
THE NEIGHBORS
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Observations & Images
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| In a completely unexpected move the female Osprey flew into the nest around noon. | |
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She was busy for quite sometime but exactly what her activity was accomplishing could not be observed. |
| Though she was busy in the nest, she would frequently stop to look around the area. It was her excited calls that alerted me that her mate was flying in---and with a portion of fish! | |
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The male Osprey flew directly to the nest and landed. The female is crouched mostly out of view at left. Her tail feathers can be seen sticking over the side of the nest. |
| The female pounced on the fish once the male landed. | |
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The female flew off into the pines with the fish in her grasp. |
| The male flew into the pines where he was observed half-napping for over an hour. | |
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The female flew off over the Indian River Lagoon after eating. |
| After a long period she returned with wet feathers and perched to dry out. | |
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She was soon off again to return with a large and lively fish in her talons. This is the first observed instance of her bringing home a fish she caught herself and, given its size, she is clearly a capable Fish Hawk equal to her mate. |
| Interestingly, the male Osprey was following her. Perhaps he was hoping for a little reciprocation for all the times he brought home dinner. | |
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During my four hour visit the adult Ospreys only visited the nest once. The female Osprey lacked the spirit to express herself like she has been doing the past few days and when she occasionally found the energy to vocalize it was with lackluster notes that did not seem to convey any message but quickly faded away with the wind. |
THE NEIGHBORS |
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| The Turtles are enjoying the warm days by piling up on the fallen Australian Pine to bask in the Sun. They have to be approached extremely slowly for in the blink of an eye they will return to the water if their suspicious minds see anything amiss. | |
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The Pileated Woodpecker nestlings were frequently at the entrance of their nest cavity to gulp in the refreshing breeze passing by. |
| The adult Pileated Woodpeckers never approach the cavity directly but always take a round-about route stopping at many points along the way until satisfied they can approach their nest safely. | |