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Observations & Images
30 March 2006
26th day of incubating
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| An interesting afternoon that started with the male Osprey bringing the female a half-consumed fish. |
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The female Osprey, seen here at right, is always excited to see her mate and usually welcomes him with an array of vocalizations which he appears to listen to patiently. |
| The female Osprey flies off with the fish leaving her mate to care for the nest. |
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She soared around to her eating perch. |
| After eating, the female Osprey flew to a different perch where she worked on her many itches. |
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With the eggs due to hatch soon, the female Osprey can probably hardly wait to get back out into the world after all this time spent cooped up in the nest. |
| The female displayed a new, very erect posture today which, as I came to realize, was a response to the arrival of a flock of Black Vultures that had suddenly appeared overhead. |
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THE NEIGHBORS
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The flock of Black Vultures soared with the thermals from out over the Indian River Lagoon. Four of their number are visible here. |
| The Vultures drifted around in circles for awhile until the winds blew them back out over the Lagoon. The male Osprey let loose a few warning cries whenever an individual passed near the nest but otherwise the Ospreys did not react. |
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A moving object glimpsed out of the corner of my eye turned out to be a Pileated Woodpecker flying into the pines. I gave up hope of seeing it once it flew into the trees based on previous experience. |
| But, no, the Pileated Woodpecker worked its way into view climbing to the top of a dead pine trunk that towered above the tree line. |
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Was I seeing double? What a surprise when another Pileated Woodpecker appeared! Together they worked at the dead trunk sending pieces of bark flying off the tree. |
| One of the birds flew off for some reason leaving the other to work the tree alone. Shortly afterward, that bird disappeared amongst the pines. |
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Today was a day for numbers. First, a large flock of Black Vultures, second, the two Pileated Woodpeckers, and, now, an adult Otter appeared with at least four juveniles in tow! Since they never stopped moving it was hard to count them. There seemed to be Otters everywhere at once. |
| The last light of the day catches a group of Otters along the embankment. |
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