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Observations & Images
6 March 2006
2nd day of incubating
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| The female Osprey was settled in the nest when I arrived. Her actions in moving around the nest a repeat of yesterday. |
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The male appeared carrying a bloody, headless fish which greatly excited the female. More than likely, the male tore off the head and ate his fill before bringing the fish to his mate. |
| The male quickly relinquished the fish to the female. |
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The male settled down into the nest as soon as the female departed with the fish. She lifts off with only one foot grasping the fish carcass. |
| When Ospreys catch a fish, they will rotate it around so the fish's head is facing forward and the fish's body aligned with the Osprey's body so as to reduce aerodynamic drag and make carrying the weight a bit easier. Here the female can be seen placing her free foot onto the fish. |
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The female Osprey can now be seen carrying the fish in the correct Osprey fashion with the front of the fish facing forward into the airstream as she makes her short loop around the pines to her perch. |
| The female ripped out all sorts of gruesome bits from this fish. She did not eat the particular piece in her beak here but, rather, let it fall to the ground. |
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After about a half hour or so, she slowed down eating the fish and frequently stood with her eyes shut. |
| The male, seen here, found himself in the nest for over two hours before the female returned to relieve him. |
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THE NEIGHBORS
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An unexpected visitor was this Cormorant who swam around the shallow waters near the nest. |
| A beautiful, if somehow unsettling sight, was the great flock of Turkey Vultures which came riding the thermals from out over the Indian River Lagoon. They darkened the sky with their presence and caused consternation among both Ospreys who viewed the Vultures with visible unease. |
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Several of the Turkey Vultures passed quite close over the nest causing the male to cry out in a threatening voice but he did not get up off the nest. The female stopped her eating and stood looking up as the Vultures passed overhead. The flock soon drifted back over the Lagoon and disappeared from sight. |
| A brief trespasser amongst the Vulture flock was this Wood Stork who flew with them for a moment before heading off in a different direction. |
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