Bay Photos by Donna

Our two little osprey chicks are becoming stronger by the day!  Saturday morning, it was difficult to see the chicks still as their little heads wobbled around.  In addition, a plastic bag and some pink wall insulation have appeared within the nest, making it difficult to see in.  (Someone needs to talk to architect Oliver about keeping our sight window on the nest’s land side open for everyone’s viewing!)  🙂   By Sunday morning, it was amazing to see the two chicks sitting up and holding their heads steady!   Here’s some shots of the babies….

I’ve even seen sibling rivalry already.  The next photo shows one of the chicks with beak open, lunging at the neck of the other!  Don’t worry, the other one turned around and beaked him back!   Hopefully, they don’t hurt each other….

I saw Olivia take advantage of the warm weekend by diving a few times and then return to the nest.  I’m guessing after that past week’s showers, Olivia needed it; she was constantly preening her feathers to clean them. 

After one bathing dip, she returned to the nest and constantly fluffed her feathers in the warm sun….

Now that Oliver and Olivia have babies to protect, their demeanor at the nest has changed towards us humans.   A walker passing by had stopped to photograph.  Olivia caused a huge ruckus and took a defiant stance on the nest edge.  I really thought she might attack the person.   I love her attitude!

In addition, no one in the sky should come close either.  An eagle was just passing by, but apparently Olivia and Oliver felt it was too close.  Olivia left the nest and flew in circles between the nest and Oliver who was in pursuit of the eagle.  It look like Oliver and the eagle were surely going to tangle but didn’t.  Here’s their combative shots…..

I was sure the eagle meant no harm to our osprey family, but it didn’t matter.   Oliver continued to go after the eagle until he high-tailed it over to Kent Island.  Oliver returned to the nest looking flustered but proud of himself.  🙂

A couple more shots, this one shows the beauty of Olivia as she passes by me.

And finally, only one chick is in the next photo, but momma’s got his back as she keeps an eye on him as he starts checking on his outside world.

Each week now the chicks will grow at an unbelievable rate.  Check back often as I share their growth in photos with you!