We Transition From Summer to Fall at Oyster Cove
According to the calendar, we officially transitioned from summer to fall this past Friday. It was a very quiet week here filled with showers and cloudy days. Although our area’s osprey have migrated, there are still a few stranglers. Last year I had blogged about two nests that are atop highway signs on busy Route 50 in Grasonville that I see daily. As of yesterday, we still have a chick and dad on one of those nests. The young one for some reason hasn’t quite gotten the migration pull to tell him it’s time. And the committed dad seems to be patiently waiting. The following photo is from last year but is the nest I’m speaking about.
This year’s nest brood produced three chicks and I’m guessing the one remaining had a lot of growing and struggle to go through as he tried to survive against two larger siblings. Isn’t it good to know dad’s got his back til the day he departs?!
Last week I blogged about a Great Blue Heron who had taken over our osprey nest as a perch and the base of the nest as his fishing hole. He’s still with us daily along with the mallards!
He’s even become tolerate of anyone walking by and not taking flight. But for sure he has his eye on you as you pass. 🙂
Yesterday I witnessed an odd sighting over Prospect Bay just beyond our osprey nest, an eagle chasing a seagull. The poor gull was frantic and screeching loudly.
Immediately, several other gulls were chasing and trying to attack the eagle who was still chasing the one gull. The eagle quickly gave up and retreated to Kent Island, with the gulls still chasing him. I know eagles will eat ducks but gulls?
Finally, not a waterfowl photo but yesterday I stopped along a local road and photographed this next bird. I believe he’s a type of hawk, but I could not ID him exactly with my books. He appeared to be wet and was drying off.
If anyone knows what kind of hawk or bird he is, let me know. Thanks!
UPDATE 9/27/11 ~ Scott has commented that he thinks “that bird in the last few pictures is a juvenile red-tailed hawk because of its perch by the open road and because of its mottled white back, many dark bars on its short tail, and yellow eyes. There’s a good matching picture of one looking over its shoulder in the “Field Marks” section at the bottom of this page (scroll through to one of the last photos) http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red-tailed_Hawk/id
Thanks Scott for your help! For those interested in discovering the simple things of life with nature, check out Scott’s blog on Some Little Crum Creek, “About thirty-three footfalls. That’s the length of Little Crum Creek flowing through a yard I visit, part of a narrow corridor of wood and stream in Delaware County, southeastern Pennsylvania.” Visit, discover and see with Scott the seasonal happenings in his ‘backyard’ of nature. His findings are amazing!
