Buffleheads, Horned Grebe and American Coot
Hello Everyone! It’s been just over six weeks since my last post, and I was hoping to be back sooner. I did well through my shoulder surgery and was back to work in ten days. The doctor told me I’d be out 6-8 weeks for recovery, I told him what-no-I’m self employed, he said oh ok you’ll be back to work in a little over a week. Yep, he was right. Things have been a bit complicated however, as my mom had a heart attack three days after my surgery and just returned home a week ago from rehabilitation. So I’ve had my plate of life quite overflowing these last six weeks, and finding any time to get back to my blog and reading others just hasn’t happened as soon as I wanted. But I’m attempting to get back in my groove!
Good news, I was able to pick up my camera ten days after the surgery and start shooting without too much difficulty. Don’t think I didn’t try sooner, LOL! I was so glad when I could, as those first several days just sitting/resting on the balcony, I did enjoy watching all the birds going about their business but missed so many great opportunities. It was driving me crazy, lol! Once my camera was back in my hands and snapping away, I discovered all over again what happiness photography gives me. 🙂
And now on to some photos! I’ve got a variety to share and decided to start with three ducks that continued to hang around our berms and waters up until the middle of April. These three have since departed for their northern migration. One of them is in my top ten favorites, those cute little Buffleheads. Being in my top ten, they obliged nicely for some cool shots!
Male Bufflehead
The next two shots is of a different fella that I noticed had an odd-shaped flat head.
Male Bufflehead
Male Bufflehead – flat head
Here’s another fella who had popped up after diving and eating along the muddy bottom.
Male Bufflehead – mud on his bill
He just as quickly took flight, mud on his face and all! I got lucky and locked on him as he took off.
Male Bufflehead
Male Bufflehead
Male Bufflehead
Male Bufflehead
A few more Buffleheads…..
Male & Female Buffleheads
Buffleheads taking flight
Female Bufflehead reflection
Male Bufflehead
Male Bufflehead
As I was photographing this next Bufflehead, a different duck appeared from a dive….
Male Bufflehead and Horned Grebe
It was a Horned Grebe, a newbie for me! Here’s his photo op…..
Horned Grebe
Horned Grebe
Horned Grebe
Horned Grebe – flashing those red eyes at me!
While I photographed the Bufflehead and Horned Grebe in the last two photos, a third lone duck, an American Coot, also showed up from his diving.
American Coot
American Coot
Our area and waters are now brimming with a variety of spring/summer birds. And the Osprey have made their debut in large numbers for lots of enjoyment but our osprey nest platform has remained nestless. I do have a couple shots of Osprey attempting to start a nest but no takers remained. However, it does get occupied frequently by the area resident Osprey as a perch and is almost a ‘divider or marker’ between their territories. They certainly do like to chase each other off of it. Which makes for great photo ops so I can’t complain! 🙂
I’m hoping I can keep up with my blog on a regular basis now and get back to reading your blogs. I know I’ve missed so much! A big thanks for catching up with me, I hope you enjoyed your visit. Have a wonderful remaining week and upcoming weekend!
Who Said It Was Spring Yet?
What a hectic past few weeks! I’m quite behind on my photos (who isn’t haha), more on my excuse in a bit. But I have to say it’s been neat having several species of our winter’s waterfowl still lingering around before they take off north, the temps have been in the 30’s to 40’s just as these birds are used to, we even got a couple inches of snow (thank goodness it wasn’t more!). It’s also been so exciting with the arrival of our Osprey, they have to be wondering like the rest of us, “Who said it was Spring yet?”
This does not look like Spring! (3/25/13)
Rafts of winter ducks still dot Marshy Creek every evening, mostly Canvasbacks, Buffleheads, Ruddy Ducks, and even for a few days there were Tundra Swans and Surf Scoters.
Canvasbacks at dusk
This is the first year I’ve seen Ruddy Ducks hanging around in larger numbers. Loved it! They’ve even come in closer to the berm and in our marina more than I remember.
Ruddy Ducks napping
Ruddy Duck
Ruddy Ducks
Ruddy Duck
It was cool to see Surf Scoters visiting again, we had about two dozen visiting to feed in the mornings and then they would return in the evening. They briefly came in close to our Osprey nest platform. 🙂
Surf Scoters
Surf Scoter
Surf Scoters
The Tundra Swans have mostly left, but I did hear a few before dawn this morning while trying to photograph the moon setting (photo in a bit). I will miss their grace and beauty!
Tundra Swan in Marshy Creek
Tundra Swan
The American Coots have also been here this past season in larger numbers it seems. A cute, quirky duck!
American Coots
American Coot
American Coot
American Coot – what a foot!
American Coots
A couple Canada Geese weren’t too happen I was photographing them.
Canada Geese
As most, we have Mallards year-round. While hanging on my balcony and they just happen along when the sun is shining nicely on them, I may practice with them but I do find them really attractive to photograph!
Regular Mallard and Duclair Mallard
Male and Female Mallard
Mallards
I must include captures of our visiting Great Blue Heron. He is proof we have some great fishing along our berm!
Great Blue Heron
Great Blue Heron
Great Blue Heron
Great Blue Heron
Great Blue Heron
Great Blue Heron
Great Blue Heron
Great Blue Heron
I love scanning the trees over at CBEC with my binoculars to hunt for the American Bald Eagles that reside there. I constantly see three but have seen four at one time perched there. For those in the community, here’s where to look!
American Bald Eagles over at CBEC (their nest is in the clump of trees to their right)
While this pair was perched close to their nest, this next one was perched on the CBEC Osprey nest platform. I haven’t seen any Osprey return to that one platform yet. Could be because the Eagles keep using it as a perch, distracting the Osprey. We’ll have to wait and see.
American Bald Eagle
This next fella kept flying around me thinking I was going to toss him something from my balcony. He finally landed below me.
Ring-billed Gull
“You have anything for me?”
A few more shots that I took enroute to/from work that I wanted to share. It’s been over two weeks now since our last sighting, but we had been continuing to see a small flock of Snow Geese on the farm down Rt 301 at Rolling Bridge Road. Sometimes they were literally right alongside the dual highway! I think they knew Spring was going to be late, lol.
Snow Geese
I wanted to show the Snow Geese again because I had spotted this ‘odd’ one in the crowd. He is a Blue Goose, a type of Snow Goose, but more rare on the East Coast. Out of the whole flock, I did not see another one.
Snow Geese and Blue Goose
Snow Geese and Blue Goose
Finally, I will leave you with these two shots from this morning of the moon setting an hour before sunrise. With the eye, it was gorgeous. I’m a work-in-progress with low light dusk and dawn shots but was tickled with these and couldn’t decide which to post so you get both. The rest were awful!
Moon setting before sunrise over Kent Island 3/27/13 @ 5:41 a.m.
Moon setting before sunrise over Kent Island 3/27/13 @ 5:42 a.m.
I have so many more photos I didn’t get to! And I have to apologize for my ‘poor’ narrative, it’s not my usual. And so my excuse. I’ve been struggling with 24/7 pain in my right shoulder for some time now. After admitting to being hard-headed, I went to the doc’s in January (one of my New Year’s resolutions, see the doctor & get healthier!). Complained, xray, five weeks therapy, meds, and it got worse. Three weeks ago I was finally sent to an orthopedic surgeon. Long story short, I will be having shoulder surgery tomorrow for a rotator cuff tear and bone spur impingements. I knew they should have ordered an MRI in January! Oh well, I’m here now and ready to take care of this annoyance. My biggest worry? When will I be able to hold my camera again?! 🙂 It may be a while, but I do have a tripod so we’ll see. I certainly have tons of photos from the past still unviewed to work on when I can start doing that. So just a heads up, if I don’t show back up with a post for a few weeks or if I do with just a photo or two, you know why. I didn’t want to leave my blogger friends hanging, wondering what happened to me! We do that to each other, don’t we?! 🙂 I do have a plan, to catch up on my blog reading for sure!
No need to worry about me, I’ll be fine. I’m a toughie. As always, thank you for stopping by, I appreciate you!
Osprey Update – Rt 50 Grasonville MD
Unfortunately, we still do not have any activity here on our Oyster Cove Osprey platform, but the well-known Osprey that have populated along the Rt 50 highway in Grasonville are busy. There are now five Osprey occupying three nests. I was happy to see the mate of the first Osprey that I sighted on March 5th had finally arrived. She looks a bit ruffled but she made it! They are both now protecting their nest and sign support. Sorry on the images, it was just before sunrise so I had to lighten them up to see more detail. Gave the poor fella a greenish tint on his back underside!
Male Osprey
The Mrs who is glad to finally be home!
As I was photographing them, there was a commotion going on in a nearby tree with a flock of blackbirds. It got the male Osprey’s attention.
Male Osprey watching the commotion of a flock of blackbirds in a nearby tree
One blackbird flew and attempted to land on the sign. The Osprey didn’t care. So another and another and another flew over. They thought maybe the Osprey was going to share his fish?
Visitors!
NOT! The Osprey gave out a shout to them and up in the air they went.
Osprey giving the blackbirds a piece of his mind.
It didn’t seem to work as the blackbirds re-landed. This time the Osprey was louder. Which definitely worked; they all flew back to the tree and perched quietly.
I SAID…………!!!!!!!!
He looked at them, then at the Mrs. who was watching the whole commotion, and then back to his meal. I had never seen blackbirds come so close to an Osprey, let alone while he’s eating, I was surprised with their fearlessness and the Osprey’s calmness. An Osprey does not appreciate other’s company except his family!
Another photo, this one of a truck passing underneath him as he enjoyed his fish. The nest and the Mrs are just to the left in the photo. You can see how dangerous it is around the Osprey and why us locals worry for them!
xx
On Saturday, I spotted a fifth Osprey perched on a third nest that is on the eastbound side and was new last year. This third nest took that Osprey pair all summer to make it. Both storms/winds and the difficulty of trying to get a solid base going that could withstand the weight of the nest played havoc with them, but they persisted. With all that hard work, they missed their window for mating. They had no time! The past mild winter spared a lot of damage to the nest, so if this Osprey’s mate returns, they’ll have much less work this year to start the season. I haven’t been able to photograph it this season but here’s shot of it from last summer. You can see the number of sticks that kept falling through as they tried to keep the top nest intact!
Osprey Nest #3, Rt 50
Besides the Osprey on the distant channel markers close to us, we’ve had some other great feathered friends visiting around our Osprey nest platform, keeping us happy with their entertainment. I hope to post some photos of them in the next couple days. Until then, I appreciate your following my blog. Have a great week!
Project Osprey Watch
In 2012, I registered our Oyster Cove osprey nest to be a part of a mission called Project OspreyWatch, through the Center for Conservation Biology in Williamsburg, Virgina. Here is an excerpt from their website….
The Center for Conservation Biology has launched Project OspreyWatch, a project created to engage a global community to collect data on breeding osprey. Linked by an interest in osprey and a concern for the health of the aquatic environments on which they rely, this community will for the first time provide a global perspective on this charismatic species. The mission of Project OspreyWatch is to bring citizen scientists together in order to collect information on a large enough spatial scale to be useful in addressing three of the most pressing issues facing aquatic ecosystems including global climate change, depletion of fish stocks, and environmental contaminants.
OspreyWatch is a user-friendly, internet platform that allows observers across the globe to map their nests, log observations, upload photos, and interact within an observer forum. Information entered into the platform will be immediately accessible to users and will be summarized following the breeding season. To join a growing community of global citizens, please visit http://www.osprey-watch.org and become an OspreyWatcher.
To date there are over 900 watchers from around the world watching over 3,300 nests and platforms. Do you have an osprey nest that you see daily or even just periodically? If so, consider registering the nest and be a part of a global research project for the osprey. It’s very easy! I just checked and found no one has registered any osprey nests along the Rt. 50 corridor (my last post), so I plan to register those in the next day or so. You can do as many as you can handle that aren’t already registered! Here’s my listing of the Oyster Cove nest platform registered as an example.
As an update to our Oyster Cove nest platform, we still do not have any Osprey taking residence. We have been hit with an artic blast of cold air, and the Osprey that I have been watching in the area seem to have disappeared to find a warmer spot, maybe a tree, to get out of the wind. Can’t blame them!
Thank you for taking the time to read this post and to those who consider registering an Osprey nest or passing this info onto someone who might be interested!
And because in almost three years since starting this blog, I have never posted without a photo, here’s a capture of last night’s sunset. An update on the Rt. 50 Osprey coming up in the next post!
Sunset over Kent Island 3/20/13
Rt. 50/301 Grasonville Osprey Pair Begin Another Season
Life has me behind, more on that another time. But FINALLY I’m able to post this exciting photo & info update on the well-known Osprey that reside above a mile-stretch of high-traffic volume on Rt. 50/301 (a dual highway with three lanes each side) here where I live in Grasonville, Maryland. Last season, we had three active nests with attempts of two more that didn’t stay. Three Osprey have already returned this season along that corridor, the lonely first one I sighted March 5th is still perching/eating daily on the sign and his/her nest, waiting for a mate to return.
First Osprey I sighted this season on March 5, 2013
A close-up portrait!
And less than a quarter-mile west of that Osprey where Exit 44A actually occurs along with another sign, we have a mated pair that have returned. I sighted the first one on March 14th and then saw both the evening of March 15th, each eating a fish. I jumped off the ramp and headed back to them. Cuz I had my cameras!! 🙂 YEA!
Osprey Pair Reconnected!
Osprey pair from the other side of the sign, facing west
Enjoying dinner together
Their Maryland home – it withheld the winter elements pretty good!
Mr. Osprey (male)
The Mrs (female)
Mr. Osprey wasn’t so keen on my presence, while the Mrs. continued to eat and not care. Mr. Osprey decided to see if he could force me to leave and left the sign with his dinner.
Male Osprey
Mr. Osprey checking me out
Off to circle around again to try to get me to leave. Geez, what about all the cars and tractor trailers zooming below?!!
Mrs. Osprey keeping an eye on her mate
The Mrs. calling her mate back.
As the male circled back to land and the female resumed her eating, I took the cue to get back in the car and leave them to their dinner. How rude of me to interrupt! I have to tell you, I sure got my Osprey fix during those four minutes of photographing….
(Today all three Rt 50/301 Osprey are still there. This morning, my husband and I literally gasped as we saw one Osprey swoop to the center of the dual highway (3 lanes each side!) to grab a stick and fly back up to the nest. Through this September, I and many others will worry another season for these Osprey as they dodge traffic while gaining/dropping altitude. So scary to witness….)
I headed home and drove past the Osprey Point platform closest to Rt. 18 to check on the pair I previously sighted and posted as No. 2 and 3. They have wasted no time in starting to rebuild their nest that was lost over the winter. A little sloppy so far but give them time!
Osprey Pair at Osprey Point along Rt. 18, Grasonville
Such Osprey excitement! As I cruised my last mile home, I wondered if there were any on our Oyster Cove platform, the Kent Narrows channel markers where two more nests were active last year, or the two platforms I can see over at CBEC, all from my balcony.
I quickly checked and found our platform empty. But I did sight an Osprey on the Kent Narrows South Entrance channel marker and two American Bald Eagles on the Prospect Bay channel marker (I need binoculars to see this one). Both of these channel markers had active Osprey nests last year which are still intact.
Osprey on Kent Narrows South Entrance Channel Marker
Two Eagles on Prospect Bay Channel Marker
No sooner than snapping those last couple shots, the Osprey left his channel marker and flew directly towards the Eagles, which one flew off while the second one had an aerial ‘dog-fight’ with the Osprey. What was the Osprey thinking?? It could have been two against one!
American Bald Eagle (left) chasing Osprey (right)
Eagle in pursuit of Osprey (note the size difference)
It really looked like it was more for fun than anything. The Osprey flew back to ‘his’ channel marker while the second Eagle flew towards CBEC where his mate went. The photos aren’t very clear since I’m so far away but it was exciting to already see and show interactions we have between the Osprey and Eagles in our area.
This past weekend was very quiet with the Osprey around Oyster Cove after so much the days before. Saturday, March 16, I did finally see an Osprey on our lonely platform, the photo isn’t so great but evidence! 🙂 A male osprey came up from behind her and then they both flew off to Marshy Creek to the left where I’m guessing to the Osprey Point community platform where they are busily rebuilding their nest. At least it was nice of her to stop by to say hi and give me a pose! 😉
Female Osprey on Oyster Cove’s Platform off my balcony
That’s the update of our area Osprey from my sightings. Two other local bloggers have sighted and reported on them too, TheEasternBabe and AChesapeakeJournal. I guess you can tell us Maryland Eastern Shore locals get a little excited with the return of the Osprey. We still have many more to arrive too. We are fortunate that our Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries continue to increase in Osprey numbers each season, along with the American Bald Eagle.
Until next time, enjoy your week and thank you for stopping by!
Osprey No. 3
This morning before sunrise, I sighted my third Osprey in our area. I was hoping when I stepped out this morning before getting on the road to work, I’d at least ‘hear’ one. I found a pair of Osprey on Lippincott’s Channel Marker #3. And YES I heard them too! What a wonderful sound, I love it. I watched this pair for just a couple minutes before they both flew off to the left where I anticipated they went to one of the Osprey platforms erected at Osprey Point (I cannot see these platforms from my balcony, but I can when I drive by them). Sure enough, there the pair was, sitting on the platform seen closest to Rt 18 when I drove by. Their season is ready to begin! Here’s a couple shots of the pair on the channel marker.
Osprey Pair on Lippincott’s Channel Marker #3 3-15-13
Osprey pair reconnected
As soon as I passed their Rt 18 platform, I jumped on and headed east on Rt 50 towards our infamous Osprey nests over the highway; my first Osprey sighted was still on his/her nest sign, still waiting for his/her mate to return. That also gave me my confirmation I have indeed seen three arriving Ospreys. 🙂
While photographing the Osprey couple, I couldn’t help taking a photograph of the House Finch on my neighbor’s railing. He was also enjoying the sunrise.
Male House Finch singing at sunrise
My buddies, the House Finch. They do love sitting on the balcony railings….and leaving me little presents. 😉 Here’s three more photos of maybe him above or another visitor hanging with me at sunset one evening.
Male House Finch enjoying the last of the day’s rays
Male House Finch
Male House Finch
A surprise visitor at sunrise a week ago caught my eye running below me on the ground between me and the Osprey platform. He was fast! I took several photos and got lucky. I thought to myself, my goodness this dove or pigeon is fast. But the red eye, hmmmm…. Well, I soon found out when I pulled out my books that it wasn’t a dove or pigeon at all, I came up with identifying him as a Sharp-shinned Hawk (correct me if I’m wrong, as this would be a newbie to my bird list!). The Sharp-shinned Hawk is the smallest hawk in North America.
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Sharp-shinned Hawk
He was here and then up and gone as he flew off!
Well, this is a quick post, I had to shout out the third Osprey sighting for us locals who are eying the sky, markers, and platforms for another Osprey arriving.
Welcome back, Osprey! And to all of you, have a great weekend, thanks for keeping up with me!
Another Osprey Sighting – This One In Marshy Creek!
This morning around 7:15 a.m. I saw my second osprey here in Grasonville, Maryland, in Marshy Creek (the water basin to my right off my balcony), where there are three osprey nest platforms that were installed for last season at the newly forming Osprey Point housing development along Rt. 18 (they can only be seen from Rt 18). There was an active new pair on that platform last season. As soon as I passed by and jumped on to Rt. 301, right up ahead of me was again my first osprey (sighted March 5) perched about two feet from his/her nest on the Rt 50/301 highway sign at Exit 44A enjoying the rising sun while he/she continues to wait for his/her returning mate (see last post for more info and photos).
The osprey are indeed finally back! These days, moving forward, we will begin to see one here and one there as they return to reclaim their nests or find a mate and then find a home. Tomorrow, March 14, was my first sighting of an osprey on our Oyster Cove platform last year. This morning and this evening I stood outside, looking and listening for an osprey. None either time.
Last year our platform was unfortunately left vacate and used only as a perch amongst neighboring osprey (they all thought they owned it!). Our previous osprey pair, Oliver & Olivia, did not return after years of success on it. So I was thinking about putting a AVAILABLE sign on the platform.
Attention Osprey! Well-constructed platform home available! Great waterview! Great neighbors! And the fishing is awesome! 😉
Okay, maybe not, but I really am hoping a pair decide to start their life with us this season. They are a joy to watch and photograph. So in celebration of the return of our area osprey, I decided to repost my Oliver & Olivia 2011 Rewind for you osprey lovers. It depicts my best action and memorable photos of Oliver & Olivia and their two chicks’ life of work, fun, thrills, and successes that season. When I original created that post, it was really REALLY hard in selecting as few as possible from that season’s thousands that would showcase their life. Hint, there are a lot. So if you’ve got 5+ minutes, grab a cup of coffee or drink, sit back, and enjoy.
And now on with Oliver and Olivia’s 2011 season in photos!
March 14 – Olivia has returned home to her Oyster Cove nest.
For the Oyster Cove community, we knew Oliver was back and reunited with Olivia on March 17 from all the kew-kew-kew-kew noise they chattered on the excitement of their reunion.
March 17 – Olivia brings a large fish to the nest.
March 17 – Olivia has her eye on an intruder as she guards her dinner.
March 17 – Later, Oliver delivers a small fish to the nest; Olivia doesn’t look so impressed!
March 17 – Oliver & Olivia quickly get down to business with their mating.
March 17 – More mating….
March 18 – Oliver & Olivia working together to rebuild their home.
March 18 – Olivia kicks out dirt & debris in the nest while Oliver jumps out of the way!
March 19 – Olivia enroute to the nest with a large stick for nest rebuilding.
March 19 – Olivia approaches the nest with that large stick.
March 19, 2011 – Oliver brings a headless fish to Olivia at the nest.
March 19 – Oliver (left) and Olivia (right). The osprey female is larger than the male.
March 20 – Oliver (left) and Olivia (right) at sunrise, preparing for a long day of home rebuilding.
March 20 – Oliver at work while Olivia watches on.
March 20 – Olivia taking a stretch break from nest building.
March 20 – Olivia back to helping.
March 20 – Oliver working on their nest.
March 20 – Oliver brings back a snack.
March 20 – Oliver arrives to the nest with another fish.
March 20 – Oliver works on placing a stick in just the right spot!
March 20 – Olivia retrieves a stick floating in the water and returns with it to the nest.
March 20 @ 7:00 PM – Olivia is still working on the nest. Notice the growth in just one day!
March 22 – Oliver with more nesting material.
March 22 – Oliver attempting to deliver the stick without hitting Olivia.
March 22 – At sunset after a hard day’s work, Oliver perches on a post from the nest platform while Olivia looks on.
March 28 – Olivia taking a break on her nest.
March 28 – Oliver delivers a fish to Olivia.
March 30 – Oliver has a thing for ‘trashy’ decor!
April 3 – This photo taken just hours before Olivia delivers her first egg, shows Oliver working on strengthening the nest for the impending family.
April 3 – Olivia descends deep in the nest and appears to be laying her first egg based on my watch.
April 3 – Later while incubating her freshly laid egg, Olivia watches Oliver bring her a fish for her hard work and success!
April 4 – Oliver continues nonstop in building their nest larger and stronger.
April 7 – Returning from a nest break, Olivia finds an anxiously awaiting Oliver, eager to pass her back egg-duty.
April 7 – Oliver leaving the nest.
April 9 – Oliver flying by to check me out!
April 14 – Olivia leaves & takes a quick fly around the nest, then returns to the eggs.
April 14 – Olivia departs with a fish that Oliver brought to her.
April 14 – Olivia heads off to an isolated perch to enjoy her dinner.
April 17 – Another day with Olivia departing with a fish from Oliver, she is passing it from her beak to her talons while she flies off.
April 17 – Oliver on egg-duty!
April 18 – Oliver in flight.
April 18 – Oliver’s architectural work to date with Olivia deep in the middle.
April 20 – Oliver giving me the eye….
April 20 – Olivia smiling for the camera!
April 20 – Olivia taking a break away from the nest, perching on Lippincott’s channel marker.
April 20 – Olivia returns to the nest, Oliver is egg-sitting.
April 24 – Oliver returning to check on Olivia.
April 26 – Oliver skippin’ the waves!
April 27 – Oliver works in more nesting material with Olivia deep in the nest behind him.
April 28 – Oliver and Olivia chatting…..wonder what they’re saying?
April 28 – Oliver rests at sunset, keeping an eye on their surroundings while Olivia continues egg-duty.
April 29 – Both parents check out their clutch.
May 6 – Oliver gives me a stare-down. He won!
May 6 – Oliver departs from the nest.
May 8 – Oliver flies by with a fish.
May 8 – Oliver continues on by me and lands on the nest. Nice catch!
May 8 – Both parents check out an intruder passing by.
May 8 – Olivia is tending to some nest activity while Oliver looks on a bit bewildered! I believe this is the day the first egg hatched.
May 8 – Olivia takes a brief break from her duties to soak up some rays of sunshine.
May 10 – Are the parents looking at one or two chicks? The second egg was due to hatch.
May 12 – Oliver keeps an eye on the chicks while Olivia took off for a break.
May 15 – Olivia feeds her babies while Oliver watches.
May 10 – Oliver’s handsome wings.
May 10 – Olivia’s beautiful wing-span.
May 10 – Oliver doing a fly-by to say Hi!
May 12 – Beautiful feathers!
May 15 – Olivia skimming the water.
May 15 – Olivia skimming the water.
May 19 – Olivia takes a late-afternoon nap while protecting her chicks.
May 17 – Oliver brings home a fish.
May 20 – Olivia returns to her babies after chasing off an intruder.
May 22 – Hello World!
May 22 – Oliver & Olivia’s two offspring.
May 22 – Olivia goes for a swim.
May 22 – Olivia returns to the nest after a swim.
May 22 – Olivia’s defiant attitude towards a photographer at the base of the nest. No one messes with her babies!
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May 22 – Oliver chases and attacks a bald eagle that was passing by the nest.
May 22 – The bald eagle wasn’t too pleased being attacked by Oliver. Note the size difference between the two.
May 22 – Another combative stance before the bald eagle flew off.
May 22 – Olivia circles to protect the chicks while Oliver dog-fights with the bald eagle.
May 22 – A baby osprey checks out the world with mom Olivia keeping an eye on him.
May 26 – Olivia naps while the chicks look about.
May 30 – The chicks are growing at an amazing pace!
May 30 – A smiling chick!
May 30 – Feeding time!
May 30 – Stretching those tiny wings.
May 30 – Olivia in flight. The missing feather was most likely from molting.
June 7 – Mom and the kids!
June 7 – At four weeks, the chicks have already developed their pin feathers.
June 8 – Those growing wings are awkward & cumbersome as the chicks try to flap them.
June 8 – Flap, flap, flap!
June 7 – Oliver brings home a nice catch for the family dinner. He’s been a great provider!
June 10 – Oliver brings home another meal, but this time he enjoyed the head for himself first.
June 10 – Olivia and the chicks pant to stay cool in the hot humidity that enveloped our area.
June 10 – The chicks pant to stay cool in the hot humidity.
June 11 – Family Portrait!
June 11 – I think the osprey chicks sighted me….
June 17 – More fish for those hungry chicks! That’s a chick on the right….at 5 weeks old!
June 17 – Feeding time.
June 18 – The chicks begin hanging along the edge so they can see out over the nest to that great big world that is awaiting them.
June 18 – A close-up!
June 17 – One of the chicks practices on flapping those huge, awkward wings.
June 18 – A chick practices flapping, accidentally slapping mom & his sibling in the process!
June 18 – Olivia flying around, circling the nest and enjoying a break.
June 17 – “Mom’s back, yea!”
June 17 – Excited to see mom back!
June 18 – Chicks intently looking at mom Olivia.
June 18 – One of the chicks looking over the edge down to the water. Does he see a fish?
June 26 – What growth in just eight weeks!
June 26 – What a wing-span in just eight weeks!
June 24 – Wing-flapping is constant now; the chicks are close to start becoming airborne.
June 24 – It appeared this chick was going to follow mom, but he just watched her and flapped while clinging the nest tightly with his talons.
June 25 – Both parents warning an air intruder to stay away!
June 25 – Dad Oliver leaves the nest while the chicks watch.
June 25 – Diving straight down, Oliver extends his talons….
June 25 – Oliver lines up the strike!
June 25 – Oliver succeeds!
June 25 – Oliver returns with freshly caught fish while the chicks watched. Dad’s teaching!
June 26 – Tolerating the water humans!
June 30 – A chick whacks a patient Olivia in the head with his huge wing-span.
June 27 – One of the chicks watches dad Oliver arrive with more nesting material.
June 27 – Coming and going takes a little more caution with the parents. See those talons?
June 27 – Full House!
June 29 – The chicks watch dad Oliver arrive with another stick. While mom Olivia rests.
June 30 – Oliver brings home the….fish! At this time, each chick needs/eats approximately three fish a day to keep up with their growth.
June 30 – Mom and her nine week old teenagers!
July 1 – Olivia skimming the water to cool off during a hot humid day.
July 1 – Olivia returns to the nest after a dip in the water.
July 1 – Olivia air-drying her wings.
July 1 – A striking pose of Olivia.
July 1 – A chick becomes vocal at a passing bird.
July 1 – More vocals; mom Olivia does check & sees the gull which is not a threat to them and continued to feed the other chick.
July 5 – The chicks have a tug-of-war over a fish as they learn to feed themselves.
July 1 – A chick scratchin’ an itch! Careful there with those sharp talons!
July 1 – Oliver bringing some softer nesting material. He’s got to keep the nest intact as the chicks jump and flap all over the nest.
July 1 – A chick ‘feels the wind’ while a purple martin cruises on by.
July 1 – Family Portrait with Olivia wet from a recent swim.
July 9 – The chicks have fledged; here’s one circling the nest, trying out those huge wings!
July 9 – A chick coming in for a landing!
July 9 – Watch out Mom!
July 9 – The chick is ready to grab the nest when he lands!
July 9 – Touchdown!
July 9 – A successful landing deserves a pose!
July 8 – Olivia and the teens get drenched in the rain.
July 10 – Olivia fiercely chasing a Great blue heron who came too close to her family & nest.
July 10 – The chicks watch as mom Olivia pursues the frightened Great blue heron.
July 10 – Olivia drove the Great blue heron away and returned proud!
July 9 – A chick strengthening his wings and having a great time.
July 12 – The chicks always return to their home for feedings & comfort.
July 16 – A chick having fun…..
July 16 – and then turns to fly over my left.
July 16 – Right on pass me!
The ongoing intense heat and humidity kept both the parents and chicks’ nest visits to a minimum.
July 18 – My last sighting and photo of Oliver departing the nest.
July 21 – Olivia
After those last photos, we had no more sightings of the parents or chicks seen on the nest. Migration for osprey is usually late August/early September, with the female parent leaving first, followed by the chicks. The male parent will remain until the last chick has left the area to begin his/her migration. Because it was too early for our osprey family to depart for migration, and it also was so sudden, I conversed with Lisa, one of Blackwater Refuge’s osprey & eagle experts and webmaster, with my notes and concerns.
She responded, “If all of them have gone, then it’s likely they’re hanging out somewhere together….maybe they found a good fishing spot somewhere nearby. It does seem odd that the chicks would have become that independent that quickly. If they’re not coming back to the nest…..then maybe they have moved their action elsewhere, near a good fishing hole.”
Another reason decided could have been a scare/attack by a great horned owl who is an osprey’s biggest enemy. CBEC across Marshy Creek confirmed they had an active great horned owl nest. So maybe with that fear, our osprey family moved off together to a safer area until their migration-pull kicked in.
We hope Oliver and Olivia survived their treacherous journey south and arrive back March 2012 healthy and ready to give us another season of wonder and amazement!
———————–
That was the end of my Rewind post. Of course, Oliver & Olivia neither showed back up to reclaim their nest. No one knows why, but we accepted it with disappointment. We now begin another season and hope a new pair of osprey do decide to love our platform and decide to call it theirs. We will soon find out!
I hope you survived and enjoyed that long rewind too. As always, thank you everyone for stopping by! 🙂
Osprey Sighting ——– Rt 50/301 Grasonville Maryland
WOOHOO! That’s the excitement I felt when I spotted my first Osprey of the season this morning in our area on my way in to work. 🙂 He/she was perched on top of the Rt 50/301 Exit 44A Chester River Beach overhead sign that is also supporting an Osprey nest that has been active for several years. We have several active Osprey nests built along this highway corridor that I post on occasion each season.
Thank goodness I had my camera, I wheeled my car off the next ramp and headed back to capture a few shots. 🙂
Osprey
A bit scruffy-looking, but you’d look that way too after flying a few thousand miles in just a few weeks! 😉
Our local Osprey season has begun! I just had to let you know! 🙂
UPDATE: 3/8/13 – The osprey is still perching on this sign so it appears that this one is home. I briefly watched the skies early this morning from my balcony before heading to work, but no sign of an osprey here amongst all our local platforms. For sure, it’s just a matter of time…..maybe this weekend! 🙂
Eagle Excitement Around Oyster Cove
For those following my blog from my community, I hope you’ve noticed and enjoyed the increased eagle activity around us this past couple months. You cannot watch the skies for a day or two and not see at least one soaring above or at a distance or perched on ours or CBEC’s osprey platforms or the channel markers around us. For everyone, here’s a series of just a few of the many photos I’ve taken in the few times I spent ‘looking’ from my balcony the last two weeks.
American Bald Eagle
This next adult was having breakfast on our osprey nest platform yesterday morning. It looked like it was an unfortunate duck.
Belly full, the eagle just sat and looked around.
Time to move on!
About a half hour later, I spotted a Turkey Vulture landing on the platform. He finished the duck.
Turkey Vulture
I’ve seen a juvenile Eagle many times. Here he/she is coming towards me and then swooping down to the water to grab a meal.
Juvenile American Bald Eagle
The juvenile eagle came back by me and then circled again, passing closer to me before heading off with his catch.
Couple more individual shots…..
I was fortunate to be out at the right time to catch this adult eagle passing by real close! 🙂
What a majestic bird! I still get excited to see one no matter how many or how recent I saw the last. I hope you enjoyed these that I wanted to share.
Note, we have a huge snow storm crossing the United States. For us in the Chesapeake Bay Mid-Atlantic area, we’re borderline rain or snow. They don’t know just where the snow’s southern line will be just yet. As we are, everyone please stay informed of your area’s predictions, prepare, and be safe!
Birds Enroute To & From Work
My drive to and from work each day is 50 minutes of very little traffic through Maryland’s Eastern Shore farmlands and woods on Route 301. It’s an unstressful drive, where you can turn the radio up, put on the cruise control (a MUST!), and enjoy the beautiful rolling landscape. And if you keep an eye out, you will be treated with a wide variety of birds throughout the year. I usually have my camera but if I cannot quickly pull over safely, I just enjoy the sighting as I pass by. The turn-arounds and distance between them can be 5+ miles, so I rarely will do that. Well, maybe I have for an eagle if I’m not running too late. 🙂
I had previously posted about the Snow Geese sightings and have been lucky to see them constantly since. I actually saw a small flock landing in the rain on a farm on my way home tonight. A frequent spot that I previously mentioned was at Rolling Bridge Road off Rt 301. One day I got to see Snow Geese going through a huge lift-off at a distance. The sighting and noise was beautiful!
Two days later carpooling with hubby, I spotted a smaller flock of the Snow Geese there again, and this time they were close to the road. Rick turned onto Rolling Bridge which put me alongside them as they busily pecked through the recent snowdusting we’d gotten, while a few continued to land. I was able to slip out of the truck without much movement to photograph them.
Notice the American Bald Eagle in the next photo in the large tree on the right. I didn’t see him until I reviewed my photos on my computer. I thought that was cool!
Several times recently I have been amazed at the sightings of Wild Turkeys! All these years up and down Route 301, and I had never seen one until last fall when one came flying across the road in front of me (that almost scared the you-know-what out of me!) and then those this past month. I had no idea they were out there.
Wild Turkeys
Wild Turkeys
While photographing them, three deer came out of the woods and paused to feed with the Wild Turkeys.
Wild Turkey and Deer
There are always a couple of Red-Tailed Hawks along the way to and from work. Of all the wooded area and farmland, it seems funny that they perch to scope out the dual highway and the grassland between as a place to locate food. They will swoop down out of the tree to the middle and pounce on probably a small rodent, all while watching you pass by. If I spot one perched across the highway and can pull over quickly, I am lucky if I can get a decent shot because they usually take flight immediately. So, after many attempts this past month, here’s a somewhat decent shot of one.
Red-tailed Hawk
I will admit I am confused on identifying this next hawk. I first thought it was a juvenile Red-tailed Hawk but after looking at too many more photos, I’ve started second guessing myself. Broad-winged Hawk? Northern Harrier? This one took flight immediately and I got some flight shots which would/should help with the ID. Would someone be so gracious to help me out with this one? Appreciate it!!
Hawk
Hawk
Hawk
Hawk
Hawk
On my way home when I ramp off Rt 301 at Kent Narrows, there is water alongside the ramp and the Holiday Inn. I always look to see what’s visiting there. I spotted this next Great Blue Heron on a piling. Neat op I thought! I pulled into the Holiday Inn parking lot and walked down to the water but I was still at a distance from him for a close shot. Here he is enjoying the sun setting.
Great Blue Heron
As I was returning to my car, a Red-winged Blackbird was perched in a tree just a few feet of me, singing his song. He seemed so happy!
Red-Winged Blackbird
Red-Winged Blackbird
That’s my latest enroute bird photos! I hope you enjoyed them and appreciate your visit. As always, thank you!
