My Past Week Of Feathered Friends
I have a bit of information to pass on about our pair of osprey. Today, just before 7 am two osprey were perched on Lippincott’s channel marker when I left. I got home at 3 pm and didn’t see any osprey; at 3:45 pm I sighted one leaving the marker and headed west & away from me. No sightings rest of day/evening until 7:10 when I found a single osprey on the channel marker, followed by the second at 7:15pm. They stayed until dark. In that direction I keep mentioning that is west/away from me both now and previous day’s posts is on the other side of Lippincott marina where three nest platforms were erected late last summer but not occupied. I have been watching when passing them down Rt 18 all week and can see from a distance the last two days one and/or two osprey sitting on the center one. Today I was told that it does appear a pair has been on that platform a lot today. Has Oliver and Olivia relocated to an available brand new, clean digs instead of returning to a messy nest that they were spooked from last year and left over a month earlier than migration time? It could be possible. We will have to wait and see I suppose. Guess we couldn’t blame them though, huh?! I’ll keep ya posted!
With all the week’s drama, I still photographed some of our other feathered friends to share. We’ll start off with a raft of American coots who visited several evenings, feeding til dark, including tonight of which I took more photos but they won’t make this post. I do have a few to share that shows what they do when feeding. The first shows how they spread out as they busily eat.
American Coots feeding
If they are spooked by a noise, an oncoming bird, even a non-threatening gull, they quickly become a tight unit.
American Coots rafting up tightly for safety
American Coots rafting up tightly for safety
And then they spread back out, feed, and raft tight again. Kind of neat to watch them. 🙂 A couple more from another day…..
American Coots
American Coots
Marshy Creek, off to my left, continued all week to fill each evening as last week with canvasbacks, scaup, and ruddy ducks feeding and chattering. (Far left in the next shot is where the three new osprey nest platforms were erected)
Marshy Creek filled with canvasbacks, scaup, and ruddy ducks
Canvasback in flight towards sunset
Double-crested Cormorant
I just had to stop one morning close to the office at “Walmart Pond”, a water management pond created from the land developing around it, where I surprisingly often see & photograph waterfowl. That morning, the sun was rising and shining on a couple of Canada geese. They were quite obliging and posed in the reflecting water.
Canada Geese
Canada Goose
Canada Goose
Canada Geese
There is also a single bufflehead who is at the other end of the pond most afternoons. I decided to drive around a sort-of developed road and found out it came out to the other side, and perfect for getting closer to him. He did a little showing off for me for my extra effort to get to him! I’ve wondered why he’s alone all the time. Usually there’s at least two.
Bufflehead
Bufflehead
Bufflehead
Not a hop-skip-and-jump from this little pond, from my car I spotted a bird that looked different and pulled over to photograph him. He didn’t like me and didn’t stay, I was lucky to snap off three of him perched before he took off. I didn’t know until I edited the shots and identified him that it was an American kestral. My first one to see!
American Kestral
I got this as he took off. My shot actually caught him in my bottom corner frame so I just cropped the surround left & upper space. Not a very clear shot but I liked seeing the way his feather coloring striped his wing.
American Kestral
Here’s some fun action shots of a gull who caught a large fish but could not fly off without dropping it over and over again.
Gull with his catch
Coming to the realization he wasn’t going to make it, he swam to the edge of our rock berm with his catch. His buddies were waiting.
We know what gulls do when there’s food……attack to grab!
I wasn’t sure which gull got the fish this time but he was able to get lift-off with the heavy fish.
And then off he went, with his noisy buddies following…..
With him only to drop it! It was chaos after that, with one finally getting possession in the water and just floated while eating it.
Finally, early one morning a week ago, we had a pair of mallards below me on the ground, inspecting the bushes in search for probably a nesting sight. I took just a few and let them be. Maybe we’ll be lucky to have baby ducklings soon!
Female Mallard
With that I’ll end. I’ll keep tabs on the osprey and post as I can. Have a great week!
What’s Up With Oliver & Olivia?
This morning before daybreak both Oliver & Olivia were perched on their Lippincott channel marker. By 7:00 am, both had disappeared. And then at 7:12 am I found a gull on the nest. No sight or sound of an osprey. It’s a bit odd to find another bird on the nest after our ospreys return, as Oliver & Olivia both are fierce about anything near theirs! Unfortunately, I had to leave for work. 😦 I wondered what activity might be occurring while I was away.
Ring-billed gull on osprey nest
I arrived home at 5:00pm and found a single osprey on the channel marker again. Captured some shots of it looking all around while chirping, pooping, preening, and ruffling the feathers.
I slipped away and at a recheck at 5:27pm, I found the osprey was gone. It’s easy to step out and do a quick check which I did up til 6:51pm and still no osprey. Hmmm…..I had been looking off to my right at a boat leaving the Kent Narrows channel, turned to glance back at the channel marker to my left, and there were the pair on the channel marker again. They had come in and landed without me seeing them!
Now I felt better! But they didn’t get to stay long, a boat leaving Lippincott marina passed by them and the pair took flight and disappeared to the east. I wonder where they keep going when taking flight from the marker instead of coming to the nest. Are they fearful of the nest this year due to last year’s possible Great horned owl scare? As I watched the sun set in the warm foggy haze, I kept telling myself maybe they are just plain-down exhausted and aren’t ready to get gung-ho on the renovation yet!
Sunset over Kent Island - March 17, 2012
After taking a couple sunset shots, I retreated. A check 20 minutes later, and what did I see?
Don’t know how they keep sneaking back and forth without me seeing them, LOL. I didn’t get a frontal view of the chest so I’m not sure if this was Oliver or Olivia. There are two easy ways to tell the difference between the male and female. 1) The male’s chest is only slightly speckled whereas the female’s is more heavily speckled, called her ‘necklace’, and the difference is noticeable. 2) The female is larger than the male, and noticeable when they are side by side. When alone, it’s harder on the size but I felt this osprey looked to be smaller and might have been Oliver.
Only staying a couple minutes, it just kept looking down at the nest and then up and around. It took flight and headed down to the channel marker and perched. I hung out for a bit watching the waterfowl flying in for the night. Ten minutes later the osprey was joined by the second one. I’m terrible on dusk shots but here they are again, chillin’ as the night descends.
Tomorrow afternoon is calling for sunny skies and 66 degrees. That’ll give Oliver and Olivia another nice day to rest; and just maybe when I return home from work, I’ll find more action and new nesting materials on the nest. Until then!
Oliver and Olivia Chillin’
This morning before daybreak, I found our osprey pair sitting on Lippincott’s channel marker. This evening at 6:30pm arriving home, no osprey in sight. But from 7 to 8:15 pm until I could no longer see, both were on the channel marker again, preening their feathers and chillin’. At times, and I’ve seen this since they each returned, one will hang it’s head down for a while catching a little nap and rest. With the cloudy day and lateness, the photo’s not the best….
Oliver & Olivia chillin' - March 16, 2012
So how did our osprey pair get named? Oliver and Olivia were named by our community prior to our living here. Since then I have used photos each year to check for markings/coloring to previous year(s) as well as habits to confirm they are the same pair. A few facts:
Usually osprey mate for life. On occasion, when one loses a mate, it will challenge another pair to take over that relationship. But it’s pretty tough for that to happen if the pair are both healthy and can challenge back. When they migrate in the fall, osprey migrate separately, with the female adult departing first. If there are juveniles, the male will stay behind continuing to teach and help feed them until each one departs, and then good ole dad finally gets to head south too. Each one makes the trip alone. Osprey from the northeast/mid-Atlantic usually migrate as far as northern South America, 3500 miles. The adults will return in the spring, but the juveniles will stay one and a half years before migrating back the following spring. Juvenile osprey will return to the area of their place of birth. But they do not meet up with their parents. Once they find a mate, their next step is to find a place to build their nest. It can take a year or two before they find a place that is not used by another that they like, and then they have to figure out how to build a nest, let alone what’s all that mating about.
For those that followed last year remember, Oliver, Olivia, and their brood all suddenly disappeared before the end of July, more than a month than usual for osprey migration, and just less than three weeks of the chicks learning to fly. It was disappointing and frustrating not knowing what happened. In August a couple of adult ospreys were sighted, but no chicks. I contacted Lisa Mayo at Blackwater NWR for help in an explanation. Here was her response.
Their disappearance, “It’s just odd. Some chicks do leave for migration early but don’t head south right away. They might fly around the area and begin independently exploring their larger home region. But that doesn’t normally happen right away since the chicks usually spend some post-fledging time learning to fish and learning to improve their flying and landing. Maybe something in the area spooked your birds. A Great Horned Owl? A GHO is the chief enemy of ospreys and one of the few animals that can not only take a large osprey chick but can also take out the mother while she’s on the nest. Some areas have a problem with GHO’s attacking ospreys (they do at Jug Bay in Maryland) and others do not (we don’t even though Blackwater has GHO’s). Not sure why some areas have an issue and others don’t.”
We couldn’t come up with another explanation. And unfortunately across Marshy Creek over at CBEC, there was (and I believe still is) an active Great Horned Owl nest. Not liking what nature could have played, we hoped our osprey family were safe and had temporarily relocated further south in a safer area until migration. The nest at this point was only a home base that a chick could come to and holler for a fish (and dad Oliver was quick to show up with one!) or just perch for a while. By July/August, trees are popular to get out of the heat and into the shade.
I’m hoping with fingers crossed that last year’s possible GHO scare or attack doesn’t keep them from returning to the nest. Maybe I’m just a little anxious. Once we see some nest rebuilding, I’ll feel a little better!
Until next post, thanks for stopping by!
Oliver and Olivia at Rest
A quick update since so late, I wanted to report I sighted Oliver and Olivia on Lippincott’s channel marker before day-break again this morning which made my drive a little nicer. 🙂 I wasn’t able to get out of the office and home until 6:00pm and was disappointed that I didn’t see or hear an osprey when I arrived. I kept a look-out and finally at 7:30pm I found them both sitting back on the channel marker. 🙂
Oliver and Olivia on Lippincott's channel marker - March 15, 2012
West horizon clouds shortened our sunshine so my lighting was decreasing by the minute and I really didn’t get any better shots to post more. But I did watch them for a little bit, as they preened their feathers or just sat together looking around and at each other. Some rest and cleaning is most in order so they can begin their home repair. Maybe they chit-chatted on the upcoming renovation! 🙂
I want to extend an invitation to the Oyster Cove community that it would be wonderful to hear from you if you’d like to report some action or you’ve taken a photograph of our osprey this season that you’d like to share. I’d be glad to post your info and/or photo with credits to you of course! Let me know by email.
I’m sorry such a short post this evening, but I wanted to give an update and post a photo of Oliver and Olivia from today. Aren’t they sweet?!!
Until next post, take care and thanks for stopping by!
Oliver and Olivia Have Returned to Oyster Cove!
What an exciting post to share! As I write this, I believe it is Oliver and Olivia who are presently perched on their nest platform here at Oyster Cove in Grasonville, Maryland. Osprey days are here again! Here’s the day’s recap…..
I was up dark and early. And at 5:35 a.m. I was peering through my binoculars at the nest platform and over at Lippincott Marina’s channel marker to see if I could spot the silhouette of an osprey. Nothing. The half moon was shining bright, so I captured a shot to share it’s beauty. 🙂
Half Moon - March 14, 2012 @ 5:35 a.m.
I kept an eye out to the nest as I hurried along getting ready. One final check before I left for work concluded no sightings of an osprey. I was bummed, I wanted to stay and watch, but that doesn’t pay the bills….LOL
About five miles from us along Rt. 50 (BUSY dual highway, three lanes each way), there are two osprey nests that are directly over the highway on road signs that I’ve discussed in past seasons. Long story short about these two nests, I tried to get the Maryland Dept of Transportation to remove the nests February 2011 prior to the ospreys’ return to force them elsewhere and hopefully away from the highway where we lost a chick in 2010 from a direct hit by a vehicle while it was learning to fly. Because the nests did not block the lighting of the signs and were not a safety hazard, MDOT wouldn’t do anything about them. So I worried for those two families all last season and will again this year. Anyway, this morning as I checked out these two nests while passing by them, there was an osprey on one of the signs eating a fish. 🙂 Here are photos from 2010 of these two nests, and almost exactly where I saw the osprey sitting this morning on the first one. I was excited, another osprey in the area!
One of two osprey nests along Rt. 50, Grasonville, MD - July 22, 2010
A second osprey nest about 1/4 mile from the other along Rt. 50, Grasonville, MD - July 20, 2010
We had another gorgeous day today, mid-70’s, no wind, clear skies. Everyone I spoke to had spring fever bad! Just after 5:00 pm I arrived home and, of course, went directly out to my balcony. An osprey was perched again on Lippincott’s channel marker eating a fish as yesterday evening. If any of the neighbors were outside, I imagine they heard me whoop & holler! 😉 (sorry neighbors!)
Osprey on Lippincott's channel marker - 3/14/12 @ 5:07pm
Osprey on Lippincott's channel marker - 3/14/12 @ 5:07pm
And just then a gull came swooping down to the osprey to check out what the osprey was eating. The osprey just looked at the gull….
Gull coming in to challenge osprey for fish
Osprey tells gull - "I dare you...."
Osprey unnerved by a gull
I think the gull was a wise bird to move on. The osprey finished the fish for another few minutes and then departed out of sight. It returned half hour later to perch, constantly looking around. Ruddy ducks, canvasback, and scaup were in the background, feeding and chatting.
Osprey on Lippincott's channel maker; ruddy ducks, canvasbacks & scaup in background.
Meanwhile, I was also watching a raft of coots who were working their way towards the osprey, hoping they’d pass in front of the osprey. They did…..
Osprey and American Coots
The osprey perched a few minutes longer before departing out of sight. Thirty minutes later I saw it hovering over the osprey nest platform, as if inspecting it, then continued to fly off to the right to the Kent Narrows south entrance green channel marker and landed for a few minutes. It seemed there was a restlessness going on with this osprey. Maybe it has an inkling someone is soon to arrive?? (hint hint)
Osprey inspecting what's left of last year's nest.
The nest needs a lot of repair.
Osprey landing on Kent Narrows south entrance green channel marker at sunset 7:09 pm
I didn’t see the osprey depart the marker and I didn’t sight it’s whereabouts. Back and forth I went, looking and searching the skies, even left the sliding glass doors open so I could hear. And then at 7:20pm, I heard excited osprey chattering and went to observe. I watched a pair of osprey land and perch on Lippincott’s channel marker, Oliver and Olivia’s favorite perch second after the nest.
Oliver and Olivia - Welcome Back March 14, 2012
I feel 99.99% sure our Oliver has returned and joined Olivia for another season. YEAH! The closeness of the feedings & perching to the nest and nest visits, the two osprey immediately hanging together, as well as the early arrival to secure their home makes me feel that. Young osprey returning take a couple years before they find a mate, then the pair has to find a place to nest, then try to figure out how to build a nest to call their home; they also usually have a difficult time taking over an established pair’s nest if the pair or even just one has already returned. The older osprey are a wise species! If it is indeed Oliver and Olivia, we should see them immediately start spending some time bonding and playing in the skies and on the nest as they haven’t seen each other since they migrated separately last fall. Gotta get a little lovin’ going on! Rest, of course, is also needed after the long trips they both endured. And then just as quickly, they will get busy on repairing and rebuilding the nest. Olivia’s clock will start ticking and she can be one bossy gal when it comes to her home. And Oliver has proven to be one heck of an architect; and for those following another season with me will remember, Oliver is really into decorating with trashy decor like bags, plastic, fishing line, screens, dock line, McD’s bag, a small box, and anything else that catches his fancy. It will be exciting and nerve-wracking to see what he finds this year to use! (plastic & fishing line can be dangerous entanglements to the osprey)
In the next few days and the more photos I can get with chest and wingspan shots, I’ll be able to do some comparisons to actually confirm it is Oliver and Olivia, but I’m really feeling our ‘daring duo’ (as follower & neighbor Mary calls them) is back. I like the nickname, Mary!
Life is good when the osprey return. Stay tuned! 🙂
An Osprey On Oyster Cove’s Nest – Was It Olivia?
This morning, as the last few mornings and evenings, I’ve been on my balcony with my binoculars, exploring the skies, listening to the sounds, searching for an osprey. Seen eagles enjoying a high soar, ducks flying about their day’s adventures, even a bit of honking from what sounded to be a pair of Canada geese over at CBEC. But still no osprey, not our Oliver or Olivia, nor a transient just passing through on his way to his summer home destination.
Today was a beautiful spring day in the low 70’s, partly cloudy skies, the winds finally dying down to a breeze from the past several days of 20-30 mph south/southwesterly winds. With the time change and darker mornings, my plans are now to be on the road sooner to work so I can convince myself to leave on time, if not a little sooner to come home to sky-watch. Succeeded today, I arrived home about 4:15pm. 🙂 No osprey though, was hoping to see or hear one when exiting the car. From my balcony I didn’t spot any, just a bunch of gulls fighting over a large fish that if any good, I’ll post at a later date, and two separate eagle sightings in the distance.
Around 5:00 pm, a small rain cell from the east passed over us out of nowhere. After it passed, I was back on the balcony trying to capture a not-so-bright rainbow over Lippincott’s channel marker to my west , and a wide-angle shot of our osprey nest.
March 13, 2012 @ 5:20 pm
Oyster Cove Osprey Nest from my balcony - March 13, 2012
It was then I heard a kew-kew-kew-kew sound from above. What? Looked up and found an osprey soaring above me in the breeze, chattering (at me?), and then catching a wind that took it out of my sight over the roof before I had a chance to react with my camera. Was it Olivia??? I grabbed my tripod and watched and waited. Within five minutes, the osprey returned, coasting the breezes, circling the nest and landed.
Osprey
Osprey
Osprey landing on Oyster Cove nest platform
Osprey
Osprey
Osprey
Osprey - Welcome! Are you Olivia?
The osprey did not turn towards me so I could try & capture a frontal shot to compare to the last couple years photos to help confirm if it was indeed Olivia’s markings. It did keep looking down and around of what was left of the nest, as if thinking, what the heck happened to my home? Also, the osprey did not make any noise while on the nest. Previous years as Olivia waiting for Oliver, she would perch on the nest, just keep looking at it, then leave. You could almost see her shaking her head in disgust, LOL.
After a couple minutes, the osprey took flight over towards Marshy Creek and disappeared. Thirty minutes later, the osprey was on Lippincott’s channel marker to the left of the nest in Marshy Creek, eating a fish. 🙂
Osprey on Lippincott's channel marker eating a fish while keeping an eye on its surroundings
Osprey on Lippincott's channel marker eating a fish
Osprey on Lippincott's channel marker eating a fish while keeping an eye on its surroundings
That channel marker is a favorite perch for Oliver and Olivia. Especially while the other is on egg or baby-duty. The osprey continued to stay there, enjoying the setting sun.
At 7:53 pm, almost two hours later, the osprey was still sitting on the channel marker, in the late dusk.
I would love to say it is Olivia, and my gut feeling says it is based on the date of arrival, along with the combo nest and favorite marker perching. But whoever it is, that osprey just completed an impressive journey of possibly 3500 miles from as far south as northern South America where the majority of northeast osprey migrate for the winter. He/she looked to be in pretty good health for such a remarkable trip! 🙂
And so now it is official, our osprey journey begins as we follow this season’s osprey from their arrival until they depart in the fall for another winter vacation in the tropics. I hope you enjoy their adventures that I capture and share. So stay tuned, and as always, thank you for stopping by!
A Variety of Birds This Week
What a busy week with that thing called life! But I tried to not let that stop me from finding a few minutes with my camera here and there on either my balcony or enroute to work, just finding time to sit still to compose was the difficult part. 😉 But I’m glad I kept snapping, I hope you enjoy what turned out to be a nice variety of birds for me this past week. 🙂
Eagles, both adult and immature, are very active in the skies now, it’s quite enjoyable! It’s easy to see one or two early in the morning at sunrise, soaring high in the sky. I even watched the two CBEC resident bald eagles chase away another pair that had ventured over from Kent Island. There wasn’t any aggressiveness, but the resident pair just continued to stay behind the other pair, forcing them back to their own territory, before turning around and head back to theirs. Here’s a shot of an immature eagle heading towards the sunset Monday evening.
Immature Bald Eagle
As previous posts, we continued to have rafts of migratory ducks hanging in the late afternoon/early evenings directly out behind our osprey nest, must be some darn good feeding out there!
Canvasbacks and Scaup
Canvasbacks flying in!
Canvasbacks
Canvasbacks
Scaup
A couple evenings we even had a raft of American coots. The second evening, the raft was huge, the largest I’d ever seen of coots.
American Coots
Each morning there is song in the air to announce that spring is here! The land birds are up and going about their business. It’s not so easy to catch them in the act of singing though, without getting a lot of blurriness. Got one!
Sparrow
Red-Winged Blackbird
American Robin
House Finches
Mourning Doves
Mourning Doves
Each morning, I also checked out the little marshy tidal pond by Lippincott Marina’s entrance next to our community’s entrance to see if the Great blue heron was still visiting that spot as I previously posted. He was there every morning. I stopped twice and the first time, I didn’t get but a couple photos before a truck passed him leaving the marina, scaring him into flight.
Great Blue Heron
Great Blue Heron
He was always positioned with his back to the sunrise. 🙂 But finally, I spotted him facing it and stopped. He was very cordial giving me several nice shots, before finally giving me a straight-on look to tell me to get on my way. I obliged!
Just pass that little tidal pond, there’s another marshy inlet a bit further down that I’ve stopped many times to photograph waterfowl. Tuesday morning a Great blue heron was there as well. He was actively fishing so I stopped. His turned his back to me before I was ready so I took only a few photos to leave him be. Thought this one was cute with his stance, focusing on a moving target, his head lit up by the rising sun.
Great Blue Heron
I can’t forget the mallards who still come to feed at the berm. Another bottoms-up shot, I like how their bright orange legs always give a nice contrast to their bodies.
Mallards - Dinner Date
I had to work yesterday but planned on stopping for anything that looked interesting in the sunlight. Sky sightings were abundant but not too much just hanging around in the trees. Finally came upon a turkey vulture that was just too perfect not to stop and photograph. He obliged, while preening his feathers.
Turkey Vulture
Another chance came with a hawk. He was busy searching the ground for movement and maybe breakfast!
With the warmer days/evenings, the sunsets haven’t been as spectacular as those cold winter ones. But I did like this one from March 3rd. A sunset can change so fast in just a matter of minutes. There are only 3 minutes difference between the two shots.
Sunset over Kent Island - March 3, 2012
Sunset over Kent Island - March 3, 2012
I’d taken several photos of the full moon this past week, but didn’t think any were as pretty than this morning’s partial moon before sunrise.
March 11, 2012 @ 6:14 am
And now onto the osprey! I am getting pretty darn excited on the anticipated arrival of our osprey, Oliver and Olivia. 🙂 Should be any day now to see our Olivia! Usually the female returns first, she retakes back her nest from the winter’s visitors and any other arrived osprey that are looking at hers for a new or first home. Then she will guard it and wait until her partner returns. Then the pair will work together to repair and rebuild their home. I had hoped Olivia would return today since I was around all day, but no sightings. 😦 But I’ve been reading reports that osprey sightings are occurring around the Chesapeake Bay; last week one was reported being seen in Easton, Maryland, just a hop, skip & jump from us!
I’m also excited to announce I’ve registered our Oyster Cove osprey nest to be a part of a program 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.
So if you have an osprey nest in your area that you regularly watch, think about joining this program and be a part of this research of a global community of osprey watchers. As of today, there are 324 registered watchers watching 443 osprey nests from around the world. Join today!
And with that I’ll end. I’m hoping my next post is a photo of Olivia so stay tuned!
Oliver and Olivia’s 2011 Season Photo Rewind
As promised, I finally finished a photo story rewind of Oyster Cove’s osprey pair, Oliver and Olivia, from last year’s season. With their impending arrival in the next couple weeks, I thought it would be refreshing to review Oliver and Olivia’s life of work, fun, thrills, and successes. In 2008 when we moved to Oyster Cove in Grasonville, Maryland, Oliver and Olivia were already an annual wonderment to our community. My third-floor balcony view gave me eye-popping sights, and I quickly & eagerly learned all about the osprey so I could understand Oliver and Olivia while enjoying them.
In July 2010, I was about to bust with the information I had witnessed and photos I had taken of Oliver and Olivia to date and in the past seasons. I was hanging up photos at our clubhouse and in the elevators, showing photos to everyone in the community who was interested in looking at them. A friend mentioned creating a blog would be an easier way to share my stories and photos of Oliver and Olivia to our community and maybe even to others who had an interest in the osprey.
And that’s how and why my blog was born.
Due to the length and ease to find at a later date, I created a separate page for Oliver and Olivia’s 2011 photo rewind. I really REALLY tried to select as few as possible from last year’s thousands that would showcase their life….boy it was hard. So if you’ve got 5+ minutes, grab a cup of coffee or drink, sit back, and click HERE or go to the sidebar and click the photo rewind under Pages. I hope you enjoy, and as always, thanks to every one of you for stopping by!
Oliver and Olivia, we are ready for your return to Oyster Cove!
Eagles, Tundra Swan, Ducks & More
After photographing the Eurasian wigeon last Sunday afternoon, I was curious to see if he and the group of American wigeons would still be in the marshy inlet by the Holiday Inn here in Kent Narrows the next morning. Alas, they weren’t, but I found a few tundra swans waking up with the lighting sky.
Tundra swans at sunrise
Five of the tundra swan decided to take flight into the morning skies….
Tundra swans in flight at sunrise
while the other tundra swans watched them, as if pondering if they should follow.
Tundra swans at sunrise
Tundra swans at sunrise
They decided to stay. With no time to hang around, I left them to their feeding while I continued on to work.
Tuesday morning just as I was leaving, I spotted I thought to be an eagle on Lippincott’s channel marker. My binoculars confirmed and I couldn’t leave without at least taking a few photos. The sun was just peaking over the horizon, which lit up the eagle’s beak as he turned towards my direction in the second photo.
Immature bald eagle on Lippincott's channel marker at sunrise
Immature bald eagle on Lippincott's channel marker at sunrise
As I finished the last shots, the eagle decided to take flight and came towards and past me just beyond our osprey nest and headed over to Kent Island. In these next photos, you’ll see he was an immature eagle, probably about 3 years old. He’s almost developed his trademark white head and tail.
Immature bald eagle
Immature bald eagle
Immature bald eagle
Immature bald eagle
I said my goodbyes and got on the road to work! As is the norm, I’m always seeing eagles and hawks along my way. With no traffic around me, I quickly stopped and captured this red-tailed hawk perched along Rt. 50, enjoying the sunrise as well.
Red-tailed hawk at sunrise
Red-tailed Hawk at sunrise
On my way home I still had that Eurasian wigeon on my mind, and as I rounded the ramp off Rt. 50 at the Holiday Inn, I spotted numerous waterfowl and pulled in as the sun was setting. The Eurasian wigeon was back, along with the American wigeons and tundra swan. Lighting was getting poor…
Eurasian wigeon and tundra swan
Eurasian wigeon and tundra swan
I never got a chance to return this week to see if he stayed around longer. Wednesday we had severe weather and heavy downpours mid-afternoon, as I arrived home they had passed, with a light rain still lingering. As I always do (Rick will confirm this!), I drop my belongings and go out onto our balcony to see what’s going on and breath in some of that great Chesapeake Bay air! As I was grabbing my camera, I almost tripped over my own feet when I glanced outside. An immature eagle was on our osprey nest in the light rain.
Immature bald eagle
Immature bald eagle
Immature bald eagle
Immature bald eagle
I took quite a few photos, some from inside my glass sliders so I wouldn’t scare him off. Shortly thereafter, he started to get antsy and took flight.
Immature bald eagle
Immature bald eagle
As I photographed him flying off, it was then I heard another eagle call out and turn to see an adult eagle come speeding in fast gear past me from CBEC/Marshy Creek area and go after the immature eagle. My first thought was it was possibly a parent who was going to interact/teach his young as they have been doing over at CBEC, but I quickly learned that this adult eagle was in combat mode as it repeatedly tried to attack the immature one.
Adult bald eagle speeding past to chase an immature bald eagle out of his territory
Adult bald eagle chasing an immature bald eagle out of his territory
Adult bald eagle chasing an immature bald eagle out of his territory
Adult eagle attacking an immature bald eagle
After that last photo, the adult bald eagle actually attacked the immature bald eagle and then continued to chase him as he tried to maneuver to get away. Satisfied with the distance the adult eagle chased the immature eagle, he turned around and came back past me and flew over to CBEC. I’m guessing it was a territorial skirmish. I will admit it was a pure treat to find that eagle on our osprey nest!
Thursday morning as I was leaving, I found a squirrel on the sidewalk. Now every time I go to grab my camera to photograph a squirrel, I’ll turn and he will be gone! So this time I just stood still and watched him until he went up a pine tree and settled on a branch. Then I grabbed my camera from my bag and got a few shots while he munched on an acorn. Not the greatest shots but THIS time I was successful in at least getting him!
This robin was singing in a tree across from the squirrel.
American Robin
As I drove out of our community’s entrance and passed Lippincott’s side-by-side entrance, I caught sight of a Great blue heron wading in their small marshy area.
Great Blue Heron at sunrise
Great Blue Heron at sunrise
Oh boy, now I’m really running late into work! Told myself no more stopping, but while enroute I thought I sighted an eagle perched ahead of me. As I was stopping (got to for an eagle not flying!), I realized it was a turkey vulture. They are one bird that doesn’t easily scare so I gave him a small photo ops session. 🙂 Not the prettiest of birds but he is one!
Turkey Vulture
Friday ended well when I got home, our ‘backyard’ was full with several rafts of scaup and canvasback feeding. They are fun to watch as they dive and then bunch back together for safety.
Canvasbacks and Scaups rafting together
Scaups
Scaups
Canvasbacks
Canvasbacks
All in all, a great week for bird captures for me. I hope you enjoyed, and as always, thanks for stopping by!
Coots, Swans, Blue Heron, Wigeons, and More
While I was writing my last post Friday evening, we were experiencing high winds, at times gusting WSW in the 40-50 mph range. Our windows rattled all night long! Saturday brought sunny skies but the winds with high gusts continued. One to two-foot waves blew across the Kent Narrows Channel at us from Kent Island.
Oyster Cove Community Osprey Nest Platform
Flying was difficult for all Saturday. A flock of Canada geese were struggling, with a small group blown away from the larger group, crossing right over my head.
Canada Geese
Even the gulls and eagles were having it a bit rough, but they at least seemed to enjoy it.
Herring Gull
Bald Eagle
For some, it was easier to hang in the water. There was a raft of canvasbacks beyond our osprey nest struggling to stay together and face into the winds……
Canvasback
as well as a raft of American coots who had returned from the day before. They really rode the waves!
American Coots
American Coots
American Coots
By this morning the winds had diminished and gave us a beautiful partly cloudy day. However, the high winds had caused much of the Chesapeake Bay’s and its tributaries waters to be blown out to sea, resulting in another extreme low tide, up to 3 feet below normal MLW (mean low water) at approximately 2:41 pm. We had another ‘day at the beach’ at low tide! This shot is at 4:27 pm, almost two hours later when I had returned home from work.
A few Canadian geese and mallards were enjoying the beach.
Canada Geese
In addition, a Great blue heron was busy strutting across the sand, trying to get away from someone out for their own stroll along the walk-way. He eventually decided it was best to take flight and go over to the point where he could be alone.
Great Blue Heron
Great Blue Heron
Great Blue Heron
Great Blue Heron
Great Blue Heron
As I had mentioned, I had to work today, so I had been anxious to get out mid-afternoon and return home to see that low tide and to check out another marshy area just around the corner from me behind the Holiday Inn. Friday afternoon I had sighted a few tundra swans there but wasn’t able to stop to grab some shots. Today, I could see them again along with some geese and got hubby to stop. 🙂 It was so worth it!!
As we pulled up at the end Holiday Inn’s parking lot, there were already three photographers set up with tripods, cameras, and binoculars! As I walked up with my camera, they were busy chatting and immediately started telling me their excitement, an Eurasian Wigeon was among the group of waterfowl, a rare sighting for our area. Here are my shots of him and the other species that were together. I sure wish I had my tripod with me today for a steadier hand….
Eurasian Wigeon & Gadwells
Eurasian Wigeon, American Wigeons & Gadwells
Eurasian Wigeon, American Wigeons & Gadwells
Male and Female Gadwells
The large tundra swan and Canadian geese were very cordial with each other and the other species, as they all fed on the bottom. All of us photographers were well back behind tall marshy grass and they seemed oblivious to us.
American Wigeons, Gadwells & Tundra Swan
Canada Geese & Tundra Swans
Tundra Swans and Gadwells
Tundra Swans, American Wigeon & Gadwells
Canada Geese, American Wigeons, Eurasian Wigeon, Gadwells & Gulls
Tundra Swans, American Wigeons & Gadwells
I couldn’t have had any nicer set-ups to a wonderful two days of photo ops when I had such limited time this weekend. What they say is true, it is being at the right place at the right time. Thanks for stopping by and allowing me to share my photos with you!
Bay Photos by Donna 