Herons Visiting Oyster Cove Osprey Nest
The skies have been quiet this past week. Only once did I hear an osprey. Remember how noisy it was not over a month ago when the osprey were abundant? Our area osprey have mostly migrated now. I miss their callings but know they will be back next March and another season of osprey will abound.
Now that the osprey aren’t around to protect their homes, both a Great Blue Heron and a green heron are visiting the nest and the surrounding waters daily. They don’t hesitate to perch on the osprey nest, checking the area out and the waters below….looking for the movement and flicker of dinner. The green heron is the smaller of the two, usually growing no taller than 17 inches. Whereas the Great Blue Heron will reach 36-55 inches tall. First a few photos of our visiting green heron.
There were times when both the green heron and Great Blue Heron were visiting at the same time. They didn’t seem to mind the other there. The green heron would visit and move on, returning and leaving again. But the visiting Great Blue Heron appeared to be hanging at Oyster Cove most of the day each day. I found him there at sunrise, and there at sunset. On the weekend, I found him there throughout the day. He has been a joy to watch and photograph.
This fella was doing some awesome fishing at Oyster Cove, no wonder he kept returning every day. And his patience and striking pose were astounding. It would soon pay off as small fish would dart by for his strike.
When he was finished ‘working that area’, he’d walk over to another area and assume his striking pose again. Sometimes if it’s awkward or slippery to ‘walk’, the blue heron will spread his wings for balance.
Yesterday, there were frequent walkers/joggers, and the blue heron moved around the base of the nest a lot, changing locations and positions. Which was awesome, once he repositioned off to the side of me on the berm, putting him a lot closer. I got some great close-ups of his beautiful coloring and stunning stature.
After that last shot, a walker came by and the blue heron took flight up to our osprey nest.
When he felt safe enough, the blue heron returned back to the berm where he went back to his work, while I got a few more close-ups.
Beautiful, isn’t he! He was at the nest again today, doing his thing!
There’s a rock berm over at Mears Point Marina where there is usually some type of water bird(s) perched. The sun was shining bright and I captured a shot of the cormorants who were hanging there along with a few mallards.
For those in the community with binoculars, early each morning at sunrise there have been up to three eagles flying over CBEC, sometimes venturing close to us. Their sightings will be more frequent as they begin their season of bonding, nest building, and mating in the area. Check them out as they gracefully glide through the skies.
It’s just amazing, there is never a dull moment with nature here in our area!
Oyster Cove Osprey Nest Update
Sorry for another long absence, but we’ve been packing and moving 23 years of accumulation from our place in Delaware; and we are now full-time residents of Oyster Cove!
What a LOT of work, but that hasn’t kept me from taking photos. Although it’s been well over a week since Hurricane Irene descended upon us, I wanted to post some photos of the ‘event’. As those know locally, we were issued a mandatory evacuation that Friday, to be out of the area by noon Saturday, due to concerns of heavy flooding. By that Friday evening, over 40 boats were anchored in Marshy Creek, with hopes they could ride out and survive the winds and driving rain.
That evening, the day shut down with a lovely sunset and calm waters. What approaching hurricane??
Saturday morning we awoke to cloudy skies, wind, and the beginning of the heavy rains. More boats continued to anchor in Marshy Creek.
After boarding up windows, moved and secured items, we departed and hoped for the best. When we returned noonish on Sunday, we found our area and our osprey nest had survived! The boats in Marshy Creek didn’t do too bad either, there were nine that ended up to shore but none seemed swamped.
Within an hour of returning, an adult male osprey landed on our nest. He didn’t stay long; but it was a great feel-good sighting!
Shortly thereafter, the skies began to clear. Here’s a couple photos showing the edge of the hurricane as the end of it passed and continued its onslaught north.
As the days passed, a lone osprey would fly by, but it did seem eerie that most were gone. The following Labor Day weekend, we boated through the Kent Narrows to Rock Hall, then back south down through Prospect Bay and the Miles and Wye Rivers. Some nests were completely gone on the channel markers. But there are a few osprey still around, including a sighting of two chicks.
Along the Wye River, I sighted a few osprey as well, but there were definitely not as many as a week or so prior. Of course, it’s migration time so that and the hurricane both are the reason for a low count. One thing that is exciting, when the osprey migrate out of the area, we begin to see eagles more often. They begin their nest preparation in the fall for the upcoming breeding season; the female eagle will lay her eggs sometime from late January to March. And it was just the case, upon entering the Wye River, we immediately saw 5 eagles. Photos 2 and 3 are of an immature bald eagle, about 2-4 years old. They don’t obtain their distinctive white head and tail until they are about 5 years old. An eagle lives on average about 15 years but have been known to live as long as 30 years.
Since last weekend, I’ve seen an eagle in our osprey nest area, crossing the Narrows and heading towards CBEC. So as you watch our osprey depart for the season during the next few weeks (we will have transients come through from the New York and New England States as late as October or possibly November), you’ll be seeing the eagles and waterfowl begin to descend rapidly into our area. Helps beat the osprey blues til they return next Spring! 🙂
We already have a Great Blue Heron that has been enjoying the base of the osprey nest for some fishing several evenings this week. Two nights ago he was getting quite wet from the rains and although he tried and tried, he just couldn’t shake enough off; he decided to take flight to find a possibly dryer spot.
I don’t blame him, we are all having a hard time trying to stay dry from the continuous rains. Until next time, keep dry!
Chesapeake Bay Environmental Center
Whether from my balcony with my binoculars & camera or a visit on-site, I love and refer often in my posts about the Chesapeake Bay Environmental Center (CBEC) located here in Grasonville, Maryland. CBEC offers a wonderful place for all ages to visit and learn about their efforts in research and education for the Chesapeake Bay restoration program. CBEC provides easy walking paths to various parts of their 510 acres with fantastic views of Marshy Creek, Cabin Creek, and Prospect Bay. By the end of the migration season, approximately 28 species of birds will have visited their peninsula for the winter. If you live locally and haven’t visited, check out their website at www.bayrestoration.org for all they offer year-round! Below are some of my photos from past on-site visits or from my balcony.
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Sunrise Over CBEC – December 2, 2011 (from my balcony)
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Sunrise Over CBEC – November 26, 2011 (from my balcony)
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Visit – October 23, 2011
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Visit – August 22, 2011
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Visit – March 19, 2011
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Visit – January 1, 2011
In the first photo shot across Marshy Creek from Discovery Lane, I was able to count eight species of waterfowl — tundra swans, Canadian geese, coots, buffleheads, canvasback, and three others I couldn’t identify. (I actually took a one-night class offered at CBEC last fall called Waterfowl I.D. and I continue to learn as I go along!)
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An Oyster Cove Osprey Chick or Dad Oliver?
Sorry for the long break, life’s been too busy last few days; but I’ve still tried to keep tabs on our osprey nest. During the week at sunrise, I watched our nest get several osprey visits for a quick perch or descend down to the nest, grab a talon-full of sticks, and take off over to the Kent Narrows channel markers to their nest to use. I know Oliver would not be happy. This adult visited but didn’t stay long.
The following day another osprey did a quick visit and departed.
And then a surprise! Last Tuesday, I was taking in the cool morning sunrise before leaving for work, and I got to see an osprey chick land on the nest.
He didn’t stay long and was off! I thought, was this one of our osprey chicks? It was the first one I have seen since ours left unexpectedly. As I watched him fly off and away, an adult male osprey came from the opposite direction to the nest with a fish. He was hovering over it while watching the sky. I started to get excited. Could it be dad Oliver bringing breakfast to one of his offspring? Well, I was quick to change my mind when the adult osprey started a threatening chatter while I watched the osprey chick return and descend back on the nest. The adult osprey was not sharing!
Poor little chick, he called out, then departed but didn’t chase after the adult. Were either part of our Oyster Cove osprey family? If either were, I’d lean towards maybe it was one of our chicks instead of Oliver. I don’t think Oliver because his primary chore was to bring fish to the nest for others, and to build and protect his nest. This one was clearly feasting for himself alone. But also the chick could be from our area and was hungry, thinking maybe this nice adult would share.
As August comes to an end along with the heat and humidity, the approaching season change from summer to fall has our area osprey starting to feel the urge to migrate south. What makes them decide any given moment to up and leave? It isn’t exactly known but is guessed there is some type of magnetic pull, maybe from the sun’s solstice and the season’s change that they feel; one day each feels it and just ups and goes without any warning or even a goodbye! It is also guessed that osprey have some type of inner ‘GPS’ that guides them on their long 4-5 week journey to as far as South America. What a migration!
The female adult usually migrates first. Last year mom Olivia had left by mid-August, so we hope she’s already pushing her way south this season. If there were offspring, the male adult will stay behind to help the chicks with feedings until they’re able to fish for themselves. Then both the adult male and the last chick to leave will depart about the same time, but they will not fly together. Each is on his own. Last year Oliver and one chick was still around September 5. We officially decided September 10 they too had departed for sure for the season. This could mean Oliver and his two chicks are still out exploring and increasing their skills before the flight south. Let’s wish them a safe journey with the hopes of Oliver and Olivia’s safe return next March. If our two chicks succeed in surviving the many turmoils they will face in their migrations, they will stay in South America for a year and a half, returning two springs from now, most likely coming back to our general area to start their own families. This means the two chicks I blogged about during last year’s season would be returning next spring to our area to start their own mating and eventually families.
If you have a further interest in the osprey migration, Rob Bierregaard, Jr., a professor at the University of North Carolina, has been researching osprey since 1969. Since 2000, he has tagged 42 adult and juvenile osprey from Martha’s Vineyard, Cape Cod, Nantucket, Long Island, Westport, North Carolina, and Delaware with small satellite transmitters to track their actual migrations. The information they have learned is astounding. You can visit and subscribe to his website that shows exactly where each osprey and active transmitter are at the present.
I will continue to blog about our nest and the area osprey migration, as we go into the fall and winter months. The waterfowl around our community and nest platform is awesome, giving me many photo ops to share. I’ll also be adding more photo gallery pages of other types of birds and wildlife I’ve captured. So stay in touch!
Finally, we had a full moon about a week ago at sunset, I tried a few shots to see how they’d turn out. Was kinda cool!
Enjoy your week!
Our Missing Osprey Family
It’s surely is disappointing to have our osprey family departing from our sight and enjoyment so early in the season. I have seen a single adult osprey on the nest on occasion throughout the week, but photos do not confirm they are either Oliver or Olivia. Here’s one photo of a male and a female each who visited the nest this past Monday morning. They both only stayed for a few minutes, just to perch.
I’ve been back in contact with Lisa at Blackwater Refuge, here is more information from her….
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.”
After several discussions with Lisa, I’m leaning towards our osprey family might have gotten spooked, possibly from a GHO. There is a local GHO nest over at CBEC, across MarshyCreek. Here’s two photos back in March of the GHO on it’s nest….
We will all just assume Oliver, Olivia, and their two chicks all relocated to be safer and are enjoying life and preparing for their long migration south, maybe they are presently not too far in the horizon on our waters! 🙂
Husband and I took a couple bike rides over to Ferry Point Park, over on the point of the Chesapeake Exploration Center along the Narrows. There is a cool osprey nest there, high in an old dead tree that’s covered with ivy. There are two chicks in this nest, with both parents protecting them. I’ve watched them flapping but no lift-offs. Since this little park is so quiet, I doubt they see many humans; this family is very loud vocally, warning me to leave. Got some great shots before heading over to the beach and out of their sight.
A couple more photos from Ferry Point Park….this little guy was giving me a look!
One evening coming through the Narrows, a male osprey was perched on a marker, enjoying his evening dinner.
While relaxing on our balcony and watching the wildlife and boats pass by last evening, we had a green-backed heron jumping along the berm towards the nest, searching along the water. He took flight and landed up on our osprey nest. He did a thorough check-out of it, including staring down one of the birds from the lower-level family dwellers who was also briefly perched there before entering his nest beneath.
No sooner did he depart and went back down to the berm, when a great blue heron came flying over from CBEC and landed at the base of our nest.
Finally, I still have frequent visits from the hummingbirds, there’s one who seems to be getting use to me and while I’m photographing our nest, etc., he’s buzzing behind me and landing on the feeder. He’s not comfortable if I go to turn around to take his photo, but I did once capture him, keeping his eye on me from the other side of the feeder.
Cute little guy! Have a great weekend everyone!
Was It Dad Oliver This Morning?
Up until this morning, our nest has appeared to remain empty and quiet as I continued to keep an eye on it, along with a few community neighbors. However, this morning at 6:45 a.m., I heard an osprey calling loudly and glanced out at the nest to see an osprey perched on it. He stopped calling for a bit, and just kept looking around the area. He didn’t seem to mind me as I was quickly moving around on my balcony trying to defog my lens and capture a clear shot of him. Another osprey appeared up over to the left of the nest, and the perched osprey started a threatening chirp loudly, causing the flying osprey to leave. He remained on the nest for 15 minutes before flying off and out of sight.
Was this our dad Oliver? Was he visiting and then protecting his nest? I’ve pulled up several shots of Oliver from this past season and I cannot confirm it was him because this mornings’ shots were not clear enough to see detail. 😦 This evening, I sighted no visitors to the nest. But maybe it was Oliver this morning and he’s visiting several times during the day while I’m away. Neighbor Lu reported she did see a young osprey on Lipincott’s Marker 5 last Sunday, crying out for food or his mama. Maybe one of our chicks or one from a neighboring osprey nest? Wish we knew!
But I did get to enjoy watching constant action at my hummingbird feeder. I must be sweetening the liquid just perfect, as they are emptying 8 oz. worth every 3 days. Here’s some of this evening’s photos while I watched and hoped for our osprey family to show up.
I accidentally hit my flash button and it went off on the next shot. It startled both him and me!
This past Tuesday evening during a boat ride, I took of a few photos of osprey who reside on the Kent Narrows channel markers, protecting their nests and keeping their eye on us as we passed slowly by.
As for our osprey family, we’ll keep our fingers crossed that they will soon return from their extended vacation. Lisa at BWNR asked I keep in touch on the long-term absence, I will contact her again to see what her thoughts are now. It just seems odd that they would leave a nest they have possessed and protected year after year, plus it seems fish are abundant here as I watch them jump here and there in the water as well as watching other osprey fish successfully here. Where are they? I’ll let you know what more behavior info I can find out!
Oyster Cove Osprey Family Still Missing
It’s been a week since my last post, and each day since then I’ve been hoping to see our osprey family back on the nest and be able to share some antics and photos with you. There have been numerous osprey flying in our area, but unfortunately I haven’t seen any of them hang near or land on the nest but one time; and it was a touch-down and quick lift-off as if it wasn’t his nest, as if just checking it out. And those I’ve watched with binoculars in the sky have all been adults, no juvenile chicks. I‘ve been a bit worried on the total family disappearance, as this didn’t happen with our osprey family the past two year’s I’ve watched them.
So I wrote to Lisa, Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge’s osprey & eagle expert 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.”
Hopefully, they have done just that and are all safe with full bellies. I do hope they return to their home base before migration in September, so I guess we will just have to wait and see. If anyone in the community sees any nest action with our osprey family, please send a comment or write me at bayphotosbydonna@gmail.com, it’d be much appreciated by all of us wondering and worrying!
So what have I been photographing these past two weeks? 🙂
I’ve noticed Green herons have been abundant for some reason recently. During my early morning look-outs, it’s been easy to see at least one each time, and one morning I watched six flying and playing along around the base of our osprey nest.
I got lucky again with capturing lightning during that thunderstorm that roared towards us from the western shore on July 25. The land in the background is Kent Island.
Another shot of one of my evasive hummingbirds….they are so fast! I know I have at least three visitors, with a visit from one of them every 10-20 minutes now. They always chase each other away, trying to control the feeder as their own. They are an enjoyment to watch. I’d highly recommend a hummingbird feeder to anyone who has a place for one where you can easily observe, especially through a window.
We visited friends who have a beach house along the Nanticoke River; and this morning I was lucky to capture the following photos of a protective mother Great Egret with her baby high in a pine tree, as well as another adult Great Egret along their pond.
Finally, a flower shot, still don’t what kind it is but I loved the color!
Til next time, let’s keep our fingers cross that Oliver, Olivia, and their two chicks return to their nest for us to enjoy the rest of the season! Hopefully they will get homesick real soon! 🙂
Our Empty Osprey Nest
It has been a week since my last post on our osprey family; and in that time, there isn’t much to report as our entire osprey family has basically been absent from the nest, even during the night. I have not seen a chick for five days, Oliver I’ve seen once, and Olivia twice. Each parent’s visit was brief; Olivia both times called out, maybe trying to bring home her kids. It’s as if they just knew this brutal heat we are experiencing was about to descend on us and flew the coop! We experienced this exact disappearance scenario a couple weeks after last year’s chicks fledged. Hopefully, this year’s have located a tree with shade along the water somewhere, and they are safe and out exploring their new world. They shouldn’t have gone too far, ospreys do continue to use their nest as home base, to meet up with each other and maybe enjoy a dinner until their September migration.
Here’s my last sighting of Oliver, having just departed a brief visit to the nest.
And of Olivia on the nest early Thursday morning, calling out for a few minutes, and then giving up and flying off.
Today there were several osprey flying in the area, but none came to the nest and I wasn’t able to identify if they were any of our family. I’m hoping when the heat breaks, we will see them return more often.
In the meantime, our mockingbird continues to visit the nest to perch and sing. I’ve seen a second mockingbird try to land and the first one chase him away or put on a wing-spread display while screeching, as if to say, go away this is my perch!
I bet Olivia doesn’t know about her house visitors and an intruder has laid claim to her nest. Although I’m sure Mr. Mockingbird would disappear immediately upon seeing a huge osprey coming directly at him to land.
Let’s hope this hot weather breaks and we see our osprey family return with more frequent visits!
Oyster Cove Osprey Fledgings Enjoying Their License to Fly
Wow, what a big difference in just a matter of a week! Not only have our two osprey chicks fledged, but they are out and about much more, and you don’t see them on the nest as often. I’ve not been able to get many photos, but I’ve watched the fun they are having when they are around. They are flying further from the nest as they experience the bigger world, and I’m sure mom Olivia is with them, keeping her eye on them and teaching.
On Saturday I watched Olivia chase one of her youngsters to practice maneuvering and ‘get-away’ from a chase. Olivia was not near as fierce as she is when there’s an intruder, she was slower and chirping as she chased him. When done, Olivia flew up to her youngster and they climbed high and spiraled down slowly. What a beautiful sighting! I’ve also seen one chick actually dunk down into the water and pull back up and out. It looked a bit tough but he/she made it! In no time, the chicks will be learning to dive and snag a fish for their own consumption. In the meantime, good ole dad Oliver is still bringing home the meals, sometimes just passing off the fish to the awaiting chick; or if Olivia and both chicks are there, he passes it to her and she will feed them together. (No sibling rivalry then!) In addition, the nest continues to get maintenance repairs from both parents.
Some photos of our fledgings! Here’s a chick landing for a brief visit to home base…
Olivia and her kids together….
The following chick was enjoying circling the nest and flew unexpectedly up and past me on my left.
If you’re in the community, you just have to come past the nest and sit awhile on the grass or at the picnic table. If the chicks are on the nest, they will most likely fly about and you can watch their twist and turns while they get use to the thrill of soaring. Sometimes they can be really funny!
As I kept an eye out for a sighting of one of our osprey, I captured a few other shots. There is ALWAYS something happening!
I’ve been working on those hummingbird shots… They aren’t so easy….
We do have intense heat and humidity coming our way this week, so hopefully our chicks will be dunking in the water in order to keep cool through it. Everyone also be safe with the heat too!
Olivia Is One Fierce Protective Mom!
No one comes anywhere close to Olivia’s kids without her approval! This past weekend I watched several instances where Olivia was in pursuit of another who invaded her domain. With her kids flying now, it appears Olivia claims much more of the surrounding area. One of the best dog fights I saw was with a Great Blue Heron, who was just flying by minding his own business. Not only did Olivia scream while chasing him, the Great Blue Heron too was having his say, creating such drama and action. Being unprepared, my photos are out of focus, but thought it was still interesting to share. In one, you’ll see the two chicks on the nest watching their mom’s fierceness as she forces the poor Blue Heron in all directions, who is just trying to get away and quickly out of the area.
Thirty minutes later, Olivia was after another osprey while a single chick was on the nest. This continued off and on all weekend! You go, Olivia!
Since our osprey chicks’ fledging, it is already quite obvious the skill and control they have learned. Watching them soaring and circling, you can just tell they are having a great time.
When they’re not flying or perching on the roof, both chicks will still return to their home for comfort and feedings. Here’s a nice shot of our two healthy full-grown chicks.
I found this interesting, both last and tonight early evening, I saw a mockingbird on the nest while it was empty. With binoculars, I have seen on a hot still day tiny bugs buzzing all around the nest. I’ve imagined it cannot be pleasant with the decaying fish parts that get imbedded within. This little guy just hopped all round, grabbing and eating. It was as if he found the mother-load of insects! Yesterday, he was forced off the nest by a landing chick. Tonight, I watched Olivia fly over while she watched the mockingbird eating and she did not seam to care. She headed down to the Lipincott channel marker and perched there. Hey, maybe Olivia hired a maid! 🙂 It is amazing, though, on how nature entwines different species who actually help each other without even trying.
Osprey nests are always over water but usually not as high in the air as this one on the Bloody Point Lighthouse, at the south tip of Kent Island. An adult osprey is perched on the top left, the disarrayed nest to the right. There was no evidence of any chicks this weekend and the condition of the nest did not look good. Maybe a first year’s try….or one of those storm cells that came through destroyed it. The dedicated osprey was still there though watching and protecting his home.
That osprey certainly has great waterfront real estate with a view! 🙂 Finally, coming back through the Kent Narrows on one of the channel markers, I captured a close-up shot of another osprey eating a fish.
Til next post, have a great week!
