Two Osprey Chicks Ready to Grow
Our two little osprey chicks are becoming stronger by the day! Saturday morning, it was difficult to see the chicks still as their little heads wobbled around. In addition, a plastic bag and some pink wall insulation have appeared within the nest, making it difficult to see in. (Someone needs to talk to architect Oliver about keeping our sight window on the nest’s land side open for everyone’s viewing!) 🙂 By Sunday morning, it was amazing to see the two chicks sitting up and holding their heads steady! Here’s some shots of the babies….
I’ve even seen sibling rivalry already. The next photo shows one of the chicks with beak open, lunging at the neck of the other! Don’t worry, the other one turned around and beaked him back! Hopefully, they don’t hurt each other….
I saw Olivia take advantage of the warm weekend by diving a few times and then return to the nest. I’m guessing after that past week’s showers, Olivia needed it; she was constantly preening her feathers to clean them.
After one bathing dip, she returned to the nest and constantly fluffed her feathers in the warm sun….
Now that Oliver and Olivia have babies to protect, their demeanor at the nest has changed towards us humans. A walker passing by had stopped to photograph. Olivia caused a huge ruckus and took a defiant stance on the nest edge. I really thought she might attack the person. I love her attitude!
In addition, no one in the sky should come close either. An eagle was just passing by, but apparently Olivia and Oliver felt it was too close. Olivia left the nest and flew in circles between the nest and Oliver who was in pursuit of the eagle. It look like Oliver and the eagle were surely going to tangle but didn’t. Here’s their combative shots…..
I was sure the eagle meant no harm to our osprey family, but it didn’t matter. Oliver continued to go after the eagle until he high-tailed it over to Kent Island. Oliver returned to the nest looking flustered but proud of himself. 🙂
A couple more shots, this one shows the beauty of Olivia as she passes by me.
And finally, only one chick is in the next photo, but momma’s got his back as she keeps an eye on him as he starts checking on his outside world.
Each week now the chicks will grow at an unbelievable rate. Check back often as I share their growth in photos with you!
Not One…But Two Osprey Chicks!
That’s right, I have now seen and can confirm Oliver and Olivia have two chicks! Being so small, I can only get quick glimpses of them at feeding with binoculars, as they try to reach up for a piece of fish from momma. I tried to capture a photo, and the following two are not the best in clarity since I’m enlarging so much. In the first photo just to the left of Olivia’s leg, you can see a tiny light-colored beak and large black eye. In the second one, Olivia is feeding him.
In another week, we should be able to see much more and whether there is a third and fourth little one. 🙂
I’ve got a few more shots, the next one shows Olivia taking a nap in the evening. She must have been exhausted, I’ve never seen her take such a long one before.
The next one shows dad Oliver ‘bringing home the bacon”!
Oliver is apparently doing a great job in keeping up the food deliveries for the arrival of his hungry babies, as shown in the next photo. In it Olivia is returning from chasing an eagle away from the area this morning, and directly under her on the nest is a fish already there and waiting for the next feeding. Also notice Olivia’s talons are pulled in for the landing, just in case she should come close to landing by or on a chick.
Finally, I thought this last photo was cute with Olivia looking over at her summer’s tenant. See him just to the right and down a bit from Olivia on the branch? Obviously, these little guys are not a bother to our osprey and sense their safety as they perch alongside the nest often.
A quick mention, Blackwater Refuge’s osprey pair on their webcam have successfully laid three eggs, with the first hatching to occur in about a week. Be sure to check out their excitement for their first arrival, you might get to see the egg hatching on the cam. Also their three eaglets on Blackwater’s other webcam are now almost full-grown and it’s confirmed two have fledged!
An Osprey Chick Sighting!
I have finally seen at least one tiny little head reaching up for a feeding from momma! For the past week, our osprey parents have often been seen peering down into their nest from the sides.
Olivia seems at ease and is mostly tending to the chick(s) by either keeping them warm, giving them open-air time, and feedings. But when she leaves to take a break, left dad Oliver always looks as if he’s still surprised or bewildered with what he sees down in the nest, and will anxiously look at Olivia flying away into the distance as if to say, “Hurry back, this is your job!”. 🙂 If it’s been more than a few minutes, Oliver starts low chirping, trying to call Olivia back.
Olivia is never gone for long, I’m sure much to Oliver’s relief. He’s been a great partner and dad so far, and he has his own duties of nest protection from intruders, keeping the nest strong & tidy, and bringing fish to Olivia.
Ospreys usually have 2-4 chicks a year. Oliver & Olivia’s largest brood that I’m aware of is three. We now know we have one chick. Around May 10-12, a second egg would have hatched. Around May 15-17, a possible third hatching did/will occur. With binoculars, I’ve watched numerous feedings and have seen Olivia passing fish pieces to what appears to be at least two chicks by the way she dips to one side or the other back and forth. Here are some photos of different feedings. On some, you can tell the nest cup within the nest is down deep by how far down Olivia has to feed.
Here’s some great wing shots of our osprey parents. The first one is Oliver, the second and third one are Olivia. I love how the very early rising sun shined on Olivia in the third one.
Some final photos from this past week, this one of Oliver doing a fly-by me…..
And Olivia taking one of her meals off to enjoy alone.
And finally, Olivia skirting the water on another break to stretch her wings…. and wash her feet!
I’ll keep my watch and hope I can upload a glimpse very soon of our new babies!
We Have an Osprey Hatching!
It appears we have some exciting activity occurring within Oliver & Olivia’s nest! Their first egg was laid on April 2nd, with incubation taking approximately 36-39 days. Up until this past Friday, all seemed basically normal. But Saturday late afternoon through this evening, I’ve seen both Olivia and Oliver being very interested of their nest within, getting up and inspecting their clutch often from the side of the nest. They are also constantly picking at the nesting cup materials, rearranging it some as if to keep in place and secure. In addition, neither parent is too keen now on anyone walking by the nest, they begin to chirp. So I feel confident to say we have had a hatching! If there is more than one egg (and we hope so!), they will hatch in sequence of laying about 3-5 days after the first one. It will be a week or so before we might possibly see a little chick’s head popping up for a feeding or a look. That will be my challenge to capture!
I have a few photos to share from the last few days, the first one has Mr. Oliver giving me the stare down, while the wind behind gives him a stylish mohawk.
The next photo is Oliver at take-off and gives a great shot of an adult osprey’s wingspan which is 4 1/2 to 5 1/2 feet, the female’s being the largest.
I’ve noticed in the last couple weeks, Oliver landing on Olivia several times as if to mate. He wouldn’t continue but just stayed still on her a few seconds and then would lift up & over to the side of the nest while Olivia would reposition herself onto the clutch. I was wondering if it was a sign of affection or bonding between the two. Here’s one of those instances.
Yesterday morning, Oliver brought in breakfast upon which Olivia took possession and flight to enjoy alone. She came towards me this time. 🙂
With the immediate area having two new osprey pair soaring around as well as the occasional eagle, both Oliver and Olivia keep their eyes on these “intruders” as well as pursuing them with aerial chases as they protect their home and future family.
Another food delivery!
The next photo was taken last night, and shows our osprey parents inspecting apparent activity within! Does Oliver have a look of surprise on him?? 🙂
–
This evening as the sun was setting and Oliver had just departed the nest from his clutch-duty, Olivia actually perched a few minutes to soak in the warm rays and do a photo shoot before positioning back on to her future family. You’re doing a great job, mom!
Stay tuned for our little ones as they grow from helpless 2-ounce chicks to soaring acrobats in just eight amazing weeks!
Finally, a shot of a young cormorant I saw over at Mears Point Marina who was also soaking up some sun-rays.
Blackwater NWR – 2010 / 2011
I love visiting Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge in Cambridge, Maryland. The beauty and serenity is astounding. This is a collection of my best photos from each visit. If you haven’t already, take a day trip to Blackwater NWR to drive along their paved Wildlife Drive or walk along one of their trails. No telling what you might see!! For information about the refuge, read the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Blackwater NWR brochure (1.4MB PDF file).
My Visit – November 12, 2011
Visit – April 30, 2011
The next photos show a sequence of a Great Blue Heron trying his best to swallow his large catch. It took him 12 minutes from capture to final swallow.
His throat appears a bit full in that last photo!
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Visit – January 15, 2011
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Visit – January 1, 2011
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Visit – November 21, 2010
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Visit – September 18, 2010
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Visit – July 4, 2010
As We Wait for Oliver & Olivia’s Hatching
Oliver and Olivia continue to support each other and protect their nest as they head into their final days before the hatching of their clutch. Here’s a changing of the guard, as Olivia takes off for a break while Oliver prepares to take her spot.
In the next photo, Oliver had brought Olivia a fish but she didn’t budge off her clutch nor try to take it from Oliver. So Oliver took off with it to enjoy for himself. At least he offered it to Olivia first!
As Olivia returns to the nest and inspects her clutch, Oliver tends to a stick that needed an apparent adjustment.
The following is a cute photo of Oliver (right) and Olivia (left) together inspecting their clutch. I wonder if they can hear anything from the egg(s)….
Another photo, this one capturing a shot of their tenant who lives in the bottom of the nest. 🙂
The osprey population in our area has increased these last several years, which is great news. As the young osprey return to their area of birth, they must find a mate and a location to start a nest and take up residence. It appears we have a pair that have gotten a nest started on the Kent Narrows channel marker. We have both that pair and another pair from CBEC that continue to harrass Oliver & Olivia. Here’s a shot of the pair from CBEC on the newly constructed osprey nest platform. I can’t tell if they’ve been successful in starting their own nest yet. It must be enticing to want to try and steal a great home nest like Oliver has built and not start from scratch!
This past Saturday I was able to take a trip down to Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, where it is always a treat to see beauty untouched. I’ve uploaded my best to my BNWR photo gallery page for your enjoyment. Here’s a couple shots:
If you visit the BNWR photo gallery page, you will see a sequence of this Great Blue Heron trying to devour his large catch. It took him 12 minutes…..
Thanks for visiting, and stay tuned for Oliver and Olivia’s adventures while they bring their new family into our big world.
Oliver and Olivia Are Safe!
For those of you not within sight of the osprey nest, I just wanted to pass on that Oliver and Olivia are safe and secure, having endured even more violent thunderstorms and winds than a few days ago. The last three days of constant winds of 20-30 mph (and gusts over 60!) have kept Olivia low in the nest while the platform pole has swayed back and forth a bit. In the midst of it all, Tuesday evening, Oliver decided to have some fun and did some wave-skipping!
And then up Oliver soared, giving himself a good shake-off in the process. With the warm, humid temperatures, I bet it felt good!
As the storms headed our way Wednesday, Oliver was busy working on strengthening the nest, a never-ending job it seems.
And then today’s storms hit. I was not around but watched the weather radar and saw our area hit continuously by storm cell after another. Some hitting direct were packing 60 mph winds. And I worried about Oliver and Olivia and their nest. Would it be able to sustain the impacts I was watching? I had watched in horror late last summer a well-established nest over at CBEC along Prospect Bay just disappear in seconds from a violent storm (luckily the chicks had fledged!). This evening to my amazement and relief, the nest was fully intact and I saw Oliver and Olivia within minutes. 🙂
Just before dusk, the sun broke through a small clearing. I got a shot of the whole nest, still intact, proving Oliver certainly is one excellent architect!
One last thing I wanted to mention, we had an altercation at the nest this evening between Oliver, Olivia, and another osprey. Olivia was up and had started to let out loud warning calls, which got my attention. Oliver’s too as he came out of nowhere and was on the nest also screaming. A third osprey came down to the nest and immediately Oliver and Olivia were trying to attack it. The intruding osprey flew up and away, heading over to the Kent Narrows channel. Oliver and Olivia both stayed on the nest, chattered some more, and then Olivia settled back down on the clutch. I have noticed on the KN channel marker 3, another pair of osprey have started a first-time nest. In the last couple weeks, it appeared that one was constantly on the nest, possibly incubating an egg(s). I’m wondering if the intruding osprey was from that marker, as that pair has continuously flown over our nest and then a chase usually occurred, chasing the young pair back over to KN.
Let’s hope those nasty storms are over and more comfortable temperatures are on their way. I’m sure Oliver and Olivia would agree!
Oliver & Olivia Endures Stormy Weather
What a week of weather! Oliver and Olivia have endured some strong thunderstorms while keeping their clutch protected and nest strong. There were a couple of times I feared the worse not seeing neither in the nest but was quickly relieved to spot an occasional head pop up in the midst of the wind and pouring rain. Whoever was in the nest each time was down very low and tight keeping the clutch secured and warm. Our Oliver the architect continues to bring and add sticks and materials to strengthen the nest as well as giving Olivia an occasional break from egg duty.
On some of the nicer sunny days, I captured some shots of the pair coming and going from the nest. I’ve also watched Olivia often take her breaks perched on Lipincott’s channel marker while Oliver assumes egg duty, all the while keeping his head up and an eye on Olivia. Such a wonderful protective mate!
In some of the photos you can see Oliver and Olivia looking at each other. They look so devoted!
Are you getting anxious to know how many eggs are in the clutch and how many chicks we will soon be watching grow? I sure am and wish I could see into the nest so we would know the count. The first egg was laid on April 3rd and should hatch the first or second week of May. Soon we will be sighting tiny heads popping up to see their new world! Stay tuned!
A Dinner Delivery From Oliver
The past few days have produced all types of weather. I was away Saturday but heard the weather was stormy and I’m sure scary for Olivia sitting on her egg clutch trying to protect them from the winds and rain. I was glad to see their nest still intact and both parents active Sunday evening. Olivia is the primary sitter, but Oliver quickly takes over when Olivia takes a break from the nest. The first sequence of photos shows Olivia leaving with a small fish in her beak that Oliver had brought to her, and then flying off while transferring the fish to her talons.
And here’s Oliver taking over egg-duty while Olivia is off to enjoy a well-deserved break and dinner!
I’ve seen an eagle flying in the area late evenings, occasionally coming a bit close to the nest which neither Oliver or Olivia take too lightly. Olivia will leave the nest and eggs unattended in pursuit of the eagle while broadcasting loudly her distress. And each time Oliver came from nowhere in to take over the chase while Olivia would speed back to her nest and clutch. Here she is again last night, rapidly descending back to the nest while Oliver was already on the eagle’s tail, warning him to stay away.
Oliver soon returned as well, staying on the nest for just a moment, maybe to check to see if Olivia and their egg(s) were safe. And then he was off and gone, flying up and over my left.
I captured Olivia about 7:00 pm last night deep in her nest. With the late sun, the photo gives us a good look at the materials and structure of their huge nest to date. Although the platform is actually a bit lop-sided, you will notice our osprey pair work to build their nest as level as possible. It looks like it’s at least 12-15″ high too.
Last early Friday morning, the sunrise was shining bright on a couple of mallards resting on the rocks at the base of the nest. I decided to take a couple of shots and caught the male doing his morning stretch before catching a nap along with his mate.
With a leg tucked up, he was off to nap in the warm shining sun. That’s some great balance!
Until next time, enjoy the week and happy bird watching!
And So We Wait….
Big apologies on another long absence, my mother had complications from her surgery and was back in the hospital a day after my last posting; she just got back out, and we’re hoping on the road to recovery for sure this time! 🙂
I still kept an eye on Oliver and Olivia when I could. By now, Olivia should have produced more eggs if she’s going to. I’ve seen the “changing of the guards” several times, when one leaves while the other gently positions over the egg(s) to keep them warm and protected, and have watched recently the parent leaning down and pushing towards their middle all while spreading their body to straddle the clutch. I’m thinking all this extra ‘work’ to position means we’ve got at least two eggs. We hope! Here’s a photo of Oliver working to position over the egg(s).
Some other shots of Oliver and Olivia from the last one and a half weeks–
In the following three photos, Oliver had just delivered a headless fish for Olivia who quickly is up and grabbing it. And as usual she departs with her meal, this time in her mouth but quickly works the fish down to her talons while she flies away.
Oliver and Olivia are such a great pair, devoted to each other as they work together to protect their upcoming offspring!
No matter how few minutes you have, our waterways always provide ‘something’ to watch and experience a peek into a life of nature. Those cute buffleheads continue to visit daily.
Coots are also still around. These coots were busy diving and eating while the sun was setting.
For the last couple weeks, I’ve noticed a small flock of large, swift-flying gull-like birds, that were diving for fish in spectacular plunges. Hopefully, some of you have seen them. They are northern gannets and were most likely migrating through to Canada where they breed. They weren’t easy to photograph but here’s a photo of one.
I’ve seen several more sightings of otters early in the morning, the last couple times there were three. They come from Marshy Creek and quickly swim clear across Kent Narrows channel towards Kent Island where I lose sight. Here are some photos from early this morning.
This evening I just happen to step out on the balcony and couldn’t believe three otters were just passing our osprey nest and swiftly swam back towards Marshy Creek. Again, always something to see out there! 🙂 Update: I had stated previously the photos showed beavers but I contacted Judy at CBEC for her expertise, and they are indeed otters! Per Judy, CBEC has two pairs (who produce young every year) on the property. Both pairs live in Marshy Creek area, but travel across to Oyster Cove and all around the peninsula.
Finally, just wanted to share my 5-minutes of fame, LOL. If you receive the magazine, What’s Up Eastern Shore, the following April issue is now out. The log canoe racing on the front cover is my photo! It won second place for their Fun On The Water photo contest but I got the coveted front cover spot. Isn’t that cool??!! 🙂
Hopefully I’ve caught us up on the life of our Oliver and Olivia as they protect their nest and their precious egg(s) from the weather and other predators while they (and we!) wait for the hatching early in May. I bet they have more patience than we do! 🙂
