An Osprey Family Album (continued)
Part 5 (Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 6 | Changing Chick Profile)
Photos from August 13th
According to
reports, the young Ospreys took flight on the 12th of August. Here's
one of them flying from the nest the next morning. 
Less than 2
months after hatching, the young fledgling has left the nest and with a look
of confidence, is ready to face the wide open world. ("Ignorance is
bliss" -- looks pretty calm with several thousand "gigavolts" of electricity
coursing between the talons).
Although
they have the new freedom of flight, they still returning to the nest to eat
the fish provided by the parents. Here, one youth still wants to be fed and
the other accommodates by sharing a morsel or two with the insistent
sibling. 
After breakfast in the nest, one of the Osprey youth makes a visit to a sibling who has been perched on the same pole for several hours. Is it the old panic attack problem? There's an abundance of moral support with the visiting sibling, and two parents and another sibling within easy eyeshot.
Photos from August 16th
All three youths
have their own fish for breakfast, but each is eating with a different style
and intensity.
Although Mom
has been perching further and further away from the nest and Dad is off
gallivanting somewhere, the young Ospreys still get a reassuring visit from
their folks now and then.The Mom is keeping an eye out and the kids are chowing down -- they're all doing their jobs as they should.
Photos from August 19th
"I don't know
about you, but I'm eating out."The fish was repositioned and locked into the talons, then flown off to a shady hideaway (two poles down by some trees) for a private dining moment.
Teetering on the very edge of the plank with one foot and trying to nibble on the fish held with the other foot, doesn't quite do the job. A little leverage is definitely needed here.
With the fish
tight under foot, the prospects look much better.
Okay! That's
much better. Now there's all kinds of leverage!More photos to come...
Photos and text by Milt Moody
Copyright 2003 ©
Milton G. Moody – All Rights Reserved