Blog – Page 111 – CrazyM Bird & Nature Photography

A Morning At The Osprey Nest

After the encouraging visit last weekend, it was back to the Osprey nest this morning.

A good sign on arriving was that all three chicks are still with us,

… and appear to be doing well.

Initially the female was keeping herself busy bringing sticks to the nest,

… and rearranging them.

When the male arrived with a fish, she was away from the nest.

On her return she took the fish,

… and moved it to the other side of the nest.

Then it was time to feed the chicks.

At first glance this may look like hungry mouths waiting to be fed,

… but is actually the dominant chick fighting with another. As you can see here it is actually biting the head of the other chick. Adds a whole new meaning to sibling rivalry and is quite normal. These struggles in the nest can result in the demise of the weaker chick.

Such was not the case today with all the chicks getting fed,

… and then settling down afterwards to enjoy the rest of the morning.

Bald Eagle

Being such a lovely day I had to get out for a walk at some point. Later in the afternoon I headed out to Reifel, but was not expecting to find much. It was fairly quiet on the birding front. A Black-crowned Night-Heron has already returned as one did this time last year. There were some Yellowlegs, Dowitchers and Western Sandpipers in the outer ponds. Also way off in the distance I spotted a juvenile Killdeer along with an adult. With no pictures to speak of when leaving it was time to perk myself up a little.

Emma's Ice Cream, Emma-Lea Farms — Emma’s Ice Cream, Emma-Lea Farms

What better way than stopping at Emma-Lea Farms and Emma’s Ice Cream for some farm fresh strawberries and ice cream. Feeling somewhat revived the next stop was the Bald Eagle nest by the Westham Island bridge.

It was siesta time for one of the adults,

and even one of the juveniles was relaxed taking in the sun. Great to finally have some summer weather.

Canada Day With The Osprey

Happy Canada Day!

After the morning showers I made my way out to the Osprey nest.

What a difference a week makes (actually just over a week).

The chicks can be seen easily when they decide to poke their heads up.

Here you can see two as the male arrives with a fish.

Then the female started feeding the chicks.

Still hard to see, so here is more of a crop to get in a little closer.

Then she took a break from feeding to do a little rearranging of the nest. While she was feeding the chicks, two were readily visible at times. However, I also noticed she was feeding a third as yet unseen chick.

When she started feeding the chicks again I managed a shot of this smaller third chick. You can just make out the head through the branches. So far, so good this year at the Osprey nest.