Osprey

 

The osprey has several adaptations that suit its piscivorous lifestyle: 99% of food is fish.

They dive on live fish, lift into the air and tear it apart, feeding themselves and if they have babies they take turns feeding the fish to them.

to help lift the slippery fish from the water their talons have

reversible outer toes

nostrils that close for diving

sharp things under the toes and scales that are like barbs on the talons.

The photos today are from my archives, the first one is a collage of one osprey, 2 photos merged

The nest is in Bray Park and at the time I took the photos, the mom was in the nest, the dad on the light pole bringing her fish. Above is a collage of 3 photos? 

Tomorrow, I will tell you where they get there fish and why they are in Bray park

Osprey OPP

I came out of my TOPS meeting (down 1 more pound this week, total 16) and there was a man standing by his car holding up his phone, I grabbed my camera from my car and focused. The Osprey was so far away it required the full 60 zoom to see it. I snapped the shot and he took off, the Osprey, not the man.  my camera is so slow I missed most of it. he flew out of the photo, leaving me with the only option... put both pics in on collage.  I think this looks like Mr. And Mrs. Osprey...

Eat your hearts out, Hootin Anni, Eileen and Ruth, my 3 Birder Blogger Friends... and what is a bird pic but an opportunity to play in PicMonkey?

Bewitched by Florida Fowl

Male Osprey fishing from light pole at the beach

                                                                  
Just a few of our local birds and a common and daily sight for us. They are not "common" birds though but "bewitching birds" as I never get tired of seeing them.

Gulls fighting over a jelly fish

Gull

Heron

Heron

Not sure, does any one know the name of this bird? the gull family I think

Speckled Pigeon, not a common sight on the beach, but there he was with a dozen or so cousins

Is a limping pigeon human toed?

If a pigeon says "ribbit" is it a pigeon toad?

Is an insane pigeon "cooooo cooooo"?

What does a pigeon con man call their mark?

Oh! You wanted FUNNY pigeon jokes. Sorry.

Osprey Update

Each morning as we drive home from the gym, we take a short detour to look up at the Osprey Family as the sun is just beginning to break. Each day is the same, the babies are crying, the mother is sitting on the edge of the nest and the daddy is sitting on a pole 10 feet away waiting for it to get light enough to FISH for his family. Yesterday we burst out laughing because the mommy and daddy were both sitting on the pole 10 feet away, staring away from the next of babies and waiting for the sun. It was as though the mother said, I can't stand that nest another minute with all that yapping,

 archive photos of Osprey (fish hawk family) I am unable to get a closeup of the current Osprey due to height of the poles they live on. this one rested on a short light pole back in 2007

Facts I found online while researching to teach about Osprey's at the nursing home where I am a volunteer.
* They eat only fish
* A grown osprey needs up to 3 fish a day, when feeding a family, the male must bring 8 or more fish to the nest per day
* They mate for life (no divorce in these families) and use the same nest for years and years.
* Typical nest weighs 1000 pounds, but will not hold anything heavier than the birds.
* Polluting our enviroment with fishing line, plastic bags and baloons kills many of the babies because the parents use it for lining the nest.
* They are on the endangered list because we have fished out the hunting waters and poisoned the water and the fish with polluants that poison the fish they eat and kills them if they eat the fish
*Baby Osprey leave the nest at 2 months old, the mother throws the fish on the edge of the nest and gets them used to standing there, then she throws the food off the nest, litteraly teaching them to fly or nothing to eat. to see the nest, click on links below


If you missed the beginning of this story the first of May Click Here
archive of first Osprey photos from 07 Click Here

Sandra's Saturday

Below is the field my husband flies his radio control planes in. He left at 7:30 this morning with me following him. He has told me tales every day for 2 weeks of the Male Osprey that brings a fish to the Female and she feeds the babies. Today was my 3rd try for that photo.

I drove in and walked out behind a building to look up at the nest, and as I turned the corner and it came in view, the male dropped in the nest with the fish and handed it off to the female. NO! I screamed, I am not close enough. NO! as he flew away.

As i snapped away the mother kept starting down at me, the babies were screaming FEED ME! FEED ME! the daddy sat 100 yards away SCREEEEEEEE! SCRRRRRRRRRRRRE

The mothers tail feathers went up and down, up and down, i could not see what she was doing, but I know she was feeding bits of the fish to those loud, loud babies. I watched her for 10 minutes and got nothing but butt shots.

I turned my camera to the Male, See the white arrow, that is where he was sitting and calling to her, I took the above shot without my telephoto extended. I thought he is to far away but I will try it.

Even though I walked to the bottom of the pole, these two are the best I could do. He sat up there watching me.If you enlarge you can see him looking down at me. those poles are really high. I wish you could have heard it. The sounds alone were worth the visit.

The story here is not about the birds, but the fact that it cost me 20.00. I thought, since I am out early, I will take my wireless keyboard with me (it has been stopping and starting on me, YES I changed the batteries). I get to Staples and they don't open until 9 on Saturdays. K-Mart is next door. I think I can't sit here in the car for 15 minutes so I head for the door and as I step in I see Buy One Get One Free!
YIKES...........it's plus size T-shirts and I really NEED a couple. I take 8 (yes 8) to the dressing room and 15 minutes later, walk out the door with 2 shirts for 20 bucks. YIPEE my husband will be soooo proud of me. Photos AND saving money in the same trip.

the keyboard is fine, the problem is the computer. OH NO! (that's another story)

Osprey = Digital Fun

My husband came home from the park where he flies his radio control airplanes several days back and said the Osprey nest has babies and the Mother is on the nest with them, the daddy keeps bringing great big mullet to feed her.

the nest is there year round and is used over and over each year, they spiffy it up with new twigs.

I race to the park and start snapping the nest, about 5 photos in I see wings come up and flap, no matter how long I stood there, she did not make another move. I shot over 90 photos. the only shot was just barely in my photo, soooooo

the rest were just of The Pole

With the help of Digital Image 9, I merged the two photos and came up with this one, it appears I took the photo of the pole and the wings at the same time.

"things are not always what they seem" in life and in photography.

Today I left on a mission to get the mother bird, which I did, she did not move at all while I was there and no sign of daddy osprey.

When I go with the camera, they hide, tomorrow I advised hubby he can take the camera and see what he can get. he does not do cameras. we shall see what we shall see.

When thou seest an eagle (osprey), thou seest a portion of genius; lift up thy head!


William Blake (1757 - 1827)

Osprey @ Coquina Bayside

All things bright and beautiful, All creatures great and small, all things wise and wonderful, the Lord God made them all. Alexander

On December 21, 2007, my friend Diane and I, had plans for a morning sunrise. The sunrise that morning was not spectacular, but the rest of the morning show was.

As we stood on the bank and watched for the sun, we saw many sail boats with anchors down for the night. In the peaceful scene the squealing cry of two osprey, male and female, soared and soared, music to our ears. At first we could not see them, but as the sun rose higher in the sky, we spied them on a mast, one on each boat.

We quietly waited and listened to see what they would do. Ospreys hover over the water, plunging feet first when they spot prey. They fly with slow wing-beats interspersed with glides. Ospreys form pair bonds through aerial flight displays and courtship feeding.

This male osprey lifted off into the air and we watched as he sank towards the water with talons outstretched, scooped up the fish and to our amazement flew to the top of the light pole we were standing under.

we watched through our cameras for many minutes, snapping and clicking. He ignored us completely as we moved from side to side looking for the best shot. Several times, he stopped eating and looked down at us as if to say, What? you've never seen an Osprey eat before? the answer was NO, never before and never since.

Ospreys live near rivers, estuaries, salt marshes, lakes, reservoirs, and other large bodies of water. They are rare along rivers in the shrub-steppe zone, as they prefer water surrounded by forested habitat. They can be found near fresh or salt water, as long as the water can sustain medium-sized fish.

The Osprey is a unique bird, the only member of its genus. It is believed that Ospreys followed a different evolutionary path quite early on, so that they are quite different from other raptors.

The osprey's family habits are also colorful and interesting. They generally pair for life and reuse old nests, adding new material each season. Their nests, in high, dead trees or on man-made elevated platforms, can weigh hundreds of pounds and are easily observed. Osprey refurbish their nests annually with grass, lichens, and sticks

The osprey is the only species in the family Pandionidae, which is sometimes considered a subfamily of the hawk and eagle family

Click on the video below to hear what we heard as we waited for sunrise and don't miss the detail of this awesome bird, click on the photos.

Job 37:14 says

"Stand Still and consider the wondrous works of God."