Category: birds

Osprey at 105 Degrees

How do osprey cope with temperatures above 100 degrees? There are several things I have seen them do.

One is they sit with their mouths open like their are panting. There is a reason they do this. According to Couchiching Conservancy:

Birds have no sweat glands, so the primary way of dissipating excessive heat is by panting, just like a dog. If you see a bird during the hottest part of the day, it will likely have its mouth open.  You may or not see that their throat is moving up and down, ridding heat from their body through the open bill.

Osprey at 105 Degrees

Another way they cope is the mom will take short flights from the nest and go into the water to cool off. I have seen her float for a little while then fly back to the nest. So swimming or taking a dip helps them cool off.

In addition, when the mom returns to the nest after a dip she will shield her young from the sun under her wings. The nest is exposed, so she is shading them from the sun like an umbrella. I have seen the babies huddle under her wings.

Osprey at 105 Degrees

Also, I have seen the mom flap her wings or stretch them out more as the temperature rises. According to Couchiching Conservancy:

Another method they employ is to spread their wings and body feathers which allows heat to dispel and cool air to circulate between them.

Like a crazy person, I stood out to watch them in the afternoon of the days the temperatures reached 100 plus. I brought plenty of water and did not stay near the amount of time I normally stay. Take precautions when out and about and have a great Sunday.

Always Adding On

Most days when I go down to watch this nest, I see the mom or dad get additional sticks to add to the nest pile. Most of the time they are sticks floating nearby on the Hudson River, or from the nearby shore.

Always Adding On

Dad was out, so the adult appears to be the mom. Sometimes I think it is also an excuse for her to cool down by landing in the water for a few seconds.

Always Adding On

In the above picture it appears she is mulling over where to place the stick in the nest. Maybe the chicks are giving her input. Have a great Monday!

The Chase 2

Around the time the eggs hatched, I started to see osprey from other nests come to this one and stir up trouble. If they fly too close, the male will chase after the intruder.

The Chase 2

The one osprey above seems to have feather issues. I have never seen them touch each other. Sometimes I wonder if this is just a game so the dads can fly away and hang out together. They also will chase another osprey if they have a fish. Eagles try to steal fish from osprey, and osprey, it appears will try to steal a fish from each other.

The Chase 2

The gave me plenty to view by flying close to where I was standing. I love it when they do that.

The Chase 2

One even flew very close to me during the pursuit and I got some nice close ups. I took some photos today and watched them for a few hours, but it was very cloudy and dark. It was still fun watching them. Have a great Monday!

Straight Out of the Tree Hole

I think I know which tree hole the baby was in. I just was never there to see it stick its head out. So the first time I saw the owlet, it was after it had fledged.

Straight Out of the Tree Hole- The mother barred owl

The dad is traveling the woods hunting for dinner. The mom perches on a branch of a tree within eyesight watching her youngster. She is trying to encourage it and keep it safe.

Straight Out of the Tree Hole- Barred Owlet – This was high up in a tree.

It has rained a lot this spring and it has been very windy at times. It has reduced the number of times I have been out looking for owls. I see a lot of new downed trees in local woods. The night I took these it was cloudy and near sunset, so the conditions were very dark. Here’s hoping if you are experiencing a drought you get some rain, and if you are getting too much you get a reprieve. Happy Friday!

Dad is Busy Fishing

As the babies grow bigger, the dad seems to get busier catching fish. In a 4 hour period I saw him bring in maybe 4 fish. As the babies get bigger ,I suppose he will get busier.

Dad is Busy Fishing- Going to a neighbouring perch

Sometimes dad brings the fish directly into the nest. At other times he brings it to a neighbouring perch and waits. When the female tells him they are ready he flies over to the nest with the new catch. To me it looks like he is riding a skateboard here and not carrying a fish.

Dad is Busy Fishing- Babies are in the middle of the nest

What do osprey eat? According to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game:

The osprey’s diet is almost exclusively fish, a unique characteristic among raptors. They are opportunistic about the species of fish they catch, but they can only catch fish swimming within three feet (1 m) of the water’s surface. They rarely take fish over 16 inches (40 cm) long. 

Dad is Busy Fishing- I love it when he flies in facing the light

They on occasion will catch small birds, reptiles, and small mammals. Will they catch a fish a fisherman snagged? Watch the video taken by The Crossroads on the Schroon River in the Adirondacks of New York. Beware a curse word is used.

https://www.facebook.com/reel/697994289596277

I worry about them having trouble with a hook. On the Hudson River they seem to have no issue getting fish on their own. Maybe the ones on small rivers upstate will resort to stealing from a fisherman. Have a Happy Tuesday!

Osprey Family 6/8

It was a hazy day, but I figured I would try my luck with the osprey. We are supposed to have more rainy days this week. Despite the haze, I saw a lot.

Osprey Family 6/8 -You can see to babies by the parent on the right side of the photo.

The babies are starting to look more like Osprey. They are also peeking their heads above the nest more.

Osprey Family 6/8 -One being fed and the other looking in the same direction as the other parent.

These are all taken at a distance with a zoom lens and are cropped.

Osprey Family 6/8- One of the parents with both kids in the photo in the bottom of the photo. One head is just visible under the other baby.

Even hazy days can be good days! Have a great week!

Incoming!

Incoming! This appears to be the dad with a fish. The two babies are visible in the nest by the mom. One young osprey is looking away while the other youngster is looking towards the camera.

Incoming! The two babies are just visible by mom in the nest.

This was today. After work and an appointment I stopped by for a short time to view the nest. We had some sun today, but also clouds. In the later afternoon/ early evening facing towards this nest is almost facing the sun. It makes for bad light. Someday maybe I will get photos like this in the morning.

Incoming!

Stay safe! Have a happy Tuesday!

The Babies Are Visible!

The Babies Are Visible! Osprey Babies

The Osprey babies stuck their heads above the top of the nest several times today. I could not get them in sharp focus. This is with a zoom lens and heavily cropped. When they grow bigger I hope to get some better images. Most of the time I was looking at the nest I did not see them, and sometimes I saw one head. I have a few images where two heads were visible. They are very small. Have a great Monday!

Sizing Up Dinner

We continue to have a lot of rainy days. I did view the osprey in between storms. No baby osprey heads visible yet as of Friday night. This nest is deep.

Sizing Up Dinner

In the above picture it appears the female osprey is sizing up the fish the male is bringing in.

Sizing up dinner- Battle Scars?

The above piture appears to be the male. He has some white areas on his wing. I wonder if that is normal or batle scars from chasing off eagles and other osprey or them chasing him.

Sizing up dinner- This fish he appears to ate completely himself. I believe I was told this one is a herring.

The fishermen wanted to see what fish the osprey was bringing in, so I showed them the back of my camera. I think it was this image. They thought it was a herring based on what they saw in the back of my camera. The one fisherman said he was using herring as bait to catch stripper.

Here’s hoping we get some clear days. Here’s hoping we will get a clear night or two. They are saying here that Sunday night has a possibility to be a great night to see the Northern Lights, if it is not cloudy and everything pans out as they are thinking. Happy Sunday!

Are You Lost?

The black-bellied whistling-duck lives along the coasts of Mexico, Central and South America and small slivers of Texas and Arizona. Which location did I see this duck? None of the above. I saw this in New York.

From All About Birds- The shaded areas show where they normally are.

According to All About Birds these are the locations these ducks should be in the shaded areas of the map.

Are You Lost? Black-Bellied Whistling-Duck- They spent a lot of time with their heads under the water. They eat grasses and and a variety of aquatic animals including snails and insects. All About Birds says they typically forage at night. They dabble in ponds or forage in fields.

It is going back and forth between a river and a pond like area. It is not alone but with a few others of its kind. Why is it here? Did a storm blow it all the way up here? Is this a result of a dwindling food in its normal spots? Are birds loosing their directional sense? Do they have wanderlust? Is it getting too hot in the areas they normally are? Did someone capture these or buy them to have in the US and they successfully staged a group escape? It is a mystery.

Are you lost?

If they nest up here, nest predators would be raccoons and rat snakes. Great horned owls could take the adults. There maybe a great horned owl family nearby and I almost stepped on a what looked to be a black rat snake. Being near a river, there are bald eagles close by.

Are you lost?

These pictures were taken from a road with a zoom lens and were cropped. I will not go where I am not supposed to be. I do not go on private land without permission. It was a cloudy, dark day. We have had a lot of those. Maybe in the future if these creatures are still there, I can capture them in better light. Expect the unexpected. Happy Thursday!