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Bald Eagles Visit Nest
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OspreyZone Yankee
March 18, 2016 Timelapse
The Summer of 2015 by GinaM
Osprey Rescue Extended - July 30, 2015
Osprey Zone Highlights - June 28, 2015
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osprey 07/11/15 squirt
First Sighting
George and Gracie's First Baby
Eggs Over Easy
Changing of the Guard
Breakfast is Served
Upgrading
Feeding Time
First Love
Let's Hang Out
Hard to Get
Little Brother
Intruder
Dinner is Served
OspreyZone Montage
OspreyZone Highlights: George Returns
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Belle’s Journey
Written by Dr. Rob Bierregaard & Illustrated by Kate Garchinsky
Take flight with Belle, an osprey born on Martha’s Vineyard as she learns to fly and migrates for the first time to Brazil and back–a journey of more than 8,000 miles.
IMPORTANT: Messages from osprey experts
I haven’t seen the little guy yet this morning, but I would be very surprised if he survived the night. That sure was tough to watch yesterday, but that whole process is as much a part of the essence of being an Osprey as is eating a fish. It’s part of the life of Ospreys that was rarely seen before we started putting cameras in nests. As hard as it is, we should not label the behavior as mean or cruel. Being mean or cruel implies that there is intent to do harm just for harm’s sake. Those young were responding to a set of stimuli (very little food being delivered to the nest and the presence of a very small young) in a way that evolution has hard-wired into them. It helps ensure their survival. Nature is not cruel. It is harsh, unforgiving, and often random (had the little guy been born 1st, he would have been just as aggressive as was his sibling), but not cruel or mean.
Paul Henry ospreyzone July 1, 2015 at 8:17 am
Thanks Rob for bringing your knowledge and experience to help us all gain perspective here. We are all saddened by the events that unfolded before our eyes and it’s only natural for all of us to feel and express our emotions appropriately. There have been many issues pertaining to intervention which have been discussed amongst us all. There is no doubt in my mind that the right decision was made, to let nature take it’s course. By the way, that doesn’t equate to heartless, on the contrary, nobody feels worse about this then the apparent decision makers. I say apparent, because when all was said and done, and all the issues were properly weighed, there really weren’t any other options. It was clearly pointed out, by experts, that intervening at this stage could have spooked the whole nest to the point of losing all the young. If the little one was saved, and nursed back to health, what kind of a life would it have had, perhaps caged up in a zoo. I remember when I was younger I saw a golden eagle in captivity, caged behind a wire mesh. I could practically see it’s tears. As far as placing the little one in another nest, such a low probability of success would never have justified the possibility of spooking the nest. There’s a piece of me, however heavy hearted, that believes that perhaps it is better to be born free and die free. We mourn for the little one as we marvel at the wonders of nature.
Hello Paul,
Thanks for your query, and you have my admiration for persevering. We know very well how tough your job is, including dealing with an anxious public.
Our policy with our Bird Cams project is essentially “just say no” to pleas for interference. The behavior you are witnessing – while seemingly cruel and heartless to us – is natural for many kinds of birds, especially those that feed on variable, unpredictable food supplies. The little nestling does have a chance to survive, but if it does not then that result was “meant to be” by the nature of Osprey breeding strategy. The wonderful things about these nest cameras also sometimes yield the difficult things for us to watch. As you might know, we actually post a “siblicide alert” on some of our cams where we suspect the possibility exists.
I’m copying your note to Charles Eldermire, project leader for our Bird Cams. He may have some additional comments, and he would be the one to ask if we might be able to use your stored files for biological analysis.
Best wishes, and good luck,
John W. Fitzpatrick
Director, Cornell Lab of Ornithology
It’s also important to acknowledge that intervening can also cause problems of its own—depending on the ages of the birds in the nest, disturbing them can trigger an early fledge. We have restricted the scenarios in which we would even consider intervening to injuries or dangers that are explicitly human-derived. For example, 3 or 4 years ago we were alerted by viewers that one of the osprey chicks at the Hellgate Osprey nest was entangled in monofilament line. We consulted with our partners there (wildlife biologists, raptor researchers, raptor rehabbers) to determine if the monofilament was an issue, and if intervening was both likely to solve the issue AND not have bad effects on the other nestlings. In the end, a quick trip to the nest was scheduled via a bucket truck, the monofilament was removed, and the nestlings all eventually fledged. In that case, all of the permits were already in hand to be studying the ospreys, and we had already discussed how to approach issues in the nest.
Good luck to the young one—hope it all turns out well.
charles.
*******************
Charles Eldermire
Bird Cams Project Leader
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
I’ve been to your site—great cam! And I noticed the runt in the nest. This is just normal Osprey reproduction. It happens all the time and you should not intervene. It’s tough to watch, but it’s how nature works. Ospreys almost always lay 3 eggs and on average fledge between 1 and 1.5 young each year. They stagger the hatch so there is a spread of ages in the young. That way, if food is short, the first-hatched (and therefore largest) will get enough food to survive while the smaller nest mates do not. If all three young were the same size and there was only enough food for 1 young, none of the young would get enough food and they would all die. If there’s lots of food, the smallest will eventually get fed and can survive. These nest cams can show some gut-wrenching scenes. The most infamous perhaps was one of the very first Osprey cams (on Long Island somewhere), where the smallest young died. One of the adults carried it out of the nest and after several minutes flew back into the nest and fed it to the other young. Waste-not-want-not at its goriest. At Hog Island up in Maine just last week a Bald Eagle came in and took the young out of the nest. Last year at another nest, cameras documented a Great-horned Owl taking young Ospreys out of a nest in NJ or MD. All of these things have been going on for millions of years and Ospreys are doing fine.
Rob Bierregaard
Academy of Natural Sciences
Drexel University
http://www.ospreytrax.com
Jane on the nest
Hi Betsy – here is Aidan’s response to your question:
Youtube automatically handles displaying them. If their servers are at high load, it may cut back on processing the less important things like thumbnails.
It could also just be an occasional error. I don’t think we can affect it much
Admin Shelli: Okay. Thank you for asking him.
Admin Shelli: Thank you Shelli and Aidan
:’-(
Needed to try something different!! 😀 😀 😀
Betsy, love it! Gives some comic relief to something so frustrating!
Isabella: Thanks, Isabella! I didn’t want to just notify Shelli the same boring way that I have the other times when the video stream went down!! Thought I’d make it different!! 😀
It seems to go off about the same time in evenings. Maybe napping 💤?
CarolV: Like your 💤!! Yup, same bat-time, same bat-channel. 😀 😀 😀 I’m just glad that if it is going to go off that it does it at night!!
George’s wing tip as he flew to the perch
There’s a gentle breeze to ruffle Jane’s feathers. Temp now 74, dropping to mid60s overnight. Partly cloudy closer to midnight, continuing into tomorrow, with a 50% chance of showers late in the day.
Everyone, have a good night,
Wow CarolV…you’ve been busy! At the risk of repeating myself…great pics and captions! P.s. thx for the weather reports, I don’t have to check weather.com anymore!
YW! And ty to you. Was home and not feeling great so kept me busy
CarolV, hope your feeling better!
About 7:30pm…………George comes bearing gifts and Jane goes for a run………….
George testing his nice gooey seaweed…………. or looking for a mustache disguise
Jane is back, after a 1/2 hr. break.
Sitting in the evening light, looking so pretty.
SMCF/AKA dlionheart,just wanted you to know I’ve been watching the tweedles. Haven’t commented this season,due to you have to sign up now. See we have a wee Twee!! Yea! Also see the old gang is back. Miss you guys! I’ll be a silent partner rooting on the sidelines!
“Two Twee or Not Two Twee” well! NOW we have TWO wittle Tweedles Isabella! YAY! Hope you sign up and in over there, love to have you! I had to sign in last year too – I just do so via the log in/sign up, down there, just above the chat. Not the HD On Tap login, upper right of webpage. You can sign in or sign up there, just above the chat – via your email and a password – not too hard. Yes the people over there, just like here, are ALWAYS welcoming and friendly! Not so in ALL cam chat communities, with all people…. Ah well and so it goes with humans, lol. Thanks for the shout out and yes, I do hope you join us over there! =)
When Jane flew out from the perch, she meandered around in front of the nest.
George was in no hurry to go………..hanging around sightseeing.
Then Jane got to come in…………….
17:25……. Jane hears the dinnerbell!
She slips in………..
It’s a good sized headless fish. It’s stuck to his talons and Jane has to deal with that stick, too.
Jane stood off to the right, seeming to be getting a good hold on dinner. George is overseeing………….
And out she goooooeeessssssssssssssssss…………..
and George has earned his rest.
And she’s back………… long enough to eat that fish?
Maybe she has the fish upstairs….. looks like a lot of movement up there…………
and that was a FOOTHOLD!!! You go, Janie!
About 4:35pm……..Someone spent several minutes just circling, dipping, hovering over the bay. It must be Jane, George stood up to watch with no alarm.
Jane comes in to perch but George doesn’t seem in any hurry to leave. He looks out to right as Jane “weep. weeps” quietly above……..
When he leaves, Jane hops down……….
About 3:30- Jane ducked when she saw this coming……..
.got out of the way …….
.. and moved upstairs……
Looks like she might be doing some “feather dusting.”…………
CarolV: I get it!! Shadow!!
About 1pm……… Jane out
George in………..
and when George took off about an hour later, Jane was ready to drop down from perch………….
Traffic on the bay is building up………..
Jane had a good scratch and opened up the “air conditioning” before settling again……..
The sparrows are always flitting around the edges, just catching my eye and disappearing….. Finally caught one! Lower left corner, peeking out…..
BETSY: Just paged back to see what I might have missed…………… good catch on my spelling! cleaver for clever…….. funny!
SMCF: enjoyed rewatching that puffer video and the design he made……… I had sent it to my grandson, who recently gave a promise ring to his girlfriend….. told him not to let her watch or it would raise her expectations! If a fish can do that for a date, what would she expect from him?
OMGosh Carol!!! Just read this a laughed out loud! LOL. Priceless! You’re a riot GF! XD
I have my moments……………. Hope you’re having a good day…….hit 83 in OZland…..
I was aiming for this shot …
But, I got this first instead!!
Definitely like the bottom one!
Second pic. Jane..” are you OZ people watching?
Admin Shelli: Would Aidan know why sometimes there are no thumbnails for about up to the last 30 minutes of the video stream and other times they go right up to the end? The pictures below show what I mean — no thumbnails for the last 33 minutes of the video stream.
I will copy and paste your question and send it to him in the morning, as today is Father’s Day 💕
Admin Shelli: Thank you. I won’t be around later anyway … going to the cemetery to visit my Dad’s grave.
Looking forward to an answer on that, too. Thanks, Shelli
Jane has already been panting in the sun………. temp already 76- may hit 80 . gotta be hot in full sun. I’m not seeing a breeze……
Good thing George brings her a fish0tini…… a little food, a little moisture. @10:11
Jane taking her tini… cute moment…..
Jane getting a FOOTHOLD! makes me happy……..
George with a tail….. or Jane flying out {;8}} …….you decide!
George talking to Jane, stepping to side to continue conversation and flies out
And Jane steps in……………
Aww! Cute moment.. happy Father’s Day George! These two are really in sync!
7:35EDT– Jane is out
George comes in………..
8:32…..George has been chirping a lot…………
a few minutes later, Jane comes in…………..
waves at us…………
A quiet, peaceful dawn…………………
for a little while……………..
Incoming…. looked like the flyer trying for perch……………….Jane objects………….
…………..
————
and going……….. duel at dawn over ………..for now
……………………………………………………………………………….HAPPY FEATHERED FATHERS’ DAY!!!!!!……………………………………………………………………..
and Happy Fathers’ day to human dads too
Fly-by 5:37 am. Can’t tell who … but I would place my bet on it being Gracie!!
Another at 5:59
George was sitting on the eggs, dozing, when he woke up and started alarming. An osprey (I think, now that it can be seen, it is Gracie – the light feathers at almost mid wings looks like her feather pattern) flew past in front of the nest (pic 1 & 2). She (!!) apparently flew around behind the nest (pic 3 – George alarming at intruder behind nest; mostly I put this picture because he was so cute in it 😀 ’cause you couldn’t see the intruder!!). In the meantime, Jane, who had flown off at almost 19:50 hrs to get herself dinner, raced back to the perch. Within seconds of each other, George stood up to keep the unwelcome visitor from landing on the nest (pic 4) and Jane jumped down from the perch with her freshly caught flapping fish (pic 5). George took off after the trespasser (pic 6) and Jane followed suit a few seconds later. George returned to the nest less than 30 seconds after he gave chase (pic 7), flying to the perch to alarm before eventually jumping down to the nest (pic 8) to sit back on the eggs (pic 9).
pics cont’d
George preening … looks like a contortionist!!
My neck is creaking just looking at that………….
Admin Shelli: The video stream is down. Would you let Aidan know in the AM please? Thank you!!
I sure will.
Thank you and Aidan!! I see it was done already!! I was wrapping up the last of my pictures (yeah, look at the time!!) when I noticed that when my cursor would inadvertently hover over the scroll bar the thumbnail pictures were black!! As the video transitioned back online at (apparently) 23:17:55 hrs, the screen changed to that turqouise blue screen and then to the this awesome turquoise textured screen!! 😀 😀
George jumps up to perch………..
Jane jumps down…………
I like it when Jay lays with her tail feathers up like this…… shows how pretty they are.
Tail and wing feathers, I should say
Betsy- Almost got George in a sailboat hat! Didn’t quite line up.
Beautiful evening sky…….light breeze……..73 now, dropping to 61 around sunrise. Clear night setting up a sunny Sunday, with temps 76-78 in afternoon.
CarolV: I’m only up to 18:22 hrs!! I TRY to skim along the scroll bar just to see via the thumbnails what has potential to watch … then, I’m like, “Ooh, that looks interesting, ooh what’s that, ooh, what happened here!! 😀 Then I take a break in between watching to do things and read comments and make comments and whatever. Then, the next thing I know, I’m 5 minutes from the back end of the video!!!!! 😀 Happens e-v-e-r-y time!!
Carolv: PS — I least I know what to look forward to when I see your pictures!!! 😀
haha! I know the feeling! I also have a problem with the thumbnails in that as I get close to the right end, thumbnails show as black. Makes it harder to pick thru most current pics.
And my computer is letting me post multi- pics per post again….. when it’s feeling generous! Swear this thing taunts me!
Nice grasses………….
Nice form. and he stuck the landing!
Jane stood and chatted for a few minutes, while George rearranged dried seaweed around the eggs…………
When she went out, she flew around and back in to perch.
George did more futzing with the seaweed and grasses as he stayed on the nest…….keep those eggies comfy!
From Jen (she posted this on our Facebook page:
As some of you may know, I have family that live very close to the nest and we spend all summer at the beach below. Today we were at the beach from about 3:30-4:30. I haven’t watch the live feed but, I’m pretty sure the nest was empty for that hour. We watched from below as we saw osprey flying around out of the cameras view. To my surprise we witnessed THREE of osprey flying together quite frequently. You can see all 3 together in my pictures below, I did my best to get all three together. I am Left to wonder who these three were. There were a few times when one of them flew back to the nest an landed on the camera.
Admin Shelli and Jen: I’m just now reaching that time on the video stream!! Jane had just gotten up off the eggs just before 3:30 pm and George was alarming on the perch. Jane joined in alarming briefly and then flew from the nest at 3:30:18 pm. George did another session of alarming, but then it got quiet. I couldn’t tell if George was still on the perch — we don’t always see a shadow on the nest, depending where George or Jane are standing on the perch, and he is light enough that the rarely camera shakes when he lands or takes off from the perch; but then there was a shadow on the nest at around 3:32 pm– maybe George turned around on the perch or landed on it — and then he flew-hopped down to the nest at 3:32:04. He was on the nest continuously until just after 4:20 pm when he flew off and then Jane hopped down from the perch to the nest seconds later. The End! (I fast skimmed along the scroll bar!! 😀 😀 )
PS — I love the picture and am very envious of all who live near the nest!! 😀
Thanks Betsy! I’m envious too
Thanks, Jen. it’s good to have eyes on the ground to give that perspective!
From Betsy:
Yikes! I see, as CarolV notes, that we had turned a page!! Which is why I am re-posting (and asking Admin Shelli to please accept it) my comment (re: my reply to Dr. B.’s statement “As for what she’s (Gracie) feeling, I don’t think she’s feeling anything about losing the nest. Animals just move on.” so it doesn’t get lost in the shuffle!!
I agree with SMCF.
Rosemary Low, British ornithologist and author of “Fabulous Feathers, Remarkable Birds” wrote on her webpage, “The dislike of anthropomorphism was so strong during most of the 20th century that it did untold harm to the way people viewed birds and other animals. It often over-rode personal experience that clearly indicated that the emotions and behaviour of birds parallel those of humans in countless situations.” http://rosemarylow.co.uk/birds_have_feelings_15.html
With all due respect, Dr. B. may be an expert, but he has stated that he has learned and, I bet, is still learning, new things from watching bird cams and from viewers’ observations. What feelings birds have is hard to tell – even for scientists. My opinion is that they do and just because we, humans, can’t always scientifically measure something doesn’t mean isn’t there.
Some interesting links:
http://avianenrichment.com/learn/emotional-needs/social-interaction/do-parrots-have-emotions
https://www.thespruce.com/examining-bird-emotions-386439
https://www.audubon.org/news/do-birds-grieve
https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/07/150714-animal-dog-thinking-feelings-brain-science/
https://www.livescience.com/24800-animals-emotions-morality.html
I agree that we don’t know what animals feel but most of us agree there is some semblance of “emotion” in many of the reactions we see. We can say we are interpreting these actions thru eyes tainted by our human feelings.
We can say Dr. B has to be dispassionate in order to accept the many tragedies he has to witness , and continue his studies while losing many of the subjects he has come to know, having held many of them in his hands while banding them and following some for years.
And I’m sure that most of us, if we chose, could research articles on both sides of the debate. In my opinion, the idea of animals having feelings is a new subject that scientists are slowly starting to embrace. Not that long ago, the whole idea of animals as thinking, feeling, sentient beings was laughable in the general scientific view.
But until we can get within those minds, experience what they do, see the world as they do, it’s guesswork and opinion and I don’t see any side as wrong.
Humans go thru divorce: some move on quickly, others take it slow, some never move on.
We experience death of loved ones. We never forget; most move on in their own fashion.
It’s all good. Each individual has their own timetable. I think it’s the same with animals and we are getting the privilege of seeing it happen and form our own opinions.
Soapbox put away {;^))
CarolV: I hear you!!
Admin Shelli: Thank you!!
Here she’s wearing a shaggy neck wrap!! 😀 😀
Looks good in a feather boa!
CarolV: I was afraid to put feather boa because … well, you know!! I guess I could have put FAUX feather boa!! I felt safe with the shaggy word!! 😀
hahaha!
Jane does a bend-over-wing-and-hammy stretch
I forgot who asked this question but I said I’d ask Dr. B and here is his reply:
Q: I think I read bachelor ospreys are just coming up now from migration . If so,why? To claim a nest? I would think it’s too late to mate.
Answer:
It would be bachelor and bachelorettes, but most arrived at least in the States long before now. The latest we had a 1st migrant start his trip north was 8 May. Some get to the States and wander all over the place before the settle down. Only 3 out of 11 tagged birds that returned went close to their natal nest, so most of the chatter on the nest cam discussion groups assuming the birds that show up near the nest are young from previous years is not based in reality. It’s definitely too late to nest when they get back. They’re just exploring looking for possible territories for the following year or even later. In the crowded Osprey world of today, it’s likely that few birds breed for the 1st time before they’re 5!
Feel free to pass this on to the OZ group.
Dr. B.
Thx Shelli!
Sorry if this has been asked before….What is the likelihood that momma “Jane” is Gracie & George’s offspring? Maybe that would explain why George is familiar and comfortable with Jane? Do you think he would remember her? Just a thought, not like we’ll ever know the answer. But she does look very young compared to other osprey Moms I have seen.
It is possible but not likely that Jane is one of their offspring. Since the juvenile’s plumage completely changes by the time they return from South America, that too is unlikely that the adults would recognize them – but there’s no way to know for sure. I guess anything is possible.
Admin Shelli: Especially true with this nest that anything is possibel!!! 😀 😀
Jane and George were both on the nest, Jane standing quietly at the right front corner and George lying quietly on the eggs. Jane flew off, which must have startled George into flying away, too!! Her feet had barely left the nest when George sprang up, her shadow still on his back, did a side jump to the front of the nest, and flew off.
George was back a couple of minutes later to resume sitting on the eggs, as if nothing had happened !
Ooooh!! I should have posted this picture of George landing on the nest!! 😀 Just saw it when I paused the video — I like it better!!
Wing shots, so many wing shots, just love wiinngg shots, here before my ey-eyes, right before my eyes! TY
CarolV: I’ll post more if you’d like!! 😀 😀
Around 1:06 pm both were in the nest, George was giving Jane privacy while she did some grooming. Such a gent !
George has always loved sitting on the eggs … but I don’t think he ever sat on the eggs with Gracie as much in the 2 years COMBINED that I watched as he has since the 1st egg was laid on May 23rd by Jane!! 😀 😀 😀
Jane certainly is a different experience! George is showing us how adaptable he is when it comes to his eggies!
CarolV: It’s certainly a one-of-a-kind nest!!
There have been more than several intruder fly-bys so far today. George had been back for only a few minutes from chasing an intruder when an intruder flew over the nest and made a strong attempt to land on the perch (shadow 2nd picture), getting shooed away by George. We cannot tell from the pictures if it is Gracie. However, in my opinion, given the fact that the pattern is similar to what occurred prior to the last two battles when Gracie tried to re-claim the nest, with escalating close fly-bys and attempts to land on the perch or nest, I would not at all be surprised if it is, indeed, Gracie. Hopefully, it won’t culminate in a huge battle.
George alarming and watching an intruder fly near.
An OSPREY did a fly-by over the nest this morning at 6:36 am. There was no way to tell whether or not it was Gracie!!
Fish for Jane at 10:fishish.flew off with it (in her talon CarolV!) George cleaned his feet,then sat on eggs
Isabella: Your comment needs pictures!! 😀 😀 😀 Did I miss a fish because the pictures I have are from 11:fishish!! 🙂
10:50 ish. Tee hee
Isabella: I thought that you were making a clever play on words!! You know, like how we (CarolV and you!!) say breakfish!! 😀 😀 I think it should be added to the OZ vernacular!!
At 6:36 this morning an osprey flew over the nest , Much alarming. Gracie?
Peg Martinsen: Couldn’t tell.
There have been several fly-bys this morning so far and at least one, what appeared to be, chase. Jane flew back to the nest holding the fish George had brought her a little earlier when he started alarming
Jane watches seagulls fly by
So tranquil 😀
Like an old-fashioned black and white photo!!
Admin Shelli: I am sorry!! I copied my scrap comment when I meant to put this one:
Yikes! I see, as CarolV notes, that we had turned a page!! Which is why I am re-posting (and asking Admin Shelli to please accept it) my comment (re: my reply to Dr. B.’s statement “As for what she’s (Gracie) feeling, I don’t think she’s feeling anything about losing the nest. Animals just move on.” so it doesn’t get lost in the shuffle!!
I agree with SMCF.
Rosemary Low, British ornithologist and author of “Fabulous Feathers, Remarkable Birds” wrote on her webpage, “The dislike of anthropomorphism was so strong during most of the 20th century that it did untold harm to the way people viewed birds and other animals. It often over-rode personal experience that clearly indicated that the emotions and behaviour of birds parallel those of humans in countless situations.” http://rosemarylow.co.uk/birds_have_feelings_15.html
With all due respect, Dr. B. may be an expert, but he has stated that he has learned and, I bet, is still learning, new things from watching bird cams and from viewers’ observations. What feelings birds have is hard to tell – even for scientists. My opinion is that they do and just because we, humans, can’t measure something doesn’t mean isn’t there.
Some interesting links:
http://avianenrichment.com/learn/emotional-needs/social-interaction/do-parrots-have-emotions
https://www.thespruce.com/examining-bird-emotions-386439
https://www.audubon.org/news/do-birds-grieve
https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/07/150714-animal-dog-thinking-feelings-brain-science/
https://www.livescience.com/24800-animals-emotions-morality.html
Here comes the sun……………..
switch….…… George in
Nope, that was still Jane…… here’s our Studmuffun
And Jane is home……………..
Happy Saturday, everyone! 60 degs. now, heading to 76-78 this afternoon, with sun, sun, sun till late afternoon when a few clouds slide in.
Everyone, have a great day! Hit the beach; don’t forget the sunscreen!
Got called back by alarm calls………. George is upstairs keeping an eye on things.
and Jane
Happy Saturday to you too…going to be a beautiful day….Gracie did a fly by 6:36 this morning..
June C: There was no way to tell if it was Gracie who did the fly-by.
Admin Shelli, Was just wondering how long would it take for Gracey to grow back all those wing feathers she lost? And would she have enough feathers to migrate later this Summer given how many she’s lost if they don’t grow back in time? I’ve been wondering if this will affect her ability to survive. Thanks in advance.
Hi Robin! The ability for an injured bird to fly/migrate depends on how many flight feathers they actually lost and when in the season they lost them.
Gracie was able to fly off the nest so I am assuming she still has plenty of remiges (primary and secondary) flight feathers to migrate with.
As long as a feather folical is not damaged a new one will grow back in a period of weeks.
So I don’t think we have anything to worry about as far as her ability to migrate on time.
Here is a photo showing the growth stages of a feather.
RobininMD: Great question!!
Admin Shelli: Great information!!
Thank you so much for the feather information Admin Shelli – it is so interesting. This has been on my mind.. feeling much better now. Thank you!
You’re welcome! And I’m so glad u feel better ♥️
Great information on feathers….
Trading spaces once more….. Jane out from the perch where she was waiting a minute or so……..
.and George tip-talons in to the nest….
Lol
And another trade……….. blessedly boring with no drama!!!! And more color for the background……….. for the purple fans…..
I need a recall button…. picture
Jane scoping the view……….
I think George has had that silly feather stuck to his beak all day! …left side……
well, that didn’t work. thought photo would enlarge when clicked on… guess proportions are off, preventing that……………. post and learn……..
CarolV… great pics and post today!
TY!
Jane comes in to the perch………..
Thought I lost this then realized we had turned a page… again! We do know how to fill these pages!
This was George flying out……. Jane came right in
Thought George might have gone fishing, but he was on the perch, having a good scratch
All I can say is…..WOW! Mother Nature you dun good with your crayons today!!!
Everytime I clicked in, it was a different “painting”!
I was curious, since the prevalent opinion seemed to be that puffer fish were poisonous, why I , and so many people I knew, had survived our encounters with blowfish. So I went looking and found this…………. Phil Hutton, MS Entomology, University of Delaware (1973)
Answered Jan 18 · Author has 187 answers and 155.3k answer views
Zeke and Costa are both right. Costa is correct that most are potentially poisonous unless extreme care is used in preparation. Too extreme for the 99.999+% of us that aren’t certified by Japan.
Zeke is also correct that the one we have in the North and Mid Atlantic is not toxic and requires no special care to prepare for consumption. In fact, we don’t have any poisonous species. Here in MD we call them “blowfish”, too and most of the time we got them as a by-catch while bottom fishing for something else. They used to be more common (say 50 years ago), and while they are small and don’t have much meat on them the “back fin of the blowfish” will literally blow you away with how tasty they are
Word is they are making a comeback ……..
Just realized George’s bumper guard is gone. I remember it was sort of 1/2 hanging out ………. guess Jane gave it a subtle kick! She was not fond of it!
And our fun little stick, that sat near the back edge of the nest and made the headbow, the bug and George’s fun crown is also gone……….. victim of osprey wars???
CarolV: It must have fallen out somewhere between after 9 pm on 6/13 and before 4 am on 6/14!! I didn’t even notice it was not there until your post!! 😀 😀
Told ya! Jane sneakily pushed overboard, no doubt! Cleaver girl!
CarolV: Jane certainly has been a cleaver girl!! Shredded poor Gracie!! 😉 ;( 😀 😀 😀
Jane flew out……….
Also Jane flying out………….. couldn’t decide which shot I liked better!
A minute later, we see fluffy butt………..
and Jane is right back in……..
About 5 mins. later, Jane is up and obviously greeting George……
George…………….
A brief glimpse of a fish tail on lower right.
Followed by a sliver of flapping wing on upper right and Jane sailing by on lower left.(tried and failed to get those shots)
Anyhow, Jane got a fish
And George steps up to his eggies……..
Hi everyone! I hope you are all having a good day – TGIF 😍
One of our members asked me to share this with you:
Helen asks:
What happens to Gracie when she does not have a mate or a nest? and What do you think she may be feeling?
Dr. B replies:
She will have the summer off and explore looking for a new territory. I’ve found unpaired birds spend a lot of time house hunting in late summer.
My Chesapeake Bay bird Holly is in the same situation. Watch her movements on:
Ospreytrax.com http://www.ospreytrax.com/2018%20all%20year.html
Watch what she does over the summer. She was on a nest last year and her mate died. We don’t know why.
As for what she’s feeling, I don’t think she’s feeling anything about losing the nest. Animals just move on.
Rob
shelli… now I have a question. I think I read bachelor ospreys are just coming up now from migration . If so,why? To claim a nest? I would think it’s too late to mate.
Also.. I read young osprey lay two eggs. So maybe Jane isn’t as young as we think she is, or George is a “busy “ osprey
I have seen young females lay 3 & 4 eggs their first year – it just depends on the female’s genetic and hormonal makeup.
Isabella where did u hear that from? I believe all Osprey, even the bachelors have migrated already. But I will ask Dr B. if he has seen any of his juveniles return this late in the season.
I believe it was over at hog island
Shelli— Thanks for getting that info from Dr.B. It makes us feel a little better about her. being without a nest. Just think— relax , hunt, don’t take care of the kids, explore the neighborhood have a spa day—- etc.. Thinking about it that way makes it better for us..Have a good weekend.
Nfc I agree…it did make me feel better too – and he does have the science to back it up.
Appreciate Dr. Rob’s input……. So sad to think of Gracie elsewhere but glad she is still alive.
‘Not feeling anything about losing the nest? Wow. Okay then. All due respect to other people and their take on things, I respectfully disagree. Creatures may indeed move on, but – to me, heck yes, they possess feelings about things…
I’ve seen and heard things my very own self and certainly there are countless and incredible stories about creatures all over our world re their feelings, their memories, their actions, etc… ‘Not all creatures “just move on”. What about the endless stories of dogs (and other creatures) traveling amazing distances to return to their homes? As you know, these osprey travel incredible distances to return to their nesting place. This has been her nesting place for how many years? She lost both her nest and her mate – my bet is on her grieving and probably feeling very lost indeed, poor thing. It was in her instincts to return to this nest, to George and to make new osprey – this was all torn asunder and we don’t know why. So no, I don’t agree that she feels nothing about losing her nest. The fact that she has been fighting SO very hard to reclaim what was hers – to me – speaks volumes about what she feels about losing the nest. But it’s all good – everyone perceives, thinks and feels differently.
And to give another the benefit of the doubt, perhaps Rob, you mean to say that IF she is okay out there and, IF she survived the battles and, IF she is done trying to reclaim what was hers here – then perhaps she has accepted it all finally and HAS moved on. If that is what you mean, okay, gotcha and I hear you… I just hope she IS okay out there and that she did survive the battles here. We cant know that just as we cannot yet know if the battles are over; time will tell…. I do hope so – for the safety of all of them and for the eggs.
~Finally, it will be VERY interesting to see what happens next season. =)♥
SMCF…Yes, I believe that’s what Dr. B is basically saying – she has tried to reclaim her nest and mate but her attempts have all failed and she has moved on…back into survival mode, fishing and home hunting.
In my opinion mammals have much more complex feelings and emotions than raptors do.
Raptors do not dwell on a loss, but instinctively move on and survive.
I think that after years of studying raptors, Dr. Rob has a more dispassionate and pragmatic view than we do. Science needs to set aside emotion to see a whole picture.
I cannot tell you all how many birds large and small I have seen sitting over a deceased partner or sitting on a tree limb looking down on a deceased partner not wanting to leave them. I have seen a crow sitting over its mate nudging it with its head. I have seen adult Eagles gently nudge their deceased chicks hoping for movement. I think birds show us every day how much they feel loss. Yes they do move on and perhaps better than most humans can but to think of them or any wildlife as not feeling loss makes no sense to me. I think people who think scientifically may miss that piece. I believe that many non human creatures feel and suffer loss. We all may not pick up on it but it is there. One question about this nest this year: When are these eggs due to hatch? I remember someone saying that they are not viable so I was just wondering the status. Thanks everyone. 🙂
We’ll be on pip watch starting June 28th…however, I don’t expect a hatch until the 30th or after.
Linda Ardizzone: I totally agree. I don’t see how they would not feel some kind of grief. There was a young robin once, sitting on the phone wire, who’s parent got killed by a cat while s/he was searching on the ground for bugs. The young robin sat on the wire for hours just doing pitiful yeep, yeep crying. I don’t know what else it could have been except grief.
Raindrops, so many raindrops, feels like raindrops……. falling on my ba-ack…………..
Still weak sun on my side of the Island…….
George!!! Could you stop hanging out there and get in here!?
G was taking his time as Jane yapped away…………..
Jane stepped out. It didn’t appear any fish was delivered………..
… as George touched down after J left.
Fluff those eggies, Daddy!!!!
Jane is back on the nest. she was chirping up on the perch for a bit.
Maybe World Sparrow Day should be changed to June 15th!! 😀
1. Sparrow looking at George as he sleeps
2. Sparrow flitting overhead behind Jane
3. The 1st of 2 sparrows flying up from below the nest
4. The 2nd sparrow flying up from below the nest
Those little guys are so quick….. the ones in my awning have two nests going… don’t know if two couples or an ambitious male! There’s lots of twitter wars involved!
Nice sparrow wing shots
WOW!!!!! Look at that sky!!!! Was over in Sag Harbor, which may be right about under that sky……….. it’s east of me on the spoth fork, usually a 35-40 min, drive, Left early, because of having to pass by the US OPEN golf course. Expected all kinds of congestion but am happy to say, the police seem and organizers seemed to have worked out the kinks and it only took just over an hour. Kudos to traffic management!
While I was out there, the predicted “occasional” showers hit and lasted about an hour. Things here at home are mostly sunny. As that sky indicates, there is a front hanging over us, and a change is coming. May go in to the high 80s over the weekend.
Earlier– can I get a hallelujah ??? This sky makes me think of hymns! We have such a view!
And I caught Jane at a good moment………….
Finally got a chance to watch the blowfish video and it was so funny! Thanks, SMOKY. for posting! A perfect combo of wind, intruders and a sacrificial blowfish made a priceless moment……. so glad it was caught!
Betsy..Thank u for the link to the Richmond nest…i got a kick at the end when she took it away…
June c: You’re welcome! But, really, I wouldn’t have known about the video except that SMCF talked about it in her post!!
Always loved that one! Don’t know if the cap or the swim goggles brought in last year were the oddest thing I’ve seen in a nest.
Just clicked on the video again. I wasn’t expecting to see rain!! By me there’s sun mixed with clouds!! Poor Jane looks so bedraggled!!
I didn’t notice it was raining when I first clicked open the video earlier!! I was just so happy the video stream was back up!! 😀
Betsy— I loved that San Fran. video of the cap. It was definitely too big for them. Glad to see it dropped back into the bay or beach. My husband wears those caps. Someone lost it and the ospreys found it. LOL It is also a great video with the helicopter landing. I will show it to my students. Thanks for your extensive work here. I love reading the comments and printing some nice pictures.
nfc: You’re welcome!!
6-15-18 Hi everyone as you know I am not watching the Live Cam this Season but this is and always will be my home. For those of you who know me know that I love to always celebrate or remember the good times and the bad times we all shared together. That being said today in 2015 our Sweet Peewee’s Birthday. I had to come on site just post this for our sweet baby who tried until he had no more to give. We love you sweetie and will never forget how hard you fought.
Love my Osprey Family and Followers!
Miss all of you and if you want to look at some of my videos I have on You-tube channel under name Osprey Momma.
I remember Peewee. He was such a fighter. I hope he is happy and flying strong, wherever he may be 🙂
Rjoneal— thanks for reminding us of Pee Wee and his short life. I remember how everyone was upset watching him not getting food. It was hard to watch at times. That is where I learned to turn it off when it was hard to watch. This year this nest has been hard to watch too for different reasons. Miss seeing you here. I saw on Dr. Sasse’s videos that you told someone you were rjoneal here. That made me happy. So you have two names — just like me!!! lol I have checked in on your site and am glad I can find you there. Dr. Sasse mentions your name each time you are there. I enjoy his videos too. I watch them in replays each week. It was a little hard when he had 1 1/2 hour videos. Time keeps us all busy. Enjoy the summer!!!!
Rjoneal: I’m thankful I wasn’t watching that year until just about the time Ronnie and Sandy fledged. It was difficult enough seeing what Rocky went through in 2016. It must have been extremely traumatizing to see Pee Wee not make it, because even though the animal/bird cam websites advise that nature is brutal and viewer discretion is advised, it’s not as if we humans are routinely exposed to that in our day-to-day lives. We normally only see the pretty birds flying around, landing in trees or bushes and hear their beautiful singing, not the “behind-the-scenes” aspect of their lives, the struggles they face in their fight to live.
Still Heartbroken about Pee Wee 🙁
Always in our hearts…………TY
RJoneal.. 2015 was the year I started to watch. Was hard to see pee wee, but also hard not to check in and root on the sidelines. At the time I did not know the third egg is considered a “just in case “ .if need be they will feed the older or most dominant chicks.(survival of the fittest) Of course this doesn’t make it easier for us. Was very sad to see Pee Wee go. May he fly free and easy!
Peewee was my first heartbreak. Unbelievable but the pain is still there when I think of that small soul.You have taught me to stop watching when it gets bad and that saved me. Almost lost it last year when osprey nests were being attacked by owls and starvation. But now I moderate my exposure to these nests- for my sanity! It is very frustrating watching nature go bad and being helpless to change it. I worry for Gracie all the time.I hope she comes back next year and reunites with George -but that has a Disney ring to it.
Hi everyone. Happy Friday. Shelli– thanks for fixing the date. It really made it easier to look at comments this morning.
Here are my fifth grade comments:
I showed them videos where Gracie and George were spreading their wings out. I asked them — why do they spread their wings out and start chirping?
Luke said — They make their wings bigger and talk loud to get other birds to go away.
I showed them how the birds land and asked them to comment—
Liam said They land on their tippy toes. Paul and Dylan said — They land with their back feet first. Paul said— they fly downward. I kept on them and told them the third graders got it. Someone said they land like a plane. We all laughed. Then Luke said— they come down like a helicopter. So I explained about the osprey helicopter.
Dylan said they live near the water for food.
Mathias wanted to know how they got the camera up there. We talked about that.
Colin said— this nest is cooler than an eagle’s nest because it looks higher. I explained how eagle’s nests are in trees high up. The picture I have of the osprey nest is from a block away on a side street(not the private road– which Tommy asked us not to go down. I also went in the winter. That was a great experience seeing it for real.) I then had to show the eagles nests Sauces and West End which are on top of bluffs. Since we did study eagles this year it was just more for them to learn.
Nicholas said– it is very windy because it is high up and near water. (Yesterday there was a wonderful breeze wherever you were on LI.
Hope you enjoy reading these comments. I will go to all the classes and show them that puffer fish.
As an aside— if anyone wants to see a beautiful eaglet hovering at sunset — go to you tube and put Aria’s hovering at Sunset. It was on 6-13-18. It is the most beautiful site of a sunset and the eaglet hovering in front of it. Enjoy the weekend. I will post some comments about the puffer fish next week.
nfc: I don’t know why, but I felt a little disappointed in their responses!! Maybe it’s because it’s getting close to the end of the school year and they’ve reached their saturation point and can’t wait for summer recess to come!! I know I feel like that sometimes!! There’s only so much I can stuff into my brain and then I don’t want to think anymore or figure something out; I’m like, “Okay, that’s nice.”
Betsy— we have one week of school left. The students are starting to tune out. LOL
nfc: I’ve always loved learning. I was one of those “nerdy” students who always wanted to sit at the front of the classroom!! But, as far back as it is, I still remember by the end of the school year, during the warm, sunny days of June, wishing school was over already, and, exactly, tuning out my teacher!!
I liked that when they heard the 3rd graders got it, they thought harder!!! They have such curiosity and are always thinking.. we just don’t always have the privilege of tapping in to the process! TY!
What we hope to see soon. Love the racing stripes and little duck butts!
Isabella: The babies are SO cute at that stage!!
Admin Shelli: Would you let Aidan know in the morning that the camera is down/ Thanks
Yes, I sure will.
Admin Shelli: Thank you!
Admin Shelli and Aidan; Thank you!!
It looks like George has an outsize feather sticking out of his head!! 😀 A feather came floating down and I caught it at that point in the video!! Needs a caption!! Yoo-hoo CarolV or Leesa?
Stuck a feather in his cap and called it macaroni!
Isabella: Good one!!
Yankee Doodle! Funny and appropriate for Flag Day!
Feather, feather, on my head, you make me look like an Indian instead.
When I open up my eyes please be gone so no one else will spy,
you on my head, looking like a fool. Oh wait! Maybe Jane will think it makes me look cool!
Leesa Downs: Cute!!
Cute!
George was honoring the local Native American tribe -The Corchaugs- who often honored the osprey by using their feathers for decoration
CarolV: Maybe they did!!
Jane is shocked by the beauty of the setting sun……………….
Pretty pastels as the sunset fades…………….
Jane was intently watching something………….. still windy; was generally windy tho warm all day. 69 now, dropping to 59 around sunrise. Cooler day tomorrow, high 65. Partly cloudy with the outside chance of an occasional passing shower.
CarolV: I love this picture!! (the pastels)
CarolV: I just now reached this part of the video 😀 😀 That’s George and the setting sun!! 😀 😀
You’re right…. I knew that and had another brain fart… brain getting gassier everyday🤪☹️😖😩
Gonna need a tag line on my posts: facts subject to the awakeness of the poster
CarolV: I like that disclaimer that facts subject to the awakeness of the poster!! 😀 😀
nfc: When will do you think you’ll post the 5th graders comments? I’m looking forward to reading them!!
Me too! And make sure to show them the Puffer fish action lol
Hi I have those ready to send. I will post them after reading comments . I couldn’t believe that puffer fish video. I will make sure they all get to see that.
Jane does a nice big stretch
Betsy…That is a great wing shot for markings…
Hello,
I was wondering what’s up with the comment section? You have to scroll through to see recent posts. It’s like it isn’t updating or something. Just hoping it could get easier to get caught up on what I may had missed and especially Betsy’s cute pictures and comments.
I’m not sure I understand what you mean Paula?
Perhaps you might try cleaning out your history, cookies etc and reboot?
Admin Shelli (and Paula): I know what it is … because Dr. Bierregaard’s comment is post-dated June 11, 2019, a whole year in the future in order to keep his post at the top, and we’ve replied to his post (especially me with all of the pictures that I posted with my reply), we have to scroll and scroll and scroll to get past all of that to get to the new comments!! The regulars know, so we just automatically zip past it all!! 😀
Ahhh I get it now! Thanks Carol…I’ll copy and paste everything into an email to Dr. B and remove his pinned post probably tomorrow.
Admin Shelli: I think Aidan just used to change the year back and, I guess, it all fell into place — I’m not sure if he manually moved them all in a chunk to the proper chronological position.
Right, just changing the date will put everything back in order.
Admin Shelli: Thank you.
Admin Shelli: Looks so empty now! 😀 😀
Lol
Thanks Betsy…I’ll do that either this evening or tomorrow.
Thanks Betsy and Admin Shelli. I hadn’t paid attention to the year date.
Paula: You’re welcome!
George must think that he’s a serving tray!! He put what looked like a dried bunch of grapes on his back!! The 2nd picture was as he was turning his head back, but I had paused the video at that point … it looked as if he scrunching up his face and saying “What can I say?? I are cute!!” 😀 😀
Betsy I just love some of your pictures and comments!
Paula: Thank you, Paula.
PS — re: having to scroll way down to reach the new comments. Dr. Bierregaard checked in and posted a comment. It was dated (by admin) as the year 2019 to keep it at the top, then when people replied to him, it grew and grew and grew in length!! The regulars know to just zip down the page to the new posts!! 😀 😀 I posted a comment to Admin Shelli, so maybe she’ll change the year back so it will be in chronological order!
ROFLMBOOOOOOOOOOO He IS cute! Thanks for the chuckles Betsy and George! XD♥
SMCF: You’re welcome!
Good catch on our cutie pie, George. He IS adorable
CarolV: I just LOVE George!! He’s too cute for words!!
Hello to everyone and Happy Thursday! Hope everyone is having a good day and hope also that George, Jane and our beloved Gracie, wherever she is, will also enjoy a good day and night. With all of my heart, I do hope Gracie is okay out there…
My fantasy about all of this sad and tragic drama? First, that Gracie accepts what is this season and stays away, for everybirdy’s safety. Also I hope that George and Jane get to hatch their young w/out incident and that the babies go on to grow and ultimately fledge… As my hope/fantasy continues, I pray that next season, Gracie makes it back here, she and George renew their vows, lol, and have new babies then. I would also hope that in this fantasy of mine, Jane finds a new mate next season, a new nest and makes a new family too! ♥
Bravo to Betsy for all the pix of “Jane’s beachball”, poor thing. With all the intermittent battling here, comedy is most welcome indeed! Sorry for the rolypoly fishy and at the same time – watching George during this whole thing just tickles SO much! His looks and his conflict about it all just crack me up! Watch his expressions = absolutely priceless! XD
So, in looking up this puffer fish aka blowfish, I found some very cool things indeed! First, will share the links re these interesting fishies, then a couple of cool videos. The second video below wow-ed me for sure! Incredible!! ‘Hope it wows you too! =D
Info on puffer fish:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2665746/Out-puff-The-bizarre-moment-Osprey-seahawk-took-poisonous-pufferfish-lost.html
https://a-z-animals.com/animals/puffer-fish/
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/fish/group/pufferfish/?beta=true
SmokyMtnCreatureFan: Fascinating information!! Thanks for posting the links and videos!! I was glad to read that not all species of puffer fish are actually poisonous – I hope that’s the kind Jane caught!! Maybe that’s why George flew off with it, returning empty-footed 3 minutes later – to dump it somewhere!
I should probably try to remember to just abbreviate SmokyMtnCreatureFan like others!! But, I copy and paste!! Would take me longer to type SMCF!! 😀 😀
I was just so awe-struck, that I watched the “Nature’s greatest artist Puffer Fish” video another couple of times!! 😀 😀 The intricacy, the perfection of the design … just stunning!!
Heya Betsy – As always, great to hear from you! I was checking on these two – George and Jane, then looked back into the video. I saw this thing that looked like a ball and I was like what?! is that! Simply had to go back and see and I wouldn’t believe it – it’s a first for me to see on any creature cam, lol. When I came back here to post the video, I saw that you had already captured pix of the whole event, but I knew it would be a welcome compliment to your pix to see the video of it as well. Pretty amazing huh? You’re very welcome and thank you for your pix too!
It was simply far too unusual to not get both pix and videos, right? =D George is just priceless, lol.
I know, re the poisonous part – learned about that and immediately worried about George and Jane. I am leaning towards they did not eat it bec they were back in no time…
Yes and then, to learn about that adorable little cutie puffer making that INCREDIBLE piece of work and art? ASTONISHING!!! Really makes one wonder about creation, doesn’t it? I mean LOOK at what that little fish did?!?!? I just find it, like you – AMAZING and purely mind blowing and mind boggling!! LOL.
‘Couldn’t help but hope that the little puffer that Grace brought in and George took off with somehow survived his/her nightmare. Did you ever see the video where Richmond the osprey brought in a ball cap and his wife Rosie would have no part of that? She took it and dropped it into the sea – all for we humans to see via the cam! Lol. Well. I am gonna imagine that George dropped that puffer into the sea and that the little cutie swam back into their life. LOL. ;D♥
SMCF: I only really watch OZ so I never saw the Richmond video … but, I just googled it and watched the video (http://sfbayospreys.org/170507-richmond-brings-a-hat/ — if anyone else wants to watch). The video was hysterical!! The cap looked huge in comparison to the birds — I was thinking when he first brought it that it looked like it came from an elephant’s head!! 😀 I know osprey aren’t giants, but they looked really, really small next to the hat!! I wonder if, when Rosie got rid of it, it hurt his feelings!! Here he was, probably all happy and pleased and proud of what he’d found for their house, and then he’s working so hard to arrange it just right in the nest, and she just grabs it right out of his beak and flies off with it to toss into the water!! 😀 The poor guy!! I shouldn’t be laughing, but it was funny as all get-out to watch!!
Hi i caught a Blow fish once…when we fillet it there was enough meat to put on a cracker…..
June c: That’s funny!
Heya Betsy, no reply option right after your post re The SF Bay Osprey and Richmond’s ball cap video so will post here.. YES, isn’t that a riot!!! LOVE that video!! Rosie’s like “I am NOT having that filthy thing in our nest!!” Poor Richmond – I agree with you – he was prob sad that his prized and unusual treasure was tossed away, lol. XD
We used to catch them when we were kids, They were so numerous, we sometimes caught them by hand when we swam at a local bay beach. They could be eaten, but were very bony and, as June c says, very little meat.
Numbers declined significantly, but word is, they are gaining in numbers around the area.
CarolV: I guess the toxic ones aren’t around here then!!
I loved the video. Jane looked at George as if to say “Really George? Beach Volleyball? I’m not interested in your games! Get me some lunch!”
She looked absolutely puzzled when he delivered that fish. I couldn’t help but laugh even though I did feel sad for the Puffer.
I may not post often but I do check OZ multiple times a day. Keep the videos and pics coming everyone. I love seeing them.
Hiya Leanne! I know – I am so with you on all that you shared re your thoughts and feelings on the “beachball” video! George is truly priceless to watch, throughout the whole thing, hahahaha. Here’s to hoping that Puffy got dropped into the sea and he/she swam back into their puffy little life! XD
SMCF—- Wow. I don’t know much about fish. I thought it was a stuffed toy at first. I am glad I watched it to the end. Thanks for the comedy. It is what we need to see..
Hiya nfc – Yes we need some levity, for sure and we sure got it via watching George and this “beachball” eh? XD I too did not know what it was at first – a ball? What?! Then when Jane dragged it by the cam, I was like – that’s a fish!! I was worried that I would need look away bec I don’t like seeing any living creature suffer, circle of life is fine, yes, but some things I just don’t want to see…. Anyhoo, like you, glad for the comic relief. I can still see George in my mind’s eye as he seemed to grapple so over this odd fishy, LOLOL. Thanks for writing, thank you for thank you and! you;re very welcome! =)
I love this! I was watching when she brought it into the nest and just cracked up! Then I got a bit concerned, as I know puffer fish are poisonous. Is that what kind of fish this is, or is it a different species? Not familiar with all the fish up there in that area. Was just hoping she couldn’t get a bite so as not to take a chance!
Hey Leesa – had the same concerns re them eating that fish. Maybe, hopefully, and I lean towards – they did not eat it. I learned that some puffers aka blowfish are poisonous and some are not. The fact that George came back fairly quickly after removing puffer from nest leads me to think they did not eat it. =)
Jane has been standing on the edge of the nest since George flew to the nest with a footful of nesting material and they swapped places on the eggs …
He’s been getting nicely shaded by her tail feathers!!