Yesterday was a beautiful, yet extremely windy and chilly day. For Florida I might add. But since I have made a promise to move my old bones every single day this year (thanks Nancy at http://myyearofsweat.wordpress.com/ for the inspiration), I decided to take a walk on the windy side.
The ocean appeared angry! White hats dominated the scene. The wind was hurting my eyes despite huge shades. The normally lively beach appeared deserted. Pelicans who usually provide free acrobatics lessons were nowhere to be seen.
A few brave gulls were defying the wind and strolling impatiently on the beach. One had found a dead fish and considered whether or not it was wise to feast on it.
Another one gave me the look. What are you doing here in this wind?
That was about everyone I encountered on the beach. I decided the wind was too much to endure and hoped it would be a bit calmer in the nearby nature reserve. So I turned and walked away from the beach to the relative calm of the park. That’s where I became witness to a domestic dispute in the resident osprey family.
First I saw the female waiting alone on the nest platform. She was keeping a good eye on everything, including me. It seemed she had guard duty. Or maybe she was supervising the nest-building project?
Then I saw the male return to the nest. Empty-handed. No building materials. She started to look fairly agitated. Probably asking where’s the stuff. High pitched discussion ensued already before he landed and settled on the opposite side of the nest platform.
It’s anyone’s guess what he did next, but she became very angry very quickly. She flexed her wings and let him have it. He responded in a harsh tone. Twigs were flying out of the nest. Luckily I couldn’t understand what they were saying. But it wasn’t “I love you”.
After a while they both calmed down and the dispute was over. I could see them sharing the nest in relative peace for a good five minutes. They appeared to be discussing something in a more civilized manner. Maybe they agreed on colors and specifications of the building materials he should try to find.
Then the discussion was over, the male flew away and disappeared towards the bridge far beyond the reserve. She continued to guard the nest.
I thought he looked fairly determined. Assembling a nest can be stressful. The pieces have to fit together just the right way. I wished them good luck.
I continued my journey for another hour and found many other birds hiding in the bushes, seeking shelter from the wind. But that is for a later post.
Thanks for joining me, I hope you enjoyed the walkabout. Have a fabulous and peaceful weekend ♥ Tiny
TINY LESSONS BLOG 
Lovely 🙂 Thank you for sharing!
Thanks Morgan! I’m happy you came along.
Yes, I did enjoy my walk. Thanks for taking me along. 🙂
And I’m happy that now, since my husband ran a “spam clean up” program on my computer, I can visit your blog again without hassle.
Happy you came along 🙂 and great that you computer is “clean” and functional again!
Opps, I must have sent some of our wind to you by mistake! It does sound like you had a nice walk though despite the wind. 🙂
You probably did 🙂 but I sent most of it further out…it’s fairly calm today and temperature is much better. I see from my terrace that the pelicans are back too. The walk was nice once I got into the reserve. Even there most birds were seeking shelter and were difficult to spot with their head stuck inside the wing.
It’s even calm here today and warm for this time of year. I mean yeah it’s only 8C, but for us that’s warm. 🙂
I know! We had exactly 8C as the highest temp yesterday afternoon and with the extreme wind it felt really chilly…for Floridians many of whom don’t even have a winter coat. Today the coats are not needed because we have sunny 16C, calm – feels balmy compared to yesterday!
I am so jealous now. hahaha! I’m coming for a visit! 🙂
You’re welcome!
All that wind = added resistance = a better workout! Yay you!!!
p.s. Thanks for the shout out! Much appreciated!
You’re welcome…and guilty 🙂 I was fairly “done” yesterday! And went out this morning too, w/o my camera = more speed! I’m trying to kick my lazy butt and find the time to exercise, and voilà, the time magically appears once I get moving!
It is magical! I agree 100%!
Home building and where the furniture goes are stressful for any couple 😉 I think they handled the situation well. Will we get updates on any offspring?
It’s funny how the situation reminded me of the time 30 years ago when hubby and I bought a huge IKEA wall unit 🙂 Now that I have gotten a hang of photographing the couple, I truly hope I’ll be able to give some updates on the offspring too. At first they will be so small that one cannot possibly see them from the ground, but when they start flying lessons it would be fantastic to be able to capture a few of them. Keeping my fingers crossed.
I will keep my fingers crossed too. In Egypt we had a pigeon pair that we watched diligently. It was so interesting.
What amazing, wonderful pictures! That water did look angry and like a dangerous place. Beautiful birds! Hugs
Thank you Mag. I was there this morning as well and saw many birds. It was cloudy and the pics didn’t come out so good…but it was much warmer and calm winds. Hugs
I could lie on the beach all day watching the seagulls…they have quiet the personality don’t they?
I agree – I have so many pictures of them…I like to watch their big “meetings” on the beach, sometimes with hundred of more “participants”!
Vilket roligt blogginlägg! Jättefina bilder och text!
Hoppas du har det bra 🙂
Kram
Kul att du tyckte on det!