23 | April | 2015 | TINY LESSONS BLOG

The sky lit up, and loud bangs reverberated through the salt marsh. About an hour after bed time, the three Osprey chicks woke up to experience their first fireworks. Courtesy of the Sugar Sand Festival going on just north of the park, on the other side of the narrow waterway. Luckily Mama Sandy and Papa Stanley have experienced these occasional “disturbances” several times before. I’m confident they made the chicks feel safe. And explained to them the silly fascination with these loud nightly displays we humans have.

sugar sand festival fireworks Clearwater Florida — Lights come on with a bang in the middle of the night.

On Sunday afternoon the drama continued, but this time it wasn’t manmade. Papa Stanley had just left for his 2 p.m. fishing trip on the bay when the thunderstorms rolled in. The skies darkened instantly. The winds picked up, gusting up to 50 miles/hour. Dry leaves and small branches swirled through the air. Sheets of rain moved sideways like grey walls of water, followed by thunder and lightning.

storm over the bay — Storms over the bay where Papa Osprey went to get some afternoon snacks.

Mama Osprey was tightly pressed over her chicks, her head pointed against the wind. The chicks experienced their first torrential rains and their first thunderstorms under Mama’s half-spread wings.

mama osprey protects chicks in storm Sand Key Park Clearwater Florida — Mama Sandy protects the kids during the thunderstorms – as seen from my terrace.

This scene was repeated, with more intensity, on Monday afternoon. Looking through my window with binoculars, I could see that both Sandy and Stanley were in the nest shielding the kids from wind and rain.

On Tuesday afternoon I could finally take a walk to check on the residents in the salt marsh. The water levels were up throughout, and I saw several feathery friends out inspecting their surroundings after the storms…or just enjoying the much nicer fishing weather.

moorhen Sand Key Park Clearwater Florida — Mr. Moorhen inspects his flooded neighborhood after the storms.

Great Egret fishing Sand Key Park Clearwater Florida — The Great Egret goes fishing after the storms.

Arriving at the osprey nest I noticed Mama Sandy had a small injury on her tummy, a bloody patch just above her left leg. But she was in full swing feeding the chicks, and didn’t seem bothered by it. Something must have hit her there scraping away the soft feathers and skin.

male osprey sleeps while the female feeds the chicks Sand Key Park Clearwater Florida — The first born chick watches Mama Sandy feed the middle chick while Papa Stanley takes a nap. Mama’s injury is partly visible just above and left of the nest corner.

It’s been quite a week for the Osprey family. The first born chick is now about four weeks old. All three chicks have learned to walk and discovered their wings. Their curiosity is limitless. They come close to the edge to scan the skies or to peek down. Even just to say hello.

osprey chick says hello Sand Key Park Clearwater Florida — The middle chick says hello to Tiny. Their eyes are almost red at birth, then turn to a lighter orange shade and finally yellow at maturity.

So what do good parents do? They go shopping for baby gates. That’s exactly what both Sandy and Stanley have done several times this week.

mama osprey brings in reenforcements to the nest with three chicks Sand Key Park Clearwater Florida — Mama Sandy brings in reinforcements to the nest. She left the first born (on the left) in charge.

male osprey brought nest reinforcements Sand Key Park Clearwater Florida — Papa Stanley brought in a heavy duty baby gate.

I’ve admired the good discipline Sandy and Stanley have established. The chicks are always fed one at the time, while the other two patiently wait for their turn. All three seem to be growing, developing their own personalities … and challenging my ability to catch them all in a family portrait 🙂

Osprey family Sand Key Park Clearwater Florida — A family portrait (almost). The smallest chick is being fed by Mama Sandy, his/her head partly visible next to Mama’s leg behind the middle chick.

The regular daily routine Sandy and Stanley have established serves to keep the chicks feeling safe in the wild world of fireworks and storms. It goes something like this

Wake up time just around dawn at 7 a.m.
Breakfast 7:30 – 8:30 a.m.
Lunch 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Afternoon snack 3:00 – 4:00 p.m.
Dinner 7:00 – 8:00 p.m.
Sleepy time just around nightfall at 8:00 p.m.

Nice, eh? I don’t think these wise parents have googled expert recommendations on consistency in meal and nap times. They just intuitively know. And that’s quite amazing to watch. In fact, it’s a privilege.

Papa Stanley and the oldest chick scan the skies.

Now is also the time to meet other youngsters. Yesterday afternoon I spotted a young Great Egret enjoying a refreshing bath at the shallow end of the marsh.

Juvenile Great Egret takes a bath Sand Key Park Clearwater Florida — A young Great Egret takes a cooling bath.

And watched quietly in awe when Mama Mottled Duck suddenly came out of her nest. With ten little miracles in tow. Possibly for one of their first swims. I could only see them for a minute or so before Mama took them into safety in a narrow corridor under the mangroves. Aren’t they lovely?

female mottled duck with 10 chicks Sand Key Park Clearwater Florida — Mama Duck takes her ten chicks for a swim.

And of course I would spot Mister Reddish Egret successfully chasing his cousin, the Great Egret, away from the fishing spot he’d claimed. That was not a miracle, but a rather common occurrence around here 🙂

Reddish Egret chases a Great Egret Sand Key Park Clearwater Florida — Mister Reddish Egret chases away the Great Egret.

This morning it’s been raining on and off. I noticed that Mama Sandy left her kids by themselves for a little while. Probably to get more reinforcements to the nest. Right after she left it started raining again. The three chicks moved to the middle of the nest and huddled together until she returned a few minutes later.

three osprey chicks huddling together in the rain UD3 — All three chicks huddling together in the rain. Sorry for the quality as I took this picture without a tripod from my terrace more than a block away.

You will notice the youngest chick is quite a bit smaller than the other two. My guess is that the first two hatched a day apart, but the last born hatched 2-3 days after the middle chick. Sandy seems to keep him/her separate from the others, often between or right behind her legs when she’s in the nest, including at feeding time. I’m sure she does that to increase his/her chances to make it.

We all wish you a great day/evening filled with love, laughter and small miracles. Rain or shine. Your embedded reporter in the nature zone, Tiny