In the past few weeks I’ve been flying in and out of my nest on this barrier island I call home. Several work trips to big cities. Lot’s of ‘osprey time’. And bird’s eye views.
Or views from my temporary nest high up in the air in the Big Apple late in the day…and night.
So after all this flying, I have enjoyed being earth bound this past week. Watching others fly. Like Papa Stanley, who recently flew in for some Valentine’s Day romancing with Mama Sandy. Dylan and I backed off to allow them some privacy.
I think Sandy is pregnant. Her belly is growing and Stanley is already feeding her. And she’s spending lots of time at the nest every day. Yesterday she was watching intently over the bay…
…I turned around and saw Stanley flying far over the bay with a big fish.
Sandy would get it, eventually. But first the head had to be eaten. Sandy was working on rearranging the furniture in the nest, but kept an eye from time to time on Stanley and the fish on a nearby lamp-post.
This morning my assistant and I visited the Taylor Park and spotted many familiar birds. It’s funny how the birds favor the same spot, like this Anhinga who always dries her feathers at almost the same place.
She always faces the lake looking for any signs of approaching gators, but turned to look at my assistant. She didn’t move. Dylan is already trusted by these birds. Next to the kayak launch pad we usually find the Ring-billed Gull. So also this morning.
And the blackbirds are chilling out there too. The dad Boat-tailed Blackbird was reading the sign warning about the presence of gators and warned his wifey who was wading in the water nearby. Wading is a no-no according to the sign.
At the north end of the lake the resident Osprey dad was trying to spot some fish and at the south end two Great Egrets were chasing each other amid a loud argument.
We walked around the lake and spotted our usual suspects, the Little Blue Heron and the Tri-Colored Heron.
A Double-crested Cormorant with bright blue eyes was windsurfing on the lake, watching the waters carefully for any signs of gators.
And he was right in being careful. According to my latest intelligence, there are at least five gators in the lake. So far we had not spotted any of them. But we saw a large flock of American Coots in the middle of the lake and a few brave individuals were cruising solo closer to the shore.
That’s when we saw him…sunbathing on the shore.
I tightened my grip on Dylan’s leash, but since the gator posed calmly I went for a portrait too.
He was quite impressive. We walked back to the other side of the park and before going back to my car, we spotted a little head coming up for air in the middle of the green slime in a small pond. That was our tiny friend, the Pied-billed Grebe.
Today being an outdoors day for us, we also visited the Osprey couple this afternoon. They were napping together in the nest. Stanley seems to have grown a short beard. Perhaps to mark that he’ll soon be a dad once again.
While Sandy was truly sleeping, Stanley was just nodding off. He opened his eyes and told us “I see you.”
The salt marsh was fairly quiet in the middle of the afternoon, which is not unusual. The Mayor was walking around and checking his territory…
…and Mama Moorhen was gliding quietly right below the osprey nest.
I thought that was it…until we found someone hiding deep in the shadows. I had to smile. It was the younger Great Blue Heron. He didn’t want to be seen either by the Mayor or Mama Sandy. His has some unfortunate history with both of them.
I’m hoping for evidence of eggs in the Osprey Family within the next two weeks. And this coming weekend I’m off for another little nature adventure in South Florida. Stay tuned and thank you so much for visiting.
The various gardens were beautiful, both the cultivated ones with plants native to Florida and the many natural habitats. Lots of mosaics are incorporated into and around the walk ways. I included a couple of them in the slide show below.
Right off the bat we spotted someone in the grass spying on us. I guess we had surprised him in the middle of his breakfast.
Then I heard someone working. Looking around I spotted our smallest woodpecker, the Downy, on a tree trunk quite a bit away.
On the lake side we spotted a Wood Stork ooking for breakfast…
… and soon realized that the whole village was out and about. A Great Blue Heron, a Little Blue Heron and Tri-colored Heron we all looking for an early bite.
When we arrived at the canoe launch ramp, aka the local Starbucks, we saw it was busier than ever.
This time there was no gator lurking nearby, the coast was clear. So the Ibis had their morning drink and their morning bath all at once. On the side of the ramp an Anhinga was drying his wings…
… and another one was checking his outfit in the mirror.
Nobody seemed concerned about dangers lurking in the water. Looking out on the lake I discovered a large Pied-billed Grebe family in the company of a young Moorhen.
While they were diving for food and generally having fun,it was clear they also kept an eye on the water, like these two…
I looked in the direction their eyes were trained at…and there he was. Silently gliding in the water.
Sometimes only the very top of his head was visible. Then he turned to check on us, or perhaps he was interested in the busy Starbucks on the shore.
I was glad the birds were keeping watch. We continued our walk to the end of the lake and turned around.
We spotted the resident Osprey. She made a few fishing attempts at the far end of the lake, but didn’t seem to have any luck. Walking back we spotted her again on a pine branch above the trail. She was looking intently out to the lake…
… and I did too. First I didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. The gator was no longer there and all the Grebes seemed to be safe. But scanning the water with my zoom lens, Mr. D. patiently sitting by my side, I spotted another, much larger gator. He was well camouflaged with a green head covering.
He was quietly swimming about quite close to the shore. Suddenly he turned around with a splash…
… and opened his mouth. I remember checking that there was no bird close by. And then I saw it. He caught a fat fish!
Phew! I was happy he had fish on his menu that morning. The little birds diving in the lake seemed to be safe for now. Relatively speaking.
We caught up with some moms on an outing with their babies…
…and also spotted another little cutie on the lake before arriving back to the parking lot.
Next week we will be getting company. Good friends from Sweden are coming to visit. Stay tuned for some new and different adventures. Thank you for walking with us again. Mr. D. and I wish you wonderful fall days…or spring days for those of you in the southern hemisphere.
I was getting really worried about her until I finally spotted her at the sailing center one morning just about two weeks ago. But she wouldn’t come to the nest. I had no idea why. She had left with her daughter Bubbette (remember her ?) at the end of June and stayed away much longer than the usual 3-4 weeks.
But that all changed yesterday. She was flying around the marsh and passing by my terrace several times…
…as in making sure I would notice her. Finally she landed on her perch at the nest. Looking at the picture taken from my terrace, I noticed that she had been gardening again. Her flower bed was green after all the rains this past summer.
She was still there when Dylan and I passed by briefly at lunch time. Now she was taking her nest-sitting seriously. And I liked it. The salt marsh felt homey again.
Another fellow I’ve missed made an appearance too. The Reddish Egret, aka the Clown, was hunting for a lunch bite in the middle of the marsh.
He danced around, flapped his wings…and caught a fish! He turned to show off his catch…
… and then enjoyed it without further ado.
After his meal he posed for me, in his usual charming way, looking straight into my camera. I love watching his performances. And I think he knows it.
Last night Mr. D. and I visited the bayside and the dog park just before sunset. I realized we’ll need to adjust our schedule as it is getting dark much earlier now. It was almost too dark to take pictures. We found Stanley at his favorite perch at the Sailing Center and Sandy close by on a lamp-post. It was good to see them together again.
The marsh was already in the shadows, but far away I could see the Mayor on the ‘bird island’ in the company of numerous residents, mostly White Ibis.
A juvenile Little Blue Heron, who was still completely white, got a bit startled after seeing Mr. D., but then realized he was leashed and graciously posed for a picture.
Another friend I haven’t seen in a while, a Tri-colored Heron, was trying to find supper in the last light for the night…
…and Harry, the younger Great Blue Heron, was keeping a good distance to the Mayor and his company.
Mr. D. ran around alone at the park. I guess we were too late and everyone had already gone home. When he finally sat down to rest, I snapped a picture of him and glanced over the fence…
…at a gorgeous sunset sky.
We walked out of the park and enjoyed the sunset from a distance. Mr. D. is a bit sour about not being allowed on the beach, but he took it all with stride.
Walking back home through the darkened marsh, we discovered that Sandy was now perching at the nest. Her silhouette against the sunset’s after glow was reassuring. All is good. Mama is back.
Thank you for visiting. Mr. D and I wish you a wonderful upcoming week.
I’ve been lucky to spend quite a bit of time, on several occasions, with ‘my girls’. They have an incredible curiosity and desire to discover – and the energy to match. So we’ve been on ‘safari’ in Busch Gardens observing the rhino family, mom, toddler and dad…
… lots of stripy zebras and numerous different antelopes …
…and several families of giraffes.
Even some beautiful flamingos.
That was a full 12 h day of countless rides and animals! Fireworks at the end of the day, both literally and figuratively. Some of us slept already on the way home.
On another occasion it was time to explore the Florida Aquarium in Tampa. To our delight they had tropical gardens where some ‘duckies’ and familiar shore birds could come and go as they pleased.
And the underwater world was full of wonders from sharks and numerous other fish species to sea turtles and other small and big creatures.
A fascinating world of its own….followed by other adventures at the children’s museum and elsewhere. All these excursions provided welcome breaks from work that has intruded my world a bit more than I had bargained for…but it’s all good. Although I work mostly from my home office with a view of the ocean, the bayside and the salt marsh, I have also been traveling. Last week, for example, I worked in the Big Apple. Right in midtown Manhattan where the sun only reaches the ground in small spots between the skyscrapers.
Once it gets cooler, we’ll visit this park more regularly, but for now we walk right here in the neighborhood.
From there we walked to the salt marsh and discovered it was quite lively after several months of little activity. I was delighted to see the Mayor in his slightly untidy office again.
He was proudly surveying his village. I noticed that Great Egrets were back from their summer vacation in big numbers and so were the smaller Snowy Egrets. The grass was so tall that it was difficult to get good shots of them.
Suddenly we saw that the Mayor flew up to a higher branch and trained his eyes on something.
We walked a bit closer…and noticed that Harry, the younger GBH, was walking towards a group of egrets exercising his self-appointed authority…
He glanced at the Mayor and noticed he was under surveillance. He knew from previous experience how such a confrontation would end, so he stopped at his tracks, turned around and walked away. We walked home too. I was happy to have spotted both osprey parents and realized that the new nesting season is only three months away.
Did you spot the second Blue Jay at the edge of the nest? Sandy certainly did. But she took it all with stride.
But when we go to the doggy park in the evenings, she and Sandy have been back at the nest and we have spotted Stanley fishing on the bay.
The other night we saw the Blue Jay again. He was sitting on the perch and talking to Bubbette and Sandy.
I was wondering what he was saying. It looked like he was asking to be adopted. He flew repeatedly over the nest and always landed back on the perch. Both ospreys were extremely understanding with him.
Anyway, on our one daytime walk we spotted several familiar faces. The Mayor was back! And he caught a big fish!
This surprised us and one of the Snowy Egrets watching near by.
But the Reddish Egret, aka the Clown, only got more motivated to continue his fishing expedition. I really like to watch this charming red head. And he knows it.
Harry, the younger GBH, did not witness the catch. Wisely, he stayed out of the Mayor’s sight at the opposite end of the marsh.
Yesterday I monitored Bubbette from my terrace. She was away the whole day and I started to get worried. Finally around 7 p.m. I spotted her alone in the nest. I took my camera along for the walk to the dog park. You see, I am not sure she will be here when I come back from my travels in about one week. She is an advanced flier already and the past couple of nights, Sandy has let her sleep alone in the nest. That means she’s considered almost ready to move from home and is fed only sporadically by her parents. We found her in the nest asking for food, although it was a quite half-hearted request. Her crop was fairly full.
When we were close to the dog park, I turned around and noticed she had company. The little Blue Jay was back on the perch. They enjoyed the last rays of the day together.
When at the dog park, we heard her asking for food again and I walked up to the fence to see if Sandy was back at the nest with a bite for the night. She wasn’t. But the marsh bathed in the warm glow of the setting sun.
Bubbette was learning that the free meals would be fewer and far between. When we left the dog park, we spotted a few more friends at the almost dark marsh. I saw a flash of red and noticed a male Northern Cardinal landing on a tree just ahead of us. My assistant kept a low profile and I managed to get a shot before he flew off.
A Tri-colored Heron was getting a late snack and Harry was, as he often is, watching the osprey nest.
He saw that Bubbette had flown up to the perch. A sign of mastering the skill of flying. Perhaps she was checking if any of her parents were nearby and hoping for a late night snack.
And, indeed, Sandy was perching at the Sailing Center right across the road. She was looking at Bubbette. It might have been too dark to go fishing, but who knows…
Today at lunch time, I spotted both Sandy and Bubbette at the nest. And faintly heard the fish-fish song again. I will miss that song and hope to hear it again when I come back next weekend.
I will leave you with last night’s beautiful glow over the salt marsh. Thank you for visiting. Be well.
On Wednesday we found her alone in the nest keeping a low profile. Mama Sandy was flying overhead and sounding loud warnings.
I realized she was chasing away a male intruder who had ventured too close to the nest.
Sandy soon returned to the nest and I understood she had flown away in the middle of her lunch. She continued eating. Bubbette had probably already eaten, but asked for more so Sandy was feeding her a few more bites from her own lunch. Mother’s love.
After finishing her lunch, Sandy flew up to the perch. Bubbette continued her wing exercises.
We walked around the marsh and saw a few friends. Miss Rosa was visiting…
… and foraging together with a Snowy Egret. A Yellow-crowned Night Heron was hunting too, which is rarely seen in the middle of the day.
And Mr. Moorhen was checking out his territory. Otherwise the marsh was quiet.
On Thursday we went out again quickly between the rain showers. Bubbette was exercising her wings again. She did not take off the nest, but ‘flew’ onto the highest branch in the nest.
And she was hungry. She had, indeed, learned the most common osprey song: Gimme Fish.
The sky had filled with clouds and we left Bubbette and Sandy to wait for their lunch.
Yesterday I went out to the terrace to take a picture of the nest through the rain. I was thrown off balance several times by the strong wind gusts. No wonder Sandy doesn’t allow her girl to get airborne as yet.
Later in the afternoon when the sun came out, I looked at the nest again…and could not spot Bubbette! I thought the poor girl might have taken off in the gusting wind, which made it difficult to fly even for experienced fliers. I took my camera and went out Dylan in tow. The wind hit us hard.
We arrived at the nest, but could only see Sandy on the perch. The wind was blowing so hard that it forced three Anhingas on their way to the bay to land at the marsh.
Still no Bubbette in sight. This ‘osprey granny’ was starting to get worried. We walked around the marsh and spotted Harry, the younger Great Blue Heron.
And a tiny, juvenile Green Heron, who was trying to keep her balance on a low branch.
A male Red-winged Blackbird had to flap his wings to stay put on his sturdy tree stump. Normally he would land in the middle of the marsh on one of those slender bushes, but I guessed he didn’t like the idea of ‘swinging’ in this gusty wind.
When we approached the nest again, pushing against the wind, I still didn’t see the osprey chick, but a pregnant Mama Moorhen walked by.
Suddenly I heard a faint song…fish, fish. It was Bubbette! But where did the sound come from? Dylan and I stayed quite a while close to the nest looking around. Finally we gave up and decided to walk home. When on the side-walk, I looked out to the nest again, and saw her. Phew.
She had been lying low in the nest cup all along, probably ordered to take shelter by Mama Sandy. It is windy today too…and the fledging watch continues. Thanks for visiting. Happy Memorial Day and have a great week.
Yesterday, after I had returned from my latest work trip on Friday night, we went to the salt marsh twice. We found the Osprey Family all gathered in the nest for some late-morning family time.
Papa Stanley took a nap on the perch, but his sleep was interrupted by Sandy reminding him it was time to fetch lunch. And that’s when I saw it. The chick is a girl! She looks just like her mom, with a ‘necklace’ already at six weeks of age. She had grown beautiful feathers and was as alert as ever.
Stanley is quite funny. He never leaves on a fishing trip right away when Sandy asks for food. He flew down from his perch and parked himself in the nest for a while. Sandy continued her “we-want-fish-fish” song and the little one chimed in a couple of times. It was obvious she had learned to talk.
Finally Stanley glanced at his watch and saw it was lunch time. He left for his 3rd fishing trip of the day. Both females observed his departure. Better late than never, they seemed to think. And then they settled side by side to observe the life at the marsh. Sandy soon nodded off, but the chick was watching her environment. Perhaps already dreaming of flying.
She could see the ‘Clown’ down below. He was playing peek-a-boo with the chick.
And little further away Papa Moorhen was inspecting his territory.
We went home before Stanley returned. But when we walked back in the evening it was like we never left. Stanley had a newly caught fish. He was eating the head on ‘his’ lamp-post, like he always does before he gives the fish to Sandy.
But then I discovered an Osprey flying high above the street. It was Sandy.
So who was with the chick? Nobody! She was lying low in the nest all by herself while mama was stretching her wings and flying around just for the fun of it. Now that the chick is six weeks old, Sandy is free to do just that…and even go fishing should she feel for it.
After a few minutes of pre-dinner exercise Sandy returned to her chick. She was watching the setting sun and waiting for Stanley to drop off the fish.
We walked to the dog park passing right below the nest and discovered several familiar faces. Harry the trouble-maker, the younger Great Blue Heron, was hiding in the high grass.
He didn’t want to be seen and I soon understood why. The Mayor was marching around at the beach end of the marsh.
Usually there’s not enough space for the two of them at the marsh, but this time Harry was not spotted. A Yellow-crowned Night Heron could see both of them from his sun-soaked islet, but he didn’t tell.
Dylan sat down as in waiting for some drama to occur, but there was none. A Mourning Dove sat on a branch just above my assistant and enjoyed the peace of the evening.
We went to the dog park and when we returned the sun was setting over the salt marsh.
It was almost dark, but we saw some movement in the water. Miss Rosa was out and about getting her late night snack. I didn’t think the light would be enough to get anything but a pink blob, but in one picture you can actually see her. A little.
Soon there was only the full moon.
I’m sure that Dylan, keeping with the tradition, will invite you all to provide name suggestions for the new osprey girl and reveal the lottery prize in the next post 🙂 Thank you for visiting and have a wonderful week.
Finally yesterday, my assistant and I had an opportunity to get out and check on the osprey chick. We arrived soon after the family brunch. Papa Stanley was still on the perch, guarding his little family from intruders. The baby was sleeping and Mama Sandy nodded off for a while as well. She shielded her baby from the sun and the wind that was already picking up.
But soon Stanley saw a danger in the skies (beyond my horizon) and sounded frequent loud warnings.
The chick woke up and peered out from behind the baby gate with its head lowered. Sandy became alert too, but nobody came close to the nest.
The salt marsh appeared deserted. The only other bird present was the Reddish Egret. And he was completely absorbed in his hunting dance.
At sunset time Dylan took me for another walk. He loves to walk on the bayside and look down to the water. I don’t mind such a detour because I often spot birds enjoying the low tide next to the sea wall. And we were lucky. Two Oystercatchers were looking for supper.
And a bit further away, a Great Egret was enjoying the last rays of the day.
The sun was still up when we reached the salt marsh. We found the younger Great Blue Heron, aka Henry the Troublemaker, on his usual spot staring at the osprey nest.
And a beautiful Snowy Egret was looking for her evening meal. And checking us out.
A Yellow-crowned Night Heron had woken up to get his breakfast. He was planning his hunt on the little islet that also serves as the Mayor’s office. The Mayor was nowhere to be seen.
When we approached the Osprey nest we heard the typical whistles of the Red-winged Blackbird. Finally I spotted one smack in the middle of the marsh.
Then Dylan alerted me to a lovely Mourning Dove walking right on our path. It was not eager to meet us and hurried away.
We found Stanley on his guard post. He nodded a friendly good evening to us. But Sandy was hunkering down over the baby and we could only see a few feathers sticking up.
Just before dark we finally reached the dog park and my assistant got a well deserved rest after walking around the marsh and running back and forth at the park.
When we returned to go home it was already dark. Stanley had gone to his sleeping quarters, but we saw Sandy in the nest beautifully silhouetted against the sunset’s after-glow.
This afternoon the skies darkened and the storms arrived. Right now I can hardly see the osprey nest from my terrace through the heavy rains. Gray walls of water are swept sideways by the strong winds. I went out quickly and took one picture. Sandy had placed her baby in the nest cup and was shielding it from the elements with her wings. Even her head was down. Possibly to reassure the baby that this too shall pass. She knows her stuff.
With that we wish you a great week ahead and hope it will be sunny and bright. Thank you for visiting.
TINY LESSONS BLOG 