On Wednesday, Mom was feeding the two that haven't fledged yet. The fledgling wasn't in the nest at the time. I'm not sure if they ate it all or if she took some leftovers out of the nest with her since I missed seeing her depart the nest. Minutes later, she arrived back at the nest with some food. The two that haven't fledged seemed interested in it, even though they had just eaten -- They gathered around Mom and were crying to be fed. She ignored them. She was looking out and calling. The fledgling came in. Then she started feeding him. What a good mom!
I commented to someone the other day a difference I had observed between these Osprey chicks and Bald Eagles that are ready to fledge. At this Osprey nest, one has fledged and the other two are going to go any day now. But these Osprey chicks were not self-feeding. I had seen them get impatient and peck at the fish that Mom was standing on while she fed them. But that was it. Long before the time Bald Eagles are ready to fledge, they are rushing to grab the food when it's delivered to the nest and the winner mantles over it to keep the other chicks away. They start self-feeding pretty soon after they learn to stand. But I hadn't observed this behavior with the Osprey. Then, yesterday, Mom came into the nest with a fish. The two that have not yet fledged were in the nest. She deliberately tore the fish in half as she fed them. Then she stopped feeding them and left the pieces laying in the nest. One grabbed the tail end of the fish and dragged it toward the camera and started pecking at it. It made a few attempts at the tail before figuring out that it was easier to tear pieces off the same area Mom had been feeding from. The other sibling figured it out too. Here they both are, bent to the task:
Eventually, the fledgling returned to the nest and was also given the opportunity to self-feed. Even after fledging, the learning continues...
Some recent s'caps:
One of the two that haven't fledged contemplates the branch (Mom is on the right):
Both of these chicks (left and center) are standing on the part of the 'branches' that are inside the nest. But this does not count as branching:
This s'cap shows the fledgling flying above the trees and Mom is flying away from the nest, right below the logo. The chick standing in the nest still hasn't quite achieved 'branching' but is getting a feel for it:
Here's Mom flying in with a fish:
It was raining yesterday at the nest. It didn't stop the wingercizing. Sing it with me, "I'm winging in the rain, I'm winging in the rain..."
It was windy while it was raining. This youngster hop/flew pretty high, got blown sideways, and came down on the branch. Finally one of the remaining chicks has branched:
And two funny s'caps. A wasp must be building a nest on the camera. Because we've been seeing a lot of this:
Here's another. Does anyone remember the dead spider on the NBG camera? At least this wasp moves out of the way... But for now, "Hey guys! I'm ready for my close-up!"
Ron Dudley posted some great pictures of Red-tailed Hawks on his Feathered Photography blog.
Today's 'Find Momo' is pretty good. It's amazing how you can just overlook this dog!
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