Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
OCTOBER 12, 2010
The autumn minuet has begun.
One day in mid-September we noticed that the ospreys were simply gone. We don't know if they departed en masse or whether they drifted off to their winter homes one by one.
The geese have arrived. By the dozens and by the hundreds, they sail down into the cornfields, and chatter loudly as they peck about for stray kernels. Hunters and their retriever dogs are in the fields, too. They're hiding their gun blinds beneath mounds of mowed cornstalks.
Cormorants perch on navigation markers and buffle-head ducks bob serenely on the river. In Anchorage Cove, the great blue heron has resumed his patrols of our shoreline. With his ancient foes, the ospreys, gone, he has the salt marshes and tidal flats to himself. He has even flapped up to perch on the ospreys' abandoned nest. With an intent yellow eye, he looks downriver for signs of the coming winter.
One day in mid-September we noticed that the ospreys were simply gone. We don't know if they departed en masse or whether they drifted off to their winter homes one by one.
The geese have arrived. By the dozens and by the hundreds, they sail down into the cornfields, and chatter loudly as they peck about for stray kernels. Hunters and their retriever dogs are in the fields, too. They're hiding their gun blinds beneath mounds of mowed cornstalks.
Cormorants perch on navigation markers and buffle-head ducks bob serenely on the river. In Anchorage Cove, the great blue heron has resumed his patrols of our shoreline. With his ancient foes, the ospreys, gone, he has the salt marshes and tidal flats to himself. He has even flapped up to perch on the ospreys' abandoned nest. With an intent yellow eye, he looks downriver for signs of the coming winter.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
SEPTEMBER 1, 2010
The days are shorter, but just as hot. Butterflies sip nectar from the flowers and fuzzy brown caterpillars meander across the road. Yesterday we spotted a Canada goose flying low over the marshes.
Downriver, a few nests are still occupied, but ours has been empty for several weeks now. Ospreys are still here, though. We've seen them in stands of tall trees on undeveloped land by the river. They must fish at daybreak, for we never see them soaring over the water.
We miss them.
Downriver, a few nests are still occupied, but ours has been empty for several weeks now. Ospreys are still here, though. We've seen them in stands of tall trees on undeveloped land by the river. They must fish at daybreak, for we never see them soaring over the water.
We miss them.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
AUGUST 5, 2010
We returned from vacation to find an empty nest, and our hearts sank. But by nightfall the young osprey was there. Some instruction in fishing seems to have taken place in our absence, for now he flies low over the water in pursuit of a meal. He's not always successful, so occasionally Mama or Papa drops by with a snack.
Monday, July 19, 2010
JULY 19, 2010
We got up Saturday to find the nest empty. We were devastated at the thought that we might not see the ospreys again, but before long, one glided low over our yard and landed on the nest. It was the baby! This "baby" is now the size of an adult bird and has a wingspan of about five feet. The only way we can tell it from its parents is by its mottled brown feathers.
The rest of the weekend it took short practice flights, mostly upriver and then back over our yard. Mama and Papa, who seemed to have decided on a tough-love approach by staying away from the nest, came back to voice osprey approval, and also to bring fish for the new flyer. The baby had worked up a great appetite. This morning, after a flying session, we saw Mama breaking off bits of a fish and tenderly offering them to her youngster.
The rest of the weekend it took short practice flights, mostly upriver and then back over our yard. Mama and Papa, who seemed to have decided on a tough-love approach by staying away from the nest, came back to voice osprey approval, and also to bring fish for the new flyer. The baby had worked up a great appetite. This morning, after a flying session, we saw Mama breaking off bits of a fish and tenderly offering them to her youngster.
Monday, July 12, 2010
JULY 12, 2010
Clearly, Mama and Papa think it's time for the second chick to move on. No doubt they are weary of doing umbrella duty through days of blistering sun and torrential rain.
They try sitting with the chick and bribing it with fish. They try example: Papa swoops and soars, Mama splashes in the river. They fly off in hopes that the chick will wonder where they've gone and come after them. Papa perches on the antenna of a neighbor's power boat and cheeps encouragement.
The baby's trying to fly, really it is. Like its sibling, it stands on the edge of the nest and flaps for long minutes. We get very excited, but the chick always ends by folding its wings and settling back down. Once or twice it's gotten a few inches of air, but it has grasped the nest so tightly that it has taken a few sticks with it.
Of course all activity in the house has ceased as we watch the birds. Jack has discovered that the best viewing place is from the couch on the sun-porch. I check the nest every few minutes. Once I thought I'd missed the great moment, for the nest looked empty, but an inspection with binoculars revealed a feathered head. Not yet!
They try sitting with the chick and bribing it with fish. They try example: Papa swoops and soars, Mama splashes in the river. They fly off in hopes that the chick will wonder where they've gone and come after them. Papa perches on the antenna of a neighbor's power boat and cheeps encouragement.
The baby's trying to fly, really it is. Like its sibling, it stands on the edge of the nest and flaps for long minutes. We get very excited, but the chick always ends by folding its wings and settling back down. Once or twice it's gotten a few inches of air, but it has grasped the nest so tightly that it has taken a few sticks with it.
Of course all activity in the house has ceased as we watch the birds. Jack has discovered that the best viewing place is from the couch on the sun-porch. I check the nest every few minutes. Once I thought I'd missed the great moment, for the nest looked empty, but an inspection with binoculars revealed a feathered head. Not yet!
JULY 9, 2010
The weather is cooler, and the ospreys' spirits, and ours, have risen.
Jack met a woman in a doctor's office yesterday. She's a devotee of the eagle webcam at the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge in Dorchester County. She assured Jack that raptor chicks hatch up to a week apart, and that their development is similarly uneven.
We now believe that the first chick, which was the size of its parents and which had been faux-flying for some days, did indeed fly away before the very hot weather set in.
Jack met a woman in a doctor's office yesterday. She's a devotee of the eagle webcam at the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge in Dorchester County. She assured Jack that raptor chicks hatch up to a week apart, and that their development is similarly uneven.
We now believe that the first chick, which was the size of its parents and which had been faux-flying for some days, did indeed fly away before the very hot weather set in.
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