Osprey chicks are still in the nest but are now as large as adults and easy to see.
Yesterday, I had expected to go on a nest-monitoring tour to estimate this year’s chick production. Alas, the tour was rescheduled, so, I headed out on my own — not to count chicks, merely to enjoy the birds.
Here are two shots from that jaunt.
A female Osprey comes in for a landing. She is banded. I have seen her a number of times before.
A Osprey family sits on what is a new nest this season. There are three chicks (the ones with speckled wings and orange eyes) and one female adult (second from the left with yellow eyes). Soon all will have migrated with the adults leaving first.
Of course, today is also the day of my Ogopogo talk.
Alistair
This migration thing is amazing …parents leave first?
How old are they when the head out and where do they go?
Thx rob
Rob, yes parents leave first by a few weeks. As far as we know, our ospreys winter in Central America and northern South America. Adults return each year, but chicks stay south for two or three years before returning as breeding adults.
We now live in New Zealand …
Something similar with Gannets.
The young ones at a very young age fly across the Tasman sea to Queensland for a few years and then return.
The adults are smarter – once they return for life.
Thx rob
These are fantastic Alistair!
And thank you for your awesome talk tonight, we really enjoyed it.
Kat