Osprey

Osprey portrait in pen and ink.

The osprey family has been quite busy lately.  The young birds have been practicing for their first flight.

The young osprey in training.

The parents had been flying around the tower trying to entice the fledglings to take wing.

This is how it’s done kids.

Then the heat came.  We had seven straight days over 108 and it peaked at 116.  It was way too hot in the nest tower!

Trying to assume a cool position in the tower.

This was the incentive to motivate the young osprey to fly.  After the first day of extreme heat, they fled the tower.

The osprey nest was finally empty.

Down along the river in the shady oak trees is where they took refuge.

This is much better than roasting in that steel tower.

When the heat settled down, back to the tower they went. After, being in the tree I thought they might not return to the tower.  As it turns out they weren’t entirely ready to give up the nest.

The nest tower is still home.

They still want to roost there at night, and they know this is where they get fed.  They are like teenagers that still depend on mom and dad.

When it’s time to eat, they tell their parents in no uncertain terms.

The parents seem to debate each other whose turn it is to take care of the noisy offspring.  They rarely go into the nest anymore unless they are dropping off a fresh fish meal.

I fed them last time!