This gallery contains 9 photos.
We store logs in decks during the Summer so we have enough wood to run the mill all year-long. Logging is curtailed in California during the Winter. In the Winter logging is restricted to dry rainless periods or hard frozen … Continue reading
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!
The Fledgling.
The osprey chicks don’t look much like chicks anymore. They are nearly fledglings.
Feeding the babies.
Parent brings a fish. They have grown fast and eat the fish on their own.
Careful where you stand while taking pictures.
Projectile poop keeps the nest clean.
Sorry, didn’t see you there, hehehe.
Wing exercise is important preparation for that first flight.
The osprey parents are constantly flying in and out with fish.
We hit a hot spell a little while back, 109 F one day and 111 F the next. Osprey will fluff up their feathers and pant like a dog in the heat. When it gets that hot one of the osprey parents will stay in the nest and shade the chicks.
It’s been hot here!
It’s really hot on the tower.
This hot neighboring osprey shades it’s babies.
I’ve been watching, taking pictures and watching some more to get a shot of the osprey chicks. Mostly, what I got was this.
The Look! Are you lookin’ at me!
Sitting on the poles eating fish. It’s all good fun but where are the chicks?
What’s for lunch? Fish of course.
Then yesterday a chick got high enough on the nest to get a shot. I have seen them through the nest since last week, but I couldn’t get a clear picture.
Finally, a baby picture!
Not the sharpest picture, but a start. It looked like she was feeding two, but I never got a look at another.
Blue skies from now on.
I was planning a sketch of the view through the nest from last week, since I couldn’t get a shot. This was the rendition I was planning. A quick and dirty sketch of the scene with a few less sticks.
Feeding Time
This is also my Thursday drawing for Z’s challenge for art at Zeebra Design.
Osprey
I haven’t posted an update on the osprey for a while so here is a pen and ink for fun. I think we have chicks in the nest, however we can’t see anything yet.
I think this parent is taking caring of a little bundle of joy.
The other parent waits patiently by the nest.
For about the last month a least one osprey has been hunkered down on the nest incubating the eggs. Late last week this pattern changed and now there is a lot of fussing about going on. I think they are feeding chicks or at least one chick. The chicks will hatch about a week apart.
Fussing around in the nest.
Time for some personal grooming.
Osprey parenting.
A view of the nest from the lumber yard.
The weather has been clear warm and windy here. In fact it hit 100 degrees last weekend. That is on the warm side this early in the year. I think it is going to get really hot up on that tower.
Another sunny day and a view out over the back forty.
I saw an osprey do the strangest thing the other day. I was driving from the log yard to the pole yard and I saw one of the osprey go into an aggressive dive. Located between the two yards is a canal. I naturally assumed that the osprey was going after a fish in the canal. I drove closer and pulled over to get some shots of the action.
Osprey wheeling around
It was an excellent chance to shoot the osprey. Lately they have been sitting on the eggs and hanging out at the tower. Not a lot of opportunity to get any interesting pictures.
The osprey on approach.
As I started taking pictures, the osprey wheeled around to come in for another swoop. With his sights set on target he banked for the dive.
Gettin’ his dive on!
Then, the osprey did something unexpected! Instead of diving into the canal the osprey dove into an open area. It was fast and low, beautiful to watch. Osprey are fish eaters and to my knowledge they don’t catch rodents. So what was he doing?
Coming in low and fast, but for what!
Up close and personal!
Then, he did the osprey snatch. The osprey grabbed a stringy piece of cedar bark. Bark, why bark? He flew about ten feet and dropped the bark. It all seemed quite purposeful.
The snatch and fly! The osprey with the bark in his talons.
Then the osprey circle back around and headed out.
Coming around again.
He did manage to give me a dirty look as he did his fly by.
Gettin’ the stink eye. I suppose that’s better than the other end.
I’m left with the question, what was the osprey doing? Was he looking for material for the nest? I don’t think so, because they haven’t worked on the nest for weeks and the eggs have been laid. Did he think the bark was an animal? I doubt it and I think they only eat fish. Was he practicing or playing? Maybe, why wouldn’t a well fed osprey engage in a little fun.
Do any of you good folks have any ideas as to what the osprey was doing? I would love to hear your theory.
Mourning Dove
The neighbors down the road don’t live in the classy part of town next to the river. The nest they live in is a bit unkempt. Okay, let’s be honest, this place is a trash bin, a pig sty, a garbage dump. I’ve never seen an osprey nest that looks a bad as this one.
The osprey neighbors down the road
What a mess! I’m thinking hoarders.
Home sweet utility pole in the middle of a vacant lot.
I showed the above pictures to “our” resident osprey in the high-rise tower with the river view. I was curious to get their reaction to the neighbors abode.
The shock of it!
The inter-species humiliation was just too much for him to take, and then……..
Oh my!
……his head EXPLODED!
No osprey were injured in the making of this post.
This young red-tailed hawk is feeding on a bird it caught.
His prey is more visible in this picture. It was a bird of some type, but I couldn’t identify it.
This young red-tailed hawk has made the mill site his home. He is a hard-working bird as I see him every day at his favorite hunting grounds.
This is his favorite spot. Every day he spends some time on the powerline watching the field in front of our office.
At first he would get annoyed when I stopped to take his picture.
Now he become a great model.
In case you were worried you weren’t going to get your osprey fix today, here is one for you.
We never know who might just pop by the Pole Yard. While driving through the yard the other day this rooster pheasant was strutting down the road. Unconcerned, he took his sweet time. I stopped, not wanting to run over His Excellency, and took some pictures to record this auspicious occasion. He finally moved out of the road, but seemed somewhat perturbed by the inconvenience.
His Excellency on parade.
He finally allows us to pass.
Even I have to admit, he is a handsome fellow.
Teka and Blitz were busy plotting against His Excellency!
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