Happy August 4th everyone! I hope all our viewers with empty nest syndrome are doing well, it’s not fatal, I promise.
COM’s photography-How artistic!
Remember, you can click on each photo to enlarge for your viewing pleasure.
There have been some major changes around the nest thanks to Breezy and Spitz. They have both begun to fish, a very important skill to learn for obvious reasons. I know that many of you noticed one of Breezy’s recent catches. Just a few days ago, Breezy proudly brought home a blue crab. This year has been incredibly terrible for crabbing, at least at our house. Reproduction has significantly decreased while the demand for blue crabs has remained the same. Another reason for the decrease in the blue crab population is the scarcity of bay grasses. Bay grasses are a three- in- one deal. They keep the water clean, as well as provide food and shelter for animals such as our crabby friends. Unfortunately, pollutants, humans, and waterfowl have hindered the growth of these important plants. While bay grasses are now beginning to thrive in early August, be sure to keep the scarcity of bay grasses in mind the next time you are on a boat. Follow the posted speed limits in shallow waters to avoid pulling the grasses out with your propeller and obviously, never dump your waste into our precious water!
With that mini lesson out of the way, back to the birds. Since crabs usually hang out among the grasses on the bottom of the bay, the one that Breezy caught was probably swimming near the surface. Breezy must have been really confused, surprised and disappointed when his family was not happy with his proud catch. The crab remained in the nest for a couple of days, and disappeared.
Just a few minutes ago, Spitz found himself in an altercation with some crows. Although I didn’t see the beginning of the incident, we think Spitz had a piece of fish in the nest. What we did see was when out of nowhere, several crows began to dive bomb him. Spitz then took off and the crows followed, dive-bombing and bullying him. Screeching and evasive flying ensued until the crows flew off and Spitz returned to the nest. We then noticed a crow sitting on the boat lift eating a piece of fish. We assume that the crows took the fish from Spitz, and despite his efforts, our youngest osprey couldn’t win it back from the gang of robber crows. The fish was lost, but skilled flying was practiced. There’s a life lesson for you, Spitz.
Not only crows try to steal fish from our osprey. Here is one of our young ones after a fish in flight:
Bringing home the bacon (fish bacon) with a young escort
Three of our family on the dock two doors to the south of us. Tom likes to hang out on the swim ladder and eat, his family members are just enjoying some time away from the nest.
I spy an osprey with a fish (hint: he’s on the left)
The birds continue to spend time at their favorite hangout spots: our neighbor’s tree, our boat lift, our dock and the three perches. Yesterday, we saw father and child sitting on the same perch; even though there are three perches, the center one is obviously the best.
Sharing is sometimes not so caring
That is all I have to share with you guys for today, have a great week and I will talk to you soon!
Keep sending in your “Where In The World” photos to Tom_audrey_osprey@yahoo.com. Here is the winner for this week (can you top this to win the Grand Prize at the end of the osprey season?).
Rachael watching from the airport in Helsinki, Finland
P.S. Thank you again for all of the fish updates! Keep them coming, please!
Adios Amigos,
Until next time,
Osprey Girl
Osprey Camera Blog 
This is going to be a long comment! We have an osprey nest in a telecommunication tower near my house. Year before last as i was leaving for church I found a full-grown chick in my yard, flopping around, trying to fly. After a few short hops, it flew out of my yard and into a neighbor’s so seemed to be all right. Late that afternoon, two neighbors who are also osprey lovers came knocking on my door to say, “We have an injured osprey here.” We called Animal Control and were told that the bird could be brought into their facility by covering its head with a blanket or a towel. They said it wouldn’t struggle. A third neighbor volunteered to put it into his car (he said when he saw its talons up close he wasn’t certain he’d made the right decision!) but he and his wife did take it to Millersville. From there it was transferred to a wildlife rescue in New Jersey that same day.We learned it had a slightly damaged wing and mites. You can imagine that the mother osprey was frantic, calling and calling for her baby. In a shot time, the bird was rehabilitated and brought back to Annapolis, unfortunately, not to our neighborhood but released downtown! The parents finally left. My concern about what would happen to the chick was answered with, “Your bird will be fine, your bird will be fine!” There was a condition: the severity of the following winter. I would give anything to know if it survived.
WISH I DID NOT KNOW THAT STORY, IT SEEMS TO ME IF THE BIRD DID NOT IMPRINT, IT COULD HAVE BEEN BROUGHT BACK TO THE ORIGINAL NEST, I AM NOT AN EXPERT, MAYBE DR SPRITZ, OR THE OTHER MOM AND DAD !!!
That was our feeling, too, Kathy. They had our address because they were given it when we called. Also, I made several calls to the wildlife sanctuary to check on the status of the chick. Fortunately we did have a mild winter that year. I just have to believe that ,because of instinct or the fact it saw other ospreys leaving, it flew south in September. Otherwise, I hope it was there to welcome the returnees in March.
EVERYONE GO TO RECENT POSTS, BELOW, CLICK ON BITS AND PIECES, TO POST YOUR NEW COMMENTS, AND SEE THE UPDATE !!! YOU ARE WELCOME !! SCROLL DOWN UNTIL YOU SEE IT !!
Hi, Kathy! Osprey Girl just added a paragraph to Bits and Pieces. She had just published it when Spitz flew in with a humongous menhaden. Just wanted to let you know. Thanks, Mrs. COM