In loving memory of the reporters killed on 6/28/2018 in a senseless attack on the newsroom of the Capital Gazette newspaper, Annapolis, Maryland. May freedom of the press never be taken for granted in our country.
Gerald Fischman
Rob Hiaasen
John McNamara
Rebecca Smith
Wendi Winters
May their shining lights never be extinguished.
Good evening from the steamy, hot Eastern Shore of Maryland! I have had a serious case of writer’s cramp for several weeks, but you will be glad to know I am feeling much better now. One minute we were waiting for our eggs to hatch, and now we are watching some serious wing flapping and hopping. Here is a synopsis of the happenings at Tom and Audrey’s nest over the last several weeks, and some lovely photos for your viewing pleasure.
As you are well aware, on May 21 and May 24, our two remaining eggs hatched right on schedule. Due to the timing of the hatches, our chicks were from the first and second eggs laid. I know we were all hoping not to have a large age gap between our two chicks, and fortunately, that was exactly what happened. After not having any chicks hatch last year due to a crow attack on the eggs, and only one surviving chick in 2016 due to a Great Horned Owl attack, there was a huge sigh of relief and lots of big smiles at the secret location, the Chesapeake Conservancy and from our faithful viewers around the world.
Let’s begin your viewing pleasure with a photo we took while out on one of COM’s many watercraft. There has been a fair amount of discussion over the years as to why we take down the nest every year. One of the reasons is that our little two inch pole would not be able to support a nest that kept growing and growing every year. Tom and Audrey don’t seem to mind the nest removal, and build a beautiful new one every year. Here is what a nest can look like if left to grow year after year. It is located up a creek not too far from our house, and the photo was taken a couple of days ago. This nest sure wouldn’t work on our pole!
Now that’s a lot of sticks! I wonder if some of them have come from the prefab osprey nest materials supplied by the Crazy Osprey Family?
After the eggs first hatched, the chicks were visible from the osprey camera, but not from land. Here is one of the first photos taken when both chicks were visible for my camera:
One of the first days that two little heads were visible from land
You may have noticed a pulley under the nest platform. This is a new addition to accommodate the logistics of raising and lowering the pole. It is another one of Crazy Osprey Man’s (COM) cool contraptions. He is quite the idea man, with the added advantage of being able to personally bring them to fruition.
I do read the blog and explore.org comments with some regularity, particularly to see what types of questions are being posed by our camera watchers. There is always concern when the chicks are left alone in the nest, particularly when they were younger. Not to worry, there is always a parent close by. Tom likes to sit on the top of the camera pole and the cross piece that stabilizes the camera and nest poles. He is really, really close to the nest action. Audrey is never far away, usually just taking a little fly around the neighborhood to stretch her wings. Just earlier this evening with no supervising adults at home, a crow started checking out the nest. In a split second, both Tom and Audrey were on that crow with a vengeance. The crow, being of sound mind and body, decided it was time to move on and move on it did.
On June 11, there was great excitement at the secret location when Joel Dunn, President and CEO of the Chesapeake Conservancy, was interviewed on a live television show for Maryland Public Television (MPT). He appeared on Direct Connection With Jeff Salkin. The day started out with miserable weather, rainy and windy. Much to everyone’s relief, by the time of the broadcast the rain had stopped, and the sun was trying come out. If you go to the MPT website https://video.mpt.tv/video/monday-june-11-2018-yey9i9/, you can watch the segment. The live camera shot was being broadcast, along with Joel answering questions from the moderator and live audience. The chicks were just laying around, and Audrey was perched on the edge of the nest. It was not especially interesting to watch until about eleven minutes into the segment, when Tom showed up with a whole fish, right on cue! Take a look, I think you will enjoy it.
Live from the secret location! Joel Dunn, President and CEO of the Chesapeake Conservancy, gets ready for his interview on Maryland Public Television.
The cameraman getting focused on the nest.
COM gets in on the action, checking out the equipment
While the humans get ready for the interview, Tom watches the flurry of activity from the scraggly stick tree next door to the north
It takes a large cast of characters to put together a live broadcast. Sure glad our lawn was looking good!
As the chicks have grown larger, it has become easier to see them through my camera lens. Audrey has spent much of her time trying to shield the chicks from the relentless sun. Tom has been living up to his nickname “Calico Tom, The Fishing Fool”. Here are some photos of what has been going on in our little osprey neighborhood:
Audrey is multi-tasking, providing shade for her chicks while giving Tom an earful to hurry up with some chow
A quiet moment on a brutally hot day at the secret location. Audrey is a really good mom shading her babies
Tom is once again making a heck of a mess on the electric box at the end of the dock. Roger can’t even look at the bloody mess
Calico Tom The Fishing Fool is looking really wet and bedraggled, complete with a wonky feather hanging off to the left. He looks kind of embarrassed to be caught in such a state
Tom is on top of the camera pole preening and trying to get dry. The wonky feather is still visible. Audrey continues her motherly duties, feeding her chicks and ignoring the bedraggled fishing fool
Tom is still drying, Audrey is still feeding the chicks. One is chick is being fed while the other one is checking things out to the left of Audrey.
Here is a series of photos precipitated by Mrs. COM’s relentless stalking of poor Tom who is just trying to get a good meal for himself and feed his growing family:
Mrs. COM spots Tom with his catch
Tom has taken his fish and lands on the dock next door to the south
Mrs. COM is really making me work for it today, thinks Tom as he moves on
Now Tom has landed on our boat lift. You can see the tail of the big fish hanging down under the boat lift beam and in Tom’s talons. He is contemplating his next move and looking rather disgusted with Mrs. COM’s persistence
The Fishing Fool is on the move again. Take a look at that monster fish, and part of it has already been consumed. Mrs. COM takes pity on Tom, and the pursuit ends (for now)
I have been amazed at the size of some the fish Tom has caught this season. He is a fishing machine!
The chicks are becoming easier to see from the backyard and dock:
A typical day at the nest. Tom is surveying his kingdom from the top of the camera pole, Audrey is feeding one of her chicks, and one chick is already in a food coma
Another day, another humongous fish caught by Tom:
Tom is on the electrical box at the end of the dock. The fish has seen better days. Roger remains nonplussed
Go, Tom, go! You can escape from Mrs. COM, just keep flying out over the water with your big, bloody striper!
A good example of why this fish’s nickname is a striper (striped bass or rockfish in the Chesapeake). Tom in the scraggly stick tree with his catch
And yet another impressive fish snagged by our fishing fool:
Tom has landed on our boat lift with a whole fish, which was still twitching. I don’t think this is going to turn out well for the fish
A short break from osprey and fish for a serene sunrise over the Chesapeake Bay behind our house:
A bucolic sunrise at the secret location. The watermen get out before sunrise. This is a typical Chesapeake Bay workboat
Close up of the sun’s reflection on the water at sunrise. Spectacular!
We have been experiencing some extreme weather conditions with dangerous heat and humidity. I look out at the nest, and wonder how our birds can endure the relentless conditions:
Bad hair day for Audrey. One chick is telling the other not to look, Mom is looking pretty scary.
Audrey is very attentive to her chicks and their surroundings. When I approach too closely, she gives the warning call. When the chicks hear Audrey’s danger voice, they pancake down into the nest with great haste, and are either barely or not at all visible:
Chick hide-and-seek. Ready or not, here I come! See if you can spot the chicks after Audrey gives the warning call
Tom takes his role of provider very seriously:
Wow, Dad, I want to be like you when I grow up. Meal arriving!
Another typical view of the nest from the end of our dock. The chicks are growing fast:
Audrey and her rapidly growing family
I have posted many photos in this blog of Tom The Fishing Fool and the reasons for his moniker. Here is my favorite one for this blog:
A new board on the poop dock next door to us to the south. Tom just can’t believe it’s me again.
Is it my imagination, or is Tom starting to get his calico back? I have managed to chase him off yet again. Look at those beautiful feathers!
Hmmm, I wonder for whom Tom is looking? Could it be that crazy woman with that big black box hanging around her neck?
Over the years, there have been many discussions between our neighbors as to the preferred water orientation for our homes in the community. Some prefer the western view to capture the sunset. We love our eastern view of the sun and moon rises. Here is another reason why the eastern orientation gets our vote. This photo was taken during one of our Full Moon Dock Parties, the hottest invitation in town!
Moon rise reflection over the water at the secret location. As the moon gets higher in the night sky, the reflection will spread out until the entire surface of the water is glistening in the moonlight. The moon gets so bright, it casts shadows in our backyard. Cast your vote for the eastern orientation!
Tom has started spending more time in the big tree two houses to the north of us. See if you can spot him in this photo:
Believe me, he is up there! Look way, way up at the tippy top
Here is proof that he is really there:
A closer view of Tom in the big tree. Can you say trespassing?
We haven’t heard much about our downstairs neighbors this year. Our little sparrow family suffered the same fate last year as Tom and Audrey. Their babies also met their demise by the actions of the dastardly crows. Here is our entire family and one of the downstairs neighbors enjoying a happier outcome this year:
Audrey is feeding one of her babies. Tom is surveying his kingdom. See if you can spot the downstairs neighbor
Audrey has sounded the alarm that Mrs. COM is approaching:
The chicks have assumed their pancake poses. The downstairs neighbor has moved to safer grounds just under the nest.
Tom has maintained his vantage point on the high ground:
Tom is on top of the camera pole keeping an eye on things. This is a great view of the camera
One brave chick decides if mom and dad can keep an eye on things, so can he (or she):
One brave chick pops back up with no visible sign of the other one
A test of your attention to detail. What can you see in this photo besides a nest and birds?
Look closely and carefully now. A hint-check the right side of the nest
The second chick is still heeding the danger warning:
I don’t think she can see me, thinks the pancaked chick. Wrong!
This chick is much more timid that its’ sibling:
Great mother/offspring portrait. The head of the pancaked chick is just visible to the left of the other birds
Audrey is having a hard time swallowing something. Chick #2 is being brave and has popped back up, but is still checking out the person at the end of the dock with the camera. Chick #1 is checking out something away from the nest:
What’s wrong, Mom?
COM thinks I am disgusting, but I don’t think I was able to capture nature at its’ finest in the last blog:
A missed opportunity. This image was captured either a split second too early, or a split second too late. I know, TMI
Like mother, like offspring. Maybe this is why Chick #2 had to get up and wasn’t being brave after all!
Another quick break from birds:
My butterfly bush, which was a volunteer that sprouted up many years ago from a visiting bird’s calling card. Use your imagine.
Audrey is providing some shade, which doesn’t go as far due to the rapidly increasing size of the chicks:
Someone is looking lovingly at mom, the other one is panting. They are both thinking, “What happened to our mombrella?”. We have had some some horribly hot days of late
One last photo of Audrey and her babies for now:
A very nice photo of mom and her babies. This is one of my favorites in this blog
Tom is not physically in the nest very often, but is usually close by. I was able to get a photo of Tom hanging out in the nest and then deciding it was time to go:
A candid family portrait, with the kids not cooperating. You can see the very prominent dark areas on the back of their heads.
“I think I see Moby Dick”, thinks Tom. Time to go fishing!
The much awaited naming of the chicks was finally announced last week. A big welcome to Harry and Meghan! These were my favorite names, so I was happy to hear the results. Hopefully, we will be able to get the chicks banded in the next few days. If we need to make an adjustment to accommodate the gender of the chicks, we can always welcome Harriet or Henry!
Do you think we should tell them?
I leave you with one more sunrise. Thanks for being patient with me!
Sunrise at the secret location. Check out the starboard running light of the little boat in the lower left hand corner of the photo
Maybe not as beautiful as some of the other sunrises I have posted, but it was very dramatic
The hour is late with an early wake-up for work looming. Keep watching Meghan and Harry doing those flap-hops, as I call them, because fledging is not far behind!
Until next time, we remain-
Crazy Osprey Man, Mrs. Crazy Osprey Man and Osprey Girl
If you are enjoying the osprey camera and blog, please consider a donation to the Chesapeake Conservancy so they are able to continue supporting programs such as this one. Go to http://chesapeakeconservancy.org today. Thanks very much!
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