Puzzling Perplexing Possibilities

Good morning from the finally sunny Eastern Shore of Maryland!  After days of rain, clouds and ferocious winds, we have finally had a couple of beautiful sunny days.  Unfortunately, rain is forecast to start later today and continue through Saturday, with some heavy rains expected.  Birds and humans will start to grow moss between their toes!  But Sunday is supposed to be beautiful, how fitting for a Happy Mother’s Day for all of the mothers out there, human and avian!

Speaking of the weather, I am sure you have noticed that that wind speed indicated on the camera view doesn’t seem to correlate with what you are observing at the nest.  You would be correct, the actual wind speed is frequently way higher than the posted wind speed. COM is working with the explore folks to identify a weather station in the area that more accurately reflects the conditions here at the nest.

Squawking Audrey on a dreary day in the scraggly stick tree with a stormy sky (reminiscent of Colonel Mustard in the conservatory with the candlestick) in the background

 

The scraggly stick tree is in bloom, adding to the light green patina of pollen enveloping anything and everything in the neighborhood, inside and out

 

While we are on the subject of weather, here is Audrey on the nest hoping the rain will stay away:

 

Gathering clouds over the secret location. This is a good view of the infrared light source directly under the fancy camera cover (K-Mart trash can). Audrey is hunkered down waiting for a meal and incubating her eggs

 

Tom and Audrey on another rainy day. Check out the downstairs neighbor returning home on the right!

 

There have been three major issues looming over us since the last blog.  I will attempt to address them all.  Here goes……………

First and foremost, I know you are all waiting with bated breath for the hatching of our first egg.  The range of hatching osprey eggs is 35-42 days after they are laid.  At our nest, the typical range has usually been 39-41 days.  I know you can all do the arithmetic, but as a quick guide, here is what we are looking at:

Egg #1-laid April 12, range of possible hatch dates May 17-24

Egg #2-laid April 15, range of possible hatch dates May 20-27

Egg #3-laid April 18, range of possible hatch dates May 23-30

So there you go, we are getting close!

 

Audrey looks like she might be counting the days to her first little bundle of joy

 

Issue #2-Oh, Tom, Tom, Tom!  Where the heck have you been, buddy?  It did not go unnoticed that Tom’s typical behavior seemed to have altered over the last week or so. His usual moniker, Calico Tom the Fishing Fool, seemed to need a revision.  Although we have the advantage here at the secret location of seeing what goes on around the nest as well as in the nest, we were also puzzled and perplexed.  Tom’s presence was sparse, and he wasn’t seen at his typical hang-outs. When he did show up at the nest, it was usually without a fish.  This unusual behavior also caused Audrey to catch her own fish, leading to the crow incident.  For those of you who missed it, Audrey’s tummy must have been growling, and she decided to take matters into her own talons and go fishing.  The eggs were left unattended, and an obnoxious crow decided he felt like an egg snack.  The crow started pecking at one of the eggs, causing Audrey to come barreling back to the nest to protect her potential offspring.  The fate of the injured egg is unknown at this time, so we will see what happens during the hatch window.  The pesky crows are everywhere and are quite bothersome.  In addition to bothering the ospreys, they have taken baby birds out of our bluebird house.  COM has modified our two bluebird houses with homemade devices to deter the crows from their nefarious sojourns.

 

Tom on the left, crow on the right waiting for the spoils

 

There was also some speculation that perhaps we had another osprey visiting the nest that was not Tom.  One of the reasons it was thought that was a possibility was the seeming lack of the buff color on the back of this osprey’s head.  We were also perplexed at that observation, having noticed the same thing.  What was puzzling was how Audrey treated this possible third player, she did not seem bothered at all to have the bird there.  It looked like Tom, but the lack of the obvious darker patch was puzzling and perplexing. I saw Tom a couple of times eating big fish in his usual places, but he wasn’t bringing any to Audrey.  Something just seemed off.  I knew what I was observing, but I did not know the answers to the questions being posed.  As in the past, when something is troubling at the nest, the Crazy Osprey Family calls in the experts and a call was placed to our favorite raptor biologist, Craig Koppie.  I explained my observations, and my puzzlement. Here is a synopsis of my lengthy chat with him:

Anything is possible in Nature.

That about covers it all.  The bird in question could have been a returning juvenile from previous years at our nest, but probably not from the past two years since those three birds were banded.  It could have been Tom, and we just couldn’t see the buff due to the weather.  His fishing could have been off due to the turbid water caused by all the wind and rain.  He could have been taking refuge from the elements, etc., etc.

Anything is possible in Nature.

Thank you, Craig, for being there when we need you!  You are always the voice of reason, and we are so glad to have you as a mentor and friend.

 

Issue #3 has been the various camera malfunctions.  Believe me, no one likes having these camera issues.  We are all doing the best we can to correct problems when they happen.  We are in a transition year with the switch over to being one of the explore cameras, and everyone is learning.  Bear with us, we are all trying very hard to make this a wonderful experience for everyone.  Think positive, not negative and we will all get through these learning curves together!  Thanks so much for your patience and understanding.

 

I have taken a bunch of photos the past two weeks, and will finish the blog with some of them.

 

Here is a series of photos of Calico Tom the Fishing Fool, taken on May 6:

 

A delightful meal in the scraggly stick tree one house to the north of us on a yucky day

 

I would admonish my daughter if she took a bite this big

 

I guess this piece was a little slippery (rain or blood or general muck), he dropped it!

 

Plenty more where that came from…

 

In between bites

 

Ready for another chunk of Chicken of the Sea

 

Thinking about fleeing from Mrs. COM

 

Nah, think I will stay and chow down a little more

 

Okay now, Mrs. COM, you are coming into my comfort zone

 

Tom and Audrey have allowed me to come much closer to them this year than in years past.  Dr. Spitzer told us to talk to them, which we have been doing.  I really do think it is working, they seem much less bothered when we are around them this year.

I had another close encounter with Tom, but this time, he decided to move on when I got close:

 

Tom with a rather large fish in the scraggly stick tree

 

Not paying much attention to me yet

 

You looking at me?

 

Getting closer. He is starting to realize I am not going away

 

Well, maybe just one more bite

 

Okay, I have had enough of you, Mrs. COM

 

Tom and his fish relocate to the big tree two houses to the north of us

 

She’ll never find me way up here in this big tree!

 

We have other visitors in the neighborhood besides those that fly:

 

A furry friend exploring near our big step ladder. Don’t let the eagle see you down there, you tasty morsel

 

Speaking of eagles, over the last two weeks, we have seen Tom and Audrey chase off an eagle that has been in the area a couple of times.  There is definitely an eagle pair living near by, we think across the street in the woods.  They are probably busy with their own young ones, as we haven’t seen them as frequently as we did over the fall and winter.

Some of you have been wondering about our dear scareowl, Roger.  He is back on duty, still kind of scraggly and dirty from his ordeal in the storm, but sporting a new chapeau:

 

Roger on duty at the end of the dock. Stay away, you murderous owls!

 

Roger, our protector and defender of ospreys big and small

 

How do you like my new hat? Spiffy, don’t you think?

 

As Audrey has been spending the vast majority of her time incubating, we don’t see her out and about so much these days.  She hasn’t been getting equal time in the photograph department.  I spotted her on the poop dock a couple of days ago, and wandered next door to memorialize her visit:

 

Does it look like something is missing? Yes there is, a leg!

 

The second leg is now down for a quick getaway

 

I think she likes me, hasn’t flown away yet, but I am further away than it looks in this photo

 

Audrey relocates to the top of the piling.  Look ma, I can balance on the other leg, too!

 

Audrey figures Tom has had enough time at the nest, and decides this is good time to vacate the piling

 

Incoming!

 

Everyone’s home for a minute

 

Tom has been relieved of egg duty (although he really likes egg duty), and decides to visit our neighbor’s new boat two houses to the south of us:

 

Tom leaves the nest and heads south

 

Flying low, cool reflection

 

 

Almost there

 

Here is the new boat, without poop producing ospreys.  The swim ladder where Tom and Audrey like to perch is visible to the left of the boat and the two dock chairs.  The poop dock is at the end of the dock in the foreground:

 

Poop dock in the foreground and sparkling new boat one dock down to the south

 

Poop dock and one of our COM modified bluebird houses next to my garden. Our neighbor’s new boat and the swim ladder are visible to the right

 

Tom at his destination, demonstrating why he is not welcome on top of my neighbor’s new boat

 

Caught! Please let me stay!

 

Tom then flew to COM’s boat lift on our dock.  Unfortunately, he didn’t choose the best place for a photo, but boys will be boys.  The two two photos are similar, but I couldn’t decide which one I like best, so decided to use both of them:

 

Tom on the boat lift, Option #1

 

Tom on the boat lift, Option #2

 

So which is your favorite?

Tom is not feeling like humoring Mrs. COM, and continues to the north, where he makes a stop on our neighbor’s dock two houses to the north of us:

 

Tom has continued on to the north, trying to get some alone time

 

This swim ladder is one of Tom’s favorite haunts:

 

Tom on the swim ladder on the dock with the new boat two houses to the south of us. Both Tom and Audrey like this perch

 

It’s so good to see Tom back at the nest with more regularity.  He likes to stand on the nest support:

 

Tom and Audrey together again

 

 

“Reunited and it feels so good” Audrey is singing to Tom (somehow I don’t think these are the lyrics she is singing)

 

This will give you some perspective of the nest pole in the water:

 

Can you see another pile of COM’s prefab sticks? Look closely

 

Well, it is 2:44 a.m. on Thursday morning, and I have to leave for work at 6:45, so I think it is time for a wrap.  Tom and Audrey may be parents again when next we meet. I will leave you with a glorious sunrise here at the secret location.  Someone has been getting up early, guess who?

 

Sunrise at the secret location. Thank you, Mother Nature!

 

Until next time, we remain-

Crazy Osprey Man (COM), Mrs. Crazy Osprey Man (Mrs. COM) 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!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mr. Murphy Comes To Call

Good evening from the damp Eastern Shore of Maryland!  There has been quite a bit of excitement here at the secret location since my last blog was published. On April 11, the camera stopped working, and the malfunction couldn’t have come at a worse time.  We were waiting and watching for Audrey to lay her first egg, and certainly did not need Mr. Murphy hanging around ruining the view! Bright and early on the morning of April 13, I noticed that Audrey was hunkered down in her incubating position, and felt quite certain that an egg had been laid the night before.  The Explore folks had exhausted all their avenues to fix the camera, so a decision was made to have a local technician here in Maryland come out to take a look.  In preparation for a possible repair and rewiring of the system, COM obtained the necessary cable and had it all laid out in the yard ready for a repair.  He was not looking forward to bothering our osprey couple during the potentially critical egg laying time, but was prepared for any eventuality.  When the technician arrived, it didn’t take him very long to figure out that the problem was a loose wire inside our house, and not the camera.  A big shout out and many thanks to our technician extraordinaire, Brian Slota from Atlantic Control Technologies, who was able to quickly diagnose our problem and get the camera up and running in no time.  After Brian left, we told Mr. Murphy (in no uncertain terms) to get lost, and hopefully he will not be returning again this season!

As I am sure you have all noticed by now, there are three beautiful eggs being quietly incubated by Tom and Audrey.  The eggs were laid on April 12, 15 and 18, three days apart as expected and on Audrey’s typical schedule.  The one year she laid four eggs, the fourth one came a few days after the third, but did not hatch.  I am very excited and happy to have three eggs, and actually hope not to have another one.  Have you noticed that Tom loves to sit on those eggs?  Sometimes Audrey has a hard time getting him to leave!

Tom is enjoying his incubation duties.

 

Audrey’s break time is over and she returns to the nest. Tom is willing to give her another 15 minutes of breaktime.

 

Tom is having a friend distract Audrey so he can remain on the eggs a little longer

 

Audrey is on to Tom’s tricks, and tells him to get moving.

 

Tom takes off, counting the minutes until he can come back and incubate the eggs again.

 

I am a regular lurker on the Explore comment section of the camera, and have been monitoring the comments and discourse that takes place.  A recurring area of concern seems to be the nest size, with many of you expressing worries that our nest is too small. To allay your fears, we have had the same size nest platform since our pole went up in 1995.  The platform is 24 x 24 inches, and the dimensions have remained the same for 22 years. Our osprey pairs have always successfully raised their families in the nest on top of that size platform.  We have lost chicks two times in those 22 years.  The first time was before we had the camera when two of the chicks became tangled up in fishing line brought back to the nest by Audrey, possibly having been attached to a fish that was caught.  You can read all the details of that incident in the blog that was published July 18, 2013, titled “Rescue At Sea #2-From The Annals of Crazy Osprey Man”.  That year, there were three chicks in the nest, and at the time of the incident, only one had fledged.  One remained in the nest, we were able to rescue one from the water, and the third drowned before COM was able to get out in the water and save it.  The only other time we have lost a chick was last season, when a Great Horned Owl attacked the nest at night.  The owl blindsided Audrey and knocked her out of the nest.  During the attack, one of the chicks was either grabbed by the owl or was also knocked out of the nest with Audrey.  One chick was not hurt, but the remaining unhatched egg was also damaged and did not hatch.  So we have never lost a chick due to the nest size.  Now, I am not saying the nest won’t get crowded at times, but relax, all you nest worriers, the nest is big enough for Tom, Audrey and the chicks-to-be!  Tom and Audrey will continue to add to the nest with sticks, grass (no moss in this nest) and other paraphrenalia, and it will be comfy-cozy for the entire osprey family.

 

July 2015. In the nest you will see Tom, Audrey, Maine, Montana and a newly arrived juvenile from who knows where, E.T.  This was E.T.’s first day in his new digs. The whole family is perplexed, even E.T.   As you can see, there is plenty of room for all (same size platform as this year)

 

Another area of concern seems to be the lack of perches at the nest.  I wish I could take you all on a little magic carpet ride to see the lovely area surrounding the nest.  Natural and man made perches abound!  As the season goes on, I am sure there will be many photographs posted in my blogs of our osprey friends perching in and around the nest. Here are some of the places Tom and Audrey can be found perching.  When our chicks-to-be fledge, they will use some of the same haunts, and probably find some of their own. Some of the more common places Tom and Audrey like to perch when not visible on the camera are quite close to the nest, some are a little further away.  Here are some of the places our ospreys can be found on a regular basis.

 

Tom sitting on top of the camera. He likes this perch. When he is up there, you cannot see him, but can usually hear his talons scratching away on the camera cover.  This photo was taken a couple of evenings ago when the sun was almost down

 

This photo was taken last season of Tom on the camera, Audrey at the ready and chick checking out the world.  Mrs. COM must have been standing on one foot and drinking a glass of wine when she took this photo

 

Another perch used by Tom and Audrey is in the nest, but sometimes it is not visible in the camera view.

 

There are two of these nest supports which may be used as perches. Tom is hanging out on one in this photo, and you can clearly see the other one to the right.

 

The house immediately next door to us to the south has a dock that is not used very frequently.  Both and Tom and Audrey like to sit on the pilings and enjoy a fish meal.

 

Audrey is enjoying her sloppy seconds on the dock just to the south of us. Notice the yellowish, deeply notched tail on what remains of this fish. These characteristics are indicative of a menhaden, the most common fish eaten by our Chesapeake ospreys.

 

Tom and Audrey on the dock immediately to the south of us. There are clam shells all over the dock, left there by the gulls who like to eat clams. There is also a substantial amount of bird poop on this dock, giving a new meaning to the term “poop deck”.

 

Squawking Tom emulating Squawking Audrey in full voice. Stay away from my fish, you crazy photo taking woman! This photo is from last season, before the poop deck was cleaned. Nasty!

 

Another favorite perch is the swim ladder on the dock two houses to the south of us.  Our neighbors who own that house just purchased a new boat, and our ospreys have taken to sitting on top of it, much to our neighbor’s chagrin.  I will try to get a couple of photos when I see someone out there.

 

Tom and Audrey together on the swim ladder at the dock two houses to the south of us.

 

Tom enjoying a sunny day on the swim ladder

 

This is another photo from last year showing a lovely little family getaway. This was as close as I could get with all three remaining in place.

 

Tom and Audrey spend a fair amount of time on various locations on our dock.

 

Here is Tom on the boat lift. It’s not so bad when the boat isn’t in the lift (like now), but COM does not appreciate little osprey gifts (you know what I mean) when the boat is in the lift. These gifts are especially apparent when the dark green boat cover is in direct line with the gift givers. SPLAT!

 

Look, ma, I can stand on one foot!

 

 

Another favorite spot is on the end of the dock, quite close to the nest pole.

 

 

Here is Audrey on the electric box at the end of our dock. Many bloody messes have been made on top of this box. Good for the osprey, bad for the fish.

 

This is how close the electrical box is to Roger, who is missing his lovely fedora after the big blow a couple weeks ago. We have the new hat, it just hasn’t made its way to Roger’s “head”

 

The ospreys use the electrical box to enjoy their fish meals.  And you know what sometimes happens after ospreys eat (the next photo is dedicated to COM, who really enjoys when I post these specialized action shots)

 

Al least she is pointed away from Roger!

 

Audrey has had quite enough of Mrs. COM and that ever-present camera.

 

I think it’s time to go…………………

 

Might as well wash off my feet while I am here

 

The weird looking metal contraption in the above photos is all that remains of COM’s floating dock ramp.  Many years ago, we had a floating dock at the end of the permanent dock.  COM invented and built a ramp out of an old sailboat mast and some small pieces of dock wood.  The ramp could be raised and lowered as needed by the pulley system you see in the photo.  The floating dock and ramp are long gone, but the pulley system remains and is used as a perch by our ospreys.

 

Audrey on the conveniently located perch.

 

Moving to the north, there are a few well-used perches.

 

Looking north from our backyard. The closest tree, known as “the scraggly stick tree”, is in the yard directly to the north of us (next door). We refer to the furthest large tree as “the big tree two doors to the north of us”, another frequent hang-out. If you look closely, you can see another osprey nest on a pole in the water to the right of the big tree. The dock with the black boat is another frequent stop.

 

For those of you who have been with us for many years, you know I will frequently refer to the scraggly stick tree.  This tree is right next door to us to the north, and is right along the rip-rap.  It is one of the most favorite perches used by all of our ospreys, and you will see many photos taken in that tree.  The tree received its moniker because Audrey will frequently make fly-bys and break sticks right off the tree, and immediately take them to the nest without any stops.

 

Audrey in the scraggly stick tree one house to the north of us. You can see some of the broken ends of branches where Audrey has harvested nest sticks.

 

On further observation, Audrey is not alone in the scraggly stick tree.

 

Two’s company, five’s a crowd! Hungry crows hoping for a hand-out.

 

Audrey in the scraggly stick tree, showing off on one foot

 

Audrey in the scraggly stick tree

 

Audrey fending off an intruder from the scraggly stick tree

 

 

A photo from last summer after Chessie had just fledged, showing his first stop. This is what the big tree two houses to the north of us will look like when it is leafed out.

 

Other neighborhood birds also like the big tree.

 

A regal bald eagle enjoying the view from the top of the big tree in early fall 2016 after our ospreys had left for their winter digs.

 

So as you can see, there are many, many perches in very close proximity to our nest.  There are plenty to go around, providing a variety of options for our feathered friends.  When our chicks fledge, COM will put out two or three perches right next to the nest for the newly flying youngsters.

 

A previous photo of the perches COM will install when the chicks start to fledge

 

Here are some other recently taken photos that you might enjoy.  In the first one, Audrey is returning to the nest.

 

Coming in for a landing

 

Tom notices that Audrey is back in residence, and decides to visit for a little afternoon delight.

 

A quick pick-me-up

 

This won’t take long, I’ll be out of your hair (read feathers) in a jiffy

 

See ya, wouldn’t want to be ya!

 

I am not sure who Audrey is mantling for in this photo, so I guess it must be me!  I also like this photo because you can see Tom’s buff head.

 

Get away from my fish, Mrs. COM and go get your own!

 

Roger doing the funky chicken (maybe funky osprey?)

 

A cool dance move by Roger

 

A great view of our downstairs tenants (on the right below the nest platform)

 

Some good news this season is that both Tom and Audrey seem to be tolerating my presence with the camera much better than in years past.  Our dear friend and osprey expert Dr. Paul Spitzer suggested that COM and I talk to our ospreys to get them used to us.  I have been sweet talking them and calling to them at every opportunity, and I am seeing a difference in how long they will tolerate me stalking them before they fly off.  We will see how long their benevolence lasts, but this may turn out to be a great photo-taking season.

 

One last observation before we end for today.  There have been observations and comments galore about “the stick”, the one that has seemingly been in the way for a couple of weeks.  Intervention is not an option for this stick, which was placed there by our ospreys and is part of nature.  Tom and Audrey will figure it out, and all will be well.

 

That’s it for today!  Until next time, we remain-

Crazy Osprey Man (COM), Mrs. Crazy Osprey Man (Mrs. COM) 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!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Inquiring Minds Want To Know

Good afternoon from the sunny, cool Eastern Shore of Maryland!  There has been a beehive of activity here at the secret location since my last blog.  The partnership between the Chesapeake Conservancy, Explore.org, the Crazy Osprey Family and Investigative Options, Inc. is up and running, and has generated much interest in our favorite Chesapeake Bay osprey couple.  A hearty hello to all of our new viewers, and welcome back to our faithful friends who have been with us in previous seasons.  I thought I would use this blog to update the action at our nest and address many of the observations made by our new followers.  I know you are all wondering when the first egg will be laid, so here are some quick stats from last season.  Audrey arrived on March 8 and Tom arrived on March 31, 2016.  The three eggs were laid on April 17, 20 and 23.  This year, Audrey arrived on March 21 and Tom arrived on March 25.  I will leave you to ponder possible egg-laying dates.  Maybe some of you can start an egg-laying pool!  Hopefully, these tidbits of information will assuage some of your concerns. So without further adieu, our 2017 blog season continues!

At 12:02 a.m. on March 21, an owl was observed sitting on the platform.  Although said owl was a beautiful bird, his/her presence caused some alarm in the COF (Crazy Osprey Family), as we lost a two day old chick and an unhatched egg to an owl early last season. We sent the camera stills to our favorite osprey expert, Dr. Paul Spitzer and our favorite raptor biologist, Craig Koppie, who each confirmed that our late night visitor was indeed a Great Horned Owl.  They both expressed concern about the presence of the owl after the incident last year.  So our Osprey Protector and Defender, Roger, came out of his winter quarters and took over his watchful duties.  COM (Crazy Osprey Man) was at the ready, and prepared Roger for placement at the end of the dock.  But before Roger was in residence, at 6:00 p.m. that very day, our dear Audrey returned to the secret location.  By the time Audrey was back, our swans were on their way north for the nesting season.

 

Audrey back at the platform. This photo gives you some perspective what the pole and platform look like from the dock.

 

A closer look at Audrey resting quietly after her journey. She doesn’t rest quietly too often, she must have been really tired!

 

A cold and windy day after Audrey arrived back. She was probably wondering why she left her winter digs so soon.

 

In order to protect Audrey, COM worked into the darkness to get Roger on duty.  He was deployed at 8:32 p.m. on that dark, cold, windy night!  Thanks, COM, your moniker is well-deserved!

 

Roger back in action for the 2017 season.  Note the empty platform and camera in the background.

 

With the return of Audrey, the Tom watch was officially underway.  There was a brief osprey stop-over on March 23/24, with much discussion as to the identity and gender of the visitor.  Audrey had also disappeared, as the weather was not welcoming to our newly arrived bird.  At our nest, it is not unusual for Tom and Audrey to take a leave of absence during very cold, windy weather.  They take cover out of the wind, and probably hang out in more protected trees around the neighborhood and in near-by woods.  We checked all the usual hang-outs, but Audrey was not to be found.  On March 25, she returned to the platform without offering a clue as to her former whereabouts.  Maybe she had a feeling that Tom was in the area, for later that night, he arrived back at the platform after dark.  His identity was confirmed the next day during daylight.

Audrey in the scraggly stick tree one house to the north of us the day after she arrived

 

Tom in the big tree two houses to the north of us shortly after his arrival. The tree will look very different in a few weeks when it leafs out.

 

Now that our happy couple was back together, there were many questions posed by our newer viewers inquiring how to tell Tom and Audrey apart.  Sometimes this is not easy. Our first Tom and Audrey pair, who started out with us in 1995, looked completely differently from each other, and there was never any question about who was who.  Our current Tom and Audrey are a different story.  Audrey is a little bigger than Tom, and has a Phoenix-shaped black patch on the back of her head.  Tom has a buff patch on the back of his head, and has mottled-looking feathers. When he first arrived at the secret location in 2015, the mottling was more pronounced.  He was nicknamed “Calico Tom” by Dr. Spitzer, and that name has stuck.  Over the years he has been with us, the mottling has lessened, but you can still observe his mottled feathers when he is dry.  When wet, the mottling is harder to notice.  Don’t feel badly if you have trouble telling Tom and Audrey apart, even the Crazy Osprey Family isn’t sure sometimes!

 

A beautiful photo of Calico Tom sitting on COM’s boat lift with perfect conditions to see the reason he was given his nickname by Dr. Spitzer. He is dry and the sun is at a perfect angle to capture his mottled look.

 

Over the next few days, there was much discussion about the lack of nest building and many questions about the removal of the existing nests from year to year.  We have always removed the nest at the end of the season based on input from our resident osprey experts.  There are two reasons for the removal of the old nest every year.  One is to prevent parasites from wintering over and infecting our birds in the spring.  The other reason is that the nest, if allowed to grow and grow, would get way too big and heavy for our little pole.  The pole is twenty one feet long, and is sunk six feet into the sand, making it fifteen feet off the bottom with an average of thirteen feet above the surface of the water.

 

A really big nest on a boat lift right up the creek from the secret location. This nest would be way too big for our pole and platform, and is obviously not removed after each season.

I guess the owner of the above dock doesn’t get to use his boat lift very often!

 

Here are the remains of our nest after COM took it down last fall.  To remove the nest, he simply pushes it into the drink.

Our 2016 nest forlornly floating off.

 

There it goes……………

 

Arrivederci, old friend!

 

After much angst and gnashing of teeth about the lack of nest building, a few days after Tom arrived BAM!, the nest building began in earnest.  It was a sight to behold!  We hope you all enjoyed watching the nest take shape with warp speed. Yet another advantage to removing the nest every year, I will add it to the list. But next year you have to give Tom and Audrey a little break.  After all, they just flew thousands of miles and needed a little R & R before commencing the build! This year, COM put a few sticks on the platform when he put the camera up to give you something to look at, but I don’t think he will do it again next year.  Now you know not to worry about the old nest being taken down, as Tom and Audrey (all of our Tom and Audreys) have built a spectacular new nest every year since we have had our pole starting in 1995.

Before the nest was started, you may have noticed a piece of aluminum angle iron on the platform.  There was some concern expressed about the safety of our ospreys with that piece of metal being exposed. COM installed it to keep the platform from deforming under the weight of the camera.  There were no sharp edges, and there was no chance that any birds could have been injured by the aluminum.  As soon as nest building began happening, the aluminum strip was quickly covered. Rest assured, we love our ospreys and would never do anything to cause them any harm!

The day after Tom returned, I happened to be home on another cold, wet afternoon and noticed him with a humongous fish.  It was so big, he had trouble carrying it and landed in the yard next door.

 

Tom in the yard next door to the north. He had a hard time carrying his humongous fish, and landed in the grass. Note the buff color on the back of his head.

 

Tom was a little camera shy, and decided maybe he could carry the fish after all.

 

Tom decides to take his chances and fly off with his prize fish. He landed on the dock next door to the north.

 

For those of you who are new to our camera, you will quickly learn that if Mrs. COM has a camera in her hand, she becomes a stalker extraordinaire.  Just a few steps closer……..

 

Here she comes, Tom, get ready to move on!

 

Yep, time to go!

 

Tom relocated to the dock two houses to the north of us.

 

Maybe if I hide this fish, she will go away

 

I don’t think hiding the fish worked, here she comes again.

 

Getting ready to relocate yet again, darn it Mrs. COM

 

Off he went again, so I decided to let him eat his fish in peace.  This gigantic fish was identified as an American shad.  We usually see our ospreys eat shad early in the season before they migrate further north.  The majority of the fish caught and eaten by our ospreys during the season are menhaden, or alewife.  In the Chesapeake Bay, they are usually referred to as menhaden.  We will discuss fish later in the season.

 

Audrey on the electric box at the end of the dock eating sloppy seconds. Roger is on duty, and looking very dapper.

 

This tastes so good I think I will have another bite!

 

I thought Roger was supposed to be a scarecrow. This crow doesn’t look too scared!  Maybe the crow knows Roger is really a scareowl.

 

Last Thursday, April 6, 2017, we had a ferocious storm blow through at the secret location.  There were tornadoes confirmed in Washington, D.C. and even closer to us.  We always worry about our feathered friends in such dangerous weather.  Our usually calm bay was whipped up into a frenzy.  Audrey hunkered down to ride out the storm.  Tom was nowhere to be found, probably hiding in the woods like a weenie.

 

The Chesapeake Ocean

 

Audrey is hunkered down riding out the storm. One of COM’s pink marked sticks is still visible in the lower left part of the nest.

 

The storm was fierce, but the nest held.  There was some damage, but it was mostly intact.  Windage on the camera caused it to rotate 180 degrees from its usual position.

 

You can see some of the damage on the right hand side of the nest. Audrey is telling Tom to get moving, and either fish or do some nest repair. Tom is trying to ignore her. A pink and green marked stick are visible after the big blow.

 

The most damage from the storm was inflicted on poor Roger.  Here he is after the storm.

 

Roger was pummeled by the wind and rain. His stylish straw hat was ripped off his head, and only a remnant remained.

 

COM retrieved brave Roger, and has taken him to the garage to be rehabilitated.

 

Roger looking wet, dirty, bedraggled and hatless. His supporting stick has been broken off. COM is exhibiting the appropriate amount of concern.

 

A bit of Roger’s old hat can be seen sticking up out of his “head”, which is an upside down gallon oyster container.

 

If you have been watching the camera even a little bit, I am sure you can’t help but notice that Tom and Audrey have been doing their best to make sure we have some fertilized eggs.  For the voyeurs in our midst, here is what their interludes look like from shore.

 

Tell the kids to go into the other room, X-rated osprey photos. The camera is still in the rotated position.

 

Wham, bam, thank you m’aam!

 

The osprey equivalent of smoking a cigarette after their romantic interlude.

 

This photo gives you a perspective of the pole in relation to the water surrounding it.  It was taken just after the storm before COM was able to rotate the pole back into place.

 

Audrey alone on the nest after the storm.

 

There has been discussion about perches at our nest.  I will discuss this in the next blog, as this one is getting way too long.  In the meantime, here are Tom and Audrey in the nest just after the storm.  You can see the damage on the right side of the nest.  Tom loves to perch on this nest anchor.

 

Tom perched on one of his favorite places before the pole was back in position.

 

We had a very low tide a couple of days ago, and COM went out in the water and rotated the pole back into its original position.

 

The pole is back in its usual position. Audrey is also in her usual position, the one with her mouth open squawking

 

Well, this blog has gotten long enough.  I still have lots of good information to pass on to you about various inquiries, and will continue answering some of your questions in the next few blogs.  I’ll cover such topics as where Tom and Audrey hang out when they are not in residence, perches, history of the nest and other fun facts that inquiring minds want to know.

 

A parting shot for now…………

 

Sometimes you just get lucky. COM thinks I am gross for putting this photo in the blog. But it is nature in action, right?

 

Here’s hoping for a nest full of eggs for the next blog!

Don’t forget about the Chesapeake Conservancy’s 4th annual Welcome Back Osprey Party, to be held on Tuesday, April 25 from 12:00-1:30 p.m. in Annapolis, Maryland.  It will feature ornithologist and filmmaker Jacob Steinberg, who will talk about a documentary he wrote, directed and produced called “Osprey”.  For further information, please visit http://www.chesapeakeconservancy.org.

Until next time, we remain,

COM, Mrs. COM 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!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Never Fear, The Date Draws Near!

Good afternoon from the still blustery, cold Eastern Shore of Maryland!  Since my last blog, we certainly have seen some nasty weather here at the secret location.  We went from hoping one of our feathered friends would make an early appearance to being oh so very happy that the platform is still bare.  I know many of you are watching, waiting, beginning to get nervous and a little worried about the fate of our beloved family.  Therefore, I have gathered some data on the dates our ospreys have returned since we have had our newest Audrey.  I hope these nuggets of knowledge will provide some relief over the next few days while we watch and wait.  This data was shared at the beginning of the 2016 season, but I thought it would be a good reminder that there is no need to panic just yet!

2009:  This was the last year of our first Tom and Audrey pair.  Tom showed up on March 22, 2009, and Audrey arrived on March 30 that year.

2010:  We were away on a spring break vacation from March 12-21.  The morning after we returned home, March 22, we observed a new Tom and Audrey already in residence at the nest.

2011:  This was the year for a St. Patrick’s day return for Tom, with Audrey only three days behind on March 20.

2012:  Tom arrived on March 21, but COM’s usually reliable notes do not reflect the exact day of Audrey’s arrival, which was sometime after Tom’s.

2013:  This was the first year of our partnership with the Chesapeake Conservancy and the start of our blog.  Tom arrived on March 21 with Audrey not far behind on March 24.

2014:  Our first anomaly year, with Audrey showing up before Tom on March 22.  Tom took his good old time, and made his grand entrance on March 27.

2015:  We had a crazy start in 2015.  Audrey showed up first on March 16, followed by a brief one week visit from a dark stranger.  The visiting osprey showed up on March 23, and adult-rated osprey shenanigans occupied most of the week this Lothario was in residence.  Our Calico Tom arrived on March 30, and laid claim to his new mate.  The dark stranger moved on to more fertile, friendly grounds, and was not seen again.

2016:  Audrey was back very early last year.  The camera was scheduled to be put up on March 9, but she arrived back on the scene March 8.  After another early season of suspense and questions surrounding the arrival of a second osprey previously not seen, our Calico Tom finally showed up.  He took charge and reclaimed his woman on March 31 after a resounding aerial battle with the mystery osprey.

In my walks around the neighborhood, I have not seen any ospreys so far this year.  We have many active nests in our area, and none of the ospreys are back.  So at this point, I am not worried about Tom and Audrey returning.  Are you all feeling better now?  Get some sleep, it will be all right!

There have been many questions and comments posted on the Conservancy’s Facebook page, our blog and at the explore.org site.  While we wait for the return of Tom and Audrey, I thought this would be a good time to post some thoughts and insights in response to your questions and comments.  For some reason, the photos in this blog have reverted to posting at a small size, so please click on each one to enlarge for your viewing pleasure.

Swans:  Many of you have commented and posted photographs about our gorgeous tundra swans that grace the water around our nest.  In addition to being Crazy Osprey Man, COM is Crazy Swan Man from November, when the swans arrive at the secret location and March, when they fly north to their breeding grounds.  Our visiting flock of tundra swans usually numbers between sixty and seventy a day. A few years ago, some of our swans were banded and fit with satellite collars, and their summer home was determined to be in northern Hudson Bay, up near the Arctic Circle.  A general rule of thumb around these parts is that when the swans leave in March, the ospreys return.  COM feeds his swans daily when they are here, and when they see him walking down the dock, they take off in flight toward him to get to their daily ration of cracked corn.  The swans you see on the osprey camera are tundra swans, which are native swans.  They have a black beak, and have very loud calls.  The other swans that used to be seen around the Chesapeake Bay are mute swans.  They are non-native swans with orange beaks, who wreak havoc on the underwater grasses.  The mute swans were introduced to North America from Europe in the late nineteenth century.  They have been declared an invasive species due to their adverse effects on waterfowl and native ecosystems, severely reducing the density of submerged aquatic vegetation.  The mute swan population in the Chesapeake Bay was eradicated several years ago, and we haven’t seen any mute swans at our dock for many years.  The mute swans that would visit the secret location were very mean to the tundra swans (and would hiss at us), and although beautiful, we were not sorry to see them go.  We hope you have enjoyed watching the tundra swans swim by under the nest pole.

Some of our swans

 

Crows:  We have a plethora of crows in the area, and you may have noticed some of them sitting on the nest platform.  When our ospreys are in residence, the crows will hang around trying to mooch a free meal of unattended fish or scraps that remain in the nest.

 

Lots of crows waiting for a free meal

 

Infrared light source:  Once again this year, COM has spent a large chunk of his time trying to tweak our infrared light source for nighttime viewing.  He purchased a new light for this season, and we tried it out for a few nights.  Under the darkness of night, one of us would go down to the dock and try out different COM designed filters, while the other was stationed at our dedicated osprey camera computer monitor located on the second floor in COM’s office assessing the quality of the IR light using different parameters.  Communications between the end of the dock and the house were by cell phone.  I think the final product will be awesome for nighttime viewing this season.  From what we have seen so far, the IR feature is looking really good.

 

Unusually low tides:  The winds over the last ten days have really been howling.  When we have high winds from the northwest and a low tide,  sometimes the water will get blown out of the bay.  This usually occurs only during the winter months a couple of times a season.  Due to these high winds, a few days ago the swans could be seen walking around under the nest pole!  For those of you who observed this, it was quite comical to see the swans waddling around on their feet and not swimming by as their usual graceful selves.

High winds from the northwest and an unusually low tide=water blown out of the bay

 

Nest sticks:  I guess COM was feeling a little sorry for our ospreys this year, as for the first time, he placed a few sticks on the platform when the camera went up.  The platform is usually bare until nest building commences, but not this season. For those of you new to our nest, we have some of the luckiest ospreys around.  Every season, we gather the perfect osprey nest sticks, and put them in the backyard for the ospreys to use in building and maintaining their nest.  COM will tie various colors of construction tape to some of the sticks, and these marked sticks always end up in the nest.  Keep your eyes peeled during the season for the various color sticks that will appear.  You won’t see any green St. Paddy’s Day sticks this year as there are no ospreys around, but Easter is not far off!

COM’s supply of sticks

 

Roger:  Our resident scarecrow Roger, protector and defender of osprey nests, is resting comfortably in his winter quarters (the garage) until his services are needed.  He will make his appearance soon, and maybe we will give him a spring make-over (but maybe not, we will see).  Roger became one of the family after an attack at our nest by a Great Horned Owl last season, leading to the loss of one of our newly-hatched chicks and an unhatched egg.

Roger doing his thing. He looks like he is doing a little dance

 

Eagles:  There are three eagles that have been around since the fall, two adults and a juvenile.  They all spent a fair amount of time sitting on the nest platform, in the big trees two houses to the north of us, and flying around the area.  I don’t anticipate this will be a problem when Tom and Audrey return.  We will keep an eye out for a confrontation, but there is nothing we will be able to do if there is trouble between the eagles and ospreys.

The two adult eagles in the nest after the ospreys left but before the nest was knocked off

 

The two eagles after the nest was removed for the 2016 season

 

The eagle stands alone

 

A beautiful sunrise at the secret location during October 2016:

Mother Nature at her best-October 2016 sunrise

 

Remember, after a one season hiatus, comments are once again being allowed on our blog page.  Feel free to communicate with other camera watchers and blog readers at the end of each blog. Please follow the rules, which were posted in the last blog.

I hope I have soothed you about the return of Tom and Audrey and answered some of your burning questions.  Here’s hoping for some good news in the next few days!

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!

 

 

Sweet Sixteen

Good afternoon from the sunny, brisk Eastern Shore of Maryland!  We have had a very pleasant winter here at the secret location.  With only one snowy day in January (which was on a Saturday and didn’t last very long), Mother Nature has been very kind to us. More about that in my next blog, but suffice to say, we are very happy not to have the expense and aggravation of having to put up a new pole and platform this year.

Better late than never, they say, so here is the much overdue wrap-up of our 2016 season, just in time for the 2017 season to begin. The camera is up and operational, and we expect it will go live this week.  We have a new source of some funding this year, and I know you will be very happy with the camera image, including a new infrared light source.  With that said, please enjoy a stroll down memory lane, back to February 2016.

We had a fairly pleasant winter in 2015-2016, with no new pole or platform needed.  A welcome addition of an infrared light source for night viewing was installed on the camera mount by COM. Our good friend Peter Turcik from the Chesapeake Conservancy came to the secret location to help COM put the camera back up after it spent a peaceful winter in the garage.  As we weren’t expecting any action back on the platform until around St. Paddy’s day, the camera was scheduled to be installed on March 9.  However, much to our chagrin (and delight, of course), our first osprey showed up on March 8!  I was home from work the day of the camera installation, and was able to photograph the series of steps required to put the camera back on the pole. You can take a look at the “Hello Ospreys, Good Bye Swans” blog, published 3/17/16, for the full series of photos. Here are a few photos to jog your memory about all the hard work it takes to get the camera operational each year:

Com and Peter carrying the fourteen foot stepladder to the end of the dock. Peter is wearing his Chesapeake Conservancy osprey shirt!

 

The stepladder is going into the water off the dock.

 

COM has the cables down to the junction box. Note how gracefully he stands on one leg, sort of like our osprey

 

Maneuvering the camera to go up the pole

 

Getting closer-Don’t drop it now!

 

Mission accomplished!

 

Audrey didn’t waste any time getting back to the platform after the camera was up:

Did you ever feel like you were being watched?

 

As I previously said, our first osprey of the 2016 season was spotted on March 8, earlier than usual and a day before the camera was on the pole.  There was much speculation about the true identity of this first osprey, as we had several early visitors those first few weeks.  After many days of careful observation, we officially welcomed back our beautiful girl Audrey!

Audrey in the scraggly stick tree next door to the north

 

Audrey on the nest with a good view of the camera set-up. The infrared (IR) light is mounted just below the camera on the vertical support

 

Audrey picking up a prefab nest stick in the COF’s backyard

 

The drama started early in the 2016 season, as we had many early visitors to the nest platform.   Many questions about gender, actions and intent of these avian visitors were posed by our astute camera watchers.  The experts were contacted about the unusual activity we were seeing.  Our dear friend and osprey expert, Dr. Paul Spitzer, gave us a lesson in some of the fundamentals to successful nest building, two of the most important being the male bringing food to the female and engaging in cooperative nest building.  We did not witness either of these behaviors until the real Tom (our beloved Calico Tom, The Fishing Fool) finally returned to his summer residence on March 31 after fighting an aerial battle with one of the earlier visitors.  The “A Real Head Scratcher” blog, published 3/28/16, has more details about what was going on and many photos.

Audrey and the mysterious stranger on the nest

 

Audrey is asking Tom why they left warm South America to come to Maryland

 

Early on during the 2016 season, we experienced problems with the camera and sound, which was discouraging for everyone.  The problems were fixed with help from the Chesapeake Conservancy and our other partners.  During the time before the “And The Weather Gods Were Angry” blog, published 4/11/16,  we experienced some very rotten, cold and windy early April weather, which was the cause of great concern.  Tom and Audrey would take refuge in the trees, and would not be seen at the growing nest. This was a trying time for all!  One morning, they were spotted on the riprap, trying to stay out of the wind.  We hadn’t seen this happen before.

Tom gets closer to Audrey on the riprap. I was surprised they let me get close, although I was using a very long lens

 

April brought a very disturbing incident when a plastic bag Audrey picked up became wrapped around her leg, just before she was due to lay her first egg.  Ospreys have a habit of bringing back all sorts of stuff to the nest, but the bag she found and brought back could have had disasterous consequences.  Fortunately, Audrey managed to pick the bag off of her leg before she laid her first egg on 4/17/16. Her second egg was laid on 4/20/16.  Check out “Patience Is A Virtue”, published 4/21/16, for the rest of the story and photos.

Audrey with the plastic bag wrapped around her leg. This was very hard to watch:

Audrey is either looking at me for help or getting ready to get out of Dodge

 

Our beautiful Tom and Audrey in the late afternoon sun before the first egg was laid

 

The third egg was laid on 4/23/16, and then late April and early May brought more than 15 continuous days of rain at the secret location.  On Thursday, 5/6/16, everyone began to notice that Audrey had not been seen since the day before.  COM went back over the recordings of the nest, and determined that Audrey had left the nest at 2:00 p.m. on 5/5, and had not yet returned.  Tom had taken over the incubating duties just after Audrey left, and sat on the eggs all through the night of 5/5, until he also left at 8:00 a.m. on Thursday morning.  At that time, there were three eggs in the nest, the temperature was forty seven degrees and it was steadily raining.  Once again, the experts were contacted about the fate of the unattended eggs, and the news was not encouraging. Audrey returned to the nest at 2:48 p.m. on Thursday, May 6, without a word as to her whereabouts during the time she was missing for over 24 hours.  After Tom and Audrey had raised two foster chicks (and E.T., of course!) in 2015, plans were put into place to look for foster chicks in the likely occurance that the unattended eggs didn’t hatch.  Take a look at the blog “Beautiful Noise”, published 5/12/16, for the rest of the story.

 

Time to try to dry off! Tom shaking out his feathers

 

Tom is enjoying a big menhaden on a rainy day:

Tom is still looking wet, probably from a combination of fishing and the weather. This is as close as I got to him, as I wanted him to eat his dinner before the weather went south on him

 

 

 

Squawking Audrey, probably squawking about the sun being in her eyes during the one bit of sun we had in the last 15 days

 

On 5/27/16, after being exposed to forty seven degree weather in the pouring rain for seven hours, our first egg hatched 40 days after it was laid  The second egg hatched two days later on 5/29/16.  Dr. Spitzer said we were making history once again at our nest. He did not know of any scientific studies about ospreys that addressed what had happened at our nest.  Our infrared light source was working well, although some tweaking was needed as the light was a little too intense.  All seemed right in our little osprey world.  “History In The Making” was the name of the blog that was published on 5/31/16.

 

Gorgeous sky the last day of May 2016. Audrey is in the nest with Chick #1 and Chick #2. Tom is chilling somewhere in the neighborhood

 

Little did I know that while I was writing and published that blog, a tragedy was in the making right outside at the nest.  Reports were coming in that an unusual loud crashing noise had been heard on the camera at around 10:00 p.m.on 5/31, and that Audrey was quite agitated.  We checked the nest at first light, and our greatest fears were realized.  Only one chick and the unhatched egg remained in the nest.  COM checked the camera footage from Tuesday night.  The noise that was heard was caused by a large dark shape, probably a Great Horned Owl, that had attacked Audrey from behind, causing her to be knocked off the nest.  During the attack, one of the chicks either fell out of the nest with Audrey or was snatched by the owl.  Audrey sat on the remaining egg for a couple of days, then ate it, with the theory being it had been damaged in the attack.  Our joy at having three eggs laid with two being hatched under such extreme conditions were dashed.  Our faithful osprey experts were once again consulted.  Craig Koppie suggested that we place a scarecrow on the dock to try to repel any future attacks.  Those of you who have been following my blog for the past four years know that nothing makes COM any happier than a good, challenging project.  Out to the garage he went, and a couple of hours later emerged our new friend and Protector of Osprey Chicks, Roger:

 

Roger, protector of ospreys, at his original location at the beginning of the dock

 

A few days later, during a visit from our dear Cape Cod osprey lovers and friends Maureen and Gene, COM relocated Roger to the end of the dock:

 

Roger has been relocated to the end of the dock to be closer to the nest. Maureen and Gene from Cape Cod have stopped by for a visit

 

Roger doing his thing. He looks like he is doing a little dance

 

June also brought a rare sighting for us in the middle Chesapeake Bay, pelicans!

We heard the fishing is good in the Chesapeake Bay this time of year

Check out the blog “Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood”, published 6/30/16, for some fun reading.

We had a brutally hot July 2016, during which time our osprey chick was named Chessie by our loyal camera watchers.  On 7/11/16, Chessie received a beautiful new blue band from Craig Koppie.  The blog “Big Blue”, published 7/19/16, is dedicated to that day, with lots of great photos from the banding process.  Here are just a few of many:

Craig comes back down to readjust the ladder, being watched by Audrey the entire time

 

Chessie has been eating her Wheaties! What a wingspan!

 

 

 

COM is waiting patiently for the package

 

Craig gets stung by a jellyfish. Chessie is thinking it serves him right, and cheers on the jellyfish

 

Chessie has been freed from the towel. From the look of things, I think Craig has held a bird or two in his day

 

 

Craig hands the tape to COM.

 

COM, Chessie and Craig with Roger, protector of the nest. And a fine protector he was, indeed!

 

For the rest of July 2016, we were all waiting for the big moment when Chessie would first take flight.  During the wait, we were having all sorts of technical problems, making it difficult to take photos and write a blog.  The very hot, humid weather was causing my camera lens to fog up every time I went outside to take photos.  In addition, on the advice of our computer guru, I switched to Windows 10, which wreaked havoc on my ability to download and use photos in the blogs.  Extreme frustration prevailed in the Crazy Osprey Family household. COM was quite perturbed when the infrared light source stopped working, as there was no way to fix it until the camera came down in the fall after all of our osprey family headed to their winter digs.  But our problems melted away for a little while when Chessie fledged on 7/21/16.

 

Audrey is watching Chessie trying to get her balance

 

Yapping away on COM’s boatlift motor

 

What is different about this photo?

In the above photo, Audrey is sitting on top of the camera, and Tom is in the nest. This was the opposite of their usual positions.

This is one of my favorite photos from the 2016 season, taken in July:

Somewhere over the rainbow……………………

More photos and escapades of Chessie may be found in the blog “The Chessie Chronicles Part 1”, published 7/31/16.

Alas, our 2016 season was coming to an end.  Our dear Audrey departed for her winter quarters in South America.  It wouldn’t be long until Tom and Chessie began their arduous trip to warmer climes.  Mysteriously, COM’s infrared light source began working again. Another season of wonderful osprey adventures was almost over.

 

Tom in the scraggly stick tree

 

Chessie and Audrey in the scraggly stick tree

“The Chessie Chronicles, Part 2”, published 8/31/16, will fill you in on the rest of the season.

Our 2016 season totaled over 100,000 blog views, bringing our total views to date since the inception of the blog in 2013 to well over 500,000.  The camera was viewed from over 70 countries all over the world.  In May 2016, Tom and Audrey starred in a National Geographic television show “United States of Animals”, as part of the Nat Geo Wild series.  In October 2016, our dear friend and raptor biologist, Craig A. Koppie, along with his co-author Dr. Teena Ruark Gorrow, published “Inside An Osprey’s Nest”. Through incredible photographs and words, this book tells the story of our 2015 season, starring Tom, Audrey, Maine, Montana and E.T.  It is available to purchase through the Chesapeake Conservancy website.

Before I end our Sweet Sixteen, I have some great news to share.  Last April, a very hard decision was made to stop allowing comments on our blog.  Everyone seemed to really enjoy the comments, as well as the camaraderie that was developed through these interactions. It was sad not to have the comments, and something seemed to be missing.  After careful consideration and some cajoling by yours truly, it was decided that we would start allowing comments again.  To ensure everyone’s enjoyment of the blog, some rules are being put into place for guidance in posting comments.  It is unfortunate we have to do this, but our only two options are not allowing comments or following the below rules.

Osprey Camera Blog Comment Rules

No stalking or harassing another person, dominating a conversation, discouraging participation by others, or mocking, baiting, bickering, taunting or belittling others.

No submission of comments that may be considered abusive, defamatory, disrespectful, illegal, offensive or disparaging.

Comments should be limited to topics discussing ospreys, osprey nests, other birds, subjects relating to the blog, Chesapeake Bay, nature, etc.  Limited comments about personal matters will be permitted, but long missives about someone’s personal life should not be posted.

The moderator of the blog reserves the right to remove/disapprove any comment for any reason, without having to explain these actions.  

Anyone continually ignoring the above rules will be banned from future comments without further explanation.

Thank you for your understanding and complying with the rules.  We are trying to have the blog and comments remain a wonderful experience to be shared by all.  If the rules don’t work out, comments may be permanently banned.  I am very excited that the comments are returning, so please try hard to be good!

That’s enough for now!  Get ready for another fascinating season with Tom and Audrey.  Who knows what drama will prevail this year?  Welcome back!

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!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Chessie Chronicles-Part Two

Good evening from the sultry Eastern Shore of Maryland!  This hot, humid summer just doesn’t want to let go.  Our dear Audrey has headed south for her winter digs, so Tom and Chessie can’t be far behind.  The days are getting shorter, Osprey Girl is back at school and fall is just around the corner.  This will be my second-to-last blog for the 2016 season, with one more wrap-up blog after this one.

August has been a frustrating month for me here at the secret location.  I thought my trusty Nikon D7100 had been acting up, and short of sending it back to Nikon for repair, I was not sure what to do.  Since going to Windows 10, many of the photos I had taken appeared stretched out when I previewed them, and there was no rhyme or reason to which photos had this wacky appearance.  I went to post a couple of these weird, stretched out photos on the blog (so maybe one of you would have an idea of what was happening) and when I posted them, they look normal. Now I am thinking there is some kind of disconnect between the camera and my new Windows 10.  If anyone has an idea of what is happening, please contact me at Tom_audrey_osprey@yahoo.com with your thoughts.  I am going to look around for a Windows 10 class, have any of you taken one that you would recommend?

Here is one of the photos that appears all stretched out on my photo previews.  I was going to use this one as an example of what the funky photos looked like, and when I posted it, voila!, the photo appeared normal.  I am stumped.  Anyway, this is our family before Audrey left, complete with some decorative nest trash.  What do you see that is unusual on the next two photos?  The answer will follow after the photos.

Tom, Chessie, Audrey and a downstairs neighbor

 

The next photo is from the same series, and on my preview photos, it looked fine. Someone is making a lot of noise, and it is not Tom or Audrey.  Maybe I have forgotten how noisy some of our other young ospreys have been, but right now my vote for the noisiest youngster ever is Chessie. Check out the expression on Tom’s face, it is priceless.

 

Do you ever shut your yap, Chessie?

 

The answer to the above question is that Audrey is on top of the camera, and Tom is in the nest.  This is an osprey position that is not usually seen at our nest.  Here is what we are more used to seeing:

 

Tom back on top!

 

Here is another family photo.  All three of our friends are on our neighbor’s dock two houses to the south of us:

 

A little family getaway. This was as close as I could get with all three remaining in place

 

There has not been much activity at the nest, but there are many ospreys still in the area.  When Tom or Chessie is on the nest, they are quite aware of all the strangers in their midst.  The nest has been visited by some of these intruders, and we have had  several noisy, serious aerial battles between Tom and the unwanted visitors.  On a few occasions, we have witnessed one of the more bold intruders actually stealing sticks from our nest!  Quite the impudent marauding osprey, don’t you think?

Another mysterious occurence is that the infrared light that had been illuminating the nest at night and then stopped working appears to have started working again.  COM has ordered a new light, and was trying to figure out a way to mount it for the rest of this season.  He decided there was no way to reach the camera pole from the top of his fourteen foot step ladder without taking it down, so now he has a nice winter project to keep him busy during the cold months.

As you all know, Audrey has been an exemplary mom to all of her broods, and this year is no exception.  Here are some photos of Audrey and Chessie hanging out together shortly after Chessie fledged.  She was quite attentive to him after he left the nest.

 

Mother and Son

 

 

This is another one of the photos that looked all stretched out in the previews (but posted normally), and was taken shortly after Chessie fledged.  I really like this photo.  You can clearly see the buff area on the back of Chessie’s head, his blue band and the incessant moving mouth.  Audrey is staying quite close:

 

Chessie and Audrey in the scraggly stick tree

 

This photo was taken on one of those sultry summer evenings.  I had just gone out to check out my garden, and noticed Chessie and Audrey in the scraggly stick tree with a storm not too far away to the north.  Look closely to see Audrey:

 

Audrey and Chessie on a beautiful summer evening

 

I have seen Chessie fishing, but haven’t personally witnessed him catch a fish.  I have seen him dive into the water on numerous occasions, but haven’t seen him come up with the goods. Tom continues to provide sustenance for Chessie, and does a fabulous job responding to Chessie’s incessant yapping for food.  In this photo, I guess Chessie must have wondered what had happened to the fish he had been eating.  Take a close look:

 

I don’t know what happened to my fish, it was here a minute ago……

 

We don’t see much of Tom anymore, but he is certainly still around.  He seems to show up early in the morning and later in the afternoon to provide Chessie with a meal.

 

Audrey has never been one to like her picture taken, but I have managed to grab a few:

 

Chessie and Audrey

 

Audrey was not happy about Mrs. COM taking photos close to the water, and decided to relocate:

 

Audrey in the scraggly stick tree

 

Audrey decided this was not a good place to make her escape, and decided the nest was a better option after all. In the meantime, Chessie had decided if Mom left, maybe he should also get out of dodge:

 

What a wing!

 

Audrey in flight

 

Back to the nest she goes!

 

 

Audrey arriving back at the nest. Chessie has vacated the premises

 

Home, sweet home all to myself, thinks Audrey

 

 

Here is one of the other places Chessie has been seen hanging out in the neighborhood:

 

Yapping away on COM’s boatlift motor

 

Not much to grip on to!

 

It’s easy to tell that Chessie is really enjoying his freedom of flight.  He soars around, swoops up and down and just has a good old time.  I love to watch newly fledged ospreys figuring out just what they can do in the air!

 

Chessie even yaps in flight, multitasking!

 

Here are a couple of photos taken this afternoon of Chessie in the nest, all by himself:

 

Come on, Dad, where’s the beef? (For those of you who remember the old Wendy’s commercials)

 

 

I’m over here, can’t you hear me?

 

 

The hour is getting late, so it’s time to wrap up for tonight.  If you have any questions, please feel free to post them on the Conservancy’s Facebook page, which I follow.  I will try to answer any questions you have in the final blog of the season, which will I will write when the nest is finally empty.

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!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Chessie Chronicles-Part One

Good evening from the quiet Eastern Shore of Maryland.  After a week of many violent storms here in Maryland, it is beautiful and calm at the secret location tonight.  On the night of our last Full Moon Dock Party, there was a terrible storm replete with booming thunder, incredible lightening and hail the size of quarters and larger.  I couldn’t bear to look at our osprey friends out there on the nest.  Since the infrared light source is not working, I only could get quick peeks whenever there was a lightening flash.  Tom was no where to be seen, but Audrey and Chessie were hunkered down weathering the storm.  COM and I ran out to pull the cars under the trees so the hail wouldn’t damage them.  A hailstone hit my foot, clad only in a flipflop, and it hurt!  I kept thinking about a hailstone hitting one of our ospreys in the head, and was really worried.  A great sigh of relief could be heard at the secret location at dawn the next morning when Tom, Audrey and Chessie were alive and well back at the nest.

Now that I have brought up the infrared light, let me tell you what has been going on.  As I am sure you have noticed, we lost our infrared (night light) a couple of weeks ago.  Due to the location of the light, it has been a problem to try and fix it.  COM, true to his name, has purchased a new camera with a built-in IR source.  His plan is to use that camera only for the infrared light source, and will try to get it up and running as soon as possible.  So stay tuned, hopefully there will be a light source for your night time viewing pleasure in the near future.

Another question that has come up on the Chesapeake Conservancy’s Facebook page is regarding the gender of Chessie.  When Craig Koppie was here banding Chessie, he initially thought Chessie might be a female, but was not sure.  He was out here for a dock happy hour we hosted for the good folks at the Conservancy, then stayed for the Full Moon Dock Party (double party night on the dock).  After more careful observation, he is heavily leaning toward Chessie being a male.  So I am not sure which pronoun to use, maybe I will try to stay gender neutral!

My photography the past few weeks has been hampered by the very hot, humid weather we have endured of late.  When I go out to snap a few shots, the camera lens steams up from the transition between the air conditioned house and the lazy, hazy outside air.  I am not sure what to do about that dilemma.

My other big problem right now is that my computer died since the last blog was published.  I have a new PC with Windows 10, which I am trying to master.  Much to my chagrin, the new computer and my Nikon 7100 do not seem to like each other.  I cannot view thumbnail photos, which has been a nightmare.  If anyone knows how to solve my problem, please contact me at Tom_audrey_osprey @yahoo.com.

Roger continues to grace the end of our dock, and is now like one of the family. When Roger first made his appearance on the dock, every time I looked out the window, I would be startled by the figure who appeared to be making its way up the dock into my yard.  He is still getting the attention of Osprey Girl, who hasn’t yet gotten used to seeing the dapper Roger hanging out on the dock.

Roger swinging in the breeze while keeping peace in the kingdom

The big excitement since the last blog was the day our Chessie took flight for the first time.  In the days leading up to the fledging, Tom and Audrey were spending less and less time at the nest, leaving Chessie to his (I am just using his this blog to keep things easier) own devices.  We are seeing less and less of Tom, who stops by with a fish with regularity, but does not hang out in the nest very often.  Here are some photos leading up to the big day:

Tom, Chessie and Audrey in residence. Even though Chessie is a big boy, he still likes his mommy to feed him

As I was watching this exchange and snapping away, Audrey swallowed a very large piece of something long and slimy.  I think the delectable morsel got caught in her throat and she was having trouble swallowing it.  In the following photos, it first appears that Squawking Audrey is doing her thing when in fact, she is having trouble swallowing whatever piece of fish is stuck in her throat:

Something in stuck in Audrey’s throat. Do you think ospreys know the Heimlich maneuver?

 

Now Chessie seems concerned about his mom

 

While Audrey is choking, Chessie is giving us a great view of his buff head and Tom is examining his toenails

 

Audrey finally is able to swallow the offending piece of her snack

 

This photo has nothing to do with ospreys, but our butterfly bush (which grew as a volunteer) is a beautiful part of our yard along the riprap:

 

Our beautiful butterfly bush gracing the waterfront

 

I have to look around to find Tom these days, and he is not usually in sight.  I found him one day on our neighbor’s boat lift two houses to the south:

 

Tom with his catch. He is eating his fill before taking the sloppy seconds to the nest

 

Tom was watching me approach his location.  He continues to be very camera shy.  Maybe he thinks I want his fish?

 

Tom takes off with his fish as Mrs. COM approaches his location. Look at those striking feathers!

 

Tom flew right back to the nest with the bottom half of his fish.  Unfortunately, the camera was in the way when I took this photo of Tom landing in the nest:

 

Tom landing in the nest with a fish snack for his family

 

Tom has delivered the fish to Audrey and decides to hang around for a while.  Chessie is eyeing up the fish:

 

What are you waiting for, Mom? If you don’t want that, I’ll take it, thinks Chessie

 

Audrey digs in while Chessie and Tom are occupied elsewhere

 

Something has gotten Tom and Audrey’s attention.  Chessie only has eyes for Mrs. COM, who is on the dock with a camera:

 

Chessie tries to stare down Mrs. COM, who has been stared down by many other ospreys in her photography career

 

Okay, I couldn’t resist.  Another non-osprey photo of Mrs. COM’s quiet place, her garden:

 

Mrs. COM’s garden looking good in mid summer

 

I don’t think anyone can deny what a good osprey mom our Audrey is, but she does need a break once in a while.  The scraggly stick tree in the backyard one house to the north of us is a favorite hang-out:

 

Regal Audrey taking a break in the scraggly stick tree. She is on high alert as Mrs. COM approaches with the infernal camera

 

Audrey heads back to the nest and her motherly duties

 

Audrey arrives back at the nest where Chessie awaits

 

Photos of Tom, Audrey and Chessie all together in the nest are becoming harder and harder to capture, as Tom doesn’t stay in the nest very long.  Here is a series of photos when Tom returned to the nest.  Check out Chessie’s red eyes as compared to Audrey’s yellow eyes.  Added color is provided by COM’s marked sticks:

 

This is a great example of the difference between an adult and juvenile eye color

 

When Tom does return to the nest, he frequently sits on top of the camera where the sound of his talons scratching the highly technical K-Mart trash can camera cover can be heard:

 

Our Family

 

As I mentioned earlier, there have been many violent storms at the secret location this season.  Here is the sky over the nest as one of the storms was passing over and before it started raining:

 

And the Weather Gods were angry!!

 

After the storm passed, we were treated to a glorious rainbow:

 

Somewhere over the rainbow……………………

 

As our 2016 season progresses, the downstairs neighbors have been busy raising their family in the basement apartment.  Their chirping can frequently be heard when the camera sound is working. Here are two of them:

 

Audrey hears the downstairs neighbors. I think she wants to call the building superintendent to complain about the noise

 

Audrey and Chessie are both in the nest while the downstairs neighbors are having their party:

 

A quiet afternoon in the nest interrupted by the noisy neighbors

 

Chessie and Audrey both spot Tom return to the neighbor’s boat lift two houses to the south of us

 

Here is what Chessie and Audrey have spotted. They must think dinner is on the way, but not this time.  Tom took off right after this photo was taken

 

Audrey and Chessie are watching Tom circle overhead

 

Audrey decides to take off after Tom and leaves Chessie unattended:

 

Chessie is all alone, and Audrey is photobombing while enroute to give Tom an earful

 

 

 

Audrey in flight

 

Audrey is headed out

 

Audrey lands on top of a large tree two houses to the north of us. Look way up high!

 

A closer view of Audrey on top of the tree.

 

Audrey was not happy when I headed closer to her tree, and took off again:

 

Audrey heads back to the nest, not wanting to hang around for another photo op by Mrs. COM

 

Chessie watches his mom return to the nest

 

On Thursday morning, July 21, 2016, the big moment arrived.  With much grace and determination, Chessie lifted off into the great blue sky.  We all knew the day was close, and watched her exercise her wings for many days before the big event.  No one was home at the secret location to witness first flight in person, so we did not know in which direction Chessie had flown.  When I returned home, I walked up and down the waterfront searching for him.  I looked in all the regular places, as well as along the riprap and on docks where some of our fledgings have landed on their first flight in years past.  But Chessie was no where to be seen.  At around 2:00 p.m., I looked out the window, and saw an osprey way up high in the big tree.  I ran outside and put the binoculars on the bird, and much to my relief, I was able to see a blue band on the osprey’s leg.  Our Chessie was back!

 

My first sighting of Chessie after he fledged, on top of the big tree two houses to the north of us

 

Shortly after I spotted Chessie, I saw Audrey fly over to the big tree and join Chessie.  I guess she was worried too!

 

Audrey joins Chessie in the big tree. What a good mom!

 

Audrey is watching Chessie trying to get her balance

 

This isn’t as easy as sitting in my nest! How do you do this, Mom?

 

Chessie is getting the hang of sitting on a small branch in a tree. Audrey remains near by for moral support

 

Check out that blue band, like a beacon in the wilderness!

 

I was very, very happy to have found Chessie in the big tree, but I bet Audrey was happier!  Thanks for the blue band, Craig Koppie!

 

This is the first photo I have of Audrey in the nest by herself since her eggs hatched.  She looks kind of lonely:

 

Something is missing, thinks Audrey. Where is my baby?

 

Audrey is looking at something flying by. Could it be Chessie?

 

In the meantime, the pelicans are still hanging around the secret location:

 

The pelicans are still hanging around, not a typical sight at the secret location

 

The lighting was not very good, but you can see the sparklies that I like as the pelican flies by

 

Here are a few more photos of Chessie as he explores his new surroundings:

 

Chessie has discovered the scraggly stick tree next door

 

Chessie has learned how to hold on tightly in the scraggly stick tree

 

Chessie has also discovered the crazy woman with a camera who likes to stalk ospreys

 

The next day, Chessie was flying around discovering all kinds places to explore.  Here he is in the big tree two houses to the north of us trying to hold on:

 

How embarrassing! She’s taking my picture and I can’t hold on!

 

This is not as easy as Mom made it look

 

I have to get away from this crazy woman

 

Chessie had incentive to take off (me!).  And there he goes:

 

Chessie in flight

 

Chessie is getting further away

 

In the next several days, I will post “The Chessie Chronicles Part Two”.  I have many more great photos to share.  Hopefully, I will get my new computer figured out so I am not so frustrated!

Please remember to send in your entries for our “Where In The World Are Tom and Audrey?” contest.  Send a photo of someone watching the ospreycam to Tom_audrey_osprey@yahoo.com, and include your first name and from where you are watching.  Your photo will be published in the next blog.

Our views are rapidly approaching 500,000 with over 498,000 as this blog is written.  Get your guess in now as to which date we will go over the half million mark!  A great prize is in store for the winner.

That’s it for now, as the hour is late and wake-up is early in the morning.  So for now, 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!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Big Blue

Good morning from the hot, muggy Eastern Shore of Maryland.  We have had some very uncomfortable weather here at the secret location the past couple of weeks, and I always feel so badly for our ospreys during these brutally hot days.  There have also been some very heavy rain storms, replete with gusty winds, thunder and lightening.  Our big excitement since the last blog was the announcement of Chessie’s name, then the banding of our very feisty young osprey.  As you have probably noticed on the ospreycam, Chessie has been catching a lot of air during her training sessions, and is very close to first flight.  A couple of nights ago during a big storm, she was hovering up so high that I felt sure a big gust of wind was going to carry her away from the nest.  My heat was beating wildly watching the potentially harrowing situation unfold.  I was so worried that I had COM get his lifesaving gear ready and he put on his bathing suit in case we needed to initiate a rescue at sea!  Fortunately, Chessie came down in the nest, but we were really, really worried about her well being that evening.

I have decided to dedicate this blog almost entirely to Craig Koppie and Chessie, the stars of the recent banding.  Of course, COM will get Best Supporting Actor, and I will designate myself Chief Historian of the event.  I was at work the day Maine and Montana were banded last year, so was very happy to be present this time to memorialize the day. There are photos galore, so without further adieu, here is the story of Chessie’s banding in pictures and words.

A couple of weeks ago, as Chessie was getting bigger and bigger (quite rapidly, it seemed), COM contacted our favorite raptor biologist, Craig Koppie and inquired about the possibility of banding our miracle chick.  As Craig tells the story, he took a look at Chessie’s tail, and decided he better get out to the secret location without delay before we had a fledging on our hands. On Monday, July 11, Craig came out with his bag of tricks, and the adventure started:

Craig and COM prepare for the banding

 

COM gets the ladder into the water while Craig changes into his water shoes

 

Audrey and Chessie are in residence, but Audrey is sounding the alarm and Chessie is keeping a low profile:

 

Audrey is keeping a watchful eye on the preparations

 

As COM and Craig carried the ladder through the water to the nest, Audrey decided it was time to vacate the premises.  Since Chessie can’t fly yet, she was on her own:

 

Audrey takes off leaving Chessie to her own devices

 

Craig and COM are carrying the ladder out to the nest. COM is keeping an eye on Audrey, who is circling them while protesting loudly

 

Audrey was not happy with the intruders, and kept circling and making a series of loud, unhappy calls:

 

Audrey in flight while keeping an eye on the intruders

 

Audrey continues to circle while squawking loudly

 

“Should l dive bomb them now or later”, thinks Audrey

 

Meanwhile, COM and Craig put up the ladder, all the while keeping an eye on the perturbed Audrey :

 

COM and Craig keeping an eye on Audrey while putting up the ladder

 

This looks like a good spot

 

A discussion ensued as to the proper placement of the ladder.  Audrey has continued to circle and protest:

 

A very wet conversation. Maybe they should have talked about this before they got in the water!

 

COM goes back to the dock to retrieve a box in which to carry Chessie back for banding.  Craig remembered that one of the boxes had a hole in it and asked COM to check it out:

Checking the box for holes. Another mission that could have been completed on the dock!

 

Satisfied that the box is intact, COM brings it out to the nest:

 

Bringing the box out to the nest to transport Chessie back to the dock

 

With all the equipment in place, Craig started up the ladder.  Audrey is still very unhappy:

 

Craig gets ready to go up the ladder Audrey is still circling and complaining loudly

 

Starting up the ladder

 

Craig was almost there, but decided the ladder needed to be moved to be able to get into the nest safely:

 

Hmm, something is not right

 

 

 

Craig comes back down to readjust the ladder, being watched by Audrey the entire time

 

Once the ladder was readjusted, Craig started up the ladder again:

 

Let’s try this again!

 

When Craig got to the top, he did some housekeeping around the nest so he wouldn’t get poked the eye.  Then it was time to find an osprey:

 

Chessie is barely visible peeking out of the left side of the nest, but she can’t hide from the raptor biologist who has come to band her

 

Going for the grab

 

Gotcha!

 

Craig has Chessie by the legs.  Check out the wingspan on our little baby:

 

 

Chessie has been eating her Wheaties! What a wingspan!

 

Now Craig had to gather Chessie up for a safe trip down the ladder and into the transport box:

 

Craig prepares Chessie for the trip down the ladder

 

Let’s see you try climbing down a 14 foot stepladder in the water with a very angry osprey in one arm

 

Craig gets a good hold on Chessie

 

Almost at the bottom of the ladder with the Best Supporting Actor waiting to do his thing

 

COM is waiting patiently for the package

 

COM and Craig are admiring the beautiful Chessie

 

Craig gets stung by a jellyfish. Chessie is thinking it serves him right, and cheers on the jellyfish

 

COM is being very careful with his precious cargo. Chessie is judging how close she needs to get to COM’s thumb to have a taste

 

Craig, Chessie and COM arrive back at the dock.  Craig climbed out of the water onto the dock to take the transport box from COM:

 

Back to the dock. Chessie has taken a defensive stance

 

Up on the dock goes Chessie

 

Time to band the osprey!

 

Craig is getting his equipment ready out of camera view while Chessie plots her escape

 

Chessie is getting braver and takes a look around

 

Not one step closer, you crazy camera woman!

 

With all the equipment ready, Craig begins the banding process, which starts with getting ahold of an osprey:

 

The flying hand of fate getting ready to remove Chessie from the transport box

 

When Craig took Chessie from the box, her talons were caught so the first order of business was to release her talons from the towel:

 

Chessie’s talons are caught in the towel, so Craig carefully untangles her

 

Someone needs a manicure

 

Now that Chessie has been freed from the towel, the banding can proceed, but not before feisty Chessie tried to take a chunk out of Craig’s hand:

 

Chessie has been freed from the towel. From the look of things, I think Craig has held a bird or two in his day

 

Take that, you brute!  Chessie goes for blood

 

Craig is nonplussed, and continues his mission.  The first step is to place the metal band around Chessie’s leg:

 

The band goes around Chessie’s right leg

 

Next, the band is tightened:

 

Tightening the band

 

Making sure the band is on properly. Chessie is trying to read the number

 

Next, Craig enlists COM to help with the tape:

 

Craig hands the tape to COM.

 

Craig used bright blue tape for Chessie since Maine and Montana had yellow and red tape last year.

 

Chessie really wants a piece of COM this time

 

“I wonder if a piece of this one will taste better than the piece I had of the other one?”, thinks Chessie

 

Doesn’t COM look like he is telling Chessie he is sorry? Not sure what Chessie is thinking, but I don’t think it is good!

 

Check out Chessie’s pretty new Big Blue Band

 

Now it is time to get Chessie back into the nest, but not without a photo op first:

 

COM, Chessie and Craig with Roger, protector of the nest. And a fine protector he is, indeed!

 

Chessie has really had enough of all this nonsense, and is ready to go back home.  She was none too happy being back in the transport box:

 

Take me home now, please

 

Chessie thinks there have been quite enough photos taken already, thank you very much

 

Ready for the trip back to the nest

 

Back into the water they go, COM with the transport box, Chessie (who is just along for the ride) and brave Craig, with his camera clutched to his body to avoid the drink:

 

Back to the nest they go

 

Meanwhile, Audrey has been back at the nest since the birdnappers left with her baby:

 

Squawking Audrey sees the wagon train a comin’ and decides it’s time to get out of Dodge

 

Oh, no, not them again.  Time to go!

 

That baby of mine needs to learn how to fly

 

Craig spies another photo op, and since he has his camera, decides to stop and take advantage of the opportunity:

 

There’s no time like the present to take a photo or two. Water, what water?

 

The Three Musketeers arrive back at the nest. Audrey has taken up her circling and noise making

 

The careful process of placing the newly-banded Chessie back in the nest commences:

 

Out of the transport box and back in Craig’s loving arms

 

The ascent back up the ladder begins

 

Slowly I turn, inch by inch…………

 

Don’t look down!

 

Craig steadies himself for the final push to the summit (how dramatic)

 

Careful now, almost there!

 

In you go, Chessie!

 

Craig’s faithful companion is below, alert and at the ready, waiting for any signs of a problem

 

Craig begins his descent from the summit. with his camera hanging precariously around his neck just waiting for the strap to snap

 

Look who is still circling! Audrey is a faithful mother, but not a stupid one.  “They can’t get me here”, she thinks

 

Chessie is on high alert, while Audrey photobombs Mrs. COM’s bucolic scene. The ladder is still in place

 

“Please get that ladder away from me, it is making me nervous”, squawks Chessie

 

Mission accomplished, and the equipment goes back to shore

 

Audrey arrives back at the nest immediately after the ladder is removed

 

Audrey and Chessie are both squawking loudly, hopefully saying “Home Sweet Home” in ospreyspeak

 

It’s hard to believe that the entire banding operation only took about fifteen to twenty minutes from start to finish.  I was so overwhelmed at Chessie’s beauty, she is simply a magnificent bird.  To my neighbors who I stood up for lunch, I hope you can now see why you dined without me at the last minute!

I have taken many more photos since the last blog was published, but will save those for next time as the hour is late.  Please remember to send in your entries for the “Where In The World Are Tom and Audrey?” contest.  You may send them to Tom_audrey_osprey@yahoo.com, along with your guess as to the date our blog views will go over 500,000.  We are over 495,000 this week, so get your guesses and photos in to win a cool prize!  Here is our winning entry for this week.  After fooling with this photo for over an hour with my technical advisor (Osprey Girl), we are unable to get the photo oriented properly, so turn your head to view it (your challenge for today!):

 

 

Laurie watching the ospreycam from somewhere on Park Avenue South in New York City

 

As always, 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!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood

Good evening on this last day of June from our secret location on the delightful Eastern Shore of Maryland!  This month seems to have gotten away from me, so I will try to make it up to you with double the photos this time.  There have been many changes in our little osprey family since my last blog.  As I was sitting at my computer working on the May 31st blog, unbeknownst to me, a great drama was taking place in the dark over the water behind our house.  I was joyfully writing about our history in the making, describing the events leading to the hatching of our miracle chicks. To my great horror early the next morning, reports were coming in on the Chesapeake Conservancy’s Facebook page and by text to my phone of a large crash into the nest/camera around 10:00 p.m. the night before, and the demise of one of our little miracle chicks.  We did not hear the commotion as our windows were closed, and we keep the camera sound on mute inside of the house. COM reviewed the tapes from the previous night, with the events being visible due to his installation of an infrared light source at the beginning of the 2016 season. He was able to capture the shadowy, blurry image of a large bird swooping down on the unsuspecting Audrey, knocking her almost off the nest and causing the disappearance of one of our beloved, newly hatched chicks.  We have had some discussion as to whether the bird (probably a Great Horned Owl) snatched the chick or if the chick was knocked out of the nest when Audrey was blindsided.  The attack happened so quickly that it was impossible to tell from the video footage what actually transpired.  It doesn’t really matter how it happened, but our chick was gone and one egg remained unhatched.  A couple of days later, Audrey broke into the remaining egg, and consumed the contents.  A working theory on the third egg is that it was damaged in the attack and nature took its course.  A few very sad days here at the secret location, going from “the thrill of victory to the agony of defeat” in a very short time.  Will the drama at our nest never cease?

But life goes on, doesn’t it?  I am sure you have noticed that our remaining chick has grown by leaps and bounds, much more quickly than other chicks of a similar age that have been raised by Tom and Audrey in our nest.  It’s a spunky chick with quite a personality, and we are so thankful to have an only child this season. Calico Tom the Fishing Fool is living up to his name, and the fish just keep on coming.  In a few days, our chick will have a name after the voting closes at the Chesapeake Conservancy.  My vote was for Lucky, as it just seemed apropos for this year’s chick.  But the majority will rule in our democracy, and we will soon know what to call our baby instead of “the chick”.

Very shortly after the incident at the nest, the Crazy Osprey Family was contacted by Craig Koppie, our favorite raptor biologist.  He suggested that we put up a scarecrow to try and keep the predator away from our remaining chick.  You know that Crazy Osprey Man got his moniker for a reason, and off to the garage he went.  A couple of hours later and my only good hat gone (I didn’t have the heart to tell COM, he worked so hard on his project), we had a new family member.  Enter Roger:

A view from the backyard of Roger in his original position with Tom hanging out on the boat lift

 

Tom is keeping an eye on Roger, who doesn’t seem the least bit concerned

 

Notice the very clean boat cover in the above photo.  Please remember this clean cover for comparison in future photos.

Suave Roger keeping things safe

 

Roger, protector of ospreys, at his original location at the beginning of the dock

 

Roger in his first location on the dock close to land

 

And of course, no scarecrow would be complete without night lighting, so Roger’s presence is not only felt but seen all night long!  Thank you COM for being the Crazy Osprey Man that you are!

When Craig Koppie first suggested that we try Roger as a possible defender against unwanted visitors, he suggested that we place him at the beginning of the dock.  As the days went on, a decision was made to move Roger from his original location out closer to the end of the dock nearer to the nest.  On the day of the big move, the Crazy Osprey Family was honored to have wonderful visitors, Maureen and Gene from Cape Cod.  Maureen has been a faithful camera watcher and blog follower from the start. Her witty lyrics to the tunes of some of our favorite songs and her continuing cheerful and positive attitude have made her a welcome addition to our little osprey family.  COM and I were delighted that she and Gene were able to join us for a fun-filled day at the secret location:

 

Roger has been relocated to the end of the dock to be closer to the nest. Maureen and Gene from Cape Cod have stopped by for a visit

 

Gene, Maureen and COM enjoying a beautiful day at the secret location. COM has just finished relocating Roger to the end of the dock

 

Roger in his new digs at the end of the dock

 

Wider view of Roger at the end of the dock. Nobody will sneak up on his watch!

 

Don’t tell Roger, but he has a stick up his rear end. Ouch!

 

Roger is keeping a close “eye” on the nest. Or is the nest keeping a close eye on Roger?

 

Roger doing his thing. He looks like he is doing a little dance

 

We are so happy to have Roger as part of our osprey family.  I guess we will never know, but he seems to have done his job to protect everyone at the nest.

After all of the excitement at the beginning of June, things seemed to have calmed down and osprey life is moving forward.  The little one has lost its down and is now starting to sport real feathers.  It is truly unbelievable to me how large the chick has grown in just a little over four weeks.  Tom and Audrey continue to be exemplary parents, and take incredibly good care of their baby.  Here are some photos of the daily lives of our favorite osprey family, all of which have been taken since the last blog was published:

 

Tom on COM’s boat lift, which is one of his favorite places to hang out

 

Sometimes after Tom has been fishing, he will arrive back in the area looking very wet and bedraggled.  The top of the camera assembly is another of his favorite places, and turns out to be a great place to dry off:

 

Sometimes when you can’t see Tom, you can hear him scratching around on top of the camera assembly

 

Tom loves to sit on top of the camera. He is catching the breeze trying to dry his wings after a very wet fishing expedition

 

Tom drying his wings on the top of the camera

 

When I am home, I usually keep one eye on whatever I am doing and the other eye wanders to the windows to try and catch a glimpse of a photo op.  Here is a series of photos of Tom after he caught a fish and took it to the neighbor’s boat lift two houses to the south of us:

 

Tom with a fish on our neighbor’s boat lift two houses to the south of us

 

Tom taking his fish and leaving. He doesn’t feel like sharing with Mrs. COM today

 

Tom on the downstroke with a foot and a fish trailing

 

Tom in flight with his fish, holding on with one talon

 

When you are watching the ospreycam, it is usually Tom who likes to sit up on the observation posts (actually the nest supports).  Once in a while Audrey likes to sit up high and enjoy the view from the top floor:

 

Audrey on the viewing tower on one leg

 

In seasons past, I have posted many photos of our various ospreys sitting in the big tree two houses to the north of us.  For some reason, this year neither Tom nor Audrey is spending much time up that way.  Maybe it is because there is another osprey pair nesting very close to the big tree.  Earlier in the month, I observed Tom fly off to the big tree with a fish after I unceremoniously chased his away from our neighbor’s dock while trying to snap a few photos:

 

Tom in the big tree two houses to the north of us with a fish with a deeply notched tail

 

Here is a wider view of the big tree.  You can barely see Tom sitting up near the top of the leaf canopy on the right side of the tree.  If you look closely, you can see one of the other ospreys who nest near the big tree sitting to the left of the tree on a piling.  Their nest is to the right of the big tree on a pole in the water five houses to the north of us:

The big tree two house to the north of us. Tom is over to the right up near the top of the leaf canopy

 

Here are some photographs of Tom and Audrey in the nest.  It is hard to see the chick in most of the photographs, but he/she is starting to be more visible from vantage points on land and the dock:

 

Tom and Audrey are checking something out. The chick’s head is visible between its parents and the nest support to the left of Tom and Audrey

 

Good lighting and a bucolic scene with the sailboats on the horizon

 

I have been putting a lot of sticks out in the yard, and both Tom and Audrey have been picking all of them up:

 

Not sure how some of those sticks are still hanging in there. One of COM’s marked sticks is barely hanging on near the middle of the bottom of the nest

 

Two parents keeping a watchful eye

 

Tom on his viewing post, Audrey close by and the chick is hunkered down

 

This is a quiet Father’s Day on the dock with Roger keeping guard.  The Full Strawberry Moon Dock Party was the next night.  Could anyone hear us howling?

 

A quiet Father’s Day on the dock with Roger. It wasn’t quiet the next night with 25 happy howlers at the Full Strawberry Moon Dock Party

 

Audrey takes a little break from the nest to do her thing on the boat lift.  What is that white stuff on the formerly clean boat cover?

 

Squawking Audrey on COM’s boat lift. “Hey, COM, that’s not my mess down there, go talk to Tom”

 

The chick is starting to be visible unless a parent sounds the alarm, then it flattens out and cannot be seen from land:

 

The Happy Family-all three visible on 6/19/2016

 

The chick flattens out when Mrs. COM is on the prowl with her camera and the alarm is sounded of an intruder in the area

 

The crows always seem to know when one of our ospreys is enjoying a fish meal near by.  As Tom enjoys his meal on our boat lift, a patient crow is waiting for sloppy seconds:

 

Tom and a patient crow on COM’s boat lift. COM is not going to be happy when he sees that boat cover

 

Tom decides if the crow left, maybe he should be thinking about moving on

 

Tom arrives back at the nest with provisions

 

One of our many rainy days this spring:

 

A dreary, wet day at the secret location. Tom is hanging on COM’s boat lift

 

Tom on COM’s boat lift looking rather wet

 

Tom leaves the area. All my fault!

 

Audrey and the chick sharing a quiet day at the nest. I must have been standing on one foot when I took some of these photos, they seem a little lopsided:

 

Audrey and her offspring sharing a quiet moment at home

 

Audrey gives the alarm call and the chick disappears from view

 

Tom arrives back at the nest and the all clear signal is sounded

 

After Calico Tom the Fishing Fool brought home dinner, Audrey feeds the young’n

 

Tom and Audrey at the ready, but the chick just wants another bite

 

Audrey doesn’t leave the nest too often, but as the chick is getting bigger, she has been leaving for longer periods of time.  Even when she isn’t in the nest, Audrey is not far away:

 

Audrey on COM’s boat lift, a rare visit

 

Tom has been taking some squawking lessons from Audrey:

 

Squawking Tom emulating Squawking Audrey in full voice. Stay away from my fish, you crazy woman!

 

Tom on the nasty poop deck (dock) next door to the south

 

Tom checking out Mrs. COM and that darn camera

 

When Tom took off with his fish, the crows moved in for the spoils on top of this piling

 

As I am sure you know by now, one of Tom’s favorite places is the swim ladder on the dock two houses to the south of us.  Our neighbors that lived there for over twenty years just moved at the beginning of June.  One of my first orders of business when I met the new neighbors was to explain that they may be seeing a crazy woman with a camera traipsing through their yard to take photographs of birds on their dock.  I very politely asked for permission to continue my pursuits, and they very graciously approved.  I am sure Tom would have much preferred that they said no trespassing, but Mrs. COM saved the day.

 

Tom is hanging out on his favorite swim ladder, now owned by new, very nice and understanding neighbors

 

Sometimes staying vigilant and looking out the window really pays off.  As I was doing some dishes this morning, I glanced up and saw something very unusual for this part of Maryland:

 

We heard the fishing is good in the Chesapeake Bay this time of year-a flock of pelicans flying over our osprey nest!!!

 

Hey, this doesn’t look like Florida!

 

Flying in formation, ready for the airshow

 

Maybe the Blue Angels can adopt this new five “man” formation (sorry for the bad lighting, no choice)

 

Getting ready to dive for breakfast

 

Pretty cool, huh?

Please remember to send in your photos for the “Where In The World Are Tom and Audrey?” contest.  Send a photo of yourself watching the ospreycam from wherever you are.  Please include your name (first name is fine) and the location, and I will post it in my next blog.  Send your photo to Tom_audrey_osprey@yahoo.com. A winning photo will be selected at the end of this season with a prize to follow!

We are up to over 491,000 views of the blog since its inception in 2013.  Please send in your guess for the day we will have our 500,000th view!  A great prize will be awarded to the winning person!  You can send your guess to the same email listed above for the photo contest.

 

William watching the ospreycam with his grandparents on Kent Island, Maryland

 

The hour is drawing late, and it’s time to close out another blog.  Remember to get your votes in for our chick’s name (it’s a Lucky chick, isn’t it-hint, hint!) on the Chesapeake Conservancy’s Facebook page.

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!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

History In The Making

Good evening from the incredibly beautiful Eastern Shore of Maryland!  Our seemingly never-ending streak of rainy, dreary days appears to have come to an end. It is a delightful evening here, with temperatures in the high seventies, low humidity, spectacular cloud formations and ospreys everywhere.  I was finally able to plant my vegetable garden, the purple wave petunias are nestled around the mailbox post and my deck planters are an array of color for the eye.  But the best part of all, according to Dr. Spitzer, is that we are all a part of history in the making!  On Friday, May 27, despite being left unattended for seven hours at forty-seven degrees in a steady rain, Tom and Audrey’s first egg hatched forty days after it was laid.  The first hatch was quickly followed two days later by the second hatch on Sunday, May 29, thirty-nine days after the egg was laid.  We are anxiously waiting  to learn the fate of Egg #3, and should know something definitive within the next few days.  So far, for the first two eggs, we are in the typical hatch window for our nest of 39-41 days, with June 1 being day thirty-nine for Egg #3.  Even the experts have been stumped by what has happened at our nest this season. And everyone is walking around with big smiles on their faces and songs in their hearts at the arrival of our miraculous chicks!  COM and I are also happy because Osprey Girl is home for the summer, and all is right with the world.

Here is a photo taken by Osprey Girl of the incredible sky early this evening, complete with osprey pole and nest:

Gorgeous sky the last day of May 2016. Audrey is in the nest with Chick #1 and Chick #2. Tom is chilling somewhere in the neighborhood

 

I wanted to say a few words about the camera and images that you see.  We have had the same good quality, mega pixel camera for the last three seasons.  Nothing has changed with the camera with the exception of the addition of an infra red light source which COM installed just before the ospreys returned this season.  He spent an inordinate amount of time at the end of the dock fooling with the infra red light source and camera before it was installed on the pole.  I helped him test the IR light source at night, trying many different combinations of filters, running back and forth to the house to observe the results on our monitors, making homemade filters out of plastic containers, and trying it all again and again.  We thought we had it right and the image looked good before Tom and Audrey returned.  But alas, once the IR source was mounted on the pole, and our friends returned from their winter vacation, the light was just a little too intense.  The camera is out of reach now, so nothing can be done to tone it down, but we will adjust it for next season.

The other issue is the quality of the images you see from the ospreycam.  Rest assured that we are producing the highest level of quality that is possible given the constraints of the system.  The camera is fine, but we are limited by the internet connection between the camera and the distribution point, which is not at our location.  The connection is limited by the upload speed of the internet service available coming down the road to the secret location, and is beyond anyone’s control at the Chesapeake Conservancy or from the Crazy Osprey Family.  In layman’s terms, the quality of the image you see is not a camera issue, but a bandwidth issue. (at least, that is how it has been explained to me, and as you know by now, I am somewhat technically challenged).

Okay, enough technical talk, back to the ospreys!  I witnessed something very comical the day that Chick #1 hatched.  Audrey was alone on the nest, and took off, leaving the newly-hatched chick by itself.  Oh phooey, I thought, here we go again.  Audrey took a loop around our yard, took one of her daily constitutionals, and immediately returned to the nest, not missing a beat!  What a good mom, she didn’t want to take a chance of soiling the nest with her new baby.  I had never noticed her do that before, and it was quite amazing to watch. I promise, no more poop stories or photos for the rest of this blog (well, maybe one).

After some initial tentative fish supplying, Calico Tom the Fishing Fool has once again proven himself to be an expert provider for the nest.  I especially love to watch the chicks pass out after their bellies (actually crops) are full.  Tom is sometimes hard to spot when he is not right at the nest or at one of his usual haunts.  But Audrey knows when he is on his way back home, and always welcomes her man with vociferous greetings!  If COM and I are on the end of the dock enjoying a little happy hour, we always know when Tom is approaching without ever looking for him.  Squawking Audrey leaves no doubt as to his approach, and is even louder (if that is possible) when he is returning with a meal.

You may have noticed that Tom and Audrey have been spending a fair amount of time defending the nest and trying to shoo off unwelcome passers-by.  There are a significant number of ospreys and nests in the neighborhood around the secret location.  The closest nest is five houses to the north of us, just north of the big tree.  There are two ospreys occupying that nest.  I am reasonably sure that one of them is the osprey that was hanging out at our nest early in the season before Tom returned, possibly an offspring that was raised in our nest.  When I go walking, there are ospreys everywhere.  I will ask Osprey Girl to take a loop around the neighborhood by water and count the active nests around our area.  I will report back on her findings.

It’s that time again!  The “Where In The World Are Tom and Audrey?” contest is officially open!  Please send a photo of yourself or anyone else watching the ospreycam on any of your devices.  Send the photo, along with your name and from where you are watching.  I will post your photos on each blog.  At the end of the season, the contest winner will receive something cool from the Chesapeake Conservancy.  Not sure what your prize will be, but it will be cool!  Send your entries to Tom_audrey_osprey@yahoo.com and keep an eye out for your submission to be posted on the blog.

Speaking of the blog, the views continue to go up and up.  The total number of views since the blog inception at the beginning of the 2013 is season is rapidly reaching HALF A MILLION!  Wow!  We are over 485,000 views as of earlier today.  In that light, please send your guess as to which date the blog views will hit HALF A MILLION to the above email!  It will be this season, so get your guesses in.  If you are the winner, a cool prize will also be coming your way!  Make sure to include contact information in your email.

Here are some of the photographs that have been taken since the last blog was published.  I hope you enjoy them!

 

After Tom catches a fish, he will eat first.  The male has to be fed before anyone else to ensure the survival of any osprey family. Without Tom to bring home the bacon (fish bacon, that is), no one would eat very well.  As you have noticed, he will usually eat the top half of the fish, and bring the bottom half back to the nest.  Here is Audrey on the dock two houses to the south of us, on her favorite swim ladder with her fish snack:

 

Audrey on the swim ladder with her sloppy seconds. I do believe she is squawking!

 

Audrey: “Are you kidding me? Can’t a girl get a peaceful meal alone?”

 

Audrey at the end of our dock. The crab pots will be in the water shortly

 

Once again, Mrs. COM has gotten too close. Audrey does not stay to hear what I have to say

 

Tom is on his observation post while Audrey incubates

 

Tom is taking his turn incubating. Audrey is doing what she does best, squawking

 

Audrey is enjoying the tail end of her fish.  You can see the deep-notched yellowish tail, so this is a menhaden.  I know I said I wasn’t going to talk about poop, but this dock gives new meaning to the term “poop deck”:

 

Audrey is sitting on a piling at the end of the dock just south of us. I’m not sure I would want to have happy hour out there!  Nasty!

 

Audrey has that far off look in her eye

 

And off she goes!!!

 

Escaping from Mrs. COM’s incredibly annoying camera. Cool reflection!

 

Flying low

 

Skimming the water

 

Guess who?

 

Need I say more?

 

Audrey in the scraggly stick tree.  Guess how many fingers (talons, actually) I have up?

 

Ah, that feels better!

 

Who is trying to sneak up on me? I see you!

 

Audrey loves this swim ladder.  She frequently sits here while eating and to take a little break from the nest:

 

How does she do that?

 

If you look carefully, you can see Audrey’s left leg tucked up into her belly

 

Another favorite hang out of Tom and Audrey is the scraggly stick tree one house to the north of us:

 

Audrey is trying to decide whether to leave or stay

 

This is a good view of the infra red light source attached to the camera pole.  It’s the silver device mounted on the pole just under the covered camera.  Don’t you love COM’s fancy K-Mart trash can camera cover?

 

Audrey is patiently incubating her eggs. At this point, we weren’t sure if they were viable. You can see one of COM’s marked sticks down in the nest

 

We have loved living on the water at the secret location for twenty seven years.  One of my absolutely favorite phenomenon is when the sun hits the water at a certain angle and the breeze is blowing at a certain speed.  If the two come together in just the right way, the entire surface of the water sparkles and twinkles until it is blinding.  I have dubbed this phenomenon “the sparklies”.  You can see just a few of the sparklies in this photo:

 

Tom, his fish and two mooching crow friends on COM’s boat lift. Love those sparklies!!

 

Mrs. COM has chased off the crows, but Tom could care less and just wants to enjoy his fish

 

This photo was taken the day that Chick #1 hatched, and shows the second feeding:

Tom proudly sits on his observation post while Audrey feeds her newly hatched chick

 

Tom is looking at Mrs. COM while Audrey continues to feed newly hatched Chick #1. This photo was taken from the end of our dock

 

 

Here is a series of photos of Tom and Audrey while Chick #1 is being fed:

 

Arriving!

 

Out of my way, woman!

 

What’s going on down there?

 

Dad is in the house!

 

Are you going to eat that?

 

Well, if you aren’t going to eat it, I’ll finish it

 

Tom takes the left-over fish and flies away to enjoy it in peace

 

Notice the deep-notched fish tail, probably another menhaden. Tom is heading to the dock south of us

 

 

I wonder what Tom and Audrey are discussing?

 

Tom, Audrey and an eavesdropping downstairs neighbor

 

You watch for intruders from the North, and I’ll watch for intruders from the South

 

These are the faces we will use to scare them off!

 

Tom is finally enjoying the sun on COM’s boat lift

 

I hope you have enjoyed my latest batch of photographs.  The hour is getting late, and I have another early wake-up tomorrow.  So 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!