Osprey Turf Battle

On Saturday my wife and I visited the Eagle/Osprey nest along the south shore.  Once we arrived, my wife quickly spotted the adult BE very far way with her Nikon Binoculars.  Based on measurements on Google Earth, the adult was about 1,500 feet away and basically invisible to the naked eye.  The perch it chose was an uprooted tree that had drifted its way to the marsh over winter - a nice place to hangout during the day and avoid the punishing winds whipping out from the west.  We hung around for about an hour watching and waiting... waiting and watching but all the while the Eagle stayed put, far far away.  A couple boats passed by (including a SC Police Boat) but the bird didn't put up (or flinch).  Some crows and even a close pass by an Osprey failed to get the Eagle to move.  It seems as though the Bald Eagle is quite secure in his territory and superior size and is not overly concerned with defending anything other than its nest (or free food).

While the Eagles were overall rather "boring" (especially when you consider my first visit which saw several Osprey chases and a parental care switch), the Osprey made up for it.  Even with a scope and binoculars (and an assistant) I had a very difficult time keeping track of who was who and what was what.  The female osprey on the nest at the mouth of the creek was very loud - posturing the whole time.  I had seen and heard this before (coupled with the mate flying around with a fish, going very high at times) but it didn't really click that maybe it had to do with mating and courtship.  When I reviewed the photos and did a bit of googling, it became apparent that what we observed (and what I photographed) was the aerial courtship display known as a "sky-dance" which culminated with the male bringing a fresh fish to his life partner.  (You can read more about it here - since it's easier to read than a re-hashed version provided by me:  Osprey Information).

 

It wasn't until I saw the photos at home that I realized the osprey had brought a whole fish to the nest. When I was observing the various Osprey (including one particularly fun chase) the bird was carrying a half-eaten fish (a very common sight) and I assumed this is what the bird had brought back - but to my surprise it was a nice whole in-tact fish (species unknown).  What interests me is that the Bald Eagle seemed to have no interest in bothering this Osprey (that had the fresh fish) or the other osprey with the half eaten fish.  Perhaps it was too windy to bother, or the Osprey were too far away, or the Eagle just didn't "notice" but it was interesting to see the male Osprey bring a whole fish to the nest with the Bald eagle in view (albeit nearly a 1/4 mile away).

Another fun observation was multiple chases between Osprey.  One would land on the marsh and hangout for a bit - out of the brunt of the wind - until another bird came in and would goad it into a chase.  I believe I counted six (6) different Osprey in the hour that I was there - including one who was making passes at the female on the nest.  I'm aware of at least one nest on the south side of the Eagle nest - but not sure of others but clearly they are around.  What's really amazing is that even when I moved back to NY (12 years ago) Osprey were not terribly common.  Sure there were plenty of occupied nesting platforms - but the thought of so many Osprey fighting for territory with multiple nests in view?  That's something new.  I can only hope we reach that point with Bald Eagles in the not-so-distant future.

Kestrels and Ospreys - They're everywhere!

Around 12:30 my wife and I arrived at EPCAL to do a quick drive through and see what was around and looking for any signs of fox kits.  No fox (just a few fat groundhogs) but there were kestrels - everywhere!  It's my guess that there were at least 30 on the western runway - meaning at least double that when taking the eastern runway into consideration.  There were almost certainly more kestrels to the north at the old radar station and at the cemetery, as these are the other large "grassland" areas around.  While Kestrels can be found throughout the year at EPCAL, during migration (spring and fall) the numbers can really swell.

The problem with Kestrels (at least in these parts) is that they're very skittish and seemingly never stop moving.  There are perches for them everywhere (they really love the old common mullien stalks) and I noticed a few butterflies and dragonflies which they surely are feeding on in addition to small birds and rodents.  There were plenty of red-tailed hawks as well, though they were very high in the sky.  Only saw a handful of Eastern Meadowlarks, and none seemed to be calling out which was a bit disappointing, so with only 1 "decent" shot from EPCAL (despite many attempts) I moved on to Woodhull dam in Riverside which I've heard about in the past but never actually had visited.

The dam is on an offshoot of the Peconic River as it branches off south toward Wildwood Lake.  When the alewife run, they concentrate at this dam in large numbers and make it very easy for the Osprey.  As soon as I arrived I could smell fish in the air - and there was someone canoeing/fishing on the other side of the dam - but I couldn't didn't see any fish despite having my polarized dragon sunglasses on.  While looking in the water I heard the unmistakeable "chirp" of an osprey, and looked up - sure enough there was a big ol' Osprey staring at me.  I actually had to take a step back in order to get the bird completely in the frame (just look at those talons!).  The bird couldn't have cared less that I was there and kept cocking its head to look down at the water, just waiting to pounce on an unsuspecting fish.

Unfortunately for me, the bird wasn't the only one who was really hungry - so I left after a couple minutes (another osprey came by and perched a bit further north, imploring the same tactic).  I'd like to come back again in the near future as the very cold winter has kept water temps low and the alewife push hasn't reached its peak yet.

On the way home we drove down Dune Road in search of the Snowy Owl that had been reported as recently as yesterday, but to no avail.  We didn't look to hard but would have been nice to see it regardless.  A few egrets were the only birds of note as we packed it in for the day, deciding not to stop and check in on the Bald Eagle as it was getting pretty late in the day.  I'm hoping to get out once or twice this week in the evening to take advantage of the warm light and sun that sets a bit later each night.

Neighborhood Merlin

A few weeks ago I was out the door a few minutes early on a Friday morning in order to get to a Natural History conference - as I got to a stop sign a block away I saw a small bird on a neighbors snag and turned down that road to get a closer look.  Sure enough - a Merlin, and it had prey.  I called my wife and asked if she could get my camera bag and bring it to the door to save me from having to go get it... a couple minutes later I was photographing the bird as it consumed what I later determined to be a House Sparrow (non-native/invasive species, so as prey items go this was a great choice!).

On my way home from the conference it was snowing and I hoped the Merlin would be there - but I wasn't in luck.  My wife returned home a few minutes later to report she saw an Osprey nearby so I headed out to try and get a shot of that bird in the snow which certainly would make for an unusual shot.  By the time I got to the location the Osprey was gone, but as I returned back home, who was there waiting for me?  The Merlin.

The next morning as I left to go look for birds - I lucked out a 3rd time.  There was the Merlin on the same tree and this time the sun was actually shining!  What a treat.

Haven't seen the bird since (it has likely migrated north as they don't breed this far south) but this morning while running near the Swan River I saw two falcons - I'm quite confident they were Peregrines but have only seen them around here once and it's possible they were Merlin.  Either way, anytime you get to see a falcon this close (to me AND to my home) it's a real treat.