It’s that time of year when the Osprey have returned to
Oregon and we get to watch their fishing and nesting activities. While birding
at Wallace Marine Park in West Salem yesterday afternoon we noticed an Osprey
on the nest at the ball field crying away.
The next thing that we noticed was a second bird in the air, and it had
a fish in its talons. It flew to the
nest for a few seconds and then flew away with the fish. Our first thought was
that it was the male bringing a fish to his mate on the nest. Did she reject his
offering? The thing that nagged at us was that both Jeanette and I thought we
could see the “necklace” on the bird with the fish indicating it would be a
female. It’s too early in the year for the bird on the nest to have been a
juvenile, and I think it’s way too big of a stretch of the imagination to think
that an adult male would be just sitting there asking to be fed. :)
So what is your best guess then?
ReplyDeleteWe have a split decision at our house. Jeanette thinks juvenile, which could be support by the begging behavior and perhaps the lighter coloring. However, I think it’s too late in the year for that behavior to still be going on because it has had to fly here possibly all the way from Mexico. Everything happened so fast I didn’t get enough photos, but I think the bird on the right brought in the fish, and is possibly a larger bird which would be in keeping with a lot of other birds where the female is typically larger than the male. So, I’m sticking to the idea that it’s a male, possibly a young one begging to be fed, perhaps playing the sympathy card.
DeleteLast evening, I observed a pair of Ospreys on the nesting platform in the West Salem Little League ball park complex. This existing nest has been productive for a number of years. The pair was adding additional sticks to the nest. I hope our new osprey platform out at the West Salem Audubon Nature Reserve soon shows some activity. Lee
ReplyDeleteLee, where is the West Salem Little League complex?
DeleteAt the confluence of Patterson St NW and 9th Street NW is a good place to park. From here look northward for the platform mounted on a power poll. This area is kind of northwest of Walgreen's on Wallace Road. These birds are easy to see on the nest or on the wing.
ReplyDelete