This post is now updated to reflect the correct information given by bayphotosbydonna in her comments below. Thank you Donna!
This morning I drove to the Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge. Many of the Osprey nests were empty, perhaps because the young chicks have fledged and have begun migrating South with their parents. At one nest, however, the male Osprey had caught a big fish.
Male Osprey with big fish.
He ate the head of the fish while I could hear the young chick clamoring for food at their nest nearby. It called out to its father, asking him to hurry up and bring the fish back to their nest.
Osprey chick calling out to father.
He went on eating.
… and eating. That sashimi must really taste good.
Osprey chick called him several more times.
Finally, after waiting 25 minutes, it flew over to his perch.
It attempted to peck at the fish.
He flew away. Osprey parents usually hold back giving food to their fledged chicks to encourage them to be independent and go find food on their own.
The chick could only look at him. Neither of them noticed a juvenile Great Black-backed Gull flying toward their nest.
Osprey chick dejected.
Meanwhile, the Gull had snatched something from the Osprey nest.
The chick saw the intruder and immediately flew back. It made repeated alarm calls, but the Gull had already left.
Osprey father came back with the fish.
The chick was very agitated, spreading out its wings.
Not a happy Osprey chick.
When I left them, it was still fussing around the nest, not bothering to eat the fish.
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