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.
bluebrightly said:
I apologize for missing so many posts from you lately – I’m very behind on my email. This one is terrific!
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neihtn2012 said:
Thank you! Being late means that you read the correct version of this post.
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sloppy buddhist said:
Wonderful documenting so beautiful 🤓😀
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neihtn2012 said:
Thank you very much!
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bayphotosbydonna said:
Beautiful captures, Hien! My favorite bird and the bird that started my ‘birding’. 🙂 I’d like to nicely let you know the speckled Osprey is a chick, not the female partner. The female looks identical to the male except for a more speckled chest or ‘necklace’ as it can be called. Not being able to tell on your adult with no direct photo of the chest, it still is most likely the male parent. The female usually departs first mid to late July, while the ‘dad’ hangs back, keeping an eye on and waiting for the chicks to leave for migration. He will refuse to feed the chicks, as by now they should know how to capture and feed themselves. But you know how teenagers can be, as your photos show! LOL Again, awesome captures and beautiful detail!!!
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neihtn2012 said:
Thank you Donna! I updated the post and the photo captions according to the information you provided. One thing I should have also noticed was the orange color of the chick’s eyes, while adult Ospreys have yellow eyes. I am still a long off from being a birder.
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bayphotosbydonna said:
🙂
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Alexa said:
🙂 Very exiting story cached on camera! Beautiful shots! I looked at them with lots of interests!
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quietsolopursuits said:
Wow! What a series of images! I looked at the image of the gull with something in its beak, and it looks like old food scraps or part of the nest to me, not one of the chicks. I’m surprised that a gull would risk visiting an osprey nest, it was lucky to have escaped as it did. Great story telling through great images.
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neihtn2012 said:
Thanks Jerry! I read that those Great Black-backed Gulls are quite willing to raid other birds’ nests.
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Nick Hunter said:
Superb images and story Hien. Love the crisp detail and vivid colors throughout. The male in flight, approaching the nest with a kill, is a personal favorite.
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neihtn2012 said:
Thanks Nick! It was worth waiting for half an hour to get those pictures.
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Amy said:
Wow, great captures, Hien! Hope the chicks are okay.
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neihtn2012 said:
Thanks Amy!
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Eliza Waters said:
Such high drama! Looks like he caught a flounder or sole, and not a good parent not to share! Great shots in this series, Hein. It looks to me that the gull got a scrap and not a chick (I hope!).
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neihtn2012 said:
I hope you are right Eliza! In other news, the gulls killed two newborn Piping Plovers near the Barnegat Lighthouse …
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Eliza Waters said:
😦 Darn… Law of the jungle, I guess.
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RV John said:
Absolutely great series of photos, nicely done!
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neihtn2012 said:
Thank you John!
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nhi said:
Great story. Amazing capture.
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neihtn2012 said:
Thank you Anh Nhi! You are still up at that hour?
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katelon said:
Wow, what a drama. Is that selfish behavior normal for the male Osprey? Hope the chicks were ok. How amazing to witness all that and get it on camera.
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neihtn2012 said:
Katelon, so far I have not seen any male Osprey unwilling to share. Usually they bring the fish back to the nest before the female has to fly out and nag them.
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RMW said:
Reality TV!
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neihtn2012 said:
Indeed …
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Rebel Girl said:
Thanks for sharing. Great post!
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neihtn2012 said:
You are welcome. Thank you for commenting!
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de Wets Wild said:
A real-life osprey soap-drama. Brilliantly captured and told, Hien!
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neihtn2012 said:
Thank you Dries!
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loisajay said:
whew, Hien! What a story you captured. The chicks were OK as far as you could tell?
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neihtn2012 said:
Lois, not being able to see into the nest, I could not tell. The chicks became quiet, maybe they were just scared out of their wits. At least I hope so.
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loisajay said:
me, too.
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