Spring Scenes at the Refuge

Tags

Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, osprey, photography, postaday

Last Saturday was a very breezy and cold day, with wind chill temperatures below freezing. It was also low tide when the refuge did not offer its best views.

Part of Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge at low tide.

Most birds were sheltering from the wind and cold, although many Canada Geese were strolling around, showing off this year’s offspring. The Goslings were busy foraging and tasting food.

Gosling 2021.

The Osprey nests were empty at first sight and, for a moment, I thought they had flown to warmer places. However, when looking again, I could see part of a head peeking out from one nest. A female Osprey was chirping, her head clearly visible as she scanned the sky for her mate. I decided to stop and wait, but kept my window closed because of the strong wind.

Suddenly I saw the male Osprey flying in with a fish in his talons. By the time I got the window rolled down and my camera out he was already landing on the female bird.

Male Osprey landing on female Osprey.

The next photos show the Osprey mating rituals which lasted less than a minute.

Male Osprey jumping off female Osprey.

Male Osprey landing on female, again.

Male Osprey on top of female. Meanwhile she was probably beginning to eat the fish he had brought.

Male Osprey, business finished.

He landed a short distance away, watching her for a few minutes before flying off again, perhaps to find for more fish for her.

Monochrome Monday

Tags

osprey, photography, postaday

It’s been a long time for Monochrome Monday, but here is an image that is made for it: a mother Osprey watching over her sleeping chick.

Osprey and chick.

Back to Refuge and Other Birds

Tags

Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, goldfinch, house finch, northern cardinal, osprey, photography, postaday, red-winged blackbird, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, snowy egret

This week I went to the Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge again, after a 5-month hiatus. Greenhead flies were already out and I had to keep my car windows closed, except for brief moments to take a photo. Shots taken through the windows turned out badly. Here are some better ones taken with the window quickly open.

Snowy Egret.

Male Osprey keeping an eye on his nest.

Female Osprey feeding the young ones.

Since I was inside the car and not wearing a mask, a female Red-winged Blackbird could not resist acting like a Karen.

Female Red-winged Blackbird: “Wear your MASK!”

Following are photos taken recently at home of other birds.

Male Northern Cardinal.

Male House Finch.

Goldfinch.

Ruby-throated Hummingbirds have been coming in greater numbers. Capturing their flight is usually a challenge, but here are some of the better shots.

Female Ruby-throated Hummingbird.

Female Ruby-throated Hummingbird.

Female Ruby-throated Hummingbird.

Female Ruby-throated Hummingbird.

Silent Sunday

Tags

colonial lake, osprey, photography, postaday

Osprey hunting.

Osprey Diving.

Osprey diving.

Osprey caught fish.

Osprey with caught fish.

Osprey with caught fish.

Osprey with caught fish.

Some Favorites of 2018

Tags

Black-crowned Night Heron, golden retriever, gosling, great blue heron, great sand dunes national park, lotus, northern cardinal, osprey, photography, postaday, squirrel

The following photos are some of the favorites that you, my WordPress readers, have either liked the posts where they were posted in, clicked on their images to see them in larger size, or mentioned them in your comments.

Northern Cardinal, June 2018.

White Lotus, August 2018.

Ospreys, June 2018.

Goslings, May 2018.

Black-crowned Night-Heron, August 2018.

Great Sand Dunes National Park, October 2015.

Great Blue Heron, December 2018.

Squirrel, October 2018.

Jackie, the Golden Retriever, and frisbee, April 2018.

Wordless Wednesday

Tags

Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, osprey, photography, postaday

Male Osprey.

Juvenile Osprey.

Male Osprey.

Male Osprey.

Ospreys.

Male Osprey

Green Beach

Tags

beach plants, osprey, photography, postaday

This year rain has been plentiful in our area, and plants everywhere have been responding gleefully. Last week I went to Barnegat Lighthouse State Park and was surprised to find more than half of the beach covered with vegetation. Here’s what it looked like.

Beach at Barnegat Lighthouse.

Various plants were thriving in the sand. In normal years they grew further inland, but this year you had to walk through them to get to the ocean.

Plants at Barnegat Lighthouse State Park.

Plants at Barnegat Lighthouse State Park.

Plant at Barnegat Lighthouse State Park.

While taking these photos, I heard wings flapping up in the sky. It was an Osprey carrying a freshly caught fish back to its nest.

Osprey carrying fish past Barnegat Lighthouse.

Osprey Mother

Tags

Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, osprey, photography, postaday

In yesterday’s post, I wrote that I did not see the Osprey mother while the father was feeding the chicks. Today, with more time I saw the final picture I took of the father and the chick, and he was looking up at the sky.

Male Osprey and chick.

He had seen his mate! I did take a picture of her right after that, but she was so far away that I almost discarded the shot. However, as you can see below, she was flying in with an even bigger fish.

Female Osprey with catfish.

Late Breakfast at Osprey Nest

Tags

catfish, Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, osprey, photography, postaday

Yesterday I arrived at the refuge, near the nest of the Ospreys I have been following this year. The two chicks were not visible, but the two parents were there, with the mother making loud calls.

“Honey, the kids are hungry! Time to go fishing!”

He seemed oblivious to her calls. After about twenty long minutes he finally flew away. She watched him soar toward the marshes.

“He better catch something good!”

Some twelve minutes later, he was back, with no fish!

Male Osprey landing back on nest.

“Honey, I tried, but …”

In no time she sent him back out again. Another half hour passed during which she flew around to look for him, leaving the nest without adults protecting it.

Osprey nest without parents. The two chicks were in it but not visible from my angle.

The two chicks were making noises and eventually stood up in the nest.

Osprey chicks in nest.

Finally, the male Osprey came back with a big catfish.

Male Osprey with catfish.

Young Ospreys looking at their meal delivered by male Osprey.

The father proceeded to tear out pieces of catfish and fed them to one chick while the other waited for its turn without complaining. It would not be fed until the first chick had finished eating.

Male Osprey feeding chick.

I did not see the female Osprey again, but she was probably somewhere nearby either fishing or eating her fish. I had spent roughly an hour and a half watching the nest and it was time for me to go.

Osprey Feeding Time

Tags

Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, osprey, photography, postaday

I arrived at the nest just as the male Osprey brought in a fish it had caught that morning, presumably after it had eaten the head. The female Osprey was waiting with two lanky and hungry young chicks.

Female Osprey with two chicks. Male was in the back after flying in the fish it had caught.

Having delivered breakfast, the male Osprey flew up to his perch, but he seemed to be nibbling something at his feet.

“What is he eating up there?”

Feeding time.

Mama feeding chicks while Papa watched out for intruders.

Osprey Feeding

Tags

Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, osprey, photography, postaday

She was incubating and clamoring for breakfast.

Female Osprey incubating, calling out for her mate.

Male Osprey flying nearby.

Male Osprey bringing part of fish. He had already eaten the fish head.

Male Osprey and part of fish. He flapped his wings and stayed up in the air.

Male Osprey descending:”Here’s your breakfast, dear!”

Male Osprey landing on nest.

As she ate, he pushed her aside to get an older piece of fish.

He took the older piece away to where he was eating before.

She went on eating her breakfast.

Ospreys vs Crows

Tags

crow, Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, osprey, photography, postaday

I saw the first Ospreys for this year at the refuge less than a week ago. One of them was very busy building her nest on a platform.

Osprey building nest. Atlantic City in background.

At another part of the refuge, a pair of Ospreys was making distinct noises. Was the female telling her mate to go fishing?

Pair of Ospreys.

After several minutes, he had enough and flew away to land on half of a fish that he must have brought in earlier and left on the ground not far from their nest .

Male Osprey landing toward part of a fish.

Male Osprey landing on part of a fish.

He just stood on the fish for a long time as she kept calling out to him. Was she still hungry?

Female Osprey calling her mate.

He would not budge, and at times appeared to take a nap!

Male Osprey.

She flew up to a top pole of the nest platform, and kept calling for him.

Female Osprey flying up.

He did not move until a Crow flew in.

Crow landing near male Osprey.

Another Crow showed up.

Two Crows surrounding male Osprey.

The Crows definitely wanted the rest of the fish but the Osprey held on. The female Osprey kept calling out.

Female Osprey: “Dear, you better hang on to that fish!”

He held on firmly.

Male Osprey: “Don’t worry! I got the situation under control here.”

Crows and Osprey.

One of the Crows started cawing, perhaps calling for reinforcement. The standoff went on for much longer, but I had to leave. Crows are known to attack Ospreys at times, so I am not sure whether these two Ospreys were able to keep their fish or not.

Osprey Drama – Continued

Tags

edwin b forstythe national wildlife refuge, osprey, photography, postaday

In my first Osprey Drama post, I wrongly attributed selfishness to the male Osprey who denied food to what I thought was his mate. As Donna pointed out, that younger Osprey was in fact an Osprey chick, his child. Adult Ospreys, male or female, encourage their fledglings to go find their own food by intentionally denying them the food they usually bring back to the nest. Once hungry enough the young ones have to fly out and find fish on their own.

Today I went back to the nest and found the father with another fish in his talon.

Osprey father with fish in his talon.

He kept looking around, as if searching for the young one.

He looked to his left.

He looked to his right.

I too waited for the young one to return to the nest, for almost 20 minutes. When I left him, he was still waiting.

Osprey at empty nest.

Osprey Drama

Tags

edwin b forstythe national wildlife refuge, great black-backed gull, osprey, photography, postaday

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.

Osprey Feeding Time

Tags

Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, osprey, photography, postaday

Just before I arrived at the Osprey nest, I saw the father finishing the head of a big fish that he had caught. He flew with the rest of it to the nest, handed it over to the mother, then perched up high, keeping watch.

Thank you dear!

Go on with your feeding. I’ll keep watch.

Open wide!

There! That will make you grow up to be a strong Osprey.

Osprey Season

Tags

Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, osprey, photography, postaday

Ospreys stay at the refuge from Spring to Fall, making their nests on platforms built for them. Last week I saw a pair at one of the nests which can easily be seen from Wildlife Drive. She was eating half of a fish that he had brought to her. He observed her for a while, then took off flying. He flew around the nest before circling back to her.

Ospreys: male circling back to female still eating half of a fish. She turned to watch him.

Ospreys: he landed on her back.

Ospreys: she held on to her morsel.

Ospreys: almost over.

Ospreys: done, he jumped back on the nest.

All of this love making lasted just a few seconds. In about two months I may be able to have pictures of Osprey chicks at this same nest. Note that the female was banded on one leg.

At another nest, a pair of Ospreys had already finished their breakfast and were just enjoying some down time.

Ospreys. 

Osprey (Not Peregrine Falcon)

Tags

Ocean City Welcome Center, osprey, photography, postaday

The pictures below are those of an Osprey, not a Peregrine Falcon as I originally had thought. Thanks to Donna, I now realize my mistake and made the necessary corrections.

Osprey soaring over Ocean City Welcome Center.

Osprey flying over Ocean City Welcome Center.

Osprey on the hunt.

Osprey diving toward prey.

Osprey Brunch

Tags

Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, osprey, photography, postaday

Ospreys have been back at the Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge for at least two weeks already. Yesterday, I saw four nests that had been built up by them with twigs and branches. At one of them, the male Osprey was eating a fish on a perch not far from the nest where the female was incubating. By the time I got set up with my camera and tripod, he had finished eating the head and took the rest of the fish to her.

Male Osprey taking fish to female.

Male Osprey bringing fish to female in nest.

Female Osprey: “I’m going to eat this nice fish. Meanwhile you keep an eye on my eggs, won’t you?”

Female Osprey flying away with fish.

She made a wide loop, perhaps making sure that the guy with the camera was harmless enough.

She circled back to the same perch he used and started eating.

After a bite, she stopped to check on her mate:”Dear, are you watching those eggs?”

“Sure thing, honey!”

Best of 2015 – Part 3

Tags

canada goose, egret, great blue heron, house wren, nuthatch, osprey, photography, postaday, red fox, snow geese

I take a lot of pictures of wildlife, so Part 3 of this series will be about the birds and animals that I have seen through my camera.

Mallards taking off from an icy pond, February 2015.

Great Egret and Snowy Egret, April 2015.

Ospreys mating, April 2015.

Young Red Foxes, May 2015.

Canada Goose and Gosling, May 2015.

Nuthatch pretending to sleep, June 2015.

House Wren holding meal for fledgeling, August 2015.

Sanderling, November 2015.

Great Blue Heron in Flight, December 2015.

Snow Geese in flight, December 2015.

Osprey Update

Tags

edwin b forstythe national wildlife refuge, osprey, photography, postaday

Eight weeks ago at the Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, the Osprey chicks were still small.

Osprey mother feeding chicks.

This past Monday, all three chicks have grown up. They appeared to be waiting for their parents who were out looking for fish.

Young Ospreys.

It was a hot day with lots of mosquitoes and flies attacking me constantly, so I didn’t stick around to wait for the parents to come back to their nest.

Osprey Chicks

Tags

edwin b forstythe national wildlife refuge, osprey, photography, postaday

Yesterday I finally saw young chicks in some of the Osprey nests at the Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge. The one shown below had two, possibly three, chicks who were very hungry.

Mother Osprey and chicks

Osprey mother feeding chick.

After a few minutes, the mother reminded her stoic mate that more fish was needed.

Mama Osprey: We need more food, dear. Will you go get more fish?

Handyman

Tags

Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, osprey, photography, postaday

A pair of Ospreys that I have been observing every time I drive through the Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge must have young chicks by now, although they remain unseen in their nest. Yesterday, the mother was not incubating but standing guard at one side of the nest.

Mother Osprey guarding nest. Atlantic City skyline is in background.

About a minute later, her mate, who is quite a handyman (handybird?) returned with some twigs to build up the nest even higher.

Male Osprey, the handyman, returning to nest with twigs.

He started rearranging things as she watched.

Handyman Osprey tinkering with nest.

Suddenly, she jumped in.

Female Osprey jumped into the nest.

She grabbed the remaining part of the fish which was her meal, after he had previously eaten the head.

Female Osprey snatching part of fish.

Holding the fish with her feet, she circled the nest.

Female Osprey flying around nest with fish gripped in her talons.

Then she landed back.

Female Osprey returning to nest with fish.

She proceeded to eat the fish while the handyman kept working on their nest.

Female Osprey eating fish while her mate worked on their nest.

The refuge has seven or more Osprey nests, but this couple has the best looking and well-built fortress.

Sharing a Meal

Tags

edwin b forstythe national wildlife refuge, osprey, photography, postaday

Yesterday at the Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge I stopped to check on an Osprey couple. At the same time, the male Osprey flew back to the nest with a sizable fish in his claws. He glided by the female who was sitting in the nest incubating.

Female Osprey incubating.

Then he went to a perch and proceeded to eat the head of the fish.

Male Osprey eating fish head.

After about 15 minutes, the male Osprey probably had its fill, stopped eating and defecated!

Male Osprey defecating.

Then he took the fish to his patient mate. She saw him flying to her and rose up in their nest.

Female Osprey getting up.

He gave her the fish.

Fish hand over.

She grabbed what remained of the fish and flew away to the same perch he had used.

Female Osprey leaving nest with fish.

At the perch, before she ate, she looked back one more time to make sure that he was going to sit on their eggs.

Female Osprey checking on her mate before eating: Dear, are you sitting down?

He of course sat down and took his turn incubating.

Male Osprey preparing to incubate: Don’t worry honey, I am doing my part.

Only then did she start eating.

Ospreys

Tags

osprey, photography, postaday

Yesterday, driving toward the end of Wildlife Drive at the Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, I saw this Osprey perched on top of her nest.

Female Osprey waiting for mate to come back.

A photographer who had been there since sunrise told me that the Osprey was part of a pair at the nest. They had breakfast earlier, and then he had flown away somewhere. The gentleman told me that he was due back “soon”, and as he said that I saw the male Osprey flying toward the nest. We both clicked away with our cameras, but I was not expecting to take the following kind of photos.

Ospreys starting a family.

Ospreys…

Ospreys…

Ospreys…

Ospreys: it’s over.

Total elapsed time: 12 seconds.

Nest Builders

Tags

Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, osprey, photography, postaday

Today I saw this couple of Ospreys at the Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge building a nest. At first, he was just watching her arranging their nest.

Ospreys building nest: he was just watching or waiting for orders from her.

Then she told him what she needed, and he took off.

Osprey took off to look for nest materials.

He soon flew back clutching a branch.

Honey, do you like this?

After a few minutes, she sent him off again.

Honey, look what I found!

2014 Photos: Odds and Ends – 3

Tags

hummingbird, osprey, photography, postaday

More odds and ends, photos that did not make it to this blog during the past year. I took all of the following photos at the Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge.

Juvenile ospreys

Adult osprey

Adult osprey

Adult osprey taking off

Finally, a flower I could not identify. If you know what it is please tell me in a comment.

Wild flower. Updated 06-Jan-2015: It is Queen Anne’s Lace as pointed out in a comment by Bà Tám below.