Osprey Tales

How many times do I have to reassure you?
I will be there!

Every year The Doctor worries that I will not return.
Usually, just as this year, he has reconstructed, or renovated, the Taj Mahal. I can’t wait to see it this year.

• Camera # 1
http://northriverdeckcam.axiscam.net:9000

• Camera # 2
http://northriverosprey.axiscam.net:8000

My concern is, “Will Jonathan meet me there?”
Jonathan is young. I do not know how well he knows the tricks of survival.
Migration is an arduous and dangerous process.

Why do we migrate?

Because places like the tropics are too limited in space for breeding. We need lots of space when raising a family, and northern breeding grounds offer more room, food, and nesting habitats than the wintering grounds in the South.
So, we migrate from areas of low or decreasing resources to areas of high or increasing resources. The primary resource being sought is food. To survive we must migrate to a climate where the fish are more assessable.
H. Sapiens do not understand the mechanisms initiating migratory behavior. They think migration may be triggered by a combination of changes in day length, lower temperatures, and changes in food supply and/or genetic predisposition.
Ha ha. That’s funny. They haven’t figured it out yet.

Joyfully,
Harriett

So many new readers.

I feel I should introduce myself again but I hardly know where to begin.

First of all, I want you all to know that I am a bird of prey. A bird of prey is called a “Raptor”.

Somehow ten or so years ago a H. Sapiens produced a movie that depicted Raptors, especially my distant ancestor Velociraptor, in a dark light.   The truth is our role is crucial in maintaining the balance of nature.

Now, there’s nothing wrong with being a Raptor. In fact, I’m proud of it. We are all characterized by keen vision that allows us to detect rodents and fish during flight and by powerful talons and beaks

Here are a few other Raptors with which you may be familiar:

Bald Eagle

 Golden Eagle

Falcon                                                                                   Hawks                                                           

And several others:

• Kiteshave long wings and relatively weak legs.
• Buzzardsare medium-large raptors with robust bodies and broad wings.
• Harriersare large, slender hawk-like birds with long tails and long thin legs.
• Vulturesare carrion-eating raptors
• Owlsare variable-sized, typically night-specialized hunting birds. They fly almost silently due to their special feather structure that reduces turbulence. They have particularly acute hearing.
• Merlins the Merlin is a small species of falcon from the Northern Hemisphere
• There is even Raptor known as The Secretary Bird.
• And more.

Regards,

Harriett

Wow, I am surprised to see how many new readers we have.  Things certainly have changed since I started writing in January 2014.

In the old days, before The Doctor and I mastered telepathy, he simply left his office window open so I could slip in and use his keyboard.

One night, The Doctor was not home but his H. Sapien sweetheart was.  She was asleep in the bedroom.  I could hear her breathing. The sound was something between heavy breathing and a snore. Her breath sounds gave me confidence that she was sound asleep.

I flew in very quietly.

The H. Sapien that lives with the Doctor, in his giant nest on the bank of the North River, does not know about our arrangement.   The Doctor and I had worked the details out several months before this particular evening.

The entire giant nest was dark. Pitch black in fact, except for the bluish hue glowing from The Doctor’s computer.

“Peck, peck, click, peck, peck, click, click, space.  Click, peck, space, peck, back-peck.” Peck, tab and spellcheck.

The Doctor’s keyboard sounded too loud.

“Someone is looking at me,” I sensed.

I rotated my head with perfect composure towards the office door.

Sure enough, the big blond canine that lives there too, was staring at me.  His eyes were that of a sleepy dog.

“Shhh”… Said I.”

And obediently the big blond canine “shhh’ed”.

“You’re not the brightest bulb, are you?”.

Unperturbed, with his big brown retriever eyes unquestioning, Marley left the office and climbed back on the living room sofa, where he was not allowed.

Hardly a sound was made.

I think Marley felt happy not to get caught on the sofa, just as I was happy not caught using The Doctor’s keyboard.

Here is a video osprey lover, V.W., sent The Doctor two years ago.

It’s nice to hear from you, Female H. Sapien. (She lives with The Doctor in his Giant Nest on the West bank of the North River). The Doctor and his Osprey loving friends have indeed upgraded the cameras and the blog site.  I hope you like them.  I sense the Doctor is walking around with a smug glow of self-congratulations.

Migration is a dangerous part of our life cycle.

Hazards during migration include storms, hunting, collisions with man-made objects such as wind turbines and starvation.

The risk of starvation is increased when stopover sites are lost through climate change or loss of habitat to land development or agriculture.

Ozzie did not survive the spring migration last year.  During my bereavement, I met Jonathan early last spring.  Because he is younger, and we were in a new relationship, we did not have any eggs. We are hoping we’ll have eggs this year.

Watch the doctor’s camera as we build our nest.

Here is a picture of the newly renovated Taj Mahal.

Camera # 1

http://northriverdeckcam.axiscam.net:9000

“Well, I guess I need to address what everyone is thinking. Not only thinking but asking, or rather demanding, to know what has become of Ozzie.

“Ozzie has perished. There really isn’t any other way to put it. Several of you have realized it on your own.

Nature is Nature.

We Osprey face many perils as we travel between breeding and wintering grounds each year.

The Doctor’s backyard

Go to Google, Bing or Yahoo and type in “Osprey Tales”.

Click on “The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriett”.

Click on “Subscribe by E-mail”.

The Cameras are just below “Subscribe by E-mail”.

Bookmark this page and check it from time to time.

The Story is about to begin.

Harriett Raptor 8-year-old mother of five, lifelong mate Ozzie Raptor until he perished last year.  Fluent in telepathy with The Doctor and possessor of epigenetic memory. She is an intellectual, a scholar, philosopher and thinker; a wise, learned osprey especially distinguished for her expertise on the H. sapien problem.

Hello friends, both old and new. No doubt you have noticed spring is here, no matter what that groundhog had to say.  I’m heading home. Can’t wait to see you. The doctor and his friends have remodeled the Taj Mahal; I can’t wait to see it. I’ll have to tell you about Ozzie later. I’m still in a state of grief but with Jonathan’s help I feel I will be all right. Sorry about last season; ie,no eggs, but Jonathan is very young and I was in a state of bereavement.

I feel both physically and psychologically healthy now. I can’t wait to get home to see you all.

Love Harriett

Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore –
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of someone gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door –
“‘Tis some visitor,” I muttered, “tapping at my chamber door –
Only this and nothing more.”