Osprey Tales

Migrating birds can cover thousands of miles in their annual travels, often traveling the same course year after year with little deviation.

First-year birds make their very first migration on their own. Somehow they can find their winter home despite never having seen it before, and return the following spring to where they were born.

The secrets of their amazing navigational skills aren’t fully understood, partly because birds combine several different types of senses when they navigate. Birds can get compass information from the sun, the stars, and by sensing the earth’s magnetic field. They also get information from the position of the setting sun and from landmarks seen during the day.

Harriett has finally agreed to tell us about Quantum Biology.  “Nature figured it out first,” she teased the Doctor.

“Something’s not right,” said Jesse.

Abigail had the same feeling.  She felt a restlessness, a need to move.

“Where the heck is everyone, anyway?”  She continued.

David was picking apart a speckled trout, oblivious to the conversation.  Abby turned to look at him.  She noticed he was getting fat.

“Maybe he’s smarter than we think,” she thought.

“It’s Zugunruhe, said Jesse.

Zugunruhe is a German compound word consisting of Zug (move, migration) and Unruhe (anxiety, restlessness).  In ethology it describes anxious behavior in migratory birds during the normal migration period.

“We’d better get a move on,”continued Jesse

“Move on to where?” rejoined Abby.

“I don’t know,”  Jesse retorted. “But I do know we have to start flying south.”

David looked up from his fish. He has gotten conspicuously overweight over the past 4 weeks.  He looked at his brother and girlfriend and could see that they were having a serious conversation.  Serious conversations are not part of David’s forte. David went back to his fish; he never leaves a meal incompletely consumed.

“In defense of David,” said the Doctor.  “Look at his neck feathers.  See how they are still light brown. This may simply be a case of delayed maturation.”

“Fly south and stay overland as much as possible,” contemplated Jesse.  “Trust your instincts.”

Abigail immediately knew he was correct.

David interrupted.

“The fishing is good here,” said he.  “And besides, Zugunruhe doesn’t apply to us. Were not German.”

Jesse and Abigail simply ignored David.  They knew he would come with them when the time came and the time is near, very near.

The Doctor

  
“Ozzie left Friday; Harriett left Saturday.” said the Doctor.

The three juveniles are about to begin their rough, harsh adult lives, that which makes life beautiful. Abigail continues to hang around the Taj Mahal. She and David seem like a couple. Jesse came back from where ever, and is now also using the Taj Mahal for his home base. I don’t think reality has sunk in yet. All day Sunday and Monday the juveniles frolicked in the early autumn sunshine, like little H. sapien children in a playground.

O&H recognize the the signs:

1. Seasonal change
2. Changes in food supply
3. Changes in day length
4. Secret genetic sequences that have evolved since the last ice age are producing hormones affecting their brains (zugunruhe).
5. Changes in the Earth’s magnetic field.
6. The bottom line is H. sapiens have no clue why and how birds migrate and navigate. But I’m just throwing out a few ideas. If Harriet would open up to me a little more on the subject, I would really have something interesting to say.

Anyway, on with the story. O&H decided to get off to an early start.  Instinct said, “it is time to go.”

Harriett is a little worried about David, but she figures if he sticks with Abigail his chances of a successful migration are good.   Remember the dismal statistics for survival at one year for Pandion haliaetus.

Neither Ozzie nor Harriet worry about Jesse. Jesse is tough and aggressive; it’s the way you need to be with Mother Nature…..”Mother Nature…… and I have serious unresolved issues with Mother Nature,” said the Doctor.

Jesse reminds Harriett of her father. She is sure Jesse is the one that will carry on The Mission.  Harriet made it clear to Jesse that he must learn telepathy and practice it with the Doctor.   Not that Harriett is feeling bad or even tired, but any wise bird knows to plan for unforeseen events.   It is sort of an insurance policy, a contingency plan.

Here are a few pictures from Sunday and Monday. I hope you enjoy them.

 
Morning

 
Noon

 
Abigail, David and Jesse

Evening

No one spends the night here anymore

Empty Nest

Preening feathers is an important activity for many birds especially aquatic birds.. Birds rub their bill against an oily sac at the base of the upper tail feathers, called a “preen gland,” and distribute oil over their feathers. They adjust the feathers for flight and oil them for insulation. Oily feathers are especially beneficial for birds who have considerable contact with water.

Preening gland of Osprey

Preening Gland of Great Horned Owl

“Look at my preened feathers,” said Harriett.

“You can have feathers like this too, if you make the time, effort and use your uropygeal gland judiciously.”

“Everybody’s doing it!”

“You should try it,” recommended Harriett.

“Jesse appears to have left us early,” remarked Harriett.  “I have not seen him for a week.”

“Abigail is spending all her time with us at the Taj Mahal.  Sometimes, the very aggressive and strongest juveniles leave their nest early.  I suspect Jesse has found nest with a pretty young female 10 month old.

Ozzie

Ozzie is not crazy about Abigail, but he is tolerant, tolerant and impressed. Not only can she provide for herself, but she brings back extra to the nest almost every day.

“Abigail is good for David,” thought Ozzie.

Abigail fishing

Just yesterday she brought back a Spanish mackerel, the first one they’ve had all summer.  It was darn good too. Since then they have had several, all brought home by Abby. You can see their spines in the nest.

“She has one heck of a squawk,” thinks Ozzie.

“It seems like every time I turn around her beak is going. She can talk about anything and everything.  Why is her voice louder that everyone else? I personally think it’s very annoying, but David does not seem to mind.”

Abigail reminds Ozzie of his great aunt Bertha who talked nonstop and never said anything.

Harriett

“I need to tell you what to expect,” said Harriett.  “I don’t want you lovely readers to be shocked or upset over what might happen in the next 4 to 6 weeks.”

“I would start tonight, but the doctor has just crawled out of bed and plans to usurp the computer. Well, I guess I can’t complain; after all, it is his computer.  I was having a good time practicing my telekinesis. The most important thing is to encourage and promote the Doctor’s health.  Without him The Mission will be a Mission Impossible.

It has been a peaceful weekend at the Taj Mahal.

Situated in the North River, 500 yards from the Doctor’s giant nest, where he lives with the Female Homo sapien that keeps him straight, O&H are on duty.

Taj Mahal August 2015

Telepathy between Harriett and the Doctor is clear and as fast as fiber optics.

I think it can be said that the two of them have mastered the art. They have been discussing everything from the local weather to The Mission.

Jesse is following in Ozzie’s talon steps.  I would not be surprised if one day Jesse rivals his father’s reputation as the greatest fisherman on the Atlantic flyway.

Abigail is spending much of her time with the Raptors at the Taj Mahal.  O&H have become quite fond of her.  Sure she can be hardheaded, stubborn and bird brained at times, but David has become smitten.  Harriett thinks it’s a good thing, but she worries about David’s lack of aggressiveness and fortitude.

“Could David ever defend his mate and nest against the likes of Ivan the Terrible?” She thinks.  It takes a tough bird to survive in this world.

Harriett thinks about her father.

“Talk about tough! You don’t know what tough means,” thought Harriett.

The Doctor has more to tell………….but not right now.

Alert!

Harriet is typing away on the Doctor’s keyboard in an effort to catch his attention. Somehow, Harriet knew that her telekinesis would be necessary one day.

“Shoot!” thought Harriett. Why is the Doctor not responding to my Save the World telepathic thoughts?

“I missed the babies this morning. Questions: Will they return, back and forth, to the nest during the next few weeks? Did you get a glimpse of the “visiting” baby a few days ago? Was that a bit strange for a baby to visit another nest or quite normal? Can you tell if the guys are hanging around your area even if they aren’t in the nest? When will everyone leave? Do any of the osprey’s stay over and Winter in the area? Just wondering in TN where our babies on the TN river have left as well.  Thanks so much for making this happen and eager for next season.  Lucinda in Knoxville”

Dear Lucinda from Tennessee,

The Doctor is erratically indisposed at this time. He has become obsessed with a concept in quantum physics called “entanglement.” He thinks it may be applicable to biology and explain some of the mysteries of migratory bird navigation. It is hard to distract him from the subject.

My apologies.

Nonetheless it is my pleasure and privilege to respond to your astute obsevations.
I am very pleased that you noticed our juvenile visitor last Sunday. I was surprised to see her too. She calls herself Abigail. David is quite enamored, but Jesse ignores her completely. The only thing Jesse wants to do is fish. Jesse thinks his father is the greatest, the greatest of all fishermen. This of course is true. If Jesse can become half my fisherman, he and his family will never go hungry.

Abigail’s nest is on the first green channel marker on the North West side of middle marsh, marking the way into core sound. I think it is Number 64. It’s nearly 2 miles away, way outside of the territory Ozzie claims.

Abigail seems to be a sweet girl, but she seems tough and determined too. She has to drag David out of the nest to go fishing.

“David! You better get with it!”

Somehow Abigail and Jesse realized they have a not so easy migration just 3 or 4 weeks ahead of them.   David appears nonchalant, not a worry in the world .  Abigail is concerned David may be a statistic this time next year. She is very fond of David and does not want this to happen.

I have much more to tell you but I must leave the Doctor’s computer now. He and the Female H. sapien that lives with him are about to usurp the only 2 functional computers in the giant nest, so I must discontinue my telekinesis. However, I promise to get back to you soon to respond to some of your other inquiries.

Lucinda from Tennessee, you have been a faithful friend from the beginning. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your friendship.

Love,
Harriett Raptor

The first thing Doctor does each day upon arriving home from work, is check on O & H and family. He winds back his DVR to sunrise and then using 2x, 4x and 16x  fast-forward, he reviews the day.  It is like the Keystone Cops in modern day life.

Today was most spectacular, breathtaking.  The Doctor regrets not having the time to meticulously rewind and record the various awesome events of each day.

“Sad; should not be.” said Triple O.

“Who said that?” Asked the Doctor.

There was no response.

Ozzie brought extra sticks to the nest. Harriett expertly arranged them.  The walls of the nest are now high and steep.  The Doctor saw Jesse helping his mother arrange the new nest material. He seemed to have an instinct for placing each piece exactly where it would function most effectively. Is He a She? The perimeter of the nest rose sharply.

“Doctor,” transmitted Harriett.  “I think you should get your priorities straight.”

“What?”  Thought the Doctor.  ” Are you telepathizing to me?”

“Yes, you! dumb, dumb!”

“Hey Harriett, don’t call me dumb.  I don’t like it.”

The Doctor had heard this, “you are working too hard,” before. He had heard it from his Bridge teacher, the Female H. sapien that lives with him and the Little Voice in his anterior-lateral cerebral cortex.

“Why don’t you get a job that gives you weekends off as well as two days a week off?” The Voices said.

“Are you hearing voices?” asked the Female H. Sapien.

“No!, no! Of course not!” Stammered the Doctor.

“I’ve never heard of a job like that,” the Doctor thought back .

The Female H. sapien that lives with the Doctor in his giant nest on the West Bank of the North River, thrust a contract in front of him, as he was sitting at his desk. She handed him a pen and pointed to a line at the bottom.

“Sign here,” she said.

The Doctor signed on the line that had “Signature of employee” written beneath it.

“What was that? “Asked the Doctor.

“Never you mind,” the Female H. sapien replied.

“Okay,”

And the Doctor went about his business.

All birds – from the tiny hummingbird to the giant albatross – have the same basic feather groupings.

There are four basic wing shapes and all birds fall into a semblance of one of the four configurations.

The size and shape of wings give clues to how the bird lives:

1. Long and wide wings are used by soaring birds such as hawks, eagles, and ravens. A wing is considered long when it exceeds the length of the bird’s body.

2. Narrow and pointed wings are used by fast flying birds such as swallows, swifts, and many migratory birds such as ducks and geese.

3. Long and narrow wings are used by gliding birds such as albatrosses, gulls, fulmars, shearwaters, and terns.

4. Wide and rounded wings are used for short, fast and quick-escape flight birds such as grouse, pheasants, pigeons, and owls.

Here are a few diagrams that most of us know from our understanding of airplane wing aerodynamics.

Birds however have 10 times the flying capacity of H. sapiens and their artificial flying machines.

“That is  because we have feathers,” Harriet could not help but sardonically drool out the obvious.

“I will tell you more about feathers in a future post”, declared Harriett.  It’s a long story, beginning 65 million years ago when we Avian’s survived the catastrophic meteor strike that devastated and eliminated the terrible lizards that dominated planet Earth at the time. It’s also time to make a few comments regarding the genus Homo and the one and only surviving species of the Genus, Homo sapiens.    If you are reading this you are most likely a Homo sapien.  Do you have any reservations or guilt feelings about your rise to dominance?

“Tell the Doctor not to stress his brain tonight, trying to understand these ethereal concepts.

Tell him to go to bed.  Tell him to get a good night’s sleep.   Tell him to tell the Female H. sapien that lives with him that he loves her.  Tell him he does not have to Save the World and Life on Planet Earth as we know it tonight.

Thank you friends.

Love Harriett

This morning at 5:56 AM, Jesse sustained himself 1-2 feet above the nest for 10-12 seconds.