Osprey Tales

“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.

“The boys are looking good,” thought the Doctor.

David and Jessie appear to be strong and healthy, right on schedule in their development.

“Those are healthy looking babies you’ve got,” thought the Doctor.

“Thank you Doctor,” Harriett thought back.

Harriet seems be over the annoyance the Doctor caused her last week.

David said, “watch this Jessie.”

David spread his wings to their full extent.

“Oh yeah!” Exclaimed Jesse.

“I can do it too.”

Jesse showed off his wing span.

“Mine is bigger than yours,” he added.

“Not!”

                                                                                        “Hey Jesse,” said David.

Pick your wings up like this. It feels great! You can feel the lift!”

Jesse began to raise his wings. Just then an unexpected gust of wind breezed in from the west. David toppled over.

Jesse laughed.

David laughed too.

The boys are having a very good time this summer, well protected by our heroes O & H, no hurricanes, no predators, plenty of food and beautiful Carolina sunshine.  It’s time to enjoy. Fall migration will be here sooner than they know.

Harriet told the Doctor she loved him. It had been a long time since she had communicated that thought. It brought tears to the Doctor’s eyes.

“I love you too Harriett,” the Doctor thought back.

The world is at peace. Nature smiles. The troubles of the world are temporarily lifted.

The highest quantities of food are brought to the nest once the nestlings are 40 days old. Ozzie is bringing up to 6 fish to the nest per day.  The first fish this morning is a lizard fish.

Look how David and Jesse aggressively go for the catch. They do not need to be fed anymore. David and Jesse can rip and tear flesh with their sharp hooked beaks as well as any osprey their age.

“Taste like pin fish,” said David.

“Taste more like mud toad to me,” replied Jesse.

The Doctor does not like The Lizard fish.   He does not like the lizard fish at all.  We’re not talking about cuisine. We are talking about aesthetics.

   
Lizardfish

The lizard fish is one ugly fish.  They are ferocious predators with needle-like teeth.  When caught by rod and reel, they always completely swallow the bate and/or lure.  If you want your lure or hook back you must go digging with your fishing knife.  The horrible little creature will snap and bite at you even after you think it is dead.

“Get ready for some action,” said the Doctor.

For those of you that have been with us for more than a year, you will remember this time last year when Tweedy, a single day from taking flight, was tossed into the sea by hurricane Arthur.

O & H’s platform was snapped in half.

It lay in the water like a wounded soldier, gasping for air, trying not to drown with the incoming tide.

If not for the heroic all night struggle to save Tweedy, he would’ve drowned. Never underestimate the will parents have to protect and save their children.

Somber but optimistic, Harriett’s H. sapien friends raised her platform. Without their effort O & H’s platform would have disintegrated and washed away, leaving no trace of their home.  Just like the Red Channel Marker 4 years ago, their home would have disappeared. Disappeared into the Avian unknown.  Ozzie remembers the experience with near panic anxiety.

Jesse and David

The boys are getting strong

Windex your glasses. See them clearly.  Wow, look at the beauty of their primary feathers. Their pure white tips are easy to recognize. You will always be able to recognize a juvenile when you see the pure white tips on their primary feathers. Both males and females exhibit this coloration. The soft, light brown, feathers, back of the neck, also promises a juvenile. Of course the orange eyes are always the dead giveaway.

O and H are very proud of David and Jesse.  Ozzie brought a flounder in last evening around 6:30 PM. Harriett no longer needs to feed them.

The two boys did what they are supposed to do. They aggressively competed with each other to eat as much flounder as possible.

“Darn good flounder,” said David.

Oddly, the 3rd egg that never hatched remains in the nest.  This has brought quite a few comments to the Doctor’s mailbox.  The Doctor has no clue as to why, and is at a loss on how to respond. So don’t ask. He doesn’t know!

Now, sit back and relax. Take two minutes out of your day and watch this video.  I do believe Jesse is sending a message. Something like, “Hey Mom. I want to fly!”

Harriett was annoyed.

“Why haven’t you eliminated that jerky movement from our pictures?” She asked the Doctor with dripping sarcasm.

Harriet has a way of striking deeply and unexpectedly into the Doctor’s sense of responsibility.  But tonight, the Doctor let her barb bounce harmlessly off his chest.

“Harriett,” said the Doctor.  “You know I’ve been working hard to make your web cam the best in the world. Don’t give me a lot of Osprey squawk about what you want, and what you don’t want. I’m working on the real-time streaming. I’ve been working on it for two weeks.  What do you think I do with my spare time?

“Play bridge!” Squeaked Harriett from malevolent umbrage.

The Doctor sat up in disbelief. He took a deep breath, paused, and counted to ten.

The Doctor recovered his composure.

“Good night Harriett,” transmitted the Doctor.

Harriett shut down her telepathy without a further thought.

The Doctor went to bed. His mind in turmoil.

“Just relax and go to sleep,” said the Female H. sapien that lives with the Doctor in his giant nest on the bank of the North River.

It sounded like the thing to do. Sleep came quickly.

He slept well last night.

To be continued……….