Osprey Tales

High tide behind the doctor’s giant nest

Those are very interesting facts you provided us regarding the Salt Marsh,” said the Doctor in a very happy and up beat thought transfer.

“Well, I’m glad you found them interesting. I have much, much more to tell you about the Salt Marsh, but Doctor, right now, I think you should talk to your Female H. sapien.

What?

Harriett had told the Female H. sapien, that lives with the Doctor in his giant nest on the bank of the North River, about the camera malfunction. She relayed this information to him in the most convenient and in the most harmonious manner possible.

“What?!” the Doctor repeated anxiously.

The Doctor jumped up in a huff and ran to his office to inspect his monitors.

“Dag gone it!” he mumbled to himself.  “NO LINK!“ Flashed at him fiendishly.

Flash – NO LINK! – Flash – NO LINK! – Flash – NO LINK!

The Doctor thanked OOO* he had a low seizure threshold.

The unhappy Doctor sent Cleo and Marley into the marsh to search for gremlins.

“There are none,” reported his trusty canines.

“It’s a technical glitch,” thought the Doctor.

I’ll be doggone if I’ll let a technical glitch interrupt our relationship,” he reassured Harriett.

“I know that,” she responded.

“Good OOO*, I love that Bird,” thought the Doctor.

And Harriett was still on-line.

*Omnipotent Omnipresent Omniscient

“It looks good, it smells good and it feels good.”

Harriett describes her home.

The Tidal Marsh or Salt Marsh, is the zone between land and open salt water that is regularly flooded by the tides.

“It’s a great place to live,” continued Harriett. The salt marsh provides everything an osprey could desire.

Not only does it buffer stormy seas, but it provides food and a home for all sorts of unimaginable life.

The saturated soils of the Salt Marsh are unique.
  

The soil of a Salt Marsh is composed of deep mud and peat. Peat is made of decomposing plant matter that is often several feet thick.  Every winter the salt marsh grasses die and add to the eons of waterlogged, root filled, spongy decomposing organic matter.   Anaerobic bacteria thrive, giving the marsh its unique aroma.

“I want to write about it,” said the Doctor.

“Not now,” directed Harriett.

Cord grass

Cord grass is an incredibly salt resistant plant that turns photosynthesis on its head.

“The Cord Grass,” the Doctor interjected. “I want to write about it.”

“Not now!” Harriett admonished.  “You haven’t seen anything yet.”

I’m a little bit uncomfortable discussing Our Mission, especially after such an eventful homecoming. The challenges Ozzie and I have faced this year have been formidable. The Taj Mahal is certainly a comfortable and secure platform. It was nice to be well-established upon it when that awful Ivan the Terrible tried to destroy our home.

I am so proud of Ozzie. He certainly exemplifies “The size of the fight in the Osprey, versus the size of the Osprey in the fight.” He really kicked ###!. If you know what I mean. He has fully recovered from his injuries and he wears the scars like medals of honor. I think he is absolutely the greatest.

Ozzie understands that the Doctor and I have a Special Mission. He does not possess a full comprehension of our directive, but who really does?

To Save the World or at Least Life on Planet Earth as we Know it, is not a mission that Omnipotent Omnipresent Omniscient would assign to just any complex biological life forms.

We accept it, nonetheless.

“Doctor, come quick!” said the female H. sapien that lives with the Doctor, in his giant nest, on the bank of the North River.

The Doctor slowly turned in his bed. His low back and muscles argued, “this is a good position, let’s not try to move”.

But the Doctor sensed the excitement in the female H. sapien’s voice.

He looked at the little plastic box on his bed stand. The red digital LED (light-emitting diode) display showed 6:14 AM.

“What day is it?” Thought the Doctor.

It took several seconds for his mind to clear.

“Oh yes, it’s Saturday.”

A vague sense of happiness caressed him. The thought of no school on Saturday, as a child, was still there.

But, now; listen. The female H. sapien is calling. She would only call early on a Saturday for something special.

Something special

   Ozzie is proud too.  He feels like he deserves some of the credit.

“Hello Harriett,” transmitted the Doctor.

“Hello Doctor,” Harriett responded immediately. She was in the mood to exchange thoughts.

“What is that green stuff Ozzie has been dropping in all day?”

“Just green stuff,” thought Harriett. “It smells good.”

“At first I thought it might be a piece of cloth or something non-organic. I worry when Ozzie brings things to the nest that are not organic.”

“What do you mean? Like that piece of chicken wire /crab pot he brought in a couple days ago?”

“Yes, that’s what I’m talking about.”

“Don’t worry Doctor, as you can see I’ve pushed it aside and it is not a danger.”

“Okay, great, but I was wondering about that green stuff.”

“It is seaweed. What do you think it is?”

“Well truthfully, I wasn’t really sure. I didn’t think seaweed looks like that.”

“Well, that’s what’s it is,” said Harriett.  “It has a nice aroma.”

Incubation refers to the process by which certain oviparous (egg-laying) animals hatch their eggs, and to the development of the embryo within the egg. The most vital factor of incubation is the constant temperature required for its development over a specific period. The act of sitting on eggs to incubate them is called brooding.

It is body heat from the brooding parent that provides the constant temperature.

In the species that incubate, the work is divided differently between the sexes.

The incubation period for the osprey egg averages 38 – 39 days.

Some Avian species begin incubation with the first egg, causing the young to hatch at different times.  Some start to incubate after the last egg of the clutch, causing the young to hatch simultaneously. We osprey start incubating our 1st egg immediately.

That-a-girl, Harriett.

Clutch Size
1–4 eggs

Incubation Period
36–42 days……………Mark your calender.

Egg Description
Cream to pinkish cinnamon; wreathed and spotted with reddish brown.

Incubation begins when the first egg is laid. Subsequent eggs are laid one to three days apart; clutches have 2-4 eggs. The female usually takes on most of the responsibility of incubation, seldom leaving except to feed. When she does leave the nest, the male takes over incubation until her return.

Female Ospreys do most of the sitting, depending on males to provide food. However, some males handle up to 30% of incubation time.

Osprey eggs do not hatch all at once. Rather, the first chick emerges up to five days before the last one. This arrangement favors the first hatched chicks which permits them to thrive in years of poor food supplies. In these years, the latter hatched chicks perish.

“I told you I felt an egg coming,” declared Harriett.

Harriett laid her egg today at 14:48:11,  +/- 5 seconds.

She sat on the egg for a very long time, but finally at 15:12:37 seconds she gave us a peek.

Harriet is very proud. Her egg is larger than her past eggs and its coloration speaks for itself.

Many of Harriett’s friends have responded joyfully.

Even the local feral cat was pleased.

“Good night,” relayed the Doctor. “Congratulations on your beautiful egg.”

Harriett did not answer. She must have been asleep.

Harriett’s nest 4/23/2015, 7:00 PM

I’m sorry I disturbed your nest last evening,” transmitted the Doctor.

“No problem, no problem at all,” Harriet reflected. “I knew what you were doing. “Why do you think Ozzie did not swoop down and start tearing you up?”

“Well I certainly do appreciate your understanding,” continued the Doctor politely as ever.

“Sure, I understand. We are partners, remember. Partners always understand. Partners have a special relationship with each other. Partners know each other’s thoughts without speaking. Hey Doctor, you and I have been partners for nearly 3 years.”

“I certainly do appreciate your thoughts on this matter. Yes, Harriet we are partners, special partners. We have been given special powers and for those with special powers, special responsibilities come.”

“Doctor, if you are implying I am not doing my part Saving the World or at least Live on Planet Earth as we know it, you are mistaken. I have many thoughts on the subject which I will share with you at the appropriate time. What do you think I’ve been doing in South America all winter?

Harriett continued:

“Right now I’m feeling an egg coming. Of course you wouldn’t have any clue what I’m feeling, being male and all. Maybe you should discuss the current situation with your Female H sapien.”