Osprey Tales

Ozzie was delighted and relieved when he saw the Taj Mahal. He still remembers the spring of 2011 when The Red Channel Marker was gone.

Ozzie at the Taj Mahal

“I see the Doctor has been busy this winter.”

Ospreys like nest sites in open surroundings for easy approach, with a wide, sturdy base and safety from ground predators (such as raccoons). Usually the male finds the site before the female arrives.

Ozzie arrived on Pi Day, March 14, 2015. Last year he arrived March 8 and Harriett quickly arrived 2 and a half days later.

“It’s been 6 days now,” squawked Ozzie. “Where are you Harriett?”

Harriet had made an extra stopover in The Villages, near Orlando Florida. She has a friend there named Vicki with whom she could not resist sharing some risque gossip. Vicki’s nest was still in good shape and her mate had yet to arrive. She was a bit worried he may have perished over the winter, but more likely she thought he was hanging out in Havana with a few of his friends. Harriett and Vicki started playing that card game and lost track of time. They were playing IMP’s. Harriett kept winning +36 to -36 and +42 to -42 and even +64 to -64; but Vicki, as always, was a gracious and respectful opponent, a shining example of friendly conduct.

How did she get so good, thought Vicki. “Certainly not by playing with the Doctor.”

What happens when one mate migrates back to the nest before the other?

The longer the time interval between mates’ arrival at the breeding site, the more likely it is that the first to arrive will attract or be attracted to a new mate. Yes, Ospreys do mate for life as far as we know, but that bond needs to be reinforced each spring by the arrival of the second mate. If too much time elapses, a bird will accept another mate, since the instinct to breed is far greater – and more important – than the instinct to wait for a mate that may have perished over the winter.

Pay attention, Harriett!

One major danger is weather, especially when crossing large bodies of water. For instance, Ospreys crossing the Caribbean or the Straits of Florida can be blown off course if they fly into a strong headwind or get caught in a severe thunderstorm. Anything that slows their flight and increases the time it takes them to make the crossing could drain strength or fat reserves (their fuel) and put them at risk. Worst case, they may have to ditch into the water, or if they do make it to land somewhere, they may be too exhausted to fish to regain their strength.

Another major danger is being shot by humans. This could happen anywhere. However, birds migrating in this part of the world are particularly vulnerable when they fish in private and commercial fish farms/ponds in the Dominican Republic, Haiti or Cuba. Many of the farms are owned by local people living at or near subsistence level, who do not take kindly to anyone or anything that “steals” their fish.

Journal of Raptor Research
Mark S. Martell, Richard O. Bierregaard Jr., Brian E. Washburn, John E. Elliott, Charles J. Henny, Robert S. Kennedy, Iain MacLeod

Fall migration patterns of North American Ospreys have been described and studied disproportionately more than, the spring migration of these birds. We used satellite telemetry to: (1) determine the timing, duration and migratory routes of spring migrations; (2) determine if differences in spring migration patterns existed between the sexes and (3) compare consecutive fall and spring migrations of individual Ospreys.

The median dates for departure from the wintering grounds and arrival on the breeding grounds did not differ significantly between adult male and female Ospreys.  Nonetheless, the male almost always arrives a few days before the female.

Compared to their fall migrations, Ospreys spent fewer days on migration, fewer days in stopover periods along the migration route and traveled farther (on average) each day during spring.

Our findings suggest that, although sex and breeding location might influence the spring migration strategy used by individual Ospreys, both males and females minimize the time spent on migration to ensure a timely arrival on the breeding grounds to establish or defend a nesting territory.

The female H. Sapien saw him first. The Doctor and the female H. Sapien were talking to their son on speakerphone. The female H. Sapien simply said, “There’s Ozzie”.

The Doctor looked up. It was like Christmas and Easter and Happy Birthday rolled into one. Sure enough, there was Ozzie poised majestically, on the Taj Mahal, at the top of the 9 foot spire.

The Doctor became discombobulated. He tripped over his two left feet as he vaulted for his camera.  Masterfully, he steadied the tripod and made it level. The little bubble easily found its home.

Click, click, “Something’s wrong here,” thought the Doctor.
Click, click again. “Oh yeah; the lens cap.”
The Doctor adroitly removed the lens cap. He could see Ozzie through the viewfinder clearly now.

Click click, “Something’s wrong here!”
Click, click again. “What? No memory card?”
He dashed to his office and snatched up ScanDisk 1.0 GB. It snapped comfortably into place.

Click, click……..then nothing. Nothing at all, ——- dead battery!
He shot to his office.
Back now with charged battery retrieved.

Click, battery in place.
Snap, battery latch closed.
Zoom, focus, click, click, click.

The Doctor got three quick pictures of Ozzie seconds before he flew off.
And here they are:

https://ospreytaleteller.com/

Harriett Raptor

An Osprey may log more than 160,000 migration miles during its 15-to-20-year lifetime.  Lightweight satellite transmitters can be attached to the birds’ backs. The devices pinpoint an Osprey’s location to within a few hundred yards and last for 2-3 years.

This is Ozzie as he flew by the doctor’s giant nest last fall. The doctor had high hopes of tracking Ozzie, but I think Ozzie had some kind of issue with the whole concept, and with the transmitter itself. The transmitter was found 18 days later on a dirt road near Port-au-Prince. I don’t want to say anymore about this event, as it may be a sore subject with the Doctor.

Once Ozzie flew 27,000 miles in 13 days. He made it from the North River to the statue of Christ the Redeemer in record time. He had some type of engagement planned that he never told me about.

I believe that was the year Ozzie participated in the demonstrations against President Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela.

I don’t care what you call it, but I call it the Taj Mahal.

The Doctor has gone to great lengths to provide us with comfort and, may I say, an opulent,  breeding home. Not preposterous, not pretentious, not supercilious, or ostentatious.  The new Osprey platform is state-of-the-art with all the comforts of home. I would have expected nothing less from the Doctor.

Look at the top of the 9 foot spire.  There lies the 3618-e Axis, 9 mm, 38 pixil, night/day, CRT – earth link,  web camera, the Doctor’s pride.

Ozzie spent his winter cruising up and down the Amazon River.  The Amazon River cuts a path across the continent of South America; it makes its way through Brazil, Colombia and Peru. More than one third of the world’s animal species live in this vast River Basin / Rain Forest.

Ozzie spent most of his time in Peru’s Pacaya-Samiria National Reserve. It is  about 100 miles southwest of Iquitos.  Iquitos, linked only to the outside world by air and by river, cannot be reached by road. It’s a jungle metropolis teeming with the usual and  inexplicably addictive Amazonian anomalies.

Unadulterated jungle encroaches beyond town. Mud huts and dugout canoes lead the way to the floating shantytown of Belén

For H. sapiens one of the major ‘attractions’ in Iquitos is the neighborhood of Belén. However it’s also considered the city’s most dangerous neighborhood, and guidebooks do not advise visiting here without a guide. Due to the abject poverty present in Belén, a tourist seen to be carrying a bag (and therefore money and a mobile telephone) or a camera, or anything of value would be seen as an easy target for the residents of Belen.

Harriet has left her South American wintering ground. As you read these words, she is in mid migration. She will travel over 2000 miles in the next 2 weeks anxiously, excitedly, anticipating arriving behind the Doctor’s giant nest to see what she knows is the Doctor’s latest effort to provide her with the best of all nesting sites.

This was her 2^nd winter at the Santo Antônio reservoir. She thinks she’s found a nice spot to which she will return.