immature osprey

Tag

By Osprey Ballerina

Jordan Lake: this female Fledgling Osprey jumped from her perch high in a tree on one side of the cove. She was dashing straight across to the other side. Then abruptly the youngster threw on her air brakes, wrapped her wings around herself and looked over her shoulder, hard, down to the lake below. There the dancer hung for a long heartbeat. Then the osprey shrugged as if well nothing there after all and she turned her head back forward. Unwrapped her feathered wings cape and finished her flight to the other side. A true sky ballerina.

By Osprey Moon

Jordan Lake: Osprey Moon. The moon was setting. This fledgling female osprey had been trying hard to catch a fish. I managed to catch her as she made a transit of the moon.

By Rivets

Jordan Lake: In flight, the white marks at the end of each flight feather of a fledgling osprey look like dots (I call them “rivets” as at a distance they look metallic to me). This female fledgling gave me a very close fly-by. You can easily see that the white is actually an edging of the color at the feather tips. These “dots” wear off over the next 12-18 months and so by the time this osprey would return to Jordan Lake in about 2 years, she will have lost her rivets.

By Osprey Fledgling Landing Practice

Jordan Lake: the autumn migration of the ospreys is nearing a close. Most of the adult ospreys have already left for South America. This fledgling male osprey had been fishing with great enthusiasm near one of the ramps yesterday when he took a break and let me marvel at his neat precise landing. The latest I have seen ospreys at Jordan Lake is early November. Plan a trip to the boat ramp nearest to you or to the Jordan Lake Dam and watch as the youngsters work to gain muscle and perfect flying and fishing skills for their upcoming trip to South America.

By Shake!

Jordan Lake: I watched this female Osprey Fledgling catch a fish this morning. Then she promptly did what she needed to do next: the youngster shook off all the excess water from her dive and lightened the weight she had to carry in her flight to a nearby tree. The shake is done exactly the way a dog does one … starts at the beak and twists through to the tail.