Jordan Lake. While cruising with Captain Doug, from far off we could see a huge fish under the talons of an osprey fledgling. She was quite proud of the fish. Captain Doug got us around to where we could see the Osprey’s front. The fish’s head is missing. Most likely one of the parents caught the fish, removed the head and then gave the carcass to her daughter.
Jordan Lake. Hooray! The Hard Luck Osprey couple managed to raise a chick this year. Last year they didn’t raise any babies at all because of their hard luck with marauding bald eagles and a fallen nest tree. This morning I got to watch their new fledgling trying to learn how to fish.
Jordan Lake: The fledgling osprey had worked hard most of the morning trying to catch a fish. The bald eagle had been watching. The osprey got her fish and the eagle wanted it. The chase was on…
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.
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.
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.
doc ellen's journey 