Since the eaglets have fledged from the Ranger bald eagle nest, the ospreys have been playing “king-of-the-eagle nest”.
That is until Mom Ranger stopped by to make sure the neighborhood ospreys remembered the nest was hers!
osprey flight
TagJL Raptor: Ranger Nest Cove, again! 06/19/2018
JL Raptor: Ranger Nest Cove 2
Yikes!!! I think the heat (100 degrees) today got to me …
I left the last photo of the osprey vs eastern kingbird series out.
So here is Dad osprey getting to the nest and the eastern kingbird heading to his nest.
Sorry about the omission!!!
JL Raptor: Ranger Nest Cove 4 photos 06/19/2018
Ranger Nest Cove
So, the ospreys have been harassing the Ranger bald eagles.
Turn about happens.
Dad osprey was trying to get a fish he had caught to his nest.
As ospreys sometimes do, he had removed the head from the fish.
On Dad osprey’s way from his perch to the nest, the eastern kingbird found the osprey.
The eastern kingbird is showing a red alert patch on his head because Dad osprey is in the kingbird’s nest territory.
And, oh yes, the eastern kingbird landed on the osprey’s head!
Satisfied with the aerial landing and peck, the kingbird zipped off and Dad osprey got to his nest.
Whew!
JL bald eagle nest report 06-04-2018
Ranger Nest
The feud continued this morning, bright and early.
Dad osprey decided to buzz the bald eagle nest, again.
When Dad osprey launched from his perch I could’t see either parent eagle.
As you can see, mom Ranger showed up ready to fully engage with the much smaller bird.
The eagle chicks watched intently.
Dad osprey danced a side-ways jig and dove into the trees with Mom Ranger right behind him.
No birds got hurt, but the feathers continue to stay ruffled.
JL Raptor report: Ranger Nest 7 photos 05-04-2018
Ranger Nest:
An unknown fledgling flew over the Ranger nest.
Interestingly enough, neither parent bird saw this foreign youngster as a threat.
Mom Ranger had been preening when something way down the cove caught her attention and she dashed off to investigate.
My human eyes could not see what had caused the eagle to take flight.
Both Ranger chicks – note how shiny black the baby’s beak is – this is normal for this age.
That is dad Osprey, from the neighborhood, flying above the eagle nest.
He certainly caught the attention of both bald eagle chicks!
The osprey is an annoyance but not a threat to the eagle chicks.
Mom Ranger is staring down at a red-headed woodpecker that had landed about 20 feet below her.
I couldn’t get both birds in the photograph.
As the day got hotter, the chicks instinctively panted and dropped their wings to get better airflow around their bodies.
This 4-year-old bald eagle is a threat and grave danger to the Ranger chicks.
Both Ranger parents came screaming in to protect their chicks.
The juvenile bald eagle ignored everybody and calmly flew across the cove and out of sight.
JL Eagle Nest Report: Ranger Nest, 2 photos 3/30/2018
Mom Ranger and her two chicks were waiting for some fish.
Then mom Ranger saw an osprey flying in with a fish for its mate.
Mom Ranger dashed for the osprey and literally banged into it, hoping to get the osprey to drop its fish.
This is a favorite tactic of bald eagles – let the osprey catch the fish, then steal the fish for the eaglets.
The plucky osprey hung onto its prize and dashed between two trees where mom Ranger couldn’t follow it.
Mom Ranger was quite grumpy. Not everything goes the eagle’s way.
doc ellen's journey 