osprey

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By 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!

By 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.

By JL Eagle Nest report: Ranger nest, 3 photos 06-01-2018
Ranger Nest
This morning I had gotten down the path and put my folding chair in place.
Went to pick up my camera … an eagle screamed in the tree right over my head.
My heart just stopped, thinking that one of the chicks had fledged and crossed the cove to my side.
I didn’t want to spook it so I bent over to pick up my chair to back out of the area when a shadow exploded over me.
It wasn’t a chick at all, oh, no, it was Mom Ranger and she was angry. Yikes!
But it wasn’t me she wanted to take on … it was dad osprey.
The ospreys have been in an uproar since their chicks hatched and are now a good size for eagle snacks.
The ospreys have been almost constantly chasing the adult eagles away from the osprey nest.
The eagle chicks watched Mom flash by above them.
You can see in the last photo that Mom Ranger had had enough of the harassment and meant business.
Both adult birds flew into the sun and I lost them.
Several minutes later I got my breath back and marveled at the surprises Jordan Lake shows me.

By 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.
 MARK0121 WO East 01-05-18 15-26-1-1-1-Edit
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.
 MARK0215 WO East 01-05-18 15-51-1-1-Edit
Both Ranger chicks – note how shiny black the baby’s beak is – this is normal for this age.
 MARK0339 WO East 01-05-18 16-39-1-1-Edit
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.
 MARK0376 WO East 01-05-18 16-42-1-1-Edit
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.
MARK0447 WO East 01-05-18 17-09-1-1-1-1-Edit
 
As the day got hotter, the chicks instinctively panted and dropped their wings to get better airflow around their bodies.
 MARK0703 WO East 01-05-18 18-37 1-1-1-1-Edit
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.
 MARK0271 WO East 01-05-18 16-04 1-1-1-Edit

 

By JL Neighborhood 8 photos 4-30-2018
My ramble in the Jordan Lake Neighborhood!
Ranger Mom and the Osprey
Had a disagreement: Uh oh.  The osprey started it.  Dove on the bald eagle several times.
Eagle yelled but didn’t go anywhere.  Having thumbed its beak at the bigger raptor the osprey flew back to its nest.
Eagle went back to glaring at the world.
Female hooded merganser – they always have a bad hair day.
Carolina chickadee – do you see the legs of his breakfast insect hanging out each side of his beak?
Solitary sandpiper. These are usually found in our coastal areas. There was a pair of them visiting the Ranger eagle nest cove.
Rusty blackbird. This is the first one I have seen at Jordan Lake. I usually find them on the Outer Banks.
Wood duck drake. Isn’t his eye a startling color! This is normal for an adult male.
A pair of snowy egrets were escorted across the cove by a red-winged blackbird.
An immature male summer tanager. A summer visitor. When he matures he will be feathered in solid orange plumage.