Meet the Osprey Family.
I was very excited to discover this osprey family living high up on a tall, baren tree near a creek in Deception Bay in Queensland, Australia. I might never have seen them if the chick wasn't making such a fuss. His loud squawking was continuous and I smiled when I took a close look at this image when editing the photos.
His mother has tuned out completely and was trying to get some sleep. I never did develop this skill when raising my 3 chicks. (lol) The western osprey (Pandion Haliaetus) is also called sea hawk, river hawk and fish hawk. These large raptors can grow up to 60 cm (24 inches) in length and 180 cm (71 inches) across their wing span.
Their diet consists almost exclusively of fish and although they nest near water, they are not classed as sea birds. When flying, the osprey arches its wings and the tips droop downwards giving it a gull-like appearance. They make a series of sharp whistles but if they become disturbed near their nests, their call sounds rather frenzied.
Father Osprey is doing a great job checking for predators and keeping his family safe. He has an uninterupted 'bird's eye' view in every direction as he perches high on the top branch of a tree.
Mother Osprey has woken up ( not surprisingly) and in this photo it looks as though she is appealing to Father Osprey to take over baby sitting duties. But he doesn't budge.
Ospreys are the second most widely distributed raptor species after the peregrine. They have a worldwide distribution but prefer temperate and tropical regions. Their vision is well adapted to detecting underwater objects from the air and when they're ready to catch their prey, they hover momentarily then plunge feet first into the water.
They have exceptional fishing skills by using their reversible outer toes to grasp prey the size of a dinner plate and use two toes forward and two back to effectively clutch large, slippery fish. Rodents, rabbits, hares amphibians, other birds and small reptiles are consumed occasionally.
The nests of Eastern Ospreys (Pandion Cristatus) are very unruly and are built out of a mass of branches, twigs and leaves. They choose highly elevated treetops, rocky ledges and sometimes man-made structures such as utility poles.
Finally this chick stops making a racket and looks down at me wondering what I was doing on ground level. By this time, my neck was getting very sore with looking up for so long in my attempt to get some decent shots. It was worth the discomfort however and I plan to go back to this location to check up on the Osprey family again soon.
THANK YOU FOR VIEWING. HAVE A GREAT DAY.
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Thank you once again.
In my opinion you've Observed and read this Osprey Family so effectively and you've explained everything in detail whatever actually we are seeing. And i know that Observation is also an art. So, keep up. 👍
Wishing you an great day and stay blessed. 🙂
Thank you so much for your comments @chireerocks, much appreciated
Welcome and thank you so much. Have a great time ahead 🙂
You too @chieerocks Thank you.
Thank you so much and welcome. 🙂
Amaizing Pictures Trudee. That was such a lucky find. Lovely sharp pictures for someone who must have been shaking with excitment. 😄
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You are quite correct there Andy, I had difficulty holding the camera still and was very happy to have discovered the Osprey family
Hahaha – That first photo is great! Maybe "Mom" has gone deaf after having that squaawking in her ear all day? The last photo is a very nice portrait, too. Nicely taken!
I share your sentiments entirely @fotosdenada having had 3 squawking kids at one stage of my life. lol
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