Today I did a quick run to Ken Reid CA to see how many Osprey babies were on/in the nest, arriving at 8:30 a.m.:
The mom was still on the nest during my last visit, but now there are two beautiful young ones that have yet to fledge, they were snoozing when I first arrived but eventually woke up:
Most of their time was spent "wing-ercising", ie jumping up and down while flapping their wings, in anticipation of being able to leave nest. Only the one on the right side was doing this, so I'm thinking he's the elder of the two (or perhaps the other one has already mastered the skill and is just plain bored with it all):
But the pair both quickly sat up and paid attention when mom came in with her Catch of the Day:
After their petit dejeuner, they cast a skyward glance as mom departed, and then settled down again:
After an hour and a half spent watching the two babies do pretty much nothing (not that I'm complaining, I was in the shade, there was no humidity, and there were NO BUGS!), I left KenReid and stopped in at the entrance to the Lindsay Sewage Lagoons. As I was setting up my gear, a fellow in a truck drove in and informed me that he was about to release a skunk that he had captured at his home overnight. Thanks, buddy, right on the trail where I was about to go, just perfect, but at least he warned me. I made a feeble attempt to get a photo of the poor skunk as he ventured out of his prison cell into his new terrain but missed the photo op out of fear of getting too close to him for obvious reasons :-(
However, I did discover young Cedar Waxwings in a tree getting periodically fed by a parent- not the best shots, though, because of the lighting, but it's a first for me to see lil Waxlings!
Their tails are already yellow-tipped:
A third one suddenly made an appearance:
Not a bad day, considering all I was expecting was Osprey!
4 comments:
wow - baby cedar waxwing and the osprey shots are amazing. wonderful work Janice.
I love the waxwing waxlings. Lovely shots through the foliage and beautiful lighting despite what you said. You must be learning patience on the job though as I'm not sure I could sit still in the heat for 90 minutes waiting for action. But this is why your pursuit is very healthy: exercise, fresh air and the chance (when there are no skunks around) to stay still and concentrate on something beautiful.
Lovely shots of the osprey babies! How long do you think before they're ready to jump out of the nest?
Thx, Alexia, it will probably be another week or so max before they fledge!
Post a Comment