September 4, 2012
Getting up early and realizing it is going to be one of
those bright sunny mornings. I had decided to go birding at the lagoon as soon
as possible. I didn't want to go before sunrise because the mosquitoes are too
thick there and I need the sunlight to photograph the birds. My excitement was
building as I gulped my coffee and rushed through my breakfast. I had a
premonition something special was going to happen at the Reserve
today!
When I arrived at the San Elijo Lagoon the sun had not yet
come up over the hills on the east side of the Reserve and the pockets of mist were moving through. Looking at the bare snag I immediately spotted a large
bird. Walking quickly, hoping to get a flight shot and
thinking all the while it was the young male juvenile Osprey that I had seen last evening while I was walking my dog. Arriving at the snag and
looking through the camera lens, I could see this was a female juvenile and she had a white lower beak!!
Walking around the snag and looking up to spot
white flight feathers neatly folded on
her right side... the Osprey that I had been
calling the "High speed drifter" was
not a male but this partially leucistic Osprey. The osprey I had seen flying over the train the other day was a female!
The sun finally peaks over the Cardiff hills as I snap
away. Isn't she awesome, what a Majestic Osprey! She appears to be looking far
across the lagoon and has no interest in who was
watching her. Soon a dozen people were standing next to me looking at this beauty. A few photographers also arrive and settle nearby adjusting their lens. I don't know them
and I keep the fact that she is leucistic to myself.
Soon the photographers tire of waiting for the flight shot and move
on.
As I waited patiently, she finally appeared to be ready to
fly. She starts by stretching and showing off those
huge long wings. Osprey, Pandion haliaetus measures about 23 inches long
with a wingspan of 63 inches. Females have brown
spotting on the chest like a necklace and males may also have few spots
but mostly they are all white on the chest. She is
showing off her beautiful left wing. I tell her... "that
is wonderful but I would love to see
your right wing" !
LOL...As if she understood, she stretches her right wing
and OH MY... it gives me goose bumps. Look at those three primary
flight feathers, they
are pure white. They catch the sunlight and appear to glow. This is
one unique Osprey. As I click away at her beautiful outstretched
wing, she spots something on the far side of the lagoon.
In an instant, she launches up and off the perch.
Words really can't do this bird justice for she is one incredible specimen and
we are so lucky to have her visiting our
area. She flies west and I run to see where she
goes. She is flying towards one of the posts that are used regularly by
all visiting ospreys. I figured she was going to
spend
the rest of the day there so I walk to the bridge to see
if any Clapper Rails are active, spending quite a while just enjoying the
surroundings before I start to head for home...
Suddenly I hear Osprey calls and see two new arrivals flying
this way from the east hills. I will call this female "Leucy" with a
silent e. Her white flight feathers shimmer like white diamonds. You know the Beetles... "Lucy in the sky with
diamonds" also short for Leucistic. "Leucy" reacts to the other Ospreys and comes flying right towards my
direction. She is flying straight towards the two new arrivals. I just happened to be just in the right spot
for this head on shot...
This is one awesome Osprey. I am snapping away hoping that
my camera is working and focusing. Look at those beautiful white primary flight
feathers. She also has white feathers on both leading
edges past the wrist joints of her wings.. that appears unusual too. What a
magnificent bird!!
"Leucy" lands back on the bare branch of the snag. She is
now watching and appears to be flashing her beautiful wings like flags catching
the sunlight as she lifts them up.
It appeared to be a form of communication like the way a
hummingbirds use metallic head feathers catch the light to signal his rival or
to attract others. She is flashing to the other Ospreys either to "stay away" or "here I am"!
From the appearance of her flattened head feathers (not agitated), she is
probably trying to attract the attention of her dad, saying "Here I am Dad... bring me
fish!!!"
I believe in this case her dad was one of the two Ospreys
that entered the reserve and he was followed by her sibling. She is calling for
food and her brother may be on the chase right behind dad. She wants the next meal that
her dad gets and she wants her brother out of here!!
She is one amazing Osprey. I am absolutely ecstatic that
I am here watching this wonderful bird and hope that we all get to see more of
her and that she will claim our beautiful lagoon as part of her territory. The
book on this Magnificent Osprey has just begun...
She calls and calls. It appears to be a "begging
call". We all have heard young birds calling out for food. "Here dad, I'm over
here... I'm hungry and I want fish!!!"
All of a sudden she lunges off the snag. My goodness...
this is the only shot I got. A little too sudden and too close. The chase is on
and she flies straight to the male juvenile Osprey.
The juvenile male does evasive maneuvers as she is right on his tail. I am treated to spectacular
aerial displays and the fantastic flying ability of the two young Ospreys.
She is screaming at him and he is on the defensive. What a
beautiful sight to watch. They are flying high and low and all over to the Solana side of the lagoon and headed towards the freeway. This
is normal healthy behavior for young Ospreys.
Every maneuver he executes she is right beside him, like a
shadow. And look at how big this young female Osprey appears compared to the male. Even though she is over 1/2 mile away her
white flight feathers are easy to spot.
After she chased the sibling far enough to her
satisfaction, she headed back towards the beach and looked for the adult... Time
to get dad to fish for her.
There is the male adult. I think they are both going
fishing. He will provide for the juveniles for probably
at least another month or more. The young learn and perfect their own fishing
skills as they are forced to hunt on their own or starve. Their fishing skills
are in their DNA and they will get better and better at fishing as they mature
and learn and hone their skills at diving and grabbing their prey underwater. I hope our young Osprey with the unusual wing marking will visit our lagoon often. I can't wait to get some shots of her hunting
for fish. I head for home feeling so blessed to have
witnessed all the flying and the drama of this Osprey family.
Have a wonderful week everyone.
Good post.
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