Jo's Morning Walk: Osprey Fledglings Learning to Fly

Got an e-mail from Eve that she had spotted a pair of Blue Grosbeaks at the San Andres trailhead of the San Dieguito Lagoon. Thank goodness for the heads up because I went to Rios yesterday and found nothing to photograph! I decided to get an early start to beat the "fair crowd" pouring in to Del Mar which can make traffic in that area quite heavy at this time of the year. Eve must have had the same idea as she pulled up at San Andres moments after my arrival.

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It was still overcast, a little gloomy for photos but great weather for walking. We started to look for the Blue Grosbeaks at the entrance of the San Dieguito Lagoon trails located on San Andres Street in Del Mar just off the Via de la Valle exit of the I-5 freeway. It wasn't very long before Eve spotted one perched high on a willow. Here is my first ever shot of an adult Blue Grosbeak. It was not co-operating and refused to perch out in the open but definitely you can see that it is a Blue Grosbeak. Passerina caerulea measures 6.75 inches long with a wingspan of 11 inches. Only the male has the beautiful blue color. Females are gray-brown.

Happy to have seen the Blue Grosbeak, we decided to walk over to the fairgrounds to check out the Osprey nests and see if there were any fledglings around. We walked along the freeway for a while and then the trail goes under the freeway. As soon as we exited the underpass, we got a good view of the fairgrounds. Here is a phone photo that Eve took of this area.

Walking halfway to the Osprey nestsite, we spotted a fledgling on top of a small utility pole.

Osprey, Pandion haliaetus measures 23 inches long with a wingspan of 63 inches. The females may be larger measuring 24 to 26 inches long with longer wings. Their diet consists mainly of fish which they catch by diving into the water. They can only dive about 3 feet deep so they prefer to hunt in the shallow waters. They do not eat carrion (dead rotting meat and animals) like other raptors. Here is a shot of the handsome fledgling. Juveniles have the white fish scale markings on the edges of their feathers as you can see in this photo. Also the eyes are orange and when they become adults they will turn a golden yellow color.

We keep walking towards the two man-made nest structures located across the way on the lagoon side of the entrance to the fair. As we approach the first nest structure, the young Osprey that was perched behind us on the utility pole decides to fly to the first nest. Here he is approaching the nest.

The landing was a little wobbly but he balanced himself nicely with those beautiful wings. This nest appears to be used for branching by the fledglings.

We walk over to the second nest structure located on the south side of the entrance to the fair parking lot. This nest is approximately 200 feet away from the first structure. The second fledgling calls for breakfast.

Soon the first fledgling leaves the first nest structure (nest #1) and joins his sibling and mom at nest #2. His form is good and it looks like he is enjoying his ability to fly.

Beautiful approach to the second nest structure. Full concentration. The landing bar is already occupied by his sibling so he will have to be very precise and nail his landing.

Looking...

He's got this...

Landing gears down.

Approaching his landing with one big flap of his wings to get the lift.

He has done a beautiful job of landing and not knocking his sibling off the perch. Mom is sitting in the nest waiting for Dad to deliver breakfast.

Now, Mom is up (probably wanting to stretch her wings) and showing the youngsters how it's done.

She makes it look so easy.

The female adult veers towards me and gives me a look-over.

A nice photo op. She has a little bit of seaweed stuck to her talons.

What a beauty.

Just letting me know not to mess with her babies.

A low flyby.

A close-up of the adult female. Isn't she wonderful! She passes by and loops back to land on the top of a pole attached to the nest platform. This photo also shows that adult Ospreys have solid dark brown feathers on the back and wingtops, no fishscale patterns at the end of the feathers. Also you can usually identify the females by the spotty brown necklace pattern that forms around her breast as seen in this photo of the female adult. Also the females may be slightly larger than the males. The males are mostly white on the chest but some do have some brown spotting. All juveniles looks the same and will lose the buffy breast color quickly.

Mom, the adult female makes a beautiful approach to her landing post.

The fledgling is watching and appears to be getting ready for a take-off.

A few more calls for breakfast to dad wherever he may be.

A very vocal youngster.

We have lift-off...

Beautiful sight to see.

Taking a good look.

One of my favorite songs by Pink Floyd, "Learning to Fly", is now playing in my head... "Into the distance a ribbon of black, stretched to the point of no turning back, a flight of fancy on a windswept field, standing alone my senses reeled"... lol, I just like this song.

I am in awe of how beautifully these fledglings are doing and how tolerant they are of the thousands of people in the nearby fairgrounds. Truly these Ospreys are survivors. They have decided to live near human development and they are thriving.

He is feeling the freedom of flight with wings that will take him far as he wishes to fly.

One last shot of this magnificent youngster as he flies low and smooth over my head.

A close-up. I am so thankful for all the parties that were involved in making these nest structures for the Ospreys. Because of such wonderful actions, photographers and birders and all nature lovers are treated to a wonderful window into the life of these magnificent Ospreys of Del Mar.

Mom spots Dad with breakfast and she can't get her talons untangled fast enough to jump back into the nest to grab the fish from him.

There is dad Osprey with breakfast. Flying in from the northwest.

He swoops towards the nest site.

He has unlocked the talons of his left foot in preparation for his mate to grab the prey as he lands in the nest on his freed left leg.

The female has positioned herself on the west side of the nest. She already knows that he is going to have the prey in his right talons. She will go for the grab and feed the fledglings. Every maneuver and prey grabbing technique is a life lesson for the fledglings. Soon,

they will be more aggressive and start to grab the fish themselves and they will be made to chase the parent for food to hone their flying skills and may benefit from watching the adults catch fish but it is hardwired into the ospreys to instinctively fish when they get hungry enough for themselves. I hope to be able to witness some of these wonderful moments as they learn all of life lessons for survival. Here is a close-up of the fish.

The male adult is poetry in motion as he approaches his landing area with his gift for his family. He is able to hover and stop his motion slightly before landing.

So precise and well executed.

He is landing so gently it almost appears that he is frozen in time for a few seconds.

Dad finally lands and Mom has claimed the fish. The adult male balances himself with his wings spread full as the prey is pulled off his talons.

As soon as he is free of the prey he is off and gone leaving the feeding of the fledglings to his mate. He will probably be hunting for more fish soon. His offspring are big and healthy and will need lots of fresh fish.

His fledgling watches him with great interest as he flies off. Soon the youngster will be following him out further and further from the nest site.

Off he goes, probably to rest and digest the big fish head that he consumed before he brought the main body of the fish back for his family.

Delighted to get all the action shots of the Ospreys today, I head for home. On my way back to the other side of the freeway I see a young Hooded Oriole. It looked as if just recently fledged!