Yes, that’s the Osprey Nest that we’ve been monitoring. No, that’s not an Osprey in it. We’re looking at a thief in action yesterday morning.
The nest has become mostly an eating and resting platform for the Osprey youngsters that were raised there. Their parents drop a fish into the nest for them from time to time and they come by to snack and maybe take a nap or just ponder Osprey mysteries.
Much of the time, the fledged youngsters are self-teaching themselves to fish and – just as important – what to do with a fish once they have caught it. (In the beginning, they sometimes kept a just-caught fish in the talons of both feet, rather than transferring it to one foot, the way their parents do. When they tried to land on a branch or even a flat surface with a live, slippery fish in both feet, they became a slapstick comedy act.)
While the Osprey youngsters are fishing, the more aggressive of our Herring Gulls, such as this one, sneak onto the nest with an eye to the sky, grab part of any fish there, and flee. We wonder what would happen if one or more of the Osprey homeowners saw a gull in their bed.
Leighton Archive Image
Often, Ospreys will eat a fish in an open area and gulls will gather around, but keep their distance; the dining Ospreys seem to completely ignore their presence. Clearly, the raptors are the dominant species. (Brooklin, Maine). See also the image in the first Comment space.