The summer residence where Ozzie and Harriet Osprey raised three beautiful youngsters this year usually is abandoned. However, there are at least four circumstances where we’re seeing activity there. First, one of the parents will come by (at least daily, we think) and drop a freshly-caught fish into the nest. Here, you see Harriet taking a fish there yesterday.
Second, Harriet and Ozzie’s youngsters, David and Lucy, come by alone or separately to dine on that fish. (You may remember that Ricky, the second born, disappeared right after he learned to fly.) The remaining two youngsters usually are perched nearby or learning to fish in Great Cove over which their birthplace looms. Lucy was flying near the nest yesterday when we got this image of her:
Third, one of our Herring Gulls takes possession of the nest if no Osprey is in sight. Usually it’s to eat the fish remains, but it seems that some gull trespassers may want only to be the highest gull around with the best view that webbed feet can provide. Often, a younger gull will sneak into the nest and be driven out by an older one. That happened yesterday:
Fourth, when one of the Osprey family sees a gull in the nest, they will go toward it and the gull will exit quickly. That also happened yesterday, when the mature Gull in the nest saw Harriet coming:
(Brooklin, Maine)