The saga of Ozzie and Harriet Osprey continues and I think that they’re trying to drive me crazy. I’ve still not caught a glimpse of any hatchlings, although there are promising signs (that I may be reading too much into).
Ozzie is spending much more time on and near the nest. Above, you see him bringing home yesterday’s breakfast. (If you have great eyes, you might see the tips of that breakfast’s tail under Ozzie’s tail.)
Both he and Harriet made numerous trips earlier in the week to get moss and bark strips to supplement the nest bottom. Harriet also has been making bobbing movements reaching deeply into that bottom that are consistent with feeding one or more hatchlings:
(From day one, baby Ospreys are tediously but carefully fed minute pieces of fish from Mom’s [or, sometimes, Dad’s] big and sharp beak. No spoons allowed.)
Above, you see the pair sitting together in their penthouse after breakfast, just seemingly chatting and enjoying yesterday’s lovely breeze:
Research indicates that there usually are three to four eggs and that these usually hatch serially – one a day. This is a tremendous advantage for the fast-growing first born. (Brooklin, Maine)
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061721 – Maine Naturalists Only -- In the Right Place: I.D. Request
Saw these insects swarming this nearby raft of water lily pads today and yesterday, moving from pad to pad and skimming over the water.
Are they water lily beetles of the Donacia kind? Were they laying eggs in the pads? Any help would be appreciated.
See also the enlargement below:
(Brooklin, Maine)