Ozzie and Harriet appear to be doing well. She’s spending more time alone in the nest, but I’ve seen no signs of attempted egg laying yet. I expect to see her laying down for that within weeks, if not days.
The highlight of last week occurred on Monday. Harriet was alone in the nest and started screaming while staring into the sky. Circling very high above her was an Osprey – but not Ozzie. The stranger’s circles became lower and lower, and Harriet’s screams became incessant.
Then, just like in the movies, Ozzie appeared out of nowhere and went right at the stranger with incredible speed. There was a wonderful looping and diving aerial chase above Great Cove and then into the distant horizon, where the birds disappeared from view. (The image of Ozzie here was taken at the beginning of the chase.)
After about two minutes, which seemed longer, Ozzie returned to the nest and was greeted by Harriet making the victory sign with outspread wings to congratulate him – wait, actually that’s not quite true; I got a little carried away.
When one of these birds zooms to the nest while the other is in it, there can be raised wings all around if the landing trajectory and speed are not perfect. Two birds, each with a five-and-one-half-foot wingspan, have to be careful in such tight spaces; there sometimes is a talons-out crash. (Images taken in Brooklin, Maine, on April 25, 2022.)