More New Pilots

I put in by the sea, closer to the Osprey nests that I'm heading out to observe.  The first few nests are family scenes - adults and young together.  Sometimes the adults share the nest, sometimes they are perched very nearby.  The young stand high and mighty on the nests...no more hiding for them.

Just stretching the wings

But, up at the first nest below the Bailey Creek/Neck River fork, seven Osprey stand in the trees, none are in the nearest nest, which accounts for two adults and two young.  The others come from another nest not far away.  While passing, two of the young get up and take a short loop around the area.  Their flights last all of a minute.  The young are easy to identify when flying - they can't or don't stretch their wings to full span, the flying is choppy with a partially bent wing, the wing beats quicker than those of a mature bird.

5 Osprey

The next nest is near the fork in the rivers.  One young bird is on the nest and the sibling is off somewhere else.  But it too gets up and takes a short circuit around the area as I get near.  I can't help but imagine that they must be amazed by this newly discovered skill, something like the first time someone gave me the controls of a small airplane.

Salt Marsh Sparrow

I figure that somewhere over half of the young Osprey in this area have managed to fly as of today.

I head up through the Sneak flushing five Willets.  Some of them are still in the area, but mostly what I have noticed is that they are less testy than in the spring and early summer when they are either fighting with each other over nesting territory or defending the nests they have built. 

I continue on up river taking a loop around the small island in the Big Bends before returning.  I take one side trip up a long dead end cut that runs west off of the main river.  The forest where it dead ends seems to have a half dozen or more Osprey in it.  Some are seen, some are heard.