Wings on Wednesday -
YAM's take on the good, the bad, the ugly and
the downright hilarious in photographing birds.
On Monday, I hinted at a 'resident' at Dundowran (Hervey Bay) which had been catching the lens' attention. As you see, it was an osprey! I went a bit shutter crazy as there were 'happenings'. Close inspection reveals a twig being tweaked!
What you see here is a mated pair making final touches to the nest. Quite possibly there were eggs, as one of the birds was reluctant to leave.
Osprey mostly mate for life and in Northern Qld (as here) the main brood season is April to July. I was there in late May. There will be more images for the entirety of this month. Like I said; shutter crazy...
I am not quite sure whether these images are of the Scottish birds or the Queensland birds. In any event, you may be interested to know that some taxonomic authorities consider the two to be different species. The bird found in Scotland and in most of the world is known as Western Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), but the bird in Eastern Australia is smaller and has a few other morphological differences and is known as Eastern Osprey (Pandion cristatus).
ReplyDeleteHari OM
DeleteThank you David - as it states quite clearly that these are in Northern QLD (and the label is Australia), these are the Eastern Osprey (which in my head I had also added here, but clearly the fingers had other ideas. It may be mentioned in one of the upcoming three posts...or not - blame the excitement at revisiting the moment in my memory as I shared these these images!!!) Yxx
You are lucky and blessed to have these to watch. I have seen two in real life...wish there were more closer to here. I think the ones I seen were just passing through.
ReplyDeletethey made me shutter crazy also, I think there nest are just AMAZING, the details of how they fit it all together.
ReplyDeleteOhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh I love this and Osprey.
ReplyDeleteWe took a river tour while in Williamsburg Va many years ago. I believe I recall hearing that Osprey build a new nest on top of last year's.
Hugs HiC
Hari OM
DeleteIndeed, that is the case! They can become a bit hi-rise! Yxx
Mom says it is fascinating to watch birds create those nests. Even canaries make quite the event out of it.
ReplyDeleteWoos - Lightning, Misty, and Timber
It's good to see nesting platforms built for these birds.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful sight this must have been! Thanks for capturing it for us!
ReplyDeleteYAY for the osprey sighting. Great captures! Enjoy your day and week ahead.
ReplyDelete