June 07, 2006
Crouching Video
Nest Update: Before we talk about our osprey family, I wanted to mention a couple website matters. First, please note that I've made the final entry in the Eagle Cam Web Log for this season. Be sure to read the entry as I talk briefly about the issue of streaming video on this site, and I also offer a couple amazing bald eagle wallpaper images for you to download.
Also, starting Friday June 9, I will be on vacation for one week in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. I'll be returning on June 17. Throughout the week, I will be checking my email and checking in on the ospreys, but the gallery and web log updates will wait until I return. If you have gallery photos to submit during next week, feel free to send them as usual.
And now onto the osprey family. Our bookstore manager -- who works near the TV monitor at the Visitor Center -- reported yesterday that the youngest (whom she calls "Bitsy") got so much to eat from dad's big fish delivery, that his little stomach was round as a ball. In fact, all the chicks were so full, that the mother had to finish off the meal.
And speaking of food, there was one interesting moment that I forgot to mention in the last web log regarding my Sunday visit to the Osprey Cam monitor: Right before I got the VCR running to tape the video feed, an unfamiliar adult osprey landed on the cam platform while the mother was sitting there with a meal. The mother immediately recognized that it was not the father and quickly chased it off; in fact the stranger barely had time to land before it was taking off again. As soon as it left, the father osprey returned.
Sometimes a single osprey will "visit" a couple's nest. This stranger might have just been attracted to the meal, but sometimes adult ospreys want more than that -- such as to challenge one of the parents for their nest or mate -- so the mother was right in quickly shooing away the intruder.
And I have one final video that I wanted to share from my Sunday outing. The video offers an excellent look at the "crouching" behavior that the chicks exhibit when a parent sounds an alarm or when there is a threat near the nest. (Right-click on this link to download the video -- it's a 13.5 MB Windows Media Player file).
During the beginning of the video, the mother is feeding the chicks and the father is looking at something below the platform. The reason the father is looking down is that under our tall cam platform is a pond area where turtles, fish, and birds hang out. In fact, sometimes fish jump and splash in the water there.
Suddenly the parents hear something that makes them both look up and back toward the Visitor Center. If you look in the lower left corner of the video, you can also see a bird quickly fly away -- possibly the same creature that the father osprey was watching from above. Apparently this bird was startled by the noise too.
At the same time that all of this is happening, the chicks immediately fold in their wings and lay their heads flat on the nest. With the white stripes on their backs, the osprey chicks look like just a bunch of sticks in the nest when they crouch this way.
After it's clear that there is no immediate threat, the chicks begin to move again. The youngest is the first to raise its head, and it manages to sneak in a couple extra bites from mom, who starts feeding him again before the other birds sit up.
Unlike bald eagles, ospreys prefer to nest in open areas, as the parents like to be able to see all of the sky around them. While this preference helps them see a possible aerial attack, it also means that the chicks are more exposed because the top of the nest is so visible. The white stripe on the chicks' backs is nature's way of helping them blend into the nest when they crouch and lie still. There have certainly been times when this behavior has saved an osprey chick from becoming another bird's next meal.
A couple final notes: I wanted to thank all the cam watchers who wrote in to say how much they enjoyed the videos. Since they were such a big hit, we'll definitely offer more of them this season, as well as next season when the eagles return.
Also, thanks to all those who sent in their photos for our recent Gallery update. When looking at the photos, you can really see how much the chicks have changed in a short period of time. Also, I noticed we had another pair of shots showing the father helping with the feeding.
And on a final eagle note: Last year, we offered some help to the National Conservation Training Center in setting up their first Eagle Cam. The NCTC is the main training facility for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and they have a beautiful campus in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. Their nest currently has three eaglets that are just starting to fly, and they've posted a great video showing the oldest eaglet taking his first flight. Be sure to check it out.
Until June 17,
Lisa - webmaster
(contact)