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Belongil Estuary Osprey (Pandion Haliaetus)

All photos taken by Deb Pearse in Belongil Estuary. For more Osprey photos go to: www.byronbaybackyard.com.au


uvenile Osprey  

Juvenile Osprey hopping around the nest, one day before
his first flight. (7.9.09)

 

 uvenile Osprey

Juvenile Osprey coming into land next to his mother, still learning landing skills. (9.9.09)

       uvenile Osprey

Third day of flying and he's got the hang of it. (9.9.09)




 Male Osprey

Parent Osprey carrying the fish away from the nest to try and persuade the juvenile to fly.
(1.9.09)

       Female Osprey

Mother hovering above the nest, perhaps showing the juvenile how it's done. (26.8.09)


Osprey Pair

Osprey parents squabbling over a fish, the male is trying to fly away from the nest with his catch and his partner is hanging onto the fish. (7.8.09)

        Female on Nest

Female Osprey on the nest, fiercely protective of her chick she will drive off Sea Eagles, Torresian Crows, Whistling Kites and even a Jabiru.
(17.8.09)


    
 Osprey female & chick

 
The Osprey chick at about 7 - 10 days old, guarded by mum. When osprey chicks hatch, they are covered in white down with brown streaks on the face, back, and wings. This is replaced by charcoal-colored down after approx 10 days. Feathers begin to replace the down at approximately two weeks. (3.8.09)

     

The chick, now with white feathers, looking very, very cute. (23.8.09)




 
 (26.8.09)

     

During incubation and the nestling stage, the male osprey provides food to the female and the chicks. This entails delivering 60 to 100 g of fish to the nest per daylight hour (3 to 10 fish per day) during the nestling and fledgling stages. When a fish is delivered to the nest, one of the adults rips pieces of flesh from the fish and feeds them to the chicks. (Last year: 28.8.08)



 Juvenile Osprey

Juvenile Osprey approx two weeks before fledging. (28.8.09)
 Juvenile Osprey

(28.8.09)


 Osprey male

Osprey take the fish to a perch, often near the nest, to eat. They generally eat fish beginning with the head and working toward the tail. A male who is also providing food for a mate and offspring during the breeding season will typically consume at least part of the fish before delivering the remainder to the female. (17.7.09)


    

Osprey nests are typically constructed of sticks, and lined with softer materials such as seaweed, kelp, grasses or cardboard. Osprey pairs use the same nest year after year, but must spend some time each year repairing it and adding materials before eggs can be laid. (Last year: 28.8.08)



 Juvenile osprey

Juvenile Osprey just before first flight. A very healthy raptor, his/her wingspan is bigger than his parents. (7.9.09)

 

Male Osprey

The male Osprey on the 'feeding perch' next to the nest, very proud of his catch. (26.7.09)



      



The female Osprey has a quick break from the nest. The majority of her time is spent on the nest and I only saw her leave it to chase off another raptor or crow or to do a quick loop and back to the nest. (26.7.09)