July 30--Waiting for the Nod...

Another early morning check out of the chicks. We did not see dad, but did get a chance to see how the chicks were doing. Both Blinkin and Winkin decided to prove their endurance and flew out of sight.  We think they decided to go get fishing training from dad.  This left poor Nod as the lone Osprey on duty.  He tried, and tried..but this is the best he got.

Meanwhile, Blinkin was having playful dogfights with a red-wing blackbird or two on the horizon..kids, they grow up so quickly!!!

July 28-Wow..talk about progress

We went out this morning with the hopes of seeing some good flying.  Last night was nice, but we wanted more.The first thing that happened was dad decided a female flying by was an interloper and chased her off.

(Don't you hate when the mother-in-law drops by unannounced!)

Then, we got some proof that two of the chicks (Winkin and Blinkin) are very good, capable and adventurous fliers! And that Nod is still trying to get the required confidence.

Blinkin? takes off for a quick trip..

Fails to land cleanly on a light post...She then proceeded to roost on a nearby building.

Then, Winkin picked up what was left of breakfast (breakfish?) and flew with it to the nearby platform...

Leaving an upset Nod...

Blinkin flew to the platform too..

And Nod tried her? best!!!

When we left, Winkin and Blinkin were calling back to the nest as they ate on the platform, either taunting or encouraging Nod to join them.

Mid Afternoon, Dawne and the girls came out to see what was up..and got a great air show. Both Winkin and Blickin were doing low passes over the playground. There was also a large tent that was put up for some reason, that intrigued the chicks. They tried landing on the top of the post, and landed on the peak a few times...great landing challenges I guess.

 

This little piggie went to market......

 

A bad feather day!

Then, not satisfied with that challenge, they decided to check out the ball diamond!  I have never seen an Osprey on the ground, let alone two.

Can you find the two Osprey?

OUT!!!  SAFE!!! OUT!!! SAFE!!!

There were times they were so close the camera could not zoom out enough to catch the wingspan!  of course by the time I showed up they were done..but Dawne and Rachel (8years old!) got some nice shots!

July 25-27 Update

The weather has not been co operating, and we left town for a few days.  When we Saw Winkin last Friday, she was doing one lap and then a big rest.

So we swung by on our way back into town, and saw three Osprey out of the nest.

We think this is Winkin

We think this is Blinkin and Dad

Dad gives me the evil eye!

From what it looks, Dad was on the platform, with Blinkin, Winkin was on a light by herself, and Nod was back in the nest, out of sight.

Tuesday, Dawne went out and saw:

Which seems to be dad having supper.  There are left overs visible in the nest, so he is still keeping the chicks well fed!

And tonight, we went out for a few minutes, and had the pleasure of seeing a very low flight across the soccer field, but did not get that picture.  We did get the after landing shot--looks like Winkin:

With dad and the rest of the family in the nest.  We will go see in the morning!!!

July 22--Yay Winkin!!!

At 0830, we headed out to the field to watch.  When we got there, nothing was happening so we decided to sit in the van and listen to the news..much to our chagrin.

Not halfway through the news, someone took off, flapped at least 10 flaps, flew form on side of the nest and landed.  So we got out of the van fairly quickly.

And were walking closer when we saw....

Someone take off...

 So we thought, "I guess that was dad before we saw fly from one end to the other..."

But then our freind landed less that a minute later after one circuit...

 It was WINKIN!...We caught her in one of her first, purposeful circuits around the nest!!!

Blinkin and Nod look on...

And to confirm, a minute and a half later, dad showed up and flew circuits for a while...

Thanks Dawne for pointing out the moon so I could compose this shot!

Then a mature female did a few laps...

And it is going to be harder and harder to tell the chicks and adults apart..the eyes are getting yellower, and the beaks are growing!