When should this one be ready to fly?
jdouglass@jfti.com
Registered Users Posts: 19 Big grins
Not a great pic, but you can tell it's age.
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Nice shot but it's difficult to determine when this juvenile will fly the nest. Like a baby walking..it all depends on the individual's ability and the parental encouragement.
I've followed many osprey and their mating habits and care of the young. My last observations of a local family.... had 3 juveniles to the nest. Osprey typically have 3 young (2 their first time around). The young are hatched days apart with the first born becoming the dominant juvenile. This oldest juvenile will be the first to eat and the others will wait ..in order of age to eat what's left of the fish the parents bring back to the nest (typically the male does the majority of the fishing for food).
The first juvenile took over a month from birth to leave the nest. The other juveniles followed suit about a week or two apart from each other. It's difficult to know exactly when the first flight took place, despite visiting the nest daily and watching it for hours at a time. I've also seen young take to flight much earlier than this ..while others have taken a bit longer.
If you know when this one was born then it would be easier to figure out. It's difficult to judge the size of this one without the other young and parents in the shot. The juveniles grow very fast and will be about the same size as the adults when they fly. The easiest way to tell them apart at that point is their feathers have a white pinstripe on the edges. Very attractive. (see my osprey gallery link)
So...basically you can Toss a coin.
Good luck and look forward to seeing more shots of these amazing birds.
Perhaps some visual help to determine the size/age of your chick ?
Early shot from a couple weeks old..taken 4/2/06
http://www.pbase.com/blindmustangpilot/image/58173630
Shot taken a couple weeks later. Note size of chicks already. 4/19/06
http://www.pbase.com/blindmustangpilot/image/58935892
Shot taken 4/27/06. Parents still bring food to nest and chicks are not yet flying
http://www.pbase.com/blindmustangpilot/image/59445454
Shot taken 5/7/06. Early flight shot of juvenile. Note white pinstripe outline of feathers.
http://www.pbase.com/blindmustangpilot/image/59938578
Shot taken 5/17/06 of 2nd born chick flying off with fish brought by parent.
http://www.pbase.com/blindmustangpilot/image/60881128
Shot taken on 5/20/06. First born juvenile landing back at nest after getting fishing lessons from Mom.
http://www.pbase.com/blindmustangpilot/image/62710741
Shot taken 5/20/06. Chicks are flying at this point, but last born is reluctant to leave nest. Parents still bring fish to the young and the other 2 chicks will return to nest and be fed as well.
http://www.pbase.com/blindmustangpilot/image/62721786
"Osprey Whisperer"
OspreyWhisperer.com
It is difficult to determine the sex of these birds. The stereotypic belief that the females have the neck pattern/necklace is a false belief. Extensive research has shown both males and females can have the "necklace" or both can be without any dark patterns to the neck/chest area. Another misconception is based on behavior. Some think the male does ALL the fishing , but this also is incorrect. I've seen the female leave the nest of young to do some fishing as well. After watching the birds for several months I can tell the male from the female of a certain nest..but the young do not distinquish any hierarchy behavioral traits that would give you a better idea of the sex. Some say when full grown the female is larger than the males. This is also very difficult to tell..as both parent birds are rather large and look the same size often. There are other ways to find out...but good luck taking one out on a date.
"Osprey Whisperer"
OspreyWhisperer.com
Unsharp at any Speed
This can be cloned out in PS if it bothers one. I often times clone stuff like this out. It's kind of difficult to find an osprey nest not on a man made structure. About 80% of all osprey nests are found on man made structures. In my area most are found on mile marker pilons on the waterways. This provides protection from predators and easy access to the fishing spots.
"Osprey Whisperer"
OspreyWhisperer.com
My Gallery
Thanks for sharing.
Dick.
Thomas Fuller.
SmugMug account.
Website.
I allmost put in the archives, I never delete any. At least not till I fill my drives and I got 600GB to go. Glad you all liked them. I will have more when it takes flight. And yes the light was VERY harsh, it was noon and the sun was right behind the nest.
Nice pics, thanks for the info. Will the baby stay at the nest for a while after it flys? Does anyone know when the osprey leave Maryland for the winter? Also, Is it rare to be a single baby?
The 3 juveniles at the nest I followed for a few months did stay at the nest for a good month and then some after they started to fly. The parents still brought fish to the nest for them to eat well after they learned to fly . I get the feeling these parents were very protective and not very eager to get the chicks out of the nest. Learning to fish must have been rather difficult for this bunch of chicks as it seemed the parents had to bring food to the nest for them for a good long time. The chicks would be off flying around far from the nest.....and then the gang would all meet back at the nest for lunch and dinner. They would all call to each other. It was pretty neat to see this. The dad would usually provide the fish, but every once in a while the mom would contribute.
It is rather uncommon for there to only be one chick at the nest. The first attempt at young the osprey often only have two offspring. The following attempts usually render 3 chicks. It is also not uncommon for one chick to die due to starvation if the first two chicks are extra aggressive. They can and will knock the 3rd youngest ...least dominant chick out of the nest to it's death. They can also bully it to the point of submission and it will starve to death if there is not enough food to go around.
You may have more than one chick if you have not been watching the nest very long...or don't stick around for several hours to see if any are flying yet. I've seen an empty nest...or a nest with just one chick in it stay that way most of the day...and then in the evening the other two chicks would fly in to spend the night. Perhaps your nest has more chicks and you are just catching the last of the chicks that remains in the nest. ??
Can't help you on if/when the osprey will leave. They are here year around.
"Osprey Whisperer"
OspreyWhisperer.com