Month: June 2016

Go ahead. Tell your father what you just told me. And, by the way, where’s your little sister?

They must have been born three or four days ago.

I swear, sometimes these new wings get so heavy I can’t even stand up to eat.

Then I realize – Hey! I only have to drag them around for a few more days. Then I’ll be able to use them to fly! And I can get my own darn fish.

And how come my sibling isn’t having to struggle so much? It’s not fair!

Go Away! I need a nap. So I’m just gonna lay down here in the shade of this post.

And – Man! These wings are getting heavy! What are these things for anyhow? Right now they’re just dragging me down.

My favorite image from yesterday, turns out not to be a bird.  It was this Pine that  I’ve seen a thousand times. It stands near the big nest behind the picnic shelter at Battery Worth, Fort Pickens area.

The male Osprey that has inhabited the nest nearby for a long time uses this tree as his favorite place to chow down on a fish – before he takes the part he’s willing to share to his mate, who is patiently – or not so patiently! – sitting on the nest tending to their young’uns.

But yesterday it was the tree itself that stood out against the stormy sky.

I wonder if anybody else noticed it.  Nah. Probably not. After all … it’s just a Pine tree.

The Least Tern family has scattered all over the area. It took me a while to even spot them. But, finally, dad came in with food and the two chicks popped up. (I was looking at them all along, but they’re  just about impossible to see until they move.)

As usual, they still want shelter.

And their little wings are transforming from little fuzzy nubs into the beginnings of wing feathers.

Made it out to see the babies on Tuesday, with my favorite expert, Ashlyn, along. The nest seems to have become mobile (or non-existent!)

They have moved farther away from the road, and the chicks are now seeking shelter on the shady side of this electrical box that sits right in the middle of that area.

Meanwhile, down Fort Pickens way, Ashlyn caught this great shot of another mother nest-sitting right beside the road.

And just beyond the Battery Worth area, she captured another mother of a slightly different stripe – an Osprey.