It’s been almost two weeks …

… since I got out to visit the young Ospreys.

And yesterday looked rainy and dank. But I went anyway.  And was rewarded with the sight of two healthy and somewhat rowdy youngsters who are just about ready to leap over that edge and fly.

Just as I arrived, Dad flew in with lunch for the two ravenous little beasties.

And, before they could complete their meal, it started to rain. Hard!

Dad quickly grew tired of getting soaked, and left the nest. But all the two kids could do was jump up and down, flap their wings and complain loudly.

You can see the tiny white specks on their wings. Right? Those are raindrops.

One interesting feature of this shot is that it appears to be a sister (l) and brother (r) act.  I’m not positive, of course. But since females usually have a larger and more detailed necklace of brown feathers on their chests, that’s my guess for the moment. Of course, they won’t have their full adult feathers and colors until next year.

The rain only lasted a few minutes. So the kids did a lot more flapping – to dry off, of course. But also to exercise those huge beautiful wings that are going to carry them far in the days to come.

Meanwhile, after the rain stopped, there was a flash of Osprey in the Pine tree nearby. Big Mama had soared into the scant shelter the Pine offered and found her favorite perch. She hung out there for quite a while, looking bedraggled, but determined to get her wings dry.

Whenever I see her like this, I’m reminded of the many (thousands!) of images I’ve captured of her in the past few years. And of how BIG she is.

Which reminds me: I’m having three prints framed right now. They should be available in the gallery soon. And my favorite is this shot, captured last year, just before she laid her eggs. Her mate had brought her a small fish, and she instantly grabbed it and lept from the nest, as if to say “I’ve got to get out of this house for a while and eat my lunch in peace.”