Breakfast at the Nest

Watched the male osprey Skip come back with a fish, think a fluke, and start to eat it while sitting on the post in front of the nest. Betty, the mom, starts yelling at him and then comes down to the post and takes the fish up to the nest. I think he was making sure the fish was good to eat.

Momma Betty feeding bite sized morsels of fish to one of the chicks.

The momma osprey then bites little morsels of meat off the fish and feeds then to each chick. Watched her do this for at least 10 minutes. She fed each chick one morsel at a time, sometimes a couple of times in a row to the same chick. The other chick would wait patiently for their turn. It was a very controlled feeding, no mad rush at the food.

Pictures have gotten clearer as i have gotten use manual focus. My telephoto 600 Tamron lens auto focus servo motor failed back in April. The good news is the repair center for the USA is located in Commack, NY. The bad news is the repair center is closed due to Corona. Manual focus is super sensitive at full zoom, has taken time to get better at it.

The chicks picking thru the leftovers after a fluke breakfast.

Amazing how big the chicks have grown, they are almost as big as mom and dad. Biggest difference right now is their speckled feathers while adult ospreys are a more solid color. In the photo above, the 2 chicks are in the foreground of the osprey nest with their speckles quite visible.