Tag Archives: Osprey

A Few August Backyard Birds

We are fortunate to have a nice birdwatching venue behind our house, located less than a mile from the center of the city. Here are a few visitors in the last week or two:

We’ve had a family or two of Mourning Doves. These are waiting for me to refill the bird bath.
Ruby-throated Hummers delight us at the back porch feeder.

Our path to the river is still pretty muddy since the flood but this Gray Catbird is enjoying the lawn chair which survived the disaster.

The dead trees across the river are favorite perches for crows, kingbirds, and the occasional hawk or eagle. This Osprey, while not unusual to the area, is one of the first I’ve seen out back.

Checking eBird just now, I find that I’ve submitted 950 checklists and observed 136 species at this backyard patch. Nice spot for a birder to live.

Ospreys – Comeback Kids

Cedar Key has hundreds of Ospreys – nesting on platforms, pine tree snags, rooftops, and even the tower of the local Episcopal church. Like the Bald Eagle and Peregrine Falcon, Ospreys have overcome many complex threats—including DDT damage to eggs and habitat loss. We have an Osprey family living next door on a shed roof and another across the street. They are wonderful birds to watch flying, fishing, or just tending the nest.

Every morning, from our back deck, we were greeted by our neighbor Osprey family perched and ready for breakfast.

They had a nest a stone’s throw away and were continually adding materials such as sticks and moss.

Adding a little more moss. It appears that two adults are tending the nest – no evidence of feeding yet.

On every walk we saw Osprey nests.

This gives a nice example of the weaving of sticks and moss, ready to withstand the storms ahead.
In the “catbird seat.”

We have returned to Vermont as spring migration arrives. The car is unpacked, the camera files are next. Happy Spring.