Sunset Cruise on Rookery Bay, Southwest Florida
Saturday 26 April 2008
Part 5: The Osprey (aka, the “sea eagle”)
The rookery was practically teeming with osprey. They make their nests on top of the channel marker signs, and boats can cruise by them and even stop at a respectful distance to observe them. There were generally two juveniles in each nest we passed, waiting on a parent to come by with a meal.
Visual: Osprey chicks in the nest (bad light angle, sorry!)
Audio: Feed me, feed me!
The exception was a beautiful, regal pair that Carol said had been nesting there for years, and a parent watching from a distance as the offspring practiced his “mantling” behavior over a meal in the nest.
Visual: Osprey high on the branch. Companion to one of the “mantling” photos
Audio: Describing the appearance of the Osprey.
Osprey “mantling” his food; another, probably the parent, observes from a tree in the background.
Visual: Osprey in the nest eating.
Audio: Dr. Jackson describes “mantling” behavior
Dr. Jackson talked about DDT poisoning and how it nearly destroyed the osprey population. He said that DDT lasts FOREVER in the body of invertebrates; it gets stored in fatty tissue, the brain and the liver. A sudden dramatic weight loss can release the poison into the system and cause all sorts of serious problems.
Visual: Young osprey waiting in nest. White-headed brown pelicans fly by
Audio: SW Florida, mercury pollution, talking about osprey’s coloring, etc. This one is a very good length.
NEXT TIME: Sunset on Rookery Bay!
You are so right that that one pic is an OMG shot! This is a terrific set of blog posts Tink – well done!
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Very Very Very Nice !
Thanks for visiting the other day…sorry I’m late getting backatcha…been a busy week.
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Great pictures!
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Sorry everyone – it looks like YouTube is down at the moment, so the videos aren’t showing up. I hope you’ll come back later or tomorrow to check them out. I just loved seeing and hearing all the osprey in Rookery Bay, and so wanted to share it with you all!
Tink *~*~*
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That truly is an “OMG” shot ! Great pics here and a wonderful write up too.
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Fantastic shots! Looking through with my dad, really enjoying the birds
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WOAH!! I’ve never seen nests so huge before @_@ An eye-opener for me
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[...] I’ve written about the effects of DDT poisoning before, when I cruised Rookery Bay with Dr. Jerry Jackson last spring. Dr. Jackson is a wildlife biologist at Florida Gulf Coast University, and has a radio spot on the local NPR station, WGCU 90.1 Fort Myers. The eagles have made a significant comeback since the banning of DDT, but encroaching civilization represents a new threat. Deforestation in Florida has resulted in a loss of habitat. Very often, people will point to eagle nests coexisting with human neighborhoods, such as the one by the Dairy Queen on Sanibel, as evidence that the eagles will be fine, and that they have adapted. Dr. Jerry Jackson says that situations such as the Dairy Queen nest have not existed long enough to know whether or not coexistence is really a success. [...]