Baby Osprey
As you can see, their nest is very large and made of sticks. The osprey pair come back to the same nest year after year. They have their nest high in the trees or sometimes they nest on poles. Unfortunately, the nest where the picture of this baby osprey was taken was blown down during Hurricane Matthew and the tree snapped. The ospreys returned, but had to start all over in a new spot nearby.
I am staying at a place called Kiawah Island, South Carolina where there are ponds, rivers, and marshes. It is a barrier island on the Atlantic Ocean. It is a fantastic place to go bird watching because there are many types of birds. My favorite kind of bird I love to take pictures of is the osprey. These birds have a nickname called fish-hawk because they prey on fish. The osprey will hover over the water looking for fish. If it finds one, it plunges down and grabs the fish with its talons. If there is a shortage of fish the osprey will eat other birds, small mammals, or reptiles. There are many osprey nests on Kiawah Island. The osprey lay between 2-4 eggs in the spring, usually in April or May.
Ospreys can be very loud. Their call is a high-pitched yell or chirp that can go on for a long time, especially if the osprey feels threatened. Whenever I get too close to the nest to try to get a picture, the osprey lets me know to move away from that area.
The females are the ones that protect the young from the rain and sun while the males go on a fish hunt. These birds were seriously endangered by pesticides like DDT, which thinned the egg shells and resulted in them breaking before they could hatch. These kind of pesticides were banned in 1972 so there is a huge comeback of the ospreys and many other species.
Kiawah even has a golf course named after them, Osprey Point, where as you would expect, there are several nests. So be careful when you take a swing at the golf ball.