Of course, I cannot stop checking on Tiny Tot at the Achieva Osprey Nest in St Petersburg, Florida. Too soon he will be gone – poof. It appeared that it had been a relatively calm day for Tiny but I was wrong! That adult intruder was back on the nest this morning.
Tiny Tot had a fish delivery. The parent who delivered the meal was on the nest with Tiny at 9:50:01. I believe it was Jack but I am not 100% sure. Remember that Tiny has a fish he is protecting – you can’t see it but it is there tucked between his legs and below his belly.
Both become aware of another Osprey flying over. You can see the shadows over the nest sometimes. They both begin to look different directions with Tiny Tot flapping its wings and alarming.
The parent raises their wings and looks like they are going to fly off after the intruder.
The parent stops and begins to fold their wings down as the intruder approaches the nest coming in from the right. You can see them. That black line with the white is that osprey approaching (middle of the image on the right).
The intruder is at the nest!
He buzzes over Tiny Tot without stopping missing its landing.
And you can just see the tail feathers as that nest invader leaves.
But that isn’t the end of it. Tiny is not able to eat his fish yet because that intruder bird overshot its target and comes back! At 9:51:18, the intruder returns and lands on the nest at 9:51:29 right behind Tiny Tot who is still guarding his fish lunch. He lost one fish to the intruder bird yesterday and he is not going to make that mistake again.
Tiny is doing a fantastic job mantling its fish. He is not going to engage the intruder adult today. He wants his lunch and he knows that if he stays like this he will keep it – he learned that from the fight with the intruder yesterday. Smart kid this Tiny Tot. Oddly, the parent just looks off in the distance as if they are completely oblivious to what is happening behind them. Odd that.
And then without any agitation, the intruder takes off at 9:52:20. It is gone.
Tiny is still mantling that fish determined that no one is going to take it away for awhile after that bird is gone.
And then relief sets in and Tiny Tot gets to enjoy his fish. Whew! These events happen so quickly and can be so dangerous. Poor Tiny.
And before I close there is a couple of news items in Bird World. The little albino osprey born at the nest in Urdaibai, Spain ate for the first time. It only took a couple of bites as expected and went back to sleep between its siblings. How cute is that? Just a little cuddle puddle.
And I have been spelling his name wrong – it is Wattsworth at the Cowlitz PUD nest in Washington State. He brought Electra and the two chicks four fish deliveries today. My goodness, he really is changing his ways. One of them was what we call a ‘Mud Puppy’ here in Canada – a small catfish but, it was nonetheless a fish!
Here is Wattsworth on the left. He has just given Electra the little catfish. And look, one of the chicks already has a big crop. What a wonderful day for this osprey family. I hope you keep it up, Wattsworth. It sure would be nice to have a couple of fledges off this nest this year and not tragedy! The world could use some joyful news – so, Wattsworth – keep bringing in the fish!
Thank you for dropping in on this quick check on Tiny Tot. He sure is learning a lot on that natal nest. He should almost be prepared for anything. Take care everyone.
Thank you to the Achieva Credit Union, the Cowlitz PUD, and Urdaibai Biosphere Park for their streaming cams. That is where I get my screen shots.
