Margaret
O’Brien contacted the banding office for information
on an Osprey
wearing
a band. 
She
had photographed the band and was able to read all numbers bar the last
two. Perry was contacted as being the bander of most Osprey in W.A.
We spoke to Margaret and explained that the last two digits would
identify the bird. Within a couple of days the photo opposite
arrived.
The last two digits are clearly visible
The
Osprey was banded by Perry on Garden Island on
21 November 1991…
Margaret has kindly agreed to write the story of “Aussie” for
us.
As
I sit here high above the river at Freshwater Bay and look at the juvenile
Osprey perched on a branch below, I recall the events I have viewed nearly
every day for the last five and a half months and marvel at my good
fortune in being privy to this new life that has unfolded before me.
The
Ospreys of Freshwater Bay have been nesting there for at least twenty
years. It may be a lot longer. The nest is virtually inaccessible from the
bay or from land, no doubt being a factor in its continued existence in
what is a very popular water playground.
No-one locally that I have spoken to knows how long this particular
pair has occupied the nest, nor whether it is the same male, but the
female, who is identifiable by a leg band, has definitely been there for
the last three years. She and her mate have successfully raised clutches
of two and even three chicks in the last three years.
I
observed the pair mating several times from mid August until early
September. Half way through September they started to take turns in
sitting on an egg or eggs. I wasn’t able to see the eggs from my vantage
point but because of the way the adults moved within the nest, I strongly
suspected that there was more than one egg.
Even
from these early observations it was apparent that the female was the
dominant bird. If the male was sitting on the clutch, he would defer to
her when she returned to the nest and vacate the brooding spot. Each would
spend at least a couple of hours sitting during the daylight hours and
presumably each was catching his or her own fish, as I never saw the male
bring fish to the nest for the female. The nest was never left unattended,
although on a warm day, one or the other bird might fly to a nearby branch
for a few minutes where it could readily observe the nest.
I
noticed that the female had little or no vision in her left eye. There was
still an iris and pupil, but the eye looked ill-formed and lifeless with
the pupil displaced towards the front of the eye. Some of my earliest
photographs are not clear, but I’m sure I can see blood on the partially
closed lid and in light of the marked deterioration in the eye in the
ensuing months, I suspect that the injury was a recent one.
People who had
observed her the previous two nesting seasons had not noticed or captured
images of anything that would have indicated that there was anything wrong
with her eye. By her general appearance and posture, I always suspected
that she was quite an old bird.
On
October 20th one chick was just visible amid the twigs, ropes,
seaweed and other flotsam and jetsam that constituted the nest. It may
have been born a day or even two before that date. I suspected that there
was a second chick by the way the parents’ gaze would move from the
barely visible chick to something close by and they were just as
solicitous towards whatever it was that I couldn’t see.
By
the third day I was able to confirm that there were indeed two chicks and
they appeared to be the same size and the mother could be seen feeding
both in turn and both took food with great enthusiasm. It wasn’t as if
one was smaller than the other or sickly. However, five days later there
was no sign of the second chick and I never saw it again.
Another
regular observer and photographer who had observed the birds the previous
two years as well as this year saw one of the parent birds fly from the
nest with something small and pale in its talons at the time the second
chick was no longer observed. Neither he nor I have ever seen the Ospreys
remove anything from the nest before or since and he wonders if it was
removing the dead chick.
In
the first few weeks after the hatching, the male would regularly bring a
freshly caught fish, almost always with the head removed. The mother
always fed the chick before she started to eat and if the chick indicated
that it wanted more, she would instantly interrupt her own repast and
resume feeding it, putting her own hunger on the back burner. The
incredible gentleness of this big bird with the over sized talons picking
her way gently towards the chick and then feeding it tiny bits of fish
with that great big beak over a period of about half an hour was
enthralling.
The male remained on the edge of the nest or on one of the branches of the
tree the nest is built on, observing from the sidelines. In the first
weeks of the chick’s life the female wasn’t perturbed by his presence
and would unhurriedly feed the chick and then herself.
Other
observers and I were seeing the mother and juvenile locked in conflict
every time we visited, which would indicate that we weren’t seeing the
only battles that were taking place between them. This was confirmed by a
nearby resident, who can see the nest from her place. She reported
witnessing some really vicious battles between them. And reiterated that
she had never seen similar behaviour in the years she had lived there.
For
a few days, the mother gained the upper hand and the juvenile would make a
token stance of challenging her authority, but its body language was
submissive and it deferred to the mother’s greater presence and bearing.
However, the mother’s physical strength and endurance was being tested
each time they encountered each other at the nest. On a few rare occasions
they rested together in relative harmony; however these times of peace
were short-lived. They were fighting even when there was no food involved.
Some of the photographs I took of the two of them locked in battle clearly
show just how much condition the mother had lost over a two to three week
period. One of the most heart wrenching sights I have ever seen was when
the juvenile triumphed in a fight over a fish and took its prize out onto
the branch to eat it. The mother stood on the edge of the nest facing the
tree that was the male’s favourite hangout pleading for food as a chick
would.
The
male Osprey continued to bring fish, but seemed to time it to when only
one was on the nest at the time he was going to make a delivery and had
been observed by a nearby resident to stand with a fish in his talons for
hours,
waiting for such a moment to
arrive. He seemed confused as to whom he should be making the delivery to
and this uncertainty was possibly benefiting the mother, as she would end
up with a share of them by default.
The
pattern of conflict interspersed with periods of acceptance of each
other’s presence continued over the next couple of weeks, with mother
Osprey’s condition clearly deteriorating. Then, just when things were
beginning to look really grim, she surprised us all on an extremely windy
afternoon by spending close on three hours soaring above the area with up
to four other Ospreys. Photos verify that it was her as her band and blind
left eye are visible. On this particular day, when she attempted to land
on the nest in the early evening, the juvenile, who’d been on the nest
the entire time watching the aerial display, became very aggressive
towards its mother, attacking her relentlessly, with claws out and meaning
business. It successfully retained the dominant position and evicted its
mother from the nest and mother didn’t return that evening.
The
following day, February 17th, the mother bird was on the nest
and looking remarkably good. She was alert, bright eyed and clearly not in
any distress. In fact, she appeared content. That was the last time she
was positively sighted. This grand old dame was banded as a chick on
Garden Island on November 21st, 1990, making her 18 years old. Some of us
who have been regular observers like to think she’s gone on holiday and
is sitting in a tree above a bay enjoying a fish cocktail.
In
its mother’s absence, the juvenile’s behaviour changed markedly. Its
focus was able to shift from constantly having to defend its presence at
the nest site. It started gazing down into the bay with that head rocking
movement that they employ when focussing on a fish and would plunge
quietly off the nest towards the water below. However, as yet I am still
to see it return with a fish. When it does return to the nest, its arrival
is always heralded by great fanfare, squealing with the unfettered
exuberance of youth. It is spending an increasing amount of time absent
from the nest and some days was not been seen there at all. From what
I’ve been able to tell, everything pertaining to this particular Osprey
family’s behaviours from the time the chick fledged has been abnormal.
The young bird was caught in an endless round of conflict with its mother
over food. These new patterns are a positive sign of its increasing quest
for independence.
The
most recent developments have been the arrival of a new female on the
scene. I first saw her flying with the male Osprey when he was delivering
a fish to the nest on March 1st, although other observers had
seen him flying with a female several times in the previous few days. This
may have been the mother Osprey or it may have been the new female. I had
brief glimpses of this girl, who appeared to be bonding with the male and
although I’d managed a few in-flight shots of her, the quality hadn’t
been too wonderful. The lady who lives close by, who has an unimpeded view
of the nest has seen them flying together on multiple occasions and has
also observed them sitting side by side on the nest. The juvenile seems
totally unperturbed by the presence of the new female.
Only
a few days ago, on March 20th, 2009, the male, new female and
the juvenile had been flying back and forth along the bay. The juvenile
and new female landed on the nest and sat together in complete harmony for
half an hour. The male did multiple passes by the nest with a fish in his
talons, but didn’t deliver it. Neither female seemed to be particularly
interested in what he had to offer and eventually the juvenile left and
wasn’t seen again that day.
The
new female went from the nest to the branch, gazing around her, almost as
if she was quietly laying claim to the site. The male sat on his favourite
branch for well over an hour, still with the fish in his talons. He’d
occasionally have a small snack and would gaze over to the nest from time
to time. They started communicating with
each other and the male began to indicate that he was getting ready to
leave. The new female became more animated as he left the branch and
headed down towards the nest.
The
male’s behaviour was a bit odd. He flew close to the new female a few
times, not as if he wanted to deliver the fish, but almost as if he wanted
to slap her with it in passing.
She
promptly jumped down onto the nest. She adopted a very defensive pose as
he did yet another pass. She has all the hallmarks of a young bird; not
like her feisty predecessor who is away enjoying a well-earned break. She
left the nest shortly thereafter and the male alighted on another branch
at the nest and started to devour his catch.
Three
Ospreys have been seen soaring early in the morning and late afternoon
some days, but their visits to the nest are infrequent. This is
undoubtedly a peaceful time of the year for them and I don’t expect to
see too much of them until the breeding season recommences.
Until
then.
Margaret
O’Brien
Osprey
Update
Margaret
sent through the following snippet on Sunday 9 August ‘09.
Dad
Osprey has a new partner (has done so for several weeks). She's a big,
beautiful girl who has the appearance of being a young bird. I am as
convinced as I could ever be that it is not Aussie. Dad and Big Hook, as
I've named the new girl, have been mating very enthusiastically. I'll be
heading off to the nest this afternoon, but the last time I went, which
was two days ago, no eggs had been laid. I'm going once and sometimes
twice daily. It is such a privilege to be able to observe these
magnificent birds that I would feel disrespectful if I didn't go as often
as I can. I only missed yesterday because it was raining. I intend to keep
a running photo journal of their progress - my photographic skills have
improved in the year since I started observing the nest.
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