Ready to Fledge

The Osprey triplets at our Loomis Goose Creek Preserve have grown incredibly fast and may be ready to fledge in a week or two, if not sooner! They can be seen from the ground peering over the edge of the nest, with visible curiosity!

Despite their sizes, there still appears to be enough room for the entire family on the platform. Femke (mom) is usually with them but leaves them alone sometimes since fear for predators is now minimal.

The youngsters' striking colors with brownish back of the head, orange eyes, and speckled wings clearly distinguishes them from their parents who have a uniformly dark coat of feathers.

They still like to be fed but soon will be able to feed themselves.

Wing flapping makes their wings growing stronger by the day to prepare them for lift-off!

One video shows the head-bobbing from side to side which is more common among chicks than adults. It may have to do with helping them visualize overlapping objects in the distance by creating a relative distance between them.

Although this post is focused on the Osprey at one of our nature preserves, there are now multiple Osprey platforms around the lake, on man-made platforms, dishes, and Osprey-made nests on utility poles, that make Osprey watching something we can all enjoy just looking up in the sky, or over the lake while they are fishing! We can expect to have these marvelous raptors around until early fall when they return to their wintering grounds.

Check out our Facebook and Instagram pages for videos of our Osprey family! (Use the links at the top of the page!)