Like I said, I first saw them appear on April 7. They were working on their nest, but the nest was fairly empty.
I watched one of them fly in with some nesting material.
After that nesting material was brought down to the platform, the Osprey started moving the material around.
It wasn’t all non-stop building. Here the Ospreys can be seen standing side-by-side before the nest took any real shape. This is, however, after the previous pictures.
On April 9, there was a slightly more apparent nest. Once again, I caught them taking a break from the work of building a home.
Shortly after the last picture, one of the Ospreys headed off of the platform. Perhaps it was time to get some work done.
Later on, I caught one of the Ospreys carrying more building material.
I also had periodic encounters where they were flying without the extra weight. This one here appears to be turning.
Back on the nest, construction resumed.
Materials were still being collected.
When one Osprey sees another, they frequently communicate.
Communication seems fairly common when food is involved. Perhaps the chatty Osprey would like a bite. How rude not to share with its partner.
And again, we are back to the work on the nest. This Osprey was trying to snap off a piece of a shrub. Unfortunately, it missed.
More time passed, and I could still see the Ospreys flying around. This Osprey on April 16 seemed aware of my presence.
It took until April 22 before I got some decent shots from a reasonable distance.
Here's the same Osprey in a different posture. Sometimes, they hunch over like this just before they get rid of some waste. I believe that this was the reason for the hunched over appearance when I took this shot.
Some time passed before the eggs were laid. While I never saw the actual eggs, the incubation appeared to start around May 19.
A second active Osprey nest at Chambers Creek Properties is located on the BNSF bridge across Chambers Creek. You have to have a low tide just to get there. I encountered such a tide on May 19.
Back to the incubation. Incubation isn't a single day process. Here's that first nest on June 4.
Here we have one of the Ospreys landing on the nest while the other continues the incubation process on June 9.
I was on a vacation that took me away from the Ospreys from June 22 through July 6. I managed to return to the Ospreys on July 7. The young had hatched. Unfortunately, I was having camera problems and didn't get a decent picture until July 22.
The young didn't spend the entire day doing nothing. I managed to catch a small piece of action within the nest.
One day later, I managed to take a shot of one of the young chirping. Also seen is one of the parents as well as the other young Osprey (kind of blending in with the adult).
I also saw one of the young and one of the adults side by side. The other baby Osprey can be seen to the side.
When the young vanished inside, I made sure to capture one of the adults on the nest. I already had pictures of the adults during construction. I wanted a picture after the construction had finished.
I also decided to try out the movie mode on a new camera. While recording, a rival Osprey flew by the nest. I captured the shouting match and the start of the chase.
I also managed to shoot the return to the nest.
Since my camera was in movie mode, I relied on fellow Taylor family sub-amateur psychostretch to capture the still shots for the shooting...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/psychostretch/6114511152/
The chase...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/psychostretch/6114512652/
and the return to the nest.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/psychostretch/6113968063/
There is one picture that I have really struggled to capture that is a part of the lives of Ospreys. I haven't been able to get a decent shot of an Osprey fishing. On July 24, I managed to get as close as I have ever come to the elusive shot. This is one of the Ospreys nesting on the BNSF bridge over Chambers Creek.
This is a little better. This is carrying a fish after successfully fishing.
Back to the more visible and accessible nest. Here we have one of the young facing one of the adults. Perhaps we should call the other young Osprey "Malcolm" due to the fact that it's in the middle.
I first saw the young off of the nest on July 30. I didn't get many pictures that day. On July 31, the first day that I saw both young off of the nest, psychostretch managed to shoot both Ospreys off of the nest together with adult supervision.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/psychostretch/6113968999/
How long has it been since my last in-flight picture? Here's a gratuitous from-below shot.
Ospreys aren't the only birds flying over the Puget Sound. They are not even the only birds that the young Ospreys are aware of. This Osprey is watching ducks flying overhead.
While I knew the young were flying, I didn't actually see them in flight until August 6. Here is one of my first pictures.
I really wanted the shot. Perhaps that's why I kept at it and added a shot from the side...
The front...
And a fairly close shot from below.
I also saw them closer than I had seen them previously.
On August 7, I managed to head to the second nest. I also shot another nest on the BNSF bridge. While it would explain the increased activity in comparison to the usual nest, I never saw an Osprey take off or land from this nest. I can't be sure that it's active.
Once again, I got fairly close to one of the young.
The Ospreys were not through with the nest. Among the uses was as a feeding area on August 13.
On August 20, I actually caught both of the young back on the nest. At first, it was just one, but the other landed next to it.
Here, one of the young is calling. Count the legs. One of the young is hiding behind the other.
Fortunately, they moved into better positions. Here are both of the kids, side by side.
Let's go with one last gratuitous in flight shot (from the side) the next day...
Before finishing this collection of pictures, I have proof that there aren't just two young Ospreys on the property. This young Osprey is on the BNSF bridge over Chambers Creek. It was taken when I was fortunate enough to encounter a low tide on August 27.
I am still seeing Ospreys, but today (September 9) was the first day that I did not see any Ospreys on the nest at any time. Perhaps I should be looking forward to next year when we repeat the experience.
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