Ospreys in Nest and Female on Light Pole April 22, 2021
Channel: Jeremy Hirzel
Date: 2021-05-02

I started out by filming both the female and male Osprey at nest #3. They were both right next to each other in the nest. I also talked about $SKLZ stock! Its been going up, so I'm just holding it until it reaches $23 a share. I think $23 is a reasonable sell price. I also filmed nest #1, but no Ospreys were present. The female Osprey flew off since she needed extra space to preen her feathers. This happened right as I was grabbing my stuff to get closer to these Osprey. She relieved herself once she landed. Usually when raptors use the bathroom, they go before they fly to that they can reduce their weight for an easier takeoff. But lately, I rarely see that happen anymore! This Osprey preened her feathers, scratched her head, and turned around and flapped her wings. I then filmed the male Osprey organizing branches in the nest. Then I turned my camera over to the female. She did something totally cool! She shook all of her feathers. That is what is known in the bird world as a "rouse". If a bird rouses, that means it is fearless of everything around it and is comfortable and calm! This is the first time I've seen this happen at a close range! The Osprey was halfway across a field, but I was still relatively close. But, not really close enough to really count as truly being close! I tried giving this Osprey a fish, but she'd rather just preen her feathers. A Red Shouldered Hawk started to make calls as soon as I flashed the fish, which is pretty strange, since Red Shouldered Hawks rarely eat fish. Well, anyways, I continued to film this Osprey all the way until sunset. The other 2 nests were empty, so nest #3 was the only nest occupied that day! About 12 hours later after I came back from work, I went over to Saint Mary's Lake and saw the male possibly mating with the female at nest #3. At nest #1, I could see the male behind the nest. I didn't check on nest #2 because I ran out of batteries at that point. The last clip you'll see is the male Osprey from nest #3 flying to collect branches for the nest. He went back and forth a few times after my recording stopped from low battery.