Aubrey and Hazel

April 25th...When I arrived today I did not see Hazel in the nest. I watched for several minutes and when I was about to give up I noticed them both in a tree across the pond sitting on opposite branches about 20 feet apart vertically. I tried to get a few photos but even with my 300mm and 1.4x converter they were too far away. When I returned in the afternoon Aubrey was back at his favorite tree not far from the nest, I took a series of photos even though he was backlit by the afternoon sun and even managed to shoot about 5 minutes of video. Hazel was sitting low in the nest.

Aubrey on his favorite perch. © David Wornham Photography

© 2014 David Wornham Photography

© 2014 David Wornham Photography

This is one of the videos I took of Aubrey. He was exhibiting some new behavior for me, bobbing his head up and down and from side to side. I have been told this is common for raptors, I have seen this before when observing Snowy Owls this past winter. It helps them with their vision when focusing on something.

April 28th...I could not wait to get back to the nest today after 3 days. I arrived just after 8:30am and found Aubrey sitting across the pond eating a fish. Even with good light he was too far away to get any good photos so I just observed him for about 15 minutes. Hazel was in the nest as she is every time I visit now. I am convinced they have a clutch of eggs to protect and hope to see offspring by late May.

By luck I came across a male Osprey at Silver Lake in Athol this evening. I heard the unmistakable call when I brought my son to baseball practice. The fields are located across from the lake and I have observed an Osprey flying over on previous days. I walked toward the lake and ended up right under him as he was eating a fish only 30 feet or so above me. He was backlit by the overcast sky but I managed to get a few good photos from underneath as he enjoyed his meal.

male Osprey eating a fish. © David Wornham Photography

male Osprey giving me the evil eye as I watched him eat.

The markings on this Osprey are similar to Aubrey, the females are identified by the bib or barring on the chest, the males have less markings or nearly no markings depending on the individual.

April 29th...Today was the coldest morning without wind in the last couple of weeks, barely 37 degrees with a light rain. Even with the weather conditions I stopped by for a quick visit but saw no activity. It appeared that Hazel was in the nest but I did not see Aubrey. I could only spend a few minutes today.


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