Sarasota through the Camera Lens
Celebrating the natural beauty of Sarasota and her Keys
Photos taken on my home turf.
A Discovery in Our Backyard My wife was the first one to notice. For several days, she kept telling me about hearing chirpy sounds emanating from the trees in front of our building. In the back of my mind, I just assumed it was the newly hatched night herons in a nearby oak that I …
The Night Heron Chronicles (S2, E3) The East Nest Strikes Again As many of my readers know, I've been eagerly awaiting the hatching of eggs in the night heron1 nests on our property. Of the two locations, my best look is easily the East Nest. This abode is nestled in a tree just outside the …
The Olivia Chronicles (S2, E5) Setting the Stage Initially, I was going to include today's story as an update to a prior post. In that post, I chronicled the exploits of this season's osprey chicks (Alex and Pat) in their early attempts at flight. Alex was already well along in his aerial skills, but Pat …
The Olivia Chronicles (S2, E4) To the newcomer: When we last left our fine-feathered friends, they were enjoying a pleasant family repast at Chez Olivia, just beyond our North Dock. Prior episodes in this distinguished series can be found here. ooo Just to recap, we have two osprey chicks this season. What are their sexes? …
Continue reading "Getting the Hang of It: The Osprey Chicks Discover Their Wings"
Small details intrigue me. I don't know why...They just do. In my observations of osprey behavior, I have noticed a curious habit: bobbing the head from side to side while studying an object. Osprey chicks, in particular, seem to do this a lot. I have observed this behavior in adults, although much less frequently. I've …
There are few things in life more entertaining than a territorial dispute among birds. In support of this contention, I humbly submit today's post as Exhibit A. This morning, I was heading down the walkway on the second floor to start my "daily rounds" (i.e., visiting two night heron nests, and an osprey nest). I …
Myth of the Week Series This will be one of my shorter posts, but I found this topic to be quite interesting! Question: Why Do a Bird's Knees Bend Backwards? Those of us who live near the water have often observed a scene like this: A juvenile little blue heron1 walking along my seawall on …
