המועדפים של valeriehh

It was small. We watched a gull fly out from the beach, circle around it, and then return after apparently deciding it would not be good to eat. At first we thought it might be a baby turtle. Then we got these shots.

Osprey with saltwater fish photographed through a bus window. Link to Jack Silverside (Atherinopsis californiensis) observation: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/199048669.
Link to Osprey in nest: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/199403575
Link to another Osprey carrying fish: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/199681783

We counted over a dozen nests and about 20 of these “fish eagles” in 3 days. The locals build boxes on top of poles for the birds to set up their nests which consist of piles of mostly small branches. Sometimes the osprey adds plastic bottles and other refuse. These man-made, added platforms have resulted in a great rise in the population of Osprey. Several pairs were sitting in the nests together, though no young ones were observed. Our guide said the hatchlings start to appear by end of March.

Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) a.k.a. Sea Hawk, River Hawk, and Fish Hawk. It is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey with a cosmopolitan range. It is impressively widespread and is found on every continent except Antarctica. It is a large raptor, at more than 60 cm (24 inches) in length and a 180 cm (71 inch) wing span. It is brown on the upperparts and gray on the head and underparts. The osprey tolerates a wide variety of habitats, nesting in any location near a body of water providing an adequate food supply. It cruises over lakes, rivers, and coastal waterways in search of fish. In flight, holds wings with a kink in the wrist (shaped like an "M"). Stick nests are conspicuous on top of channel markers, utility poles and high platforms near water. It is often seen plunging feet-first into water from high in the air to grab fish."

Ebird with species description, range map and sound recordings: https://ebird.org/species/osprey/

Xeno-canto Bird songs, sound recordings, and species range map: https://xeno-canto.org/species/Pandion-haliaetus

National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of Western North America, ed. Jon L. Dunn, 2008, pp. 100-101.

National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America, ed. Jon L. Dunn, 7th ed., 2017.

Field Guide to the Birds of Cuba, Orlando H. Garrido and Arturo Kirkconnell, 2000

I.D. Guide on (400) Birds of Cuba (including the 23 Endemics) https://Birds-Of-Cuba.com and https://www.birds-of-cuba.com/Endemic_Birds_of_Cuba.html

Merlin Bird ID (great app available for Iphones) by The Cornell Lab (Bird ID help for 8,500+ species) https://merlin.allaboutbirds.org/

Comprehensive Feather I.D. tools and more: https://foundfeathers.org/resources/

Found Feathers (Worldwide): https://www.fws.gov/lab/featheratlas/idtool.php

Cattle Egret
with Barn Swallow it has caught
Dry Tortugas, Florida
1 May 1988

Cattle Egrets are a species known to wander. They made it to the U.S. on their own in the early 1950s and are now a common species all over the Americas. I once found a dead Cattle Egret on a rocky beach in Antarctica. There are no insects on Antarctica, so that particular Cattle Egret just wandered too far. Such might be said for Florida's Dry Tortugas. They are called "dry" for good reason. There is no fresh water. Birds that end up there and are too tired to move on, simply die. It is a daily task of employees at Fort Jefferson to walk around and pick up and discard the Cattle Egret carcasses before they open the fort to the birdwatchers each spring day. On this day my group watched a starving Cattle Egret (there are few large insects for the egrets to feed on) grab a Barn Swallow. It certainly made for a strange scene!