I finally decided to get wet this morning and venture under the culvert near the local pond to see if the welcome swallows had a reason for flying through there like jet pilots all the time.
This is what I found
The parents were doing plenty of fly bys at the entrance to see what I was up to
This was another nest full in the adjoining culvert tunnel
That's so sweet! They look so nice and cosy up in there, tucked into their bed of mud and feathers.
It's great to see parent birds out and about for food for their youngs after hatchtime. I've visitied the BA discovery centre (Olympic Park) today to see the eaglecam and in the nest were two baby white-bellied sea eagles who just hatched a week ago. They were all downy, adorable and developing their brown juvenille plumage.
Taz
They are so cute. Great work.
Taz what is the BA discovery centre? I wish someone would stick an osprey cam in the nest I found today! It is frustrating sitting on the ground and wondering what is in the nest with the adults!!
Sunshine Coast Queensland
BA Discovery Centre (Birds Australia Discovery Centre)
Is like an information booth (only bigger) dedicated to info about birding/conservation/research, anything to do with Australian birds pretty much. They have heaps of publications, information, flyers for bird outings, resources, an EagleCam where people from Birds Australia are researching White-bellied Sea Eagles.
It is located in the Sydney Olympic Park and is opened to visitors every weekend so if you do decide to visit NSW sometime, you should drop by ;D
More info: http://www.birdsaustralia.com.au/the-organisation/discovery-centre.html
Aw nice. It would be lovely to see junior osprey heads poking out of the nest though the parents may find our presence unwelcoming...
Taz
Oh OK. Re the Ospreys.... I was feeling a little exposed standing on the ground and being given the big stare by the adult Osprey... wasn't too sure if they get hostile when they have chicks or if they just figure they are high enough that everything at ground level is of no consequence.
Sunshine Coast Queensland
True that. They do tend to chose the highest dominion to build its aerie, especially those telegraph poles. They sure get a nice view of their surroundings.
Taz
This nest was on a made made pole but I am not sure if it was relocated from anywhere close by. In our area they take Osprey nests pretty seriously it seems, with plenty of relocated ones around. I noticed even Telstra is kind.... they have carefully trimmed back a nest on their central Maroochydore tower that was getting very unruly. the Ospreys have been nesting there for over 10 years that I know of. It is within clear view of the Photo shop I used to work in and we used it (and they still do) to show binos and long lenses etc. I wonder if the results have any inherited health problems though from the exposure.
Sunshine Coast Queensland
Telstra seems to deal with these guys a lot because their telegraph poles and towers are popular choices for ospreys to build their nest on. I remember a tour guide pointed one out at the harbour near Surfer's Paradise and there are a few sites near the Parramatta River in NSW - all of the poles belonged Telstra and were supposed to be taken down but I'm glad they're kind enough to leave it there. Nice to hear that they actually trim the nests too.
Taz
I posted this a few weeks ago, if you look back to "a day at the beach" there were a few shots of the Osprey on the phone tower by a creek in Coolum
I would imagine that if they had wanted to relocate the Maroochydore birds they would have done it years ago, so they must be tolerant I guess.
Sunshine Coast Queensland
They are nesting everywhere now. We went to Hunter Valley Gardens on Saturday and they were feeding young, but the young must have just hatched because the parents were leaning right down into the nests
Great photos. They look very cosy in there.