The home-life of the osprey

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University of California, San Diego

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UCSD Lib.

GEISEL LIBRARY

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DiEGO
LA JOLLA, CALIFORNIA

THE HOME-LIFE OF THE
OSPREY.

THE HOME-LIFE

OF

THE OSPREY

PHOTOGRAPHED AND DESCRIBED
BY

CLINTON G. ABBOTT, B.A.

ASSOCIATE OF THE AMERICAN ORNITHOLOGISTS' UNION

WITH SOME PHOTOGRAPHS BY HOWARD H. CLEAVES, ASSOCIATE OF
THE AMERICAN ORNITHOLOGISTS' UNION.

WITH THIRTY-TWO MOUNTED PLATES

LONDON

WITHERBY & CO. 326 HIGH HOLBORN W.C.
MCMXI.

THE BIRD-LOVER'S HOME-LIFE SERIES.
UNIFORM WITH THIS VOLUME

THE HOME-LIFE OF A GOLDEN EAGLE

Photographed and described by
H. B. MACPHERSON

THE HOME-LIFE OF THE SPOONBILL
THE STORK AND SOME HERONS

Photographed and described by

BENTLEY BEETHAM, F.Z.S.

Each Volume — Cloth 6s. net. Special Edition los. 6d. net.

LIST OF PLATES.

Plate i. — "The most surprising discovery." Photographed by H. H
Cleaves.

,, 2 — A pleasing succession of rolling meadows, thick coverts,

and stately trees (a). Photographed by H.H. Cleaves.

A delight to be able to gaze with perfect ease into the

homes of these birds (b).
„ 3. — Perched on the top of a weather-beaten old rock (a).

Both the Ospreys, a Purple Crackle, and a Woodpecker's

hole directly below the nest (b}.

,, 4. — A nest that would probably tip the scales at half a ton.
„ 5. — Trees which hold Ospreys' nests gradually die.
„ 6. — The baby Osprey is covered with a short, prim down (a).

How exactly the young match the bed of the nest (/').

Photographed by H. H. Cleaves.

„ 7. — Lying prone in the presence of intruders . . . the first
sign of life is a bristling of the feathers on the back.

,, 8. — Rise and turn toward one, with ruffled feathers and glaring

eyes.
„ 9. — Will trail their wings, and lower their heads in wicked

fashion (a). The bill comes closer and closer to the

nest (b}. Photographed by H. H. Cleaves.
„ 10. — A "blind" was placed close to the nest (a). The bird, as

she alights (b).

„ ii. — The flash of her eye. Photographed by H. H. Cleaves.
„ 12. — A parent and her full-grown young (a). In spite of their

fierce looks, they were absolutely harmless (b).

6 LIST OF PLATES

Plate 13. — Standing like a sentinel on a conspicuous perch close by.
„ 14.— She unfolds her great wings.
„ 15. — And precipitates herself into the air.
„ 1 6.— An Osprey as seen directly from behind (a). Her broad

wings beat the air as she puts on the brakes (£).

Photographed by H. H. Cleaves.
,, 17. — She raises her wings high above her back.
„ 1 8. — A few extra flaps as the bird gains her equilibrium.
,, 19. — She will stand beside her young for hours.
„ 20. — Round comes the bird well above the nest.
„ 21 — She swings gracefully in, as if about to settle.
„ 22. — She hovers, gazing apprehensively at the " blind."
„ 23. — She turns in the air and passes on.
„ 24. — Checks with her broad wings the momentum of her flight.

,, 25. — The pleasing glimpse of the barred under-surface of the

wing (a). Immediately the chick seeks the cooling

shelter of his mother's breast (b).

„ 26. Occasionally she holds her wings broadly outspread.
„ 27.— The gasping of the young is evidence of the intense heat.
„ 28.— Tears off morsels with her bill, which she gives to the little

ones. Photographed by H. H. Cleaves.
„ 29 — They will look up to greet their mother. Photographed by

H. H. Cleaves.
„ 30 — The male suddenly appeared with a fish in his talons (a).

He released his hold on the fish with the hinder

talon (b).

„ 31. — The female appeared and alighted beside her mate.
„ 32. — The telegraph-pole nest (a). A picturesque nest on a
fence (b).

THE HOME-LIFE OF
THE OSPREY.

WHEN, in 1897, after living in England, circumstances
brought me to the United States, it was an interesting task
to try to identify the confusing throng of birds with which
I found myself surrounded. Of all my new acquaintances,
none made a greater impression upon me than a large
brown hawk, which I knew could be none other than the
Osprey, and which I was amazed to find commonly fishing
in the waters about New York. Although scientists have
separated Pandion baliaetus carolinensis from its European
congener, Pandion baliaetus haliaetus, by reason of its
slightly greater size and whiter breast, it is, to all intents
and purposes, the same bird, and indistinguishable in the
field from the fast vanishing British bird.

I had often read of the lonely Osprey tenants of one or
two silent Scottish lochs, with the watchful eye of a warden
constantly upon them, and my surprise can therefore be
imagined when I saw my first American Osprey's nest. It
was at a popular seaside resort in New Jersey, and perched
on a tree overlooking a lake full of row boats and noisy
holiday-makers.

From these beginnings my acquaintance with the Osprcy
has gradually grown. Although my field-work is neces-
sarily limited to the brief opportunities of a business man,
I have, during the past ten years, found it possible, on
several occasions, to make a fairly close study of this bird
on its nesting grounds. The gregarious habit of the
American species renders its observation particularly feasible

8 THE HOME-LIFE OF

and interesting. My chief fields of operation have been :
various points on the coast of New Jersey, where I have
spent several summers (going to and fro from New York
every day), and where Ospreys are locally quite abundant ;
Great Lake, North Carolina, where there are thirty nests,
and near which I camped from June i6th to 23rd, 1909 ;
and, especially Gardiner's Island, New York, which contains
perhaps the largest known colony of Ospreys, and which
I have been privileged to visit upon three occasions. In
addition, I have seen various isolated nests, and have
gathered together a not inconsiderable mass of general
notes, such as a bird-lover might be expected to accumulate
about a species in which he is particularly interested.

Ospreys, or Fish-Hawks as they are more commonly
named in the United States, arrive from the south in the
region of New York about the end of March, when the ice
has disappeared from lakes and rivers ; they depart again
in the early part of October. During migration they
may be seen flying even over the built-up portions of the
city, or fishing in the park lakes. Near settlements of
immigrant foreigners I have known of disgraceful cases of
ruthless shooting of these noble birds for no apparent
purpose other than a mere test of markmanship. In one
instance the corpses of no less than three Ospreys were
found close to an old tree, upon which the birds were
accustomed to perch. Yet in spite of persecution, Ospreys
still nest, or attempt to nest, annually within the city
limits of New York.

The inspiring and picturesque manner of capturing its
prey is undoubtedly the characteristic for which the Osprey
is most famous. Fortunately for the ornithologists in
America, the bird is still sufficiently common to afford
even the casual bird-student ample opportunity of witness-
ing its interesting manoeuvres while in search of a meal.
The height from which an Osprey will descend for a fish
varies. His eye is exceedingly keen, and not infrequently
he will spy a victim while soaring at an elevation of two or

THE OSPREY. 9

three hundred feet. When intent upon food, however,
he usually works at a height between thirty and one hundred
feet. Alternately flapping and sailing, he flies leisurely
over the water, his head distinctly bent forward as he
deligently scans the surface. Suddenly he pauses and
hovers, on rapidly beating wings. His gaze is doubtless
fixed upon a fish below, but for some reason, conditions
are not favourable for a descent, and he passes on. Again
his attention is arrested and his course checked. This time
he drops to a lower level and starts for the water, only to
veer off and fly away as though he had suddenly changed
his mind. Probably the fish had sought a lower level at
the last moment, and it was evident to the Osprey that
a plunge would be futile. But finally the opportunity
arrives. Hardly pausing in his flight, the Osprey drops
like a plummet through the air, and, striking the surface
of the water with a resounding splash, is obscured from
sight in a mass of foam. Sometimes, indeed, he disappears
for an instant altogether beneath the water. But imme-
diately upon emerging, his broad wings are vigorously
flapped, and he mounts into the air triumphantly bearing
his prey in his talons ; for when an Osprey once decides
to plunge, he very seldom rises " empty-handed."

In descending upon a fish, the Osprey drops with half-
folded wings, and appears to strike the water with his breast ;
the legs are then thrust downward with lightning rapidity,
and the body is brought into a horizontal position. After
grasping the fish he immediately starts to fly, often labori-
ously at first and unsteadily, by reason of the strugglings
of his victim. As soon as he has risen to a height of from
eight to twelve feet, he invariably shakes the spray from
his plumage by a convulsive quivering of his wings and
body. For this brief instant his momentum is checked,
and he falls perhaps as much as four or five feet. After
quivering once or twice a bird will sometimes lose so much
altitude that the fish is nearly dragging in the water, and
he is compelled again to resume flight. Then, perhaps,

io THE HOME-LIFE OF

he will give another final shake to satisfy himself that he
is rid of all possible surplus moisture, and will rise steadily
to the level of the tree-tops, when an even course is
maintained until the nest or the favourite feeding-perch
is reached.

The Osprey's invariable method of carrying a fish head
foremost, in order to avoid resistance to the air, is well
known. Normally, the fish is grasped firmly in both talons,
and there appears to be no preference in holding either
the right or the left leg forward. In the case of a very
small fish or a fragment, one foot only is often employed,
the other being perhaps in normal flight-position — extended
to the rear under the tail. Friends of mine have seen
Ospreys turn a fish round in mid-air, so as to bring the head
to the front, and also transfer a small fish from one foot
to the other. When both talons are engaged, the position
of the fish is toward the rear rather than under the centre
of the bird (vide Plate 300). Large fish are occasionally
seen to extend beyond the end of the bird's tail. Not
infrequently the fish is carried on its side, or belly up, but, as
always, pointing in the direction of flight. There appears to
be no definite rule as to just what part of the fish shall be
grasped by the bird's talons. Sometimes the feet are so far
apart that the fish's body sags between them ; at other times
the feet are both held so near the fish's head that its tail
droops and flops at each wing-stroke.

With both talons occupied in the carrying of a fish, I
had been puzzled at the ready ability of an Osprey to alight
upon the branch of a tree, or the pointed top of a telegraph
pole. But close observation, assisted by the work of a rapid
focal-plane camera shutter, has revealed that just as the
bird approaches a perch, the hinder foot (be it right or
left) is disengaged and stretched forward. This free talon
grasps the perch first, and instantly the fish is slapped down
by the other talon and held securely beneath the weight
of the bird. In some of my photographs it may be seen
that at the moment of alighting, the tail of the fish, released

THE OSPREY. 11

from the support of the hinder foot, is starting to drop
downward in the air (vide Plate 33^). Similarly, in flying
from a perch with a fish, I have noted that at the moment
the bird first rises, the fish is held only by the forward foot ;
the other is then more or less deliberately clasped on behind.
In this connection it might be stated that Ospreys often
exhibit a surprising disinclination to eat their prey. I have
seen them bear it about for hours, settling, flying again,
soaring, but ever holding fast to the precious fish. One
almost forgets that it is food, and could imagine it is
something the birds cannot rid themselves of !

The varieties of fish fed upon by the Osprey appear to
be limited only by its ability to catch them. Any fish that
ascends to the surface of the water, and is not too large or
too small to be extracted, appears to be welcome game.
The inhabitants of salt and fresh water are equally taken.
The only species worthy of particular note is a flat-fish,
commonly called the Flounder, which I have often observed
Ospreys carrying. This is naturally a " bottom " fish,
and fishermen declare that the bird will descend four or
five feet into the water to capture it as it lies in the shallows.
However, ichtyhologists inform me that the Flounder
sometimes comes near to the surface to strike at food.

With the ingenuity instinctive to the bird-photographer,
my friend Mr. Howard H. Cleaves, of Staten Island, New
York, conceived the idea of attempting to photograph an
Osprey plunging, by the use of an imitation fish. Through
a friend in the American Museum of Natural History,
he secured an accurately coloured wax model of a large
Goldfish — a species the Osprey is commonly seen to take
in the spring, when waters are still murky from the winter's
floods. From the under-side of the fish extended a strong
wire rod which, during experiments, was driven into the
mud in a shallow part of a large pond, holding the fish
near the surface of the water, as though basking in the
sunshine. On three separate occasions, April I9th, April
23rd, and May 7th, 1911, Mr. Cleaves set out the fish and

12 THE HOME-LIFE OF

focussed his camera on the spot. Although Ospreys visited
the pond on each of the days, it was only on the second
that any success was achieved. I will present the incident
in Mr. Cleaves's own words : —

" After concealing my camera, I attached a thread to
the shutter and carried the end to a chicken-house, a hundred
yards off, where I sat down on a box to wait. Soon a
Fish-Hawk came in over the pond from the bay outside,
where he had been hovering from time to time in search
of salt-water fish. As he swung gracefully over to my
side of the pond and advanced in the direction of the decoy,
poising himself now and again, my pulse quickened.
But much to my disappointment, he passed directly above
the fish and apparently took no notice of it. Then he
flew back to the opposite end of the pond, and once more
worked his way along the shore toward the camera. This
gave me new life, and I was further encouraged when he
seemed to hesitate for a second or two above the spot
where the fish., was anchored. I was convinced that this
supposition was correct when the Hawk flew to a dead tree,
and then deliberately returned to a position directly above
the fish. After hovering for a few moments the bird
returned to the tree. Then he flew out over the fish again,
and once more went back to his perch. This performance
was repeated fully four or five times. The bird was
evidently puzzled; but he was also hungry. At last he
circled about to a point south of the (< fish," and glided very
cautiously down toward it at a gradual slant. He did
not make the usual sensational plunge, but seemed to
lower his talons into the water quite deliberately, as if a
bit suspicious and inclined to feel his way before taking firm
hold of his quarry. At the moment his feet entered the
water I gave the thread such a vigorous pull that the
camera was turned half way round, as I afterwards found.

" The bird arose with empty talons and returned to his
perch on the tree. I ran to the water, waded out up to
my knees and found that the fish had entirely disappeared,

THE OSPREY. 13

Feeling about, I came across it at last, lying flat on the
bottom. The force of the grip had evidently been con-
siderable to dislodge the wire and upset the fish. The
Hawk's claws had left five marks on the decoy, two on each
side of the back in front of the dorsal fin, and one on the
right side of the dorsal fin toward the rear."

The negative, which was unfortunately under-exposed,
represents the bird with the entire legs and end of the tail
submerged, wings raised aloft, and neck stretched forward
— an attitude of evident upward striving. The experiments
were all carried on in the early morning before visitors
began to throng the shores of the pond, which is quite a
populous neighbourhood. An amusing incident, wit-
nessed by myself on the last occasion, was when Mr. Cleaves,
after waiting unsuccessfully for several hours, strode into
the water and emerged triumphant with the large Goldfish
in his arms, before the astonished gaze of picnickers who
had arrived in the meantime !

My best opportunities for studying the nesting of the
Osprey have been at Gardiner's Island, a roughly triangular
piece of land some three thousand acres in extent, which
lies about three miles from the eastern point of Long
Island. My visits to this world-famous breeding colony
of Ospreys have been : July 4th to nth, 1903, in company
with Dr. Philip H. Bahr, a member of the British Ornitho-
logists' Union ; July 4th, 1905, in company with Dr. Win.
C. Braislin, a member of the American Ornithologists'
Union ; and July 2nd to 6th, 1910, in company with Mr.
Howard H. Cleaves, Assistant Curator in the Public
Museum, New Brighton, New York. In addition, a party
of five members of the Linnean Society of New York
visited the island from June 8th to I4th, 1911 ; and all
have kindly placed at my disposal such of their valuable
notes as relate to the Osprey.

Gardiner's Island is in many respects an ideal resort for
Ospreys. It is surrounded by waters rich in fish ; in fact
it is an important source of supply for the New York markets.

14 THE HOME-LIFE OF

The island has remained in the possession of the Gardiner
family since it was first ceded to them by the Indians in
1637 for " ten coats of trading cloath." The birds have
therefore been favoured not only with the protection
afforded by natural isolation, but with the zealous guardian-
ship of generations of owners interested in their welfare.
Excepting a few fishermen, who are permitted to build
shanties for shelter while tending their nets, all persons
must secure permission to land upon the island. As a
result, the Ospreys have been practically free from human
molestation. Gardiner's Island has been likened to the
Isle of Wight, and although perhaps the definite points
of resemblance would be hard to designate, nevertheless
the simile is an indication of the natural beauties of the
Ospreys' chosen haunt. Maintained as a great farm and
game-preserve, its vistas present a pleasing succession of
rolling meadows, thick coverts, stately trees, lakes, and
grassy marshes (Plate 20).

When one approaches the island from the south, as I
did on my original visit, the first nest to be seen is one
perched on the top of a weather-beaten old rock in the
water, about two hundred yards from shore (Plate 30). Its
entire setting is quite ideal, and strongly suggests the historic
sites of the old Scottish Ospreys' nests described in St.
John's classic " Tour in Sutherland." Surely no more
romantic introduction to the Osprey at home could be
desired.

Upon landing, perhaps the most surprising discovery
is the number of Ospreys' nests built directly upon the
ground (Plate i). With memories of previous nests
straddling inaccessible crotches in the tops of tall trees,
it is certainly a delight to be able to gaze with perfect ease
into the homes of these magnificent birds as one walks
along the beach (Plate 2&). For the majority of ground
nests are confined to the sea-beach — just why, it is hard to
determine. The fact is, Ospreys' nests on Gardiner's
Island are placed in almost every conceivable situation.

THE OSPREY. 15

They are on trees by scores, both high up and low down ;
on rocks and boulders, whether on land or in the water ;
on sheds and buildings ; on fences and walls ; on piles of
debris ; on old stumps ; on a floating wooden platform
intended for the fishermen's use ; on a channel buoy ; on
sand-buffs ; on pieces of wreckage, driftwood, and fish-
boxes. The birds even attempted to build on the slender
stakes supporting the fish-nets ! In all of these varied
nesting-sites, however, it will be noted that at least the
suggestion of an eminence has probably first attracted the
Ospreys to the spot. Similarly, many of the ground nests
are found to be very close to some prominent object —
itself incapable of supporting the nest — such as a post, a
notice-sign, a telegraph pole, or a pointed stone. The
high, shelving beach, with its tempting piles of seaweed,
probably appealed to some of the first ground-nesters as
an " eminence," and their offspring have come back and
chosen a similar nesting-site. At all events, in 1910 there
was a succession of no less than twenty-two nests at intervals
varying from eleven yards to three hundred yards along the
beach, on the south-westerly side of Gardiner's Island.
Some of the most recent additions to the beach-nesting
colony had certainly quite lost any instinctive attraction
for an " eminence " ; their nests being a mere scattering
of sticks in the edge of the marsh-grass — in location
suggesting more the humble home of the Tern than the
eyrie of the noble Osprey.

It is evident that only an island could afford protection
sufficient for the undisturbed existence of Osprey's nests
upon the ground. On the mainland, the penalty of such a
departure from normal instincts of self-preservation would
doubtless have been speedy annihilation. But on Gardiner's
Island there are no predaceous mammals, no egg-eating
rodents, or other enemies of the birds, and the ground-
building Ospreys are as safe as those nesting in the tree-
tops. It must not be inferred, however, that Gardiner's
Island is unique in harbouring the ground nests of Ospreys.

16 THE HOME-LIFE OF

Audubon observed them thus placed on the Keys of Florida,*
Virginia fishermen tell of them on certain of the islands of
that coast, they are recorded from Mainet and California,}:
while Plum Island, New York, contained ground-nests
to the number of " one hundred or more " in i879§ before
Government fortifications and invading civilization drove
all Ospreys from the place.

The number of Ospreys' nests on Gardiner's Island is
hard to estimate. They cover so large an area, and are
built in such a variety of sites, that it is a difficult matter
to count them. There is one elevated point from which
twenty-four nests are visible. Altogether i should say that
two hundred nests would be a reasonable estimate. An
idea of the abundance of the nests may be gained from the
following reference in my diary to a short walk I took on
the afternoon of July 3rd, 1910 : " I must have seen at
least twenty-five nests of whose existence in 1903 I had no
recollection. In addition there were dozens whose general
location I thought I recalled. They were everywhere !
Starting from our shanty there is one on the top of a thick
vine-covered tree within a stone's-throw ; in the small
wood across the first field there are three ; in the trees
that mark the first fence, two ; in trees about a little
swamp in the next field, four ; in the straggling strip of
woods that leads back toward the beach, at least ten ;
while away across the island, silhouetted against the sky,
was an extra big nest in a dead tree with its owners standing
like statues above it (Plate 3#). The heads of young
could be seen peeping above the rim of almost every nest."
It is encouraging to note that the Gardiner's Island Ospreys
seem to be holding their own well, and perhaps to be even
increasing. On a certain stretch of beach between two
fences there were three nests in 1903 ; in 1910 there
were seven.

* cf. MacGillivray, " Description of the Rapacious Birds of Great Britain," p. 121.
t " Bird-Lore," IX., 1907, p. 327.

J Anthony, in Bendire's " Life Histories of North American Birds," I., p. 322.
§ Allen, "Auk," IX., 1892, p. 317.

THE OSPREY. 17

The variety of nesting-material employed by Ospreys
was well exemplified in the easily examined ground
nests. The main composition is of rough sticks and
branches, driftwood, brush, clods of earth, cow-dung, and
horse-dung, dried herbage and plant stalks, bark, seaweed,
eel-grass, and moss. The softer materials are used to
form the broad, flat, bed of the nest, only a small portion
of which is required to contain the eggs. That flotsam
and jetsam of any kind come not amiss as supplementary
structural material, may be judged by the following catalogue
of heterogeneous oddities, personally observed by me in
Ospreys' nests : strip of oilcloth, newspaper, cork-floats
for nets, long string of conch's " eggs," tow, dead crab,
rung of a chair, wheel of a child's mail-cart, half a barrel-
head, barrel-staves, large piece of white canvas, stake with
piece of rope tied to it, part of a fisherman's net, sheep's
wool, straw bottle-cover, coloured paper flour-bag, turtle's
back, boards from boxes, dead skate, ropes up to five yards
long, bones, sacking, bottle corks, skeletons of dead birds
(White-winged Scoter, Red-breasted Merganser, Horned
Grebe, Pheasant and Common Tern identified), wing of
Black Duck, large whelk and conch shells, small shells,
stones and pebbles. The Ospreys gather their nest-
materials on the beach and in the fields, and they have
also been seen to break off the dead branches of trees by
dropping upon them and grasping them with their
talons.* Although the time of active nest-building is in
early May, the birds are continually adding to and
repairing their homes. Well on in July they may be seen
sailing about with a large bough or trailing bunch of
eel-grass in their talons.

The size of the nests varies as much as the kind of building
material employed. It is reasonable to suppose that the
largest nests are usually the oldest, annual repairs for
successive occupations having gradually increased the bulk

* Chapman, " Bird-Lore," X., 1908, p. 153; and Kearton, "Our Rarer British
Breeding Birds," p. 64.

i8 THE HOME-LIFE OF

of the structure. Such is undoubtedly the case in many
instances, but by no means in all. For example, on my visit
to Gardiner's Island in 1903, I photographed a beach-nest
which was some four-and-a-half feet high — the tallest
ground nest on the island. In 1905, I again photographed
the same nest, and comparative measurement of the prints
(gauged by the old bird) shows practically no change in
the size of the nest. In 1910 a nest standing on the same
site was hardly one-third as large. In 1911 my friends
measured and photographed the largest beach nest, which
I at once recognised as my old subject, arisen within one
year to its former shape and dimensions. Another instance
was that of a tree nest, photographed in 1903 and 1910,
which was found to have decreased in the interval about
one-fifth of its bulk.

Some idea of the weight of an Osprey's nest may be
gathered from the fact that a moderate-sized eyrie which
was transported from Gardiner's Island to the New York
Zoological Park, weighed over four hundred pounds.*
A nest such as that illustrated in Plate 4 would probably
tip the scales at half a ton. The photograph, which was
taken in 1910, can never, be duplicated, for the following
spring the owners returned to find their home in ruins
upon the stone wall at the foot of the tree. The birds,
with instinctive devotion to the ancestral cradle, made
strenuous efforts to render habitable the nest as it lay.
But they were evidently confronted with conditions that
they were unable to meet, and in June the eggs were
found on a little bed of seaweed placed nearby upon
the ground.

It has frequently been remarked that trees which have
held Osprey's nests for a number of years gradually die
(Plate 5). The branches in proximity to the nest are the
first to succumb, followed ultimately by the denudation of
the entire tree. This is doubtless attributable to the bulky
and decaying mass of the nest itself, to the oil from fish,

* Beebe, "Zoological Society Bulletin," No. 11, 1903, p. 120.

THE OSPREY. 19

and to the birds' odour. Be it said, however, that as a
result of the unusual development in young Ospreys of the
sanitary instincts and powers common to all Raptores,
the nests are usually surprisingly clean and never assume
the offensive condition common to those of many other
fish-eating birds.

The sides of the Osprey's huge abode are often used by
smaller birds in which to construct their own homes.
Purple Crackles especially, commonly build in convenient
niches among the sticks even of the ground nests. Being
naturally gregarious, they will congregate to the number
of six or seven pairs in one Osprey's nest. While living in
perfect harmony with their lordly host above, they main-
tain an attitude of respectful deference so long as he is at
home. But when the young Ospreys are alone, the Grackles
pass boldly among them in foraging for fragments with
which to furnish their own table. The only other bird
that I have seen taking advantage of this somewhat strange
nesting partnership, is the ubiquitous House-Sparrow,
which is not to be outdone in variety of nesting-sites ! Hiram
Miller, gamekeeper on Gardiner's Island, says there are
more House-Sparrows living in Ospreys' nests than there
are about the Manor House and farm buildings. In
addition to the Purple Grackles and Sparrows, Ospreys
are recorded to have admitted House Wrens* and even
Night Heronst as basement tenants. On the beaches,
Meadow Mice have found the nests to be convenient
mounds under which to construct their multifarious
run-ways. In 1910 I photographed an imposing tree nest,
the picture including, besides both the Ospreys, a Purple
Grackle, which was about to enter its home, and a Wood-
pecker's hole in the branch of the tree directly below the
Osprey's nest (Plate 3^).

These facts all tend to show that Ospreys are of a peaceful
and sociable nature. I have found them nesting amid a

* Allen, "Auk," IX., 1892, p. 319.

f Fisher, " Hawks and Owls of the United States," p. 131.

20 THE HOME-LIFE OF

large colony of Florida Cormorants in North Carolina,
and in a Night Heronry on Gardiner's Island. They seldom
molest other birds, but on the contrary, allow themselves
to be pursued and harassed by assailants not one-tenth
their size. On Gardiner's Island their chief persecutors
are the Kingbird, the Common Tern, and the Red-
winged Blackbird. The Kingbird, or Tyrant Flycatcher,
appears to regard the approach of any bird, large or small,
into the neighbourhood of its nest, as an unwarranted
trespass upon its chosen domain, and it promptly proceeds
to drive the interloper out. It is almost laughable to
watch the great Osprey fleeing ignominiously from its
diminutive pursuer. In one instance I recall seeing a
Kingbird displace with perfect ease an Osprey from a certain
dead branch, for no more ostensible reason than that the
Kingbird desired that particular perch from which to
hawk for flies.

At the southern extremity of Gardiner's Island is a
large colony of Common Tern, and close to, or among the
Terns' nests are three of four Ospreys' nests. It is hard
to understand why the Ospreys chose to build there, for
they are being continually harried by the Terns. I have
seen an Osprey driven from her nest by a Tern three or
four times within a quarter of an hour. The Tern would
swoop at the Osprey close enough to make her " duck."
After several swoops the Osprey would take flight, in a
more or less unconcerned manner, circle about and alight
again. The Tern seemed to take delight in tormenting
her big neighbour from sheer " cussedness." Whenever
an Osprey flew over the Tern colony it was found to be
pursued by several Terns, which would dart at it and
cause it to dodge and veer in its flight. Were an Osprey
bold enough to settle on a post or telegraph pole within the
limits of the Tern patrol, he was never allowed to rest in
peace more than a few moments. Nevertheless, the
Ospreys at the south end of the island are quite as successful
as elsewhere in rearing their broods.

THE OSPREY. 21

In spite of my observations as to the passive nature of
Ospreys, it is common belief among farmers that they will
drive away other hawks. They are, therefore, well pro-
tected and sometimes encouraged to nest near houses, by
the erection of a horizontal platform, or cart-wheel on a
tall pole. I have known of a nest on the gable of an occupied
farm-house in New Jersey, quite suggesting the home of
the Stork in Old-world countries. It is most pleasing to
find with what friendliness, the country over, Ospreys are
regarded. The fishermen of Gardiner's Island, in spite
of the large daily toll of fish which the birds take, bear not
the slightest malice toward them. " They are a wonderful
bird," declared Mr. Tuthill, the hospitable fisherman in
whose shanty we lodged, " and we like them. The fish they
take they are welcome to. It is sport to see them plunge ;
what an eye they must have ! Law or no law, we fishermen
would not want to hurt them, and it was always Mr.
Gardiner's wish that they be left alone. Them and the
Sea-Gulls we want to keep. The bird that we have no use
for is the Cormorant. They kill lots of fish for us and do
not eat them, and drive them out of our nets."

The fishermen set their nets vertically in the water
and running from the shore at right angles. At the outer
end is an enclosure in which the fish, nosing their way
along the net to find a passage, become impounded. The
Ospreys have come to learn that this is easy fishing-ground,
and they may be seen standing in considerable numbers
on the stakes which support the nets (vide Plate 30).

When fishing at the nets, the Ospreys seldom take the
trouble to hover, but just drop from a stake, swoop over
the water, and snatch a fish in their talons. In open water
I have also occasionally seen them seize in this way some
fish that happened to be a particularly "easy mark" (as, for
instance, in the case of the bogus Goldfish). In picking
up dead fish, too, there is plainly no necessity for poising,
and the bird just dips her feet into the water as she flies.
For it must be admitted that the Osprey does sometimes

22 THE HOME-LIFE OF

feed on dead fish — not, however, in the manner of the
Bald Eagle, after the fish have become decayed on the
shore. It is to the credit of the Osprey that, unlike the
" King of Birds," he is no scavenger ! When the fishermen
collect their daily catch at the nets, they throw away useless
fish, which sometimes die and float on the surface. It
is these that the Ospreys occasionally appropriate, usually
not more than an hour after death. No other instances
were observed of the birds taking dead fish.

As an example of a wholly abnormal perversion of diet,
the following incident has been given me by Mr. R. C.
Murphy, Curator of Birds in the Brooklyn Museum :
" About the first of September, 1903, the postmaster
at Mount Sinai, Long Island, told me that a large hawk
had been killed by one of his neighbours in the act of raiding
a poultry-yard. I called at the place immediately, which
was a small farm, where one woman lived alone, about
two-and-a-half miles from the nearest water. Upon asking
for the bird, I was surprised to find not one of the so-called
* hen hawks,' but an adult Fish-Hawk. The woman told
me that on the afternoon of the previous day, which had
been rainy, she had been disturbed by a commotion among
her chickens, and on going into her yard, had found the
Hawk with its talons sunk in a hen, and flapping violently
in an attempt to fly off with its prey. She had killed the
robber with a stick, and had freed the hen, which, however,
died during the night. The Hawk which she gave me,
was in a starved and emaciated condition, and was, of
course, much bedraggled from lying out of doors in the rain.
I preserved only portions of its skeleton."

Occasional frogs * or water-snakes t form about the
only other variation from the piscine bill-of-fare of the
Osprey, and these can hardly be regarded as evidences
of abnormal appetite in a bird accustomed to capture fish
and eels.

* Gentry, " Life Histories of the Birds of Pennsylvania," IT., p. 278.
t Spreadborough, in Macoun's " Catalogue of Canadian Birds," p. 288.

THE OSPREY. 23

So firmly are the Osprey's claws imbedded in a fish he
has struck, that he is sometimes unable to extricate them
when he desires. Many instances are on record* of the
bird being dragged under water and drowned by a fish
whose strength was greater than his own. Mr. Cleaves
once saw an Osprey struggle for some seconds with a fish
that was apparently almost the bird's equal. The Osprey
became so exhausted that he simply allowed his wings
to rest on the surface of the water, with his tail completely
submerged ; but finally he got the best of the fish (believed
to have been a German Carp) and very laboriously cleared
the surface of the water, and flew to a dead tree at the edge
of the pond.

I have never been fortunate enough to witness the oft-
described battle between a Bald Eagle and an Osprey,
when the former intercepts the successful fisher and harasses
him until he is compelled to drop his hard-gained prey.
Nevertheless, this common method of obtaining a meal
on the part of the lazy Eagle offers proof that the Osprey
is, under these circumstances at least, amply able to release
at will his hold upon a fish. In fact instances of the bird's
drowning are all the more surprising in view of the readiness
with which the bird will drop its prey when on the wing.
A shot, a well-directed stone, or even a clap of the hands
will often have this effect. In other cases the bird will
release its grip from sheer anxiety on behalf of its nest ;
and still again from no apparent cause whatsoever. When
a fish is accidentally dropped from a perch or over the edge
of a nest, the Osprey, beyond a little craning of the neck in
the direction the food fell, makes no attempt to recover the
lost booty. Dried fish and eels caught in the sticks on the
sides of nests perhaps indicate that here has been a catastrophe
with which Nature has not fitted the Osprey to cope.

The first part of the fish to be disposed of seems invariably
to be the head. This must often be torn off shortly after

* ff. Naumann, "Birds of Middle Europe" (ed. 1905), V., p. 161 : and Dresser,
" Birds of Europe," VI., p. 146.

24 THE HOME-LIFE OF

capture, for a large percentage of the fish seen carried by
Ospreys or brought to the nests are headless. Mr. E. H.
Baynes, of Meriden, New York, who kept two young
Ospreys in a state of semi-domesticity, writes thus of their
manner of eating* : " They often began by picking out the
eyes, perhaps because those organs were conspicuous and
easily removed. They held their food in their claws, and
usually before seizing any part of it, they would " finger " it,
so to speak, with their bills, as though feeling for a good
hold. They would tear off large pieces, jerk them back-
wards into the throat and swallow them. They ate every
part of a fish except the harder bones. Tough pieces were
removed by a steady upward pull, and the ends of bones
were twisted off with a pivotal movement such as a man
would use to draw a nail with a pair of pincers. Later,
they ejected the bones and other indigestible particles
in the form of pellets."

The first Ospreys' eggs are laid on Gardiner's Island,
according to Hiram Miller, in the beginning of May. At
the time of my visits the nests have practically all contained
young, although I have seen unhatched eggs as late as July
5th — probably a second laying, due to some misfortune
earlier in the season. They are about the size of hen's
eggs, and extremely handsomely marked with all shades of
reddish-brown and claret upon a creamy ground. The
usual number of eggs is three, occasionally only two, and
seldom four. If the eggs are well incubated, or if the young
have hatched when a mishap occurs, the bird will not lay
again. But she does not always relinquish her affection for
the nest : although it be empty, she will sometimes stand
on its margin for weeks, and occasionally decorate its bed
with fresh weeds. It is quite surprising to see a bird rise
from her nest with cries of apprehension on one's
approach, and then to find that the nest is empty. It
is a distinctly touching evidence of the maternal instinct
in birds.

* " Scribner's Magazine, XLL, 1907, p. 701.

THE OSPREY. 25

I am informed by Mr. W. W. Worthington, of Shelter
Island, New York, that the period of incubation is twenty-
four to twenty-eight days. When the young hatch, the old
bird seldom if ever removes the egg-shells from the nest.
They are frequently to be found lying on the edge of a
nest containing well-grown youngsters, and at other times
the crushed fragments are mixed with the nesting-material
under the young birds.

When he makes his first appearance in the world, the
baby Osprey is covered with a short, firm down, more
like fur than feathers (Plate 6a). It is striped longitudinally
with brown and buff. Like smaller birds, he is provided
with a supplmentary knob on the upper mandible, to assist
him in breaking his way through the egg-shell. His eyes
are open from the first. The naval cord is unusually
conspicuous in the centre of a circular area of bare skin.
At first the cere and feet are pink, and the toes are arranged
as in the majority of birds, namely three to the front and
one to the rear. Not until later is the evolutionary adapta-
tion of the reversability of the outer toe developed. The
interior of the mouth and tongue of the new-born bird
are red. When approached, he holds up his open mouth
for food, in the instinctive manner of smaller altricial birds.
His only utterance is a single, weak monosyllabic sound.
He is very susceptible to the direct rays of the sun, and
exhibits great uneasiness even on a moderately hot day.
In view of the usually unsheltered situation of most Ospreys'
nests, it is plain to see how essential to the welfare of the
young is the parents' protecting shade. The mother
bird is well aware of this fact, and when her babies are
callow, will often exhibit heroic courage in her eagerness
to afford them the shelter of her body.

As the down grows it becomes fluffier, and the light and
dark tracts are more contrasted in colour. Meantime the
feathers, in their dark, pulpy sheaths, have been pushing
their way through, and soon the down from their tips
may be found clinging to the sticks in the net. In the

z6 THE HOME-LIFE OF

half-downy, half- feathered stage, and in subsequent plumages,
it is remarkable how exactly the young Ospreys match the
bed of the nest (Plate 6£). They have a way of lying prone
in the presence of intruders (Plate 7), and it is often almost
an impossibility to determine from a short distance whether
a nest is empty or contains young. Even when looking
directly into a nest, one's attention will perhaps be
attracted by two youngsters, and a third that may be lying
toward one side will be completely overlooked. So still
do the young birds lie, that were it not for their breathing
one could believe them dead. Usually they rest their
heads on one side, or hang them over the edge of the nest
in a peculiarly death-like attitude. They will allow flies
to walk directly over their eyes, without exhibiting the
slightest movement. If, however, the observer stands
motionless for awhile, the little fellows soon begin to stir.
Their first act is usually to hold up their heads and open
their mouths, so that they can breathe more readily, for
in the neighbourhood of New York at least, the month
of July, when the young Ospreys are in the nest, is apt to
be very hot. Soon the youngsters will have their tongues
out and be panting like dogs, with a drop of moisture on
the tip of their lower mandible or of their tongue. In
all of the photographs herewith, when a young bird has its
mouth open, it is due to the heat and not to any utterance,
for young Ospreys are, in the main, very silent individuals.
Not until they are well feathered have I ever heard them
emit anything approaching Osprey-like sounds ; I have
then observed them imitate the cry of their parent
overhead, in a charmingly babyish and amusing manner.

At this latter age they add to the death-feigning instinct
of the earlier period, a most interesting habit, which we
may term " looking fierce." If, as they lie flat in the nest,
they are approached too closely or touched, the first sign
of life is a bristling of the feathers on the back (Plate 7).
If the intrusion be continued they rise suddenly in the nest,
and turn toward one with ruffled feathers and glaring eyes,

THE OSPREY. 27

which, coupled with a desire to bite when opportunity offers,
is evidently calculated to scare the boldest of assailants
(Plate 8). It does not take one long to discover, however,
that this display of fierceness is mere show, and that even
with its formidable bill the young bird is apparently
incapable of inflicting a painful wound. The attitudes
assumed by young Ospreys during this " looking fierce "
operation are often ludicrous in the extreme. They will
spread or trail their wings, lower their heads in wicked
fashion (Plate 90), raise their crests, and in general assume
as formidable an aspect as possible. Sometimes they
exhibit the power of extending the feathers of the throat
and cheeks, forming a sort of mask.

After standing for a few moments in this " terrifying "
attitude, the strength of the young bird begins to ebb and
his muscles to relax ; he will fall back on his " heels," and his
head will begin to droop forward. At this stage he will
often be resting on " all fours," so to speak, the " shoulders "
of his wings acting as supports to the fore-part of his body.
They gradually give way, however, and the bird's bill
comes closer and closer to the nest (Plate 9^), until at last
he is once more in his original prone and death-like
position. A fresh disturbing will arouse another display
of " fierceness," though less vehement, and so on until
the youngster becomes so disinterested that one must put
one's hand under the bird's body before he can be induced
to rise to his feet. If a young Osprey is raised above the
level of the nest, he invariably clutches at the nesting-
material, and it is a difficult matter to release it from
his long, curved talons.

While their young are being thus examined, the parent
birds circle overhead with loud screeches. Although there
are many indubitable records of their boldly attacking
intruders in defence of their nest,* I have found them, for
the most part, very ready to remain at a respectful distance.
It is only occasionally that I have met with one courageous

* cf. "Auk," XII., 1895, P- 36i : and Newton, " Dictionary of Birds," p. 662.

28 THE HOME-LIFE OF

enough even to swoop at me, and then with no more
viciousness than a Tern, and not as close. Once, when the
keeper was on the beach at Gardiner's Island with a dog,
an Osprey swooped many times at the dog, coming closer
than it would dare to a human being. But as a rule the
birds soon cease swooping, and indulge in vocal, rather
than personal, protestations.

I have often stood, pencil in hand, and tried to put upon
paper the remarkable variety of screams to which nervous
Ospreys give voice. The commonest note is a shrill
whistle, with a rising inflection : " Whew, whew, whew,
whew, whew, whew, whew." This is the sound usually
heard during migration ; and when the bird is only slightly
alarmed. When she becomes thoroughly aroused, it will be :
" Chick, chick, chick, cheek, cheek, ch-cheek, ch-cheek,
cheereek, chezeek, chezeek," gradually increasing to a
frenzy of excitement at the last. Another cry sounds
like : " Tseep, tseep, tseep — whick, whick, whick-ick-ick-
ck-ck," dying away in a mere hiccough. And there are
endless variations quite incapable of syllabification. In
addition to these loud screeches when disturbed, the Osprey
has other notes which are unexpectedly weak for so large a
bird. As we lay in our shanty, the Osprey's notes from
without would sometimes recall more the peeping of a
chick that has lost its mother, than the voice of a
magnificent bird of prey !

One cry that my friends and I have particularly observed
on our visits to Gardiner's Island, is often reserved for
occasions when the bird is carrying fish. She will then
sometimes be seen to pause in her flight, extend her legs
downward to their fullest extent, hover on rapidly-flapping
wings and call out — very appropriately — " Feesh, feesh,
feesh, feesh." Upon recognizing this cry we were seldom
disappointed in finding our bird — although sometimes she
goes through the antics without a fish — just extending her
legs. In such cases and others, where the legs are caused
to drop during flight (which is not an uncommon occur-

THE OSPREY. 29

rence) they never dangle loosely, but are held rigid with
the " fists clenched." Upon the resumption of normal
flight, the legs are drawn back under the tail, without being
bent and with the "fists" still clenched. Sometimes they
are not pressed firmly up against the tail-feathers, and
from the side, light can be seen between the outstretched
legs and the tail.

An amusing " fish story " in connection with the Osprey
is told by the fishermen on the coast of Virginia. The
patient Fish-Hawk, after having been many times thwarted
of its rightful prey by the Eagle, at last manages to steal
away and consume a meal in seclusion. He then flies
forth into the open, and flapping his wings calls loudly,
" Feesh, feesh." The Eagle, at the welcome sound, rushes
from his perch and assails the Hawk. Whereupon he lets
fall from his talons the meatless bones of the fish he has
just eaten, and flies away with (we may imagine) an audible
chuckle of delight ! !

One of two methods was used in obtaining all the
photographs of the adult Ospreys reproduced herewith.
Either the camera was set up near the nest and released
by a long thread from some hiding-place, or else — a much
more satisfactory method when the birds would permit it —
a " blind," concealing both operator and camera, was placed
close to the nest (Plate 100). The type of blind we used
is of the now well-known umbrella variety, originally
invented by Mr. Frank Chapman ; it consists of an open
umbrella draped about with denim, thus forming a little
tent inside of which the photographer can work unseen.

I know of no more inspiring ornithological experience
than the intimate acquaintance which the ground nests
of the Osprey afford to the observer in the blind. The
audible touch of the bird's feet, as she alights upon the
nest (Plate io&), the flash of her eye, the raising of her
crest (Plate n), the cry of recognition, and the following
gaze as her mate flies overhead, the ruffling of the feathers
to keep cool, the tender survey of the youngsters at her

30 THE HOME-LIFE OF

feet — and a hundred other little incidents — can be enjoyed
in all their minutest detail. The more conspicuous acts
can be well seen through a field-glass, but never with the
same satisfaction as a near-at-hand view.

In the presence of the blind, or the camera alone, the
Ospreys displayed great variability in their willingness
to return to their homes. Some would be back on the nest
before we had gone one hundred yards, others would wait
a whole morning, or decline to return at all. This variability
of temperament is very conspicuous throughout one's
photographic operations with these birds ; and not only
do different Ospreys vary, but the same birds vary greatly
at different times. An example of unusual confidence was
afforded by the mother Osprey shown in Plate I2a. She
returned to her nest before I even had time to reach the
end of the thread I had attached to my camera. Indeed,
as may be seen from the photograph, two of the young are
only just starting to " relapse " from their threatening
attitudes assumed at my recent proximity to the nest. The
photograph also forms an interesting comparison in the
appearance of a parent and her full-grown young. At this
age, the only conspicuous difference is that almost every
brown feather on the youngster is edged with buff. These
edgings have a peculiarly frayed appearance, even when the
feathers are brand new. Spring specimens would indicate
that the buff edgings disappear by abrasion, to form the
uniformly brown coat of the adult.

Although the full-grown young differ imperceptibly
from the adult in size, and although they appear well able
to take care of themselves, they are, as a matter of fact,
perfect babies. The three represented in Plate I2b were
quite incapable of flight, in spite of their fully- developed
wings, and in spite of their fierce looks they were absolutely
harmless. The only wounds which they inflicted upon
us were caured by their already fully-developed talons,
in their violent attempts to gain a foot-hold upon our
wrists, when we carried them from their nest to the branch

THE OSPREY. 31

where they were posed. In this connection it is worthy
of note that when the young Osprey had gained the centre
of gravity, it would stand on the wrist as lightly as a pigeon,
and there would be not the slightest pressure of the sharp
claws ; it was only in the case of overbalancing or displace-
ment, that their existence became so painfully evident.
The toes of the bird on the left illustrate the usual perching
attitude of Ospreys — two to the front and two to the rear.
After taking the photograph we attempted to toss the
youngsters back into their low nest ; but they were unable
to regain it even although they struck quite close. So
we were obliged after all to climb the tree and place the
birds actually on the nest. Throughout the entire
operations they uttered no sound.

In the use of the blind it is always advisable, after the
photographer has hidden himself within, to have a com-
panion walk ostentatiously away. The birds seeing him
depart, are seemingly reassured, and will sometimes return
to their nests at once. When working alone I have often
been painfully impressed with the fact that Ospreys, if
they cannot count two, can at least count one ! In such
cases it is useless to attempt to steal into the tent unseen ;
they well know that danger is still present. Upon one
occasion I called upon a friendly fisherman to do the
"retreating act," when, after hours of exasperating waiting,
I was almost instantly rewarded with success. On the
other hand, there are many birds less suspicious than their
neighbours, which will after awhile readily accommodate
themselves to the tenanted blind, although no attempt
whatever has been made to divest it of its human
personality. An amusing illustration of how completely
an Osprey can come to disregard the blind and its human
occupant, was afforded on an occasion when I was operating
a cinematograph camera. I was desirous of arousing the
bird into flight without leaving the blind. Starting
with low coughs and faintly audible sounds, I was forced
to pass through a varied category of gradually increasing

32 THE HOME-LIFE OF

alarm-signals, until, with my head exposed, with my
handkerchief waving, and with loud shouts, I finally induced
my bird (about one hundred feet away) to take wing !

When her nest contains young, the female Osprey will
usually be found standing like a sentinel on its edge or on a
conspicuous perch close by (Plate 13). At the approach
of the intruder she utters a querulous whistle ; as her
anxiety increases her complaint becomes more shrill, until
it reaches an almost hysterical pitch. Meanwhile, she leans
forward as though ready to take flight at any moment,
and when convinced that it is no longer safe for her to
remain, she unfolds her great wings (Plate 14), and with
loud screams precipitates herself into the air (Plate 15).
To the casual observer the birds seem to hurl themselves
into flight in a variety of attitudes. But my cinematograph
films reveal that the wings are extended upward to their
fullest limit, ready for an instant down-stroke, before the
bird's feet leave the perch.

In returning to her nest the Osprey will, if there is any
air stirring, always fly up the wind. In case, by reason
of the presence of the camera or otherwise, she decides
not to alight, she flies straight on, then turns so as to
make a broad oval detour, and again comes up-wind.
The invariability of this rule is of great assistance to the
photographer, and he can obtain broadside, head-on, or
rear views of the bird, merely by placing his camera according
to the direction of the wind. Mr. Cleaves's remarkable
picture of an Osprey in flight, as seen directly from behind
(Plate 1 6#), was no haphazard piece of luck. The camera
was carefully pointed in the face of the wind and focussed
on a handkerchief placed on an upright stick beyond the
nest. The stick was then removed, and later, as the bird
was springing from her nest, the exposure was made.

A suspicious Osprey will often repeat dozens of times
the operation of approaching her nest, as if about to alight,
hesitating in the air, and then passing on. Each time
she swings about, describing the same detour with the

THE OSPREY. 33

utmost regularity. The tantalization of the photographer,
who is eagerly awaiting in his blind the moment when
the bird will settle, can readily be imagined ! After some
experience, it is often possible to determine from the
position of the bird's body and its legs, some distance
before it reaches its nest, whether or not it is going to
alight on that particular occasion. The same fact can
even be conjectured from photographs.

Of the various idiosyncrasies of the Osprey, the one
the photographer has learned to dread the most is the
occasion when the bird, after passing a number of times
over her nest, alights instead on some other perch. It
may be a telegraph pole, a rock, or the snag of a near-by
tree; but once it has been selected in preference to the
nest, it is more than likely that the photographer's " game
is up." No matter how many times the bird is aroused
into flight, it will, thereafter, nine times out of ten,
be the perch and not the nest that will end its detours.
When once the owner of a nest has got the " perching "
habit, the photographer may just as well pull up stakes and
start operations on another nest.

In the bird-world I know of no more pleasing picture
than an Osprey settling upon her nest. As she nears its
edge her legs are extended, and her broad wings beat the
air rapidly as she " puts on the brakes " (Plate i6b). At
the moment of alighting she raises her wings high above
her back, displaying their beautifully marked under-
surfaces (Plate 17). There may be a few extra flaps as the
bird gains her equilibrium (Plate 18), and then, unless again
disturbed, she will stand practically motionless for hours
(Plate 19).

The devotion of the female Osprey to her nest is almost
marvellous. When one realizes that all the mental anguish
which the bird evidently undergoes in fac'ng the battery
of the photographer, is merely ror the satisfaction of standing
near her young, he must acknowledge that we have here
an example of wondrous parental love among birds. She

34 THE HOME-LIFE OF

seldom feeds them, she does not caress them — she just
wants to be near them, and gaze upon them.

One day I had the good fortune to make some intimate
studies of an Osprey that was as devoted a bird-mother
as I have ever known. She had no imposing nest to be
proud of ; it was just a mass of rubbish, scattered indis-
criminately on the ground. But that nest contained a
downy youngster, which was more to her than the loftiest
and most ancient domicile along the beach ! And every
moment she was not standing at his side, she was unhappy.
I had been attempting to photograph the owner of a tall
nest not far away, but the bird was " cranky " and preferred
patronizing a stake in the water, to standing on her nest
in front of that hideous, mysterious blind. During
the intervals of waiting, and my attempts at urging her to
change her mind, I observed the loving and constant
attention of the Osprey in the humble nest among the grass
close by. Slinging my camera over my shoulder, I drew
from the ground the supporting rod of my umbrella blind,
and, without emerging, started to walk slowly over to the
new nest. The owner gazed in astonishment at the
approaching apparition, and, as it came nearer, sprang into
the air in terror. I continued to stalk onward, fully
developed in the folds of the blind, until I was within
twelve feet of the nest, when I thrust the rod once more
into the ground and opened-up my camera.

Round comes the bird well above the nest, suspiciously
eyeing the blind (Plate 20). The next time she swings
gracefully in, as if about to settle (Plate 21). But no,
there is that strange and motionless monster standing so
close, and checking herself she hovers, kestrel-like — gazing
apprehensively at the blind (Plate 22). Her courage fails
her; she turns in the air and passes on (Plate 23). The
mental struggle between the instincts of self-preservation
and love for her offspring is almost pathetic ; but the
latter is destined soon to triumph, for after the usual
wide detour, she again comes up the wind, this time deter-

THE OSPREY. 35

mined to settle. She reaches forward with her feet,
checks with her broad wings the momentum of her flight,
(Plate 24) and settles. For an instant there is the usual
pleasing glimpse of the barred under-surface of the wings,
before they are folded to her sides (Plate 250). Immedi-
ately the chick, which has been gasping in the noon-day
heat, seeks the cooling shelter of his mother's breast
(Plate 25^). He wriggles his way under her, until his
head is thrust even between her thighs, and then at last
both birds are content.

More than once, for photographic purposes, I was
compelled to scare the mother into flight ; but once she
had learned there was nothing seriously to fear in the tent,
it was completely ignored in her haste to be once more
beside her baby. And when my last plate was used, I
stood and gazed in admiration on the example of heroic
maternal devotion before me. It is doubtless common
enough in the bird-world, but I can testify that to stand
within twelve feet of a truly wild creature, whose majesty
is second only to that of the Eagle, and see her shield her
chick with all the tenderness and solicitude of a barn-yard
fowl, arouses within me a thrill of satisfaction such as few
ornithological experiences are capable of doing.

On very hot days I have observed Ospreys skim close
over the water, trailing their legs, their tail, and the tips of
their wings on the surface. The owners of the beach
nests especially love to make short sallies over the cooling
element so close at hand. Upon returning to their nests,
a few drops of moisture will occasionally fall upon the
young ; but I can hardly credit the assertion, that
the bird deliberately cools the contents of the nest by
" sprinkling."* Similarly, I have sincere doubts whether
the " grateful shade " over the young,t of the parent's
outstretched wings, is not more accidental than intentional.
The Osprey when uncomfortably hot commonly allovvs

* Kearton, " With Nature and a Camera," p. 194.
t cf. " British Birds' (Mag.), I., 1907, p. 40.

36 THE HOME-LIFE OF

the " shoulder " to droop, and for coolness sake slightly
extends her wings. Occasionally she holds them broadly
outspread (Plate 26), whether alone on a perch, or with
her young.

The violent panting of the young birds shown in the
nest on Plate 27, is evidence of the intense heat at the time
the photograph was taken. The gaze of the old bird
is directed seaward, not without cause ; for the photo-
grapher, fleeing the scorching temperature of the beach,
has retired into the water, whence he is operating his
thread release ! The small, white object dimly visible in
the background is doubtless Dr. Bahr, who was similarly
engaged on another nest further up the beach, and has
probably emerged for the purpose of changing a plate.

It is a surprise to discover how seldom the young Ospreys
are fed. Persons have commented, in looking at my
large series of photographs, that in almost every instance
where the bird is flying to her nest, she is coming empty
footed ; and it is a fact that to observe an Osprey in the
act of feeding her young, is an unusual occurrence.
I think they are not fed more than twice a day, or three
times at most ; yet they are always plump and healthy.
Naumann, with characteristic German exactness, even
specified for the Osprey a breakfast from 8 to 9, and a
mid-day meal between 12 and 2, the bird seldom fishing
meantimes.* I have seen the bird catch fish at practically
every hour of the day ; but it is an interesting coincidence
that I have records of Ospreys bringing food to the young
only prior to 8 a.m., around mid-day, and after 4.30 p.m.
However, when a man is busied with photography, his
attention and the range of his observations are necessarily
limited.

Early each morning, while Mr. Cleaves and I were on
Gardiner's Island, we could watch an Osprey feeding her
young in a nest perched on an old, tangled vine, which
covered a tree not far from our shanty. The incident

* cf. Naumann (1905), V., p. 159.

THE OSPREY. 37

and hour are impressed upon me by Mr. Cleaves's naive
remark that, "There are probably not many places on earth
where one can wash up the breakfast dishes and see through
the window at the same time an Osprey feeding her
young!" As we seldom returned again to the shanty until
after dark, we had no opportunity to observe at what
other times of day food was brought to this particular nest.

The Osprey's method of feeding her young is to hold
down the fish with her foot, and tear off morsels with her
bill, which she gives to the little ones (Plate 28). The
latter, which are at all times models of good behaviour,
quietly raise their heads and take the proffered food. There
is no rush or scramble, no vulgar assailing of the parent,
as in the case of some Herons. Indeed, the youngsters
often display a surprising indifference. They will look
up to greet their mother when she alights on the nest
(Plate 29), but I have never seen them standing on tip-toe
and waving their wings expectantly, as some artists
would have us believe.

The only opportunity I ever had of photographing
at close quarters an Osprey with a fish, was on my last
morning at Gardiner's Island in 1910. Resolved to make
the best of the hours intervening before our boatmen
should arrive to take us off, we were up before daylight and
started with our cameras just as the sun was peeping above
the horizon. The previous night I had left my blind near
a certain beach nest, and Mr. Cleaves accompanied me to
the place, saw me safely inside, and by his departure did
much to insure the prompt return of the mother bird.
She was soon back on the nest, but at once noticed the lens
of my camera. Turning so as to face me squarely with
both eyes, she peered intently at the blind, moving her
head from side to side, horizontally. Then with a cry of
alarm she sprang into the air, and flew back and forth
above the nest. Occasionally the two half-grown youngsters
in the nest would arise and start to move about ; but at
the sound of their mother's warning note they would

38 THE HOME-LIFE OF

crouch instantly, and remain flat and motionless until
they felt that the cause of alarm had passed. Then they
vvould raise their heads, only to lower them again at the
next passage of the old bird over the nest.

While I was watching these proceedings, and impatiently
wishing for the parent to become more accommodating,
I was delighted to see the male suddenly appear with a
fish in his talons and fly over the nest (Plate 30^). The
morning light was still so weak, that I was unable to make
an exposure of sufficient rapidity to insure an absolutely
sharp picture, although the resulting photograph shows
pretty satisfactorily the method of carrying the fish.

He circled about, and as he again approached the nest,
he released his hold on the fish with the hinder (in this
case the left) talon, which was brought forward to grasp
the nest and affect a landing (Plate 30^). I had only time
to change my plate before the female unexpectedly appeared,
and sweeping down, alighted beside her mate (Plate 31).
In the meantime, there had been no attempt made to feed
the young with the fish, which the male still held under
his foot.

With visions of a long series of pictures illustrating the
feeding operation at close range, I eagerly got my camera
in all readiness. Suddenly, without warning, both old birds
flew from the nest. The male, carrying the fish with him,
circled about a few times and then, much to my disappoint-
ment, alighted on a drift-log a short distance down the
beach. Of all actions this, I knew from experience, was the
least indicative of future success, and hope of his prompt
return to the nest was further dissipated when I saw him
bend over and start leisurely eating the fish. In the mean-
time the female had completely disappeared. In vain I
waited ; neither bird evinced the slightest interest in the
nest. After half an hour I was obliged to depart, whereupon
the male flew up with the fish, of which he had eaten but
little. Although I removed the blind, he still avoided
the nest like something bewitched, and settled again on

THE OSPREY. 39

his old perch. Such is an example of the unaccountable
nervous variability of the Osprey, which one constantly
meets in attempting to photograph this species.

In spite of all I had learned during my visits to Gardiner's
Island, the important question of just how often the young
Ospreys are fed still remained but vaguely answered.
Largely with a view to obtaining some definite data on this
point, I decided to encamp, on July 8th and 9th, 1911,
for an entire twenty-four hours near a single Osprey's nest.
Naturally many observations beside those bearing on the
feeding question were made ; in fact a somewhat detailed
account of my intimate " week-end " visit to the home of
the Ospreys may not be out of place. The locality selected
for my operations was a region known as Atlantic Highlands,
in New Jersey, where I had long known that Ospreys were
abundant. The particular nest I set forth to study was
one described to me by a friend, who had seen it while
motoring down the road alongside of which it is built.
He had obtained some excellent photographs of the birds
merely by stopping his machine and snapping his camera
while in the car.

If was about 5 p.m. on July 8th, when the boat on which
I had come from New York approached her pier at Atlantic
Highlands. There were then forty-four adult Ospreys
flying about and perched on the series of fish nets in the lee
of Sandy Hook. I counted eleven on one net and eight on
another. I also saw one bird plunge from a height of about
fifty feet and catch a fish, with which it alighted on a stake.
It is worthy of note that this group of Ospreys lives only
about nineteen miles from the crowded down-town
district of New York, and their home is accessible in less
than an hour by the fast steamers of the Sandy Hook Line.

The nest to which I had been directed was situated
on the outskirts of the town of Atlantic Highlands.
I was considerably disappointed upon reaching it to find
that it was deserted. According to a resident whom
I questioned, it had not been inhabited since the second

40 THE HOME-LIFE OF

summer previously — the year my friend photographed it.
That autumn, it seems, during the burning of some under-
brush, a part of the nest had been damaged by fire. The
next spring the birds returned, and spent considerable
time about their old home, attempting to put it in order.
But for one reason or another they were not satisfied, and
went off in search of a fresh site. At the time of my visit
the ruin was occupied only by a couple of pairs of House-
Sparrows, whose nests were built in the lower sticks.

Knowing that there must be more nests in the neigh-
bourhood, I started off in search, and had not walked two
hundred yards before I spied another eyrie. It was
conspicuously perched on an old dead pine, which stood
on top of a ridge and commanded a broad view in two
directions. Both old birds were at home, the female being
on the nest and the male close by on a branch of the tree.
In no pair of Ospreys have I ever seen the sexes more
clearly differentiated, the breast of the female being heavily
streaked with brown, and that of the male practically pure
white. The female, too, was noticeably larger.

As soon as they saw me the birds started to complain,
and when I had approached within about thirty yards they
both took wing with loud screams. I quietly seated myself
at the foot of a tree and remained motionless, but the birds
were evidently very much annoyed at my presence and
continued to fly back and forth, plainly " bending their
eye " upon me each time they passed. Their outcry was
so great that two or three Osprey neighbours appeared, to
see what the matter was, and circled about for awhile before
passing on I then changed my position and hid under
a dense oak tree, where I was well screened by the trailing
branches. Although actually nearer to the nest than before,
I was much less conspicuous, and the female alighted at
once on the perch, where the male had at first been
standing. He had by this time disappeared.

The nest, which was about twenty-five feet from the
ground, is illustrated in Plates 14, 15, and 26. The trees

THE OSPREY. 41

stood in a neglected orchard, in a surprisingly public
situation. It was surrounded by four highways, all within
two or three hundred feet, on which were five inhabited
houses. A little further away were dozens more houses.
Noisy trains and electric cars could be heard in the
immediate vicinity. Beneath the tree where I was sitting,
empty biscuit boxes and newspapers of recent date told of
the popularity of this spot for picnic purposes. A large
" For Sale " sign, not a stone's throw from the Osprey
tree, added the final note of incongruity. A well-worn
footpath passed close by the tree ; and I think it speaks
well for the American public that the nest had not been
robbed.

While it was still light I slipped out from under the far
side of my tree, without disturbing the Osprey, and made
a short survey of the surrounding country, in order to
ascertain if there were other Ospreys' nests near by, and to
assure myself that I had selected the best for photographic
purposes. I saw no new nests within a radius of half a
mile or so, and a lad whom I questioned said that most
of the birds had their homes considerably further inland.
He said that the nest I had found was the closest of all
to the water. His statements were supported by the
flight of Ospreys in the air, at least two of which I saw
carrying fish directly inland. The nearest nests he knew
of, he said, were one in the midst of a wood, and one on a
telegraph pole about a mile down the railway track\

Returning to my nest about 7.15, I found that the female
Osprey was still standing on the perch where I had left her,
and the male was on another snag nearer the nest. Upon
my approach he took wing, carrying off with him a fair-
sized (headless) fish, which he had evidently caught since
I saw him. The female remained on her perch, and
allowed me to get under the oak tree without flying. But
she could evidently see me through the interstices of the
leaves, and would whistle querulously whenever I made any
conspicuous movement during my informal supper, and

42 THE HOME-LIFE OF

later when I began to make preparations for a flashlight
photograph. When I emerged from under the tree in
order to set up my tripods, she sprang into the air with loud
cries and made off. The work of adjusting my camera
and flashlight apparatus, with their various threads, etc.,
in the gathering gloom, proved to be a lengthy operation,
and all was not in readiness till 8.45. As official sundown
occurred at 7.30, it was already dark, although a hazy moon
enabled me to see slightly. While I was working, the female
Osprey flew over about every twenty minutes and whistled ;
and shortly after I had finished and retired, she flew over
again, but did not alight. At 9.15 she returned and settled
directly on the nest. I waited, but as there was no sign of
the male, I set off the flash at 10 o'clock. The Osprey uttered
a faint outcry, but did not even take wing. She complained
more loudly as I moved about, covering up my camera, etc.,
and could evidently see me fairly plainly in the dark.

I then rolled up in my umbrella blind and made myself
comfortable for the night. All was quiet till 11.25, when I
heard a slight commotion and a low greeting, and looked
up to find that the male had alighted on his original perch.
At first, I could plainly see his head silhouetted against
the sky, but within a quarter of an hour it was apparently
tucked " under his wing." In the impressive stillness
of the night, I lay there beside my sleeping birds, myself,
as it were, a part of wild Nature for the time being.

At 3.5 the first cock crew ; and it was not many minutes
before sundry squawks and quacks announced the awakening
of the entire barn-yard company. At 3.35 I saw the male
Osprey stretch his great wings, in the same sleepy fashion
as any creature stretches himself on waking of a morning.
Then I could discern him bending forward and moving on
his perch. I attempted to raise my glasses to my eyes, but,
dark though it was, he evidently saw me and flew.

Brief extracts from my notes will serve to record
some of the many succeeding incidents of the dawn and
the day, which space precludes reciting in full detail ; —

THE OSPREY. 43

3.55. Bird-chorus begins ; Barn- Swallows first heard,
Chipping Sparrows next, followed by Robins, Meadow-
Larks, Wood-Pewees, Flickers, etc. Real chorus only
lasts about fifteen minutes ; then birds seen everywhere
seeking food and carrying it to their young.

4.15. Although still seventeen minutes before official
sunrise, and very misty (I could not see more than fifty
yards), male Osprey returns with a good-sized fish. Alights
directly on nest with female, and leans forward out of my
sight. Presumably feeding young, as I can occasionally
catch a glimpse of his back moving. Female's head never
lowered and remains visible just above margin of nest,
in exactly same position since first light enough to be
distinguishable.

4.25. Male, which is very timid, takes alarm at my slight
movements and flies, without fish.

4.35. Male returns and resumes feeding young (?).
Female's head in meantime unmoved and never out of
sight.

4.40. Osprey neighbour flies over, and my friends greet
him.

4.45. Male again becomes disturbed and leaves nest, circles
about a bit, squealing, then disappears. Female's head
always just visible ; appears to be watching me all the time.
5.20. Sparrows living in Osprey's nest have been feed-
ing their young since about 4.15; great chirrupings and
squabblings unobserved by Ospreys ; there are apparently
two Sparrows' nests.

5.25. I got up, and female complained loudly. Male
promptly appeared, flew back and forth whistling, and then
was gone. I went out to reconnoitre, and saw male
standing on top of a linden tree about 150 yards away,
where he had doubtless been during recent intervals of
absence from nest. When he saw me he flew over, and
circled about, complaining, then re-settled in the same tree.
6.30. Heavy mist receding. I can now see as far as
the bay ; water very calm. Some half-dozen Ospreys

44 THE HOME-LIFE OF

visible fishing ; apparently not many on fish stakes.
Surprising that Ospreys still fish so much by natural method,
when one would expect them to be spoiled by ease of
extracting food from net enclosures.

6.45. Osprey visitor appears ; male comes and drives
him off with great rush of wings. Visitor insists on circling
about ; male pursues him with loud screeches.

7.0. One young bird, about two-thirds grown, rose in
nest, ruffled feathers, and moved about. As this was
the first glimpse I had yet had of contents of nest, I put
up glasses for better look. Instantly mother whistled,
and youngster squatted out of sight.

7.30. Female becoming used to me ; no longer complains
when I move about under oak tree.

7.40. Erected umbrella blind under oak tree, and walked
out with it over my head. This was too much for Mrs.
Osprey, and she flew — first time to-day. When next I
saw her she was circling round with a stick in her talons
(holding it head foremost). I set up blind about
thirty feet from Osprey tree. She alighted on nest so
soon after I got into blind and was fixing things, that I
did not actually see her carry stick to nest ; but she must
have done so. Nor did I see her arranging it in nest —
just standing there.

8.0 She is very suspicious of blind, and complains
whenever I move in it.

8.30. I happened to look up (from my breakfast !) and
saw male standing on his favourite perch. Took photo ;
started to change plates (very slight noise) — he was gone.
Looked again ; he was back ! Not a sound from him
meantime. While I was getting better focus, he flew again
so precipitately that he scared off wife also. He disappeared
but she was back within two minutes, and alighted on perch.

9.5. Male arrived (without fish), alighted on nest and
bent over youngster. Mother hopped down from perch,
and all three were in the nest together. Mother spread
wings and said, " Ker, ker, ker " (low), and shuffled about

THE OSPREY. 45

nest in strange fashion. Little one raised head, moved
about nest, and repeated mother's note in miniature.
Father very suspicious of tent and soon flew.

9.20. Rushing sound over tent reveals male chasing
his old rival — swooping down to earth from great height.

9.30. Great commotion among Sparrows, as new pair
trying to build are despoiled by others.

9.45. Young bird again standing up. It is evident
there is only one youngster. Uttering weak, squeaky
note. Plainly uncomfortable in heat.

10.0 Bird getting used to tent ; seldom complains.
To induce her to fly (for photographic purposes), I have
to go out of blind and walk toward tree.

10.25. Woman passing close at hand, with eyes on
ground, picking wild-flowers, suddenly observes umbrella
blind, with evidence of occupant. Beats hasty retreat
in alarm !

10.50. Female Osprey lets one leg hang full length in
front of branch, supporting herself on the other foot only.
When male calls overhead, she looks up in very pretty
manner, often answers, and with motion of her head,
follows him in flight.

u.o. Male pays nets a short visit. No fish.

11.15. I nnd tnat when female Osprey is about to settle
on nest after flight, she will, if I wave my arm, often alight
on perch instead, which is more picturesque for photographs.
When she is on nest, youngster will get close to her breast,
and look up at her in loving fashion. Mother has no
favourite place on nest where she prefers to stand. At
first it was on opposite side of nest from where I happened
to be (whether under oak or in blind) ; but now she
is becoming almost oblivious to my presence. Both parents
approach the nest up-wind.

11.45. Owner of house close by, who has been watching
me from his porch, comes over to make inquiries, thinking
aeronaut, with balloon, has come to grief ! Says nest
has been here at least twenty-six years ; been blown down

46 THE HOME-LIFE OF

and rebuilt several times. Says time for fish is early morn-
ing and evening. Invites me to luncheon in his garden,
where I can also watch birds.

12.5. Male returns without fish, settles on nest; scared
at blind flapping in wind — departs.

12.50. Nine Ospreys counted soaring high in cloudless
sky. Round and round they would go, some of them mere
specks in the sky, crossing and recrossing each other's
orbits, sweeping on motionless wings with wondrous ease
of flight. Even female could not resist fascination, and
joined them for about five minutes.

My new-found and hospitable friend, whose family were
old residents of the neighbourhood, had some interesting
Osprey anecdotes to recount to me over the open-air
luncheon table. Some two years previously, a tree contain-
ing an Osprey's nest had been struck by lightning. Of
the two young birds, one was killed, one was unhurt, and the
mother was injured — all three being thrown to the ground.
The mother, he said, when he attempted to capture her,
fought " like a cat," even ripping a buckskin glove which
he wore. The living youngster he took home, and fed
on " killies " (small fish) and fowls' mash, upon which it
thrived. After about a month he released it. The
Ospreys, he asserted, were undoubtedly decreasing in the
face of advancing civilization. He said that in the proper
season he has got many a good shad for dinner, merely by
standing near the water's edge and throwing stones or
clapping his hands as the Ospreys flew over with their prey.
He declared that the birds drop the fish more readily if
scared before they have got fairly started inland, and are
still flying low. Only the day previous to our meeting
he had, by clapping his hands, caused an Osprey to drop
an eel two feet long, which was found to be still wriggling.

The afternoon with my Ospreys in the orchard was
largely a repetition of my morning experience. The male
returned three times up to six o'clock, but brought no fish.
He also flew over a few other times without alighting.

THE^OSPREY. 47

I could recognize him by a feather missing in his tail ; I
also imagined I could distinguish his voice from others.
Throughout our acquaintance he was always much more
timid than his wife, and took alarm on the slightest provoca-
tion. She, on the other hand, became tamer and tamer,
until her fearlessness was almost absurd. By five o'clock
I had no need for the blind whatsoever, and could
stand out in the open, camera in hand, and snap her from
any angle I desired. I regretted the plates I had exposed
in the morning on unsatisfactory and distant views. The
bird was not in the least " moody," like so many Gardiner's
Island Ospreys, and when scared off, always came back to
her nest promptly. Even the baby was allowed to sit up
in the nest and watch me, occasionally moving his head
quizzically from side to side after the manner of his parent,
without being commanded to " squat." When I compared
the adult bird's present attitude of complete confidence
with the nervous apprehension which she had exhibited
upon my first arrival the previous evening, I rejoiced in
this new example of what has many times been manifested
to me in my bird-photographing experience, namely that
wild-birds will often comprehend in a surprisingly short
space of time, just which conditions possess an element of
danger for them, and which do not. In other words, a
spirit of sympathy, even though unconscious, seems some-
how to be reciprocated by many wild creatures — a fact
that bears a plain enough moral for us all.

At six o'clock I " struck camp," and leaving my friend
to watch the Ospreys, I walked down the railway track
to photograph the nest on the telegraph pole referred to
by the boy the day before. No birds were near it when
I reached the spot (except some Sparrows nesting in the
sticks), and though I waited some time, none appeared.
Believing the nest deserted, I exposed my last plate upon it,
to show the situation, and started away. I had not gone
three hundred yards before both Ospreys came to the nest
together, the second one bearing a fish ! The illustration

48 THE HOME-LIFE OF

of the telegraph-pole nest (Plate 320) forms an inter-
esting companion to a picturesque nest on a fence which
I photographed on Gardiner's Island (Plate 32^). During
my short side-trip to and from this nest, I counted ten
Ospreys in the air, five of which had fish. I saw two
birds carrying fish within a few yards of each other. All
the fish-carrying birds were flying straight inland.

I found, when I got back about 7.15, that the male
Osprey had returned with a fish. The female was bending
over in the nest as if feeding, and he was standing on a low
snag of the tree. My watcher stated that the bird had
arrived with the evening meal about seven o'clock.

Some hasty work was necessary for me to pack up, enjoy
the supper which my friend insisted on providing, and
catch the last boat for New York ; so that I was unable to
watch the Ospreys further. But these facts I had at least
definitely recorded during my observation of this pair of
birds : (i) Only three fish had been brought to the nest in
twenty-five hours — one at 7 p.m. on July 7th, one at
4.15 a.m. on July 8th, and one at 7. p.m. on July 8th. The
facts might indicate a morning and evening feeding
each day ; (2) The female was never absent from the nest
long enough to feed herself ; (3) The female exhibited a
devotion for and constant attendance upon her nest and
young, such as can exist in very few species of birds. Of
course, the rules of one nest do not necessarily apply to
others, and it is more than possible that my constant
presence near this nest created an unnatural situation.
Then, too, the fact that in this instance there was only one
young bird, would doubtless have a bearing on the number
of fish brought to the nest. Even with these qualifications
the results, I think, warranted the undertaking, and may
serve as a stepping-stone to more detailed information
in the future. Another acquaintance which resulted from
my visit to Atlantic Highlands was that of Mr. Chas. Bauer,
an uneducated but warm-hearted man, who had charge of
a small pumping-station on the edge of the old orchard

THE OSPREY. 49

where the Ospreys lived. Like my friend of the morning,
he came during the afternoon to investigate the remarkable,
domed excrescence which had appeared on the surface
of the earth since the previous day. After the necessary
explanation, he expressed great interest in my work ; and,
having learned that I proposed to write a book on the
Osprey, he later sent me the following amusing summary
of his knowledge of the bird. He stated that it was compiled
with the assistance of his friend, Captain Roger Moon,
" an old sailor and fisherman." I append the account
in exactly the picturesque form and language in which it
was received by me : —

" The Osprey or better known as Fish hawk the Male
Bird comes Back first in the spring about March 25 if it
is nor too Cold, he will begin to repair his nest about a
week later the She bird comes, and both work together
and love One another on the Nest. They lay 3 to 4 Eggs
but they will only breed 2 whatever they do with the other
eggs nobody knowes. when they go off in October they
come back alone in the Spring wether they are the Old pair
or the Young I do not know. As soon as the Egg is laid
there will always be one of Birds on the nest to watch it
as Mr. Crow likes to get the eggs. When she sets on her
Eggs, the Male furnishes her food but mostly Every other
Morning she goes to have her bath and then the Old man
will sit on the Eggs to keep them warm until she comes
back she sometimes hunts her breakfast but very seldom,
she hurrys home after her Bath. As if she was afraid that
the Old man did nor under stand the business as well as
her. Then he goes down the Bay and gets her breakfast
while she sits on the Eggs he pickes the fish apart so that
she can eat it handy. After the young ones are able to
fly then the training begins. The Old ones with a fish
fly all arond the nest high in the Air and holler while the
young ones look on and hunger for it. by and by they will
follow the Old ones down the bay see how it is done and
strike out for themselfs they leave us about October first.

50 THE HOME-LIFE OF

They Say they go south, but where in the South We dont
know, the tide has nothing to do with the hawk their
time is usually Morning and Evenings, my Friend tells
me their are not half as many Ospreys as their was 40
years ago. The Osprey always looks for a dead tree and if
they cant find one they will build on top of any tree that
gives them room for their nest but it will kill the tree in 2
years time."

This quaint life-history is distinctly interesting, though
manifestly inaccurate in parts, such as that relating to the
number of young reared. Even this point, however, gives
evidence of some observation. For I have myself remarked
on the number of infertile eggs discovered in the nests
on Gardiner's Island, and it is certainly a fact that a con-
siderable percentage of Osprey's eggs never reach maturity.
Whether the proportion is unusually great in the case of
the Osprey I would not undertake to say, but it is my
impression that, as a family, the Raptores more than any
other birds, are unsuccessful in hatching all their eggs.
Observations of others corroborate Mr. Bauer's assertions
relative to the males preceding the females on migration,*
and relative to the male sharing in the duty of incubation
and bringing food to his mate on her nest.f

I have never personally observed an Osprey indulging
in a bath, other than the necessary immersion incident
to capturing her prey, and I rather suspect that Mr. Bauer
may have got his terms mixed. Nevertheless, that Ospreys
do occasionally enjoy a genuine bath is attested by the
following interesting note made by Mr. Cleaves, while on
Gardiner's Island : " Creeping up to the edge of Tobaccolot
Pond, I spied some large birds standing in the water on the
opposite side. Through my glasses I identified them at
once as Fish-Hawks, and soon saw that they were bathing.
In all I counted nine Hawks standing in water up to their
bellies ; in one place there were five together. The birds

* cf. Audubon, "Birds of America" (ed. 1840), I., p. 66; and "Auk," IX.,
1892, p. 318.

t id., i&., p. 67 ; and Fisher, " Hawks and Owls of the United States," p, 131.

THE OSPREY. 51

dipped their heads in and splashed their wings vigorously ;
then they stood and preened their feathers for some
minutes. One bird walked about in the most absurdly
clumsy manner, apparently in order to find water of proper
depth."

The flashlight photograph which I attempted at Atlantic
Highlands proved not to be a success. The reason, as I
feared at the time, was that the sleeping bird on the nest
was invisible in the photograph, by reason of the angle
between the camera on the ground and the nest in the
tree-top. Another flashlight experiment, which I made
on Gardiner's Island, was similarly disappointing, because
the tall branch upon which the bird decided to perch
proved to be beyond the edge of the picture. In both
cases, however, the practical disregard by the Osprey of
the magnesium discharge (though necessarily a heavy one)
was quite surprising. Perhaps they mistook it for a flash of
lightning ! At Atlantic Highlands as related, the bird did
not even leave her nest ; and at Gardiner's Island, of some
half-dozen Ospreys perching within a couple of hundred
feet, only my particular bird took wing, and she merely
circled about and alighted again almost at once. I am
convinced that Ospreys can see with considerable distinct-
ness in the dark. I have even observed them flying with
fish in the dusk, long after it would be supposed they could
see to hunt. Whatever time of night one passes their
haunts, one will be greeted with the usual whistles and
complaints, and catch sight of the dim forms of the birds
passing to and fro, apparently flying and alighting at will.

When the Osprey chicks are still very young, their mother
broods them at night much as she might incubate eggs —
sitting close and with wings drawn down. When they
are well grown she merely roosts upon the edge of the nest,
or upon a branch close by. We observed that in the beach
nests the young birds, which during the heat of the day find
the greatest coolness about the margin of the nest, prefer,
for the opposite reason, to huddle at night in a warm

52 THE HOME-LLFE OF

little group at the centre. As definitely observed at
Atlantic Highlands, the male comes home to his nest to
spend the night. In a colony like Gardiner's Island it is a
pleasing experience to observe after nightfall dozens of old
Ospreys guarding their nests, each on some gaunt snag
silhouetted against the sky.

The life and training of young Ospreys after they leave
the nest, I have unfortunately had little opportunity to
observe. My visits to Gardiner's Island have all occurred
before any of the young were actually on the wing, although
already many of them appeared to be fully fledged. In
July I have seen full-grown youngsters standing on their
nests, and beating their wings in anticipation of the new
power that is soon to be theirs. Nevertheless, Nuttall
declares that they are sometimes so loath to make a start
in the world, that they have to be forcibly driven from
the nest by their parents.*

Authorities seem to agree that the young Osprey's
life in the nest covers a period of five or six weeks. t
On August I3th, 1911, I was unable to find any young
still remaining in some half-dozen nests which I visited
in New Jersey, especially to enlighten myself on this
point. Observations made at that time indicate that
the birds will, after fishing, bear their catch as much
as three of four miles from the water, in order to devour
it on the bed of the empty nest. I also believe the
entire family return to the neighbourhood of their old
homes to roost.

Once I observed a young Osprey perched on a bough
overhanging a lake-side, and watching with the keenest
interest his mother, as she quartered the surface of the
water, intent on fishing Whenever the old bird passed,
the youngster would call in shrill whistled tones, just
as any hungry baby-bird pesters its parent, whether or
not the latter has food. Three days later I happened to

* " Birds of the United States and Canada " (ed. 1003), p. 30.
f cf. Chapman, "Camps and Cruises of an Ornithologist," p. 52.

THE OSPREY. 53

visit the same spot, and saw what was perhaps the same
young Osprey, himself with a fish.

Wonderful as are the achievements of all young birds
in the matter of flight and the selection of their varied
food, there is, to my mind, none more truly worthy of
admiration than the first plunge of a young Osprey for a
fish. Yet, as in all the other instances, the mysterious
dictates of instinct, assisted of course by watching the
parents, alone are responsible. Mr. Baynes's two tame
Ospreys, which were taken from their nest and reared by
hand, started to fish as soon as they were able to fly.
Referring to the earliest effort of one of his birds he writes : *
" His tactics were similar to those employed by old and
experienced Ospreys, but the execution was clumsy. It
was the attempt of a tyro, and of course the fish escaped.
But in a few days both Hawks became expert."

Similarly, Mr. C. W. Beebe tells of a young Osprey
which was brought as a nestling to the New York Zoological
Park : t " One day a fish was thrown beyond the line of
cavernous-mouthed Pelicans in the great outdoor flying
cage, and the young Osprey swooped at it and fell headlong
into the water. He half kicked, half flapped his way to
shore, and crawled out disappointed and bedraggled. The
sight of the fish was just the stimulus needed to give an
impetus to an instinct, latent but trembling for expression.
After the first blind yielding to impulse, experience entered
in as guide and instructor, and a few more attempts
made this young Osprey master of his art."

In his famous " American Ornithology," Wilson records
seeing a young Osprey meet its parent in the air and receive
from him the fish he carried in his claws. This proceeding
is probably unusual, however, and has not been noted
by such observers as I have questioned. Wilson is also
authority for the statement, widely copied but not con-
firmed by some writers at least, that Ospreys, before they

* "Zoological Society Bulletin," No. II, 1903, p. 120.
t "Scribner's Magazine," XLI., 1907, p. 704.

54 THE HOME-LIFE OF THE OSPREY.

leave for the south in the autumn, " regularly " repair
their nests, to fortify them against the violence of the
winter storms. In the life of all birds there are many
facts which only the combined observations of many
workers can accurately ascertain. I shall hope to spend
many more happy field-days with my friends the Ospreys.
Although in some instances " familiarity breeds contempt,"
in the case of the Osprey this can never be true. There
is a nobility and dignity about this bird, an industry and
inoffensiveness of life, a tender affection for its mate and
young, that can only bring increasing admiration with
acquaintance.

PLATES.

The most surprising discovery " .

(Copyright in U.S.A. by H. ff. Ch

A pleasing succession of rolling meadows, thi

A delight to
birds.

ics of these
Plate 2.

the ton of a weather-beaten old rock, (a)

the Osp
below the nest, (b)

Plete 3.

1

o*

fo\v exactly the young

;fht in U.S.A. fy H. H.

(Copyright m U.S.A. by H. H. >

The bill comes closer and closer

to the nest.

A parent and her full-grown young, (a)

J

lutely harml

v a. n.

Plate 16.

Round comes the bird, v/ell above the nest.

swings gracefully in, as if about to se

•1

;r of his mother's breast.

Plate 25.

The female appeared and alighted bes

UCSOUTHERNREGIONALL

Scripps Institution of Oceanography Library

AA 000908

DATE

SEP 131974

:DUE A

JUN301975

JUfo *- n 1Q7H

•

JUN 3 0 1980

ILJN 3 0 1981

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SI 23

UCSD Libr.

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