June 6, 2010 - Juvenile Osprey

Last week’s photos, taken at the photography workshop I attended near Vero Beach, Florida, showed adult Osprey in flight. I mentioned that an estimated 500 pair of Osprey were nesting on the lake. Here are some photos of the juveniles.

This is a comparison of the adult and juvenile plumage. The adult, on the left, has dark brown feathers over its wings and back. The feathers of the juvenile, on the right, are edged in white. This white edging will eventually wear off and the juvenile will then look like the adult.

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This photo shows two more characteristics of the juvenile Osprey. The eyes of the juvenile are orange and the eyes of the adult are yellow. The juvenile also has light tan color on the feathers of its neck and throat. Notice the size of the feet and talons.

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Ospreys build large nests, usually in the top of a tree or on a power pole. These nests are reused and added to each year. This is one of the larger nests that we saw. The four juveniles sitting in the nest are almost fully grown so that gives you some perspective on the size of this nest.

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Some of these nests are almost at eye level so we could get nice close-up views of the juveniles. This one seems as curious about us as we were about it.

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Many of the juveniles were already able to fly. This one is exercising its wings.

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Most of the juveniles were older and about as large as the adults. However, we did find this nest with some very young babies. The eye color difference between the adult and the juvenile is especially noticeable at this age.

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This adult Osprey is bringing a fish back to the nest. The juveniles are just visible above the rim of the nest.

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