Osprey calling its mate

The following slideshow features a female Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) calling its mate. The nesting pair of Osprey was spotted near Riverside Park in Fairfax County, Virginia USA.

Females usually show dark necklace across white breast. Source Credit: Osprey, “All About Birds,” Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

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Related Resource: “Osprey calling its mate (amplified)” – an audio recording of the same bird shown in the preceding photos.

This post includes a link to an audio recording of bird calls by the same Osprey shown in the photos! You may be wondering, “How did you do that?” I used the free “Voice Memos” app on my Apple iPhone to record the bird call in situ. Next I used “Audacity,” a free audio editor, to amplify the recording on my Apple iMac. Finally, I uploaded the amplified version to “Audioboo.” Audioboo is a free tool for audioblogging. (Did I just coin a new term?) Try it yourself — it’s easy!

Editor’s Note: Audioboo provides three options that may be used to embed a player in blog posts: Standard (HTML5); WordPress.com (Flash); and “If all else fails.” For this blog, the Flash version (shown below) is the only option that displays properly on an Apple iMac computer; none of the options displays properly on an Apple iOS mobile device such as iPad.

WordPress.com

Copyright © 2013 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

Pair of Osprey minding their nest

A pair of Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) minding their nest at Belle Haven Marina. The behavior of the birds suggests there may be either eggs or chicks in the nest.

Belle Haven Marina is located along the tidal Potomac River in suburban Washington, D.C., south of Old Town Alexandria, Virginia USA.

Copyright © 2012 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved. www.wsanford.com

Osprey (male, feeding and bringing food to nest)

A male Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) bringing food to its nest. The female Osprey was in the nest (out of sight) at the time of the following photo. The Osprey nest is located near Riverside Park, along the Mount Vernon Trail, George Washington Memorial Parkway, Fairfax County, Virginia USA.

Notice the headless fish shown in all three photos. An experienced birder told me Osprey always eat fish from head to tail. In this case, the male Osprey ate the fish head while perched on a nearby tree before bringing the rest of the fish to the nest.

Related Resource: Audioboo of the female Osprey calling its mate, recorded shortly before the photos were taken.

Copyright © 2012 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved. www.wsanford.com

Pair of Osprey building a nest

A seven-image time-series of photos showing a male Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) bringing nesting material to a new nest located on a platform atop a piling in the Potomac River; the female Osprey was sitting on the nest.

The photos were taken at Belle Haven Marina, located along the tidal Potomac River in suburban Washington, D.C., south of Old Town Alexandria, Virginia USA. Historic Jones Point Lighthouse is shown on the left side of Photo 1 of 7; the new Woodrow Wilson Bridge appears in Photos 1-5. I used Photoshop to add a vignette to the fourth image in the time-series in order to highlight the Osprey against a busy background: Photo 4 is the vignetted version; Photo 5 is the original version.

Copyright © 2012 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved. www.wsanford.com

Osprey (nesting pair)

The following photo shows a nesting pair of Osprey (Pandion haliaetus): The male is shown on the upper left side of the photo; the female on the lower right.

Females usually show dark necklace across white breast. Source Credit: Osprey, “All About Birds,” Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

The Osprey nest is located near Riverside Park, along the Mount Vernon Trail, George Washington Memorial Parkway, Fairfax County, Virginia USA.

Copyright © 2012 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved. www.wsanford.com

Osprey takes flight

An Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) takes flight from its perch overlooking the Potomac River.

This bird is one member of a pair of Osprey nesting near Riverside Park, along the Mount Vernon Trail, George Washington Memorial Parkway, Fairfax County, Virginia USA.

Copyright © 2012 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved. www.wsanford.com