Hi All:

On Sunday afternoon, I checked out the progress of the young Ospreys at the
nest near Herrings House Park, on the Duwamish south of the West Seattle
freeway. One of my favorite things is to watch fledgling raptors try to
manage wings and taloned feet and explore their world. The two young had
already taken their first flights. I apparently just missed a food delivery
from one of the adults, as one fledgling was atop a piling near the north
end of Kellogg Island, clutching a fish. It was near pilings where Purple
Martins are nesting, and two of the swallows were diving on it. With the
fish in its talons, it flew to another piling across the spit at the north
end of the Island, where it could eat in peace.
A few minutes later, a second fledgling screeched and launched itself from
the osprey nest. Slowly, laboriously, it flapped in the direction of its
sibling and ponderously settled on to a perch atop a piling. The youngster
fluffed out and settled down - for a few seconds.
Unfortunately, it had landed a few feet above an occupied Purple Martin nest
box. I focused my scope on the Osprey, just in time to see the orange-eyed
youngster with perfect new feathers shrink before my eyes, as it tightened
its feathers. It ducked as a dark blur zoomed by its head. Whoosh - again
and again. It took about 45 seconds for one angry swallow to drive off the
much larger bird.
The Osprey flapped its way to another piling, and had a few minutes respite,
until a second Purple Martin showed up. Then the fun began again. This time
the martins took breaks between rounds of bombardments, and the Osprey got
to relax and look around before the next attack. But eventually, enough was
enough, and it flapped over to join its sibling, now finished with the fish.
Even tiny birds can be aggressive (think Rufous Hummingbird!), but I'm
amazed at how scrappy and persistent Purple Martins are and what kinds of
birds they will hassle, such as adult peregrines. Surely these swallows must
have the Merlin hearts inside!
To paraphrase Marv Breece, it was a good afternoon.

Ruth Taylor
Seattle/Ballard
rutht at seanet.com