Today I hiked up to Dorothy Lake in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness, just south
of Skykomish off US 2. As I hiked around the lake I heard a constant loud
bird cry, and finally I got into a place where I could see. It was a juv.
Osprey, perched on a tree top in an island in the lake. I was ready for a
rest so I sat down with my back to a nice warm granite slab and had a snack.
The teenage osprey called relentlessly and I finally saw an adult, soaring
down the far end of the lake. After awhile the constant crying call became
annoying so just as I was about to head down the trail the pitch and
frequency changed. Aha. Some action. The adult bird came flying up with a
fish in its talons. Junior was just about hopping up and down, flapping its
wings in excitement. The adult circled junior a couple times which sent Jr.
into a frenzy. Then, very deliberately, the adult flew out about 20 feet
from the juv and dropped the fish. Kerplunk in the water it went. To my
surprise, Jr. did not budge from his perch, but instead gave even louder and
more piteous cries. In my sun heated brain I swear the tone sounded whining
and Junior was saying something like, I don't like wet fish, I want it
delivered to me, how come you don't give me fish anymore? I want my fish!
It was almost funny, had the calls not been annoying. Just before I left I
had an idea and I scanned the water with my bins. Sure enough, there were
two other fish, washed up on the rocks nearby where Jr. was perched. So I
guess the concept of getting your own food was not sinking in with this one.
All the rest of the afternoon I could hear the cries of the Osprey. There
was no escape anywhere along the lake from that sound and it really began to
grate on my nerves. Finally as I was hiking out a pair of ravens came down
the lake, quorking around, and they both took a dive at the juv, although
not very close, as if to say: WILL YOU SHUT UP. It worked, at least for
about 10 minutes. I was glad when the trail finally dropped out of range of
hearing of the calls. As if in payment for my annoyance, not far from the
lake I got a look at a fisher, a somewhat rare and seclusive member of the
weasel family which more than made up for being annoyed by teenage bird
whining.

Rob Sandelin
South Snohomish County at the headwaters of Ricci Creek
Sky Valley Environments <http://www.nonprofitpages.com/nica/SVE.htm>
Field skills training for student naturalists
Floriferous at msn.com


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