After Michael Fleming wrote me about having witnessed a similar Osprey behavior as I did this a.m., when he was at the Ballard Market early this afternoon, I decided to make use of a BNA monograph I had just purchased, and looked up the behaviors we had seen and heard. And, sure enough, there was a description of many of the things I had experienced - here are most of the behaviors I saw and heard (basically these are all quotes, some a bit abbreviated:

Courtship and sometimes territorial display ("Aerial Sky-Dance Display") - "male dangles legs, sometimes clasping a fish or nesting material [I saw just the dangling legs] - slow, undulating flight, high overhead, usually over the nest site, giving screaming calls repeatedly - undulations shallow, with bird rising steeply at end of each, and hovering. Display and calling may last for 10 min. or more - male sometimes loses altitude all the while, descending slowly in undulating staircase fashion to the nestsite".

So, a good likelihood of a nest near me - I'll have to go look for it.
It's so great to happen to be in the right place at the right time and witness the "real deal" :-)


Barb Deihl
Matthews Beach Neighborhood - NE Seattle
barbdeihl at comcast.net