Sweet Sounds to Wake Us Up

It's a little noisy around the homestead this morning.

No, it's not Beau.  He slept in this morning and has yet to spot a squirrel.

He has been more concerned with making sure we didn't forget his breakfast or his walk out front where he checks to see (smell) if the dreaded C-A-T-S of the neighborhood have poached on his property.  After he gets his nose out of the grass he lifts it to the air to determine if anything interesting is afoot.  He turns west toward the Gulf where I think the most interesting scents must float on the breeze, because he will hold his nose up in that direction far longer than any other.  It makes me wonder what he's thinking.

What he doesn't pay attention to is what woke us up in the first place.  The birds.  The sweet sound of osprey chicks.  Yesterday, we saw osprey chicks circling over our house just above the trees.  Their parents were also circling, but much higher in a wider circle, ensuring that their offspring stayed safe from predators.  While in flight the major predator of ospreys are owls and eagles.  In the nest,  raccoons and snakes prey on their eggs and babies.  Often called the "fish hawk" ospreys themselves are amazing predators of fish.  I love to watch the adult osprey fly over the area on his way back from the Gulf with a fish in his grasp.  We are in the direct path he takes to get to the nest.

Stock photo of of an Osprey with Spadefish in talons by J. Tobin

There are a lot of people fascinated by ospreys.  We have an osprey nest about 5 miles south of us in Dunedin on which a live cam is focused.  You can access the camera HERE.

That site allows you to watch for the birds' return to the nest, to snap pictures, and to display them.  There is all kinds of information about the osprey there and it is easy to lose a good part of your day spying on these marvelous birds.

As I have this morning.

Have a happy Super Bowl Sunday.  Go RAVENS -- of course, I'll root for the birds!