Ospreys! (Sandpoint: contractor, organic, to move)

[Clarabel]

I am happy to see that they made a lot of progress on the nest today. It was looking rather sparse and I was getting concerned!

[TS808]

Originally Posted by banjomike

Ospreys are real specialists. They eat only fish.
(Eagle Rock was Idaho Falls' first name.)

I've seen an osprey flying with a (very much alive) snake that was thicker than my forearm.

[banjomike]

Originally Posted by TS808

I've seen an osprey flying with a (very much alive) snake that was thicker than my forearm.

Cool!
I'll bet the snake was swimming. Could you tell what kind it was?

[TS808]

No, I imagine it was a cottonmouth, mud snake, or water snake. This was in residential Florida by the way so it really could have been any number of species. Because of it's stockiness and affection for water though, I'd go with cottonmouth.

I didn't see how it ended, but last I saw, the osprey was failing to fly upward to its nest. That's what initially caught my eye... a Medusa like object hovering 50 feet up. It took a moment to account for each wing, both ends of the writhing snake, and the loose leg/talon for me to even know what I was looking at. It was clearly a bad situation for both animals. The osprey had another 30 feet to go and I wonder if that snake didn't get dropped. Hopefully not in someone's patio while they were entertaining.

Speaking of getting dropped, I was once at a red light in a baaaad part of town with all of the stereotypical ne'er-do-wells around me. Right next to my window I saw a flash going down and a one pound bass bouncing UP. I thought, who would throw a fish at me? Then I saw two ospreys buzzing around, both reluctant to land in the street (or that part of town...) I bet it was one sibling trying to steal the other's lunch. Maybe a homeless guy fried it up....

[Clark Fork Fantast]

Oh no...The camera seems to be down--it says "Server not found." Don't panic...breathe...breathe...

Never mind. The camera is back online. Whew...

And the nest has really grown!

[Clark Fork Fantast]

I just checked out the location on Google Maps. We're looking toward Ontario and Lavina, right? Rainy day, huh?

[Native Idahoan]

We are planning a trip up in a few months and I told my husband that we have to coordinate with someone to watch the cam at a specific time and we'll be there waving from the street. LOL

[sierra don]

The nest sure has grown over the last few days, looks really windy up there now.

[Cnynrat]

It definitely looks blustery up there.

[Clark Fork Fantast]

Wow, the nest looks like a real nest now! Good job! But they zoomed the camera in so you can't see the neighborhood. Too bad.