Bird Report
August 2007
It is always exciting to find new birds or returning migrants around our bay. However, it can be equally satisfying to find the same species in the same places over a number of years.
Ospreys (Pandion haliaetus) are found in a number of places around the Tin Can Bay and Cooloola Cove area. They build their nests high in a tree and return each year to raise another lot of young birds. The nest is often in the upper branches of a large dead tree. However, other suitable sites are on cliffs, rocky foreshores or even sometimes on a transmission tower. It is a most untidy looking stack of sticks and small branches.
Each year it is renovated and the new material placed on top of the old nest is the first sign that the birds are nesting again. It is so high in the tree that the bird sitting low on the nest is not seen. However, the second bird is often very visible standing guard close by. The young are also not seen until they are close to fledging and begin moving around and even standing on the edge of the nest.
Even then the parent birds are very protective of their young. If any person comes close to the nest tree the parent birds warn the young to keep down and keep quiet. I once sat in the kayak well out on the bay hoping to get a good look at the young.
Their heads had been poking up from the nest when I first arrived but before I had a chance to properly focus the binoculars the parents had seen me and cried a warning to the young birds. I sat still for some time and from time to time heard sounds from the young ones but each time there were strong sounding warnings from the parents and the chicks stayed out of sight.
The Osprey is sometimes called the Fishing Hawk. It is a large bird – 55cm-63cm in length. It has a dark brown back and tail with a white head and underparts. There is a dark band extending through the eye. There is a broad band of light brown around the lower throat almost like a necklace.