Tis the Season of the Osprey starts with my trip to the beach last weekend. I was sauntering along and saw a big bird swooping by the trees. I had my camera out and started taking pictures. Those in flight were not so good but when he landed in a Madrona snag I could see he had a fish. Yikes, he then proceeded to eat it. Enjoy the video and still photos of his dinner with Mr. Fish.
That experience made me go back to the Duwamish Park called Herring House Park (Tualtwx). Here is a link to my visit almost exactly a year ago.
This area is still a conundrum of nature, industrial and homelessness. This time I brought my small tripod and got some good photos of that mom feeding her baby. Note how she has the white head and the baby is all brown with the beginnings of his markings.
As you can see this nest is on a light pole. It is in the middle of a busy metal recycler and the next photos give you a perspective of how it sits.
After I left Herring House I went South to where Hamm Creek enters the Duwamish. I had meant to go there for a long time. It is only up the road from where I used to live. Here is a link to a longer article I published on the Duwamish with some photos of my little trailer home by the river.
But back to Hamm Creek. It was disgusting. It was full of litter, party trash and homeless looking areas. I had my mace in hand the whole time and will not go back. However, as I pushed through the bushes to the shore past the trash and swampy areas I was given a treat. There in the distance next to a huge transmission power tower someone had built an Osprey platform. Check out how it has a resident bird.
I don’t have a picture of the other nest I know of. It is along I-405 in Renton next to a cell tower. They have built this family a platform to keep them off the tower. They are sitting there again this year and I see one of the parents flying over the car dealers on Grady Way each evening when I drive home. Ironically, this bird in Renton is close to the old Black River which disappeared when Lake Washington was lowered. The Black River flowed into the Duwamish, so this nest is also related to our city’s river.
There you have it – The season of the Osprey for 2014 intertwined with the Duwamish.
