The tranquility of Nature- NOT!

A story from Bill Dunson of three species that frequent the woods and river valleys of the Blue Ridge highlands. Have you ever considered these types of interactions?

There can sometimes be great drama in the lives of birds as well as humans, as we have been observing a pair of ospreys and their tormentors, a pair of great horned owls.

We have not directly observed all the specific interactions of these two wonderful species, but can surmise what must be happening. It appears that the owls drove a pair of ospreys from their nest and occupied it (see photo of owl's head just above the edge of the nest). Then the ospreys moved further down the island at Stump Pass State Park and built another nest (see photo) and seemed to be happily engaged in domestic bliss. But just yesterday it appeared that the osprey pair had left the nest and were flying around somewhat distraught. The male was carrying a stick and chasing the female and no one was minding the nest. We are afraid that something may have happened to the baby ospreys or the eggs; perhaps the owls are involved or not- we do not know.

A pair of bald eagles also moved from a nearby nest site occupied last year and built a new nest in a tall Norfolk Island pine just north of the owls, where all seems to be well, except that here we can see in a great photo by Paula Kaye that an immature eagle is harassing the adult on the nest! Eagles also have quite a lot of trouble from owls themselves but in this case junior may want to inherit Mom's territory or maybe is just curious about what married life is like.

So when we might think sometimes about how wonderful and stress-free the lives of animals wild and free in nature must be- think again! Life is a struggle, perhaps for creatures great and small?

Bill Dunson

Englewood, FL

The Value of Water as a Bird Attractant

Our Florida location is on a barrier island (Manasota Key) only a short distance from the mainland, but a very dry location in terms of freshwater for critters to drink. The "soil" is basically sand with a maximum elevation of about 11 feet, and there are no natural ponds, except of course for sea water in the mangroves and beach areas. Since no typical terrestrial birds can drink sea water (it is about three times the salt concentration of their blood), non-sea birds must find their drinking water elsewhere, and thus be limited in their occurrence here, or get it from their food (seeds are very dry, but animal prey or fruit contain more water- a help but not generally enough). There is brackish water below the soil surface of the island- depending on recent rainfall, available to trees but not to most animals. Thus we have found that putting out fresh water in bird baths is very attractive to a wide variety of birds, including some that you might not expect to visit. For example yesterday I looked

out the back window and saw a Cooper's hawk in one of our three bird baths (see photo)! This was a huge treat since these hawks are not generally that easy to study up close and personal.

So put out a water bath, preferably with a drip but OK if not, as long as you refill and clean it periodically, and watch for interesting visitors. Try putting out several baths in locations that differ in the amount of cover, and distance from your house.

Bill Dunson

Englewood, FL & Galax, VA