In which I do undignified things to baby ospreys

This is me, holding a young osprey; she is about five weeks old and weighs about 1700 grams (which is how we know she's female, as males top out at 1500, and she doesn't yet have the distinctive v-shaped "necklace" of dark feathers that makes the best visual cue for females.) She has already got sharp claws, and the beginnings of a very pointy beak, but fortunately for us, she hasn't quite learned how to use them yet. In fact, of the ospreys we handled spent at least as much time biting their own wings as they did people's fingers.

She was subsequently banded, ( stuffed head-first into a plastic bag, and weighed. )

Here is a two week old osprey, looking miserable, and demonstrating their double-jointed wing design:



Also, having apparently not had enough of southern Maryland this morning, we I have last-minute decided that we're going to go down and spend the weekend at Point Lookout State Park (with a possible trip to St Mary's City, of which I have heard so much about from archaeologists) so as to be there for the turtle release on Sunday. The park's website also has rumors about costumed "ghosts" from the civil war prison wandering about on Saturday night.

In which I do undignified things to baby ospreys

This is me, holding a young osprey; she is about five weeks old and weighs about 1700 grams (which is how we know she's female, as males top out at 1500, and she doesn't yet have the distinctive v-shaped "necklace" of dark feathers that makes the best visual cue for females.) She has already got sharp claws, and the beginnings of a very pointy beak, but fortunately for us, she hasn't quite learned how to use them yet. In fact, of the ospreys we handled spent at least as much time biting their own wings as they did people's fingers.

She was subsequently banded, ( stuffed head-first into a plastic bag, and weighed. )

Here is a two week old osprey, looking miserable, and demonstrating their double-jointed wing design:



Also, having apparently not had enough of southern Maryland this morning, we I have last-minute decided that we're going to go down and spend the weekend at Point Lookout State Park (with a possible trip to St Mary's City, of which I have heard so much about from archaeologists) so as to be there for the turtle release on Sunday. The park's website also has rumors about costumed "ghosts" from the civil war prison wandering about on Saturday night.

Experimentally cross-posty from dreamwidth. Comments encouraged in either location.