Spring Migration — it’s a turn on
We locked eyes. It was the first time in ages a male made me feel so happy, so encouraged, so… excited. The birds have returned, the once songless mornings belonging to a different season. This island’s situation on eastern Lake Ontario makes it one of the most prolific birding areas globally, with more than 350 species of birds recognized during spring and fall migrations. But it was the osprey’s return I’d most eagerly anticipated.
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Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) are the second most widely distributed raptor species (after the peregrine falcon). Their diet mainly fish, they breed within 12 miles of freshwater lakes, rivers, swamps, and coastal brackish waters. Growing up in New England, I saw high-reaching poles in the center of marshes, platforms perched on top. Spilling over the sides were osprey nesting materials; sticks, driftwood, seaweed, grasses, and even humanity’s garbage, newly upcycled. On this island, these poles are everywhere: parks, backyards, in the middle of fields, alongside county roads.
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Migratory birds, osprey fly from this continent’s northern parts to winter in Florida or Mexico, and even Central or South America. Many log more than 160,000 migration miles in a lifetime. Their massive wingspan of up to five feet, the muscular legs, the brown stripe on a white cheek, and the tufted head feathers make them appear powerful and prehistoric, a working man’s eagle.
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Osprey mate for life, returning to the same nest each spring. The males sprint ahead to refresh the digs, repairing winter’s damage. Like a suburban couple with means, the female soon joins him, re-arranging his efforts. Some of these homes have been used repeatedly for 50–70 years, becoming as large as 10' wide and deep enough for me to slumber. Their house in order, mating begins in earnest. The male performs an aerial dance with a fish or nesting materials in his talons, hovering and swooping above the nest, sometimes as high as 600 feet. He continues this courting ritual for upwards of ten minutes, screeching his desire before floating into the nest in a leisurely manner, a slow striptease for an afternoon lover.
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You had me at ‘hello’.
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#quick #beforethewifegetshome
