There's more to the story than meets the osprey's eye

Have you ever stumbled upon a moment in nature that made you believe one thing only to later find out there was more to the story? That's exactly what happened during a recent photography hike I went on which led me to witness a young osprey family in one of their natural habitats - a humungous nest above a coastal marsh.

The scene was picturesque and I thought I was capturing a perfect family moment with a juvenile osprey nesting with both its mother and father. Little did I know that a different story was waiting to unfurl as I delved into the images during post-processing.

As I was looking through the photographs, a sudden realization dawned upon me. The young osprey was not actually with both parents. Instead, the nest was inhabited by a pair juvenile ospreys. How did I come to learn this? It was all in the osprey's eyes.

I noticed two of the ospreys had orange eyes. Avianreport.com states that "Juvenile Ospreys have orange to reddish-orange eyes. Although eye color is variable among juvenile individuals it turns progressively yellow as the bird reaches the adult age. " 

So then, who is the lovely yellow-eyed osprey? I will be honest and say that for me, it is difficult to tell. My gut is telling me that this it is the mother.

Typically, the male osprey hunts for food while the female stays in the nest to care for their chicks. As I was photographing the family, what I believed to be a hawk began to circle the nest. In hindsight, this was actually an osprey. It does not have the breast markings that a female osprey typically has. Perhaps it was daddy-o flying overhead to see if I was a threat and to defend his nest...

Although I could have stayed there for hours watching and snapping shots, I didn't linger very long because I did not want to disturb them. After about 20 minutes, I packed up my gear and left.

Reflecting on the poignant moments spent observing this osprey family, I was reminded of the inherent beauty of nature and the intricate stories out there waiting to be discovered.