Happy Saturday!
Here’s a weekend waterview from Lake Norman.
It’s been a hot, steamy and stormy week
with the heat index in the triple digits.
We did manage to find a window to boat,
avoiding the heat of the day and between thunderstorms.
You know it’s hot when you’re happy it’s
a cloudy day and you can escape the sun!
We always enjoy checking on the Osprey nesting on the lake.
Osprey winter in Central and South America and return to the same nest each year
around the beginning of March.
They can log more than 160,000 migration miles during their 15-to-20-year lifetime.
They build their nests on man made structures . . .channel markers, power poles, nest platforms
designed especially for nesting, dock roofs and occasionally a boat.
The male osprey usually fetches most of the nesting material, sometimes breaking dead sticks off nearby trees
while the female arranges the nest. The female osprey does most of the incubation,
relieved by the male when she leaves the nest to feed.
The young remain in the nest for about 8 weeks after hatching.
After migrating in the fall, the young remain south on the wintering grounds until 2 years old.
Ospreys begin breeding at about 3 years of age.
Ospreys possess a reversible outer toe that allows them to grasp with two toes in front and two behind.
Barbed pads on the soles of the birds’ feet help them grip slippery fish.
When flying with prey, an Osprey lines up its catch head first for less wind resistance.
Studies show Ospreys caught fish on at least 1 in every 4 dives,
with success rates sometimes as high as 70 percent.
The average time they spent hunting before making a catch was about 12 minutes.
Can you imagine seeing that coming for you?
Yikes!
Once on the endangered list, the Osprey population is slowly making a comeback
after the ban of the insecticide DDT in 1971.
In the US, Osprey are protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and moving
an Osprey nest violates federal and state laws, although state laws vary.
I wasn’t the only one out with my camera to photograph Osprey.
These guys showed up with their National Geographic lenses. :)
We spied this mama duck with her ducklings in tow. . .
So cute paddling as fast as they can to keep up!
Unlike Osprey, there is no ‘Mr. Mallard’ to help ‘Mama’ with her brood.
We ran across a barge that looks like it was transporting some dock debris. . .
And boat being towed.
We’ve been both a ‘tow-er’ and a ‘tow-ee’,
we’d much rather do the towing.
Sophie does her best napping on the boat, despite the heat. . .
Lola moves around a lot. . .
Especially that tail blowing in the breeze.
Sister love 🐾🐾
Lola and Sophie are both happy that to have some relief from the heat with
lower humidity and cooler temperatures this weekend.
Hope you’re staying cool and your weekend is ‘just ducky’ :) ♥
Thank you for your visit!
Awesome pictures!
thank you for the awesome lake tour that i so enjoyed with my morning coffee!!
Wonderful pictures.
Beautiful photographs and I learned something about Osprey. Thanks!
I so enjoyed my boat ride this morning. The heat and humidity have been brutal. We have a small break this weekend. Mary, the osprey photos are excellent. I am so glad they are slowly coming back. We have bald eagles that regularly fly over us since we are near the river. They are beautiful to behold! Happy Saturday!
It’s been hot, steamy and stormy at both my houses too Mary 😅 I really enjoyed reading about osprey, we have one that is nesting in the top of my neighbors palm tree~ I watch it fly into the nest and can hear the babies, but you can’t see anything because of all the palm fronds. I often see one flying by with it’s catch of the day and they love to sit on top of the pier pilings while eating their dinner. Such beautiful birds and fascinating to watch. Sophie and Lola are so cute on their boat rides, I hope you get some cool lake breezes this week!
Jenna
I love all your beautiful pictures! The Ospreys are interesting birds to watch. I loved your cloud pictures.
I’m ready to move!
I feel a bit lazy after reading about the migratory patterns of the Osprey! That’s a lot of miles to log annually, but who wouldn’t want to spend half the year living on your beautiful lake? Your lake supports a great variety of animals and your photos never disappoint!
We have a pair of Mourning Doves that nest in our yard each year. Mrs. Mourning Dove and I have great conversations each morning as I refill the bird bath and tend to the garden. Our resident Woodpecker finally returned yesterday after learning the hard way last year that our new roof was steel (ouch!).
Enjoy a thunderstorm for me; definitely one of the things I miss most about east coast summers!
What a lovely post. Pictures were incredible.Saw our Osprey fly over last evening after the storm with a good size fish to feed the offspring.
It was so nice to wake up to temps in the 60’s with low humidity and no storms predicted. We have been lucky to have no damage or outages. A daylily we hybridized and named Summer Soltice is in bloom. this morning. Right on time for summers start this week.Despite the heat the gardens are beautiful. My Vitex and Annabelle Hydrangeas are competing for focal point and the lilies continue to put on a show.
Enjoy this weekend and thankyou Mary as always for all the joy you bring to your readers.
You are a wonderful photographer. You should publish a book of your lake views. I am visiting Texas where the temperatures every day have been over 100 degrees. Thank goodness for air conditioning.
We have a 44ft sailboat that we’ve sailed to many places in the world! My husband never fails to help a sailor or motorboat person in need for he feels like every time you tow someone in, you’ll always have the favor returned!!!!
And he’s dying after I showed him the osprey nesting on top of that boat!!! We’ve had some perch on top of our mast and it is DREADFUL!!!
Beautiful post Mary, enjoy your weekend!!
Beautiful photos. The Osprey are amazing. Love seeing the mama mallard with her babies. Lola and Sophie look quite content.
Happy weekend. Jain and I plus Scott are getting pedis on Monday.
Mary, Wonderful pics! The ducks and osprey are always fun to observe. Mama ducks have such a challenging time keeping their brood in line. It’s been terribly hot, humid and dry here. You feel as though you’re breathing soup when you step outside. Lola and Sophie look like they’re enjoying the boat ride. We hope to have a less humid Sunday then back to roasting on Monday! Enjoy your Sunday! Stay cool. Clara❤️
Fun and informative! Our week was unbearably hot too, and stormy, but today is definitely ducky!! Winds from the north at 10mph have made up for the humidity this past week. Lola and Sophie have it made in the 😎. Life is good, enjoy your weekend.
Mary, I enjoy your water view posts. I learned much about the Osprey here. Thank you. Beautiful birds.
I’m ! Enjoy the weekend.
WOW – your photographs are stunning. I so love your blog. Thank you for sharing beautiful Lake Norman with us.
Hi Mary! As you know I adore your Lola and Sophie pics! Do they like to swim to cool off? We have had the opposite problem here in NY…It was 48 last night! Highs in the 60’s!
I liked learning about the osprey, Mary. Those ducks are so cute, but the “sister love” made me smile! It’s been so hot here, and I think it’s going to be a long, hot 🥵 summer. I had one of my grand dogs here this past week, but now she’s back home.
The girls are precious little sailors! The information on the Osprey was very informative, glad they are making a comeback. Hope the weather cools off a bit for you. Thanks for the boat ride!
The Osprey’s are so beautiful! We have them up here in Maryland on our Chesapeake Bay. All your lake photos are so nice. The dogs are so cute and love seeing them dressed up in their festive finery.
You are like the nature channel, really enjoyed all your narrative and photos! we hit 100 tomorrow, not looking forward to this week since we lack the boating life… Saw a day lily that instantly made me think of you, lake Norman sunset 😊
Such a beautiful post, Mary! Your pictures are gorgeous! Sophie and Lola always make me smile. They are so cute!
We have the osprey and bald eagles at our home by the lake and we sure enjoy watching them. Our electric company built nesting perches on the hydro poles for the osprey so that they don’t use the hydro lines. Our bald eagles nest in our tall pine trees. They are such beautiful birds. It is amazing to watch them dive for a fish.
We also have wood ducks that nest in our yard. My hubby built 2 nests for them many years ago. Last summer was the first year that we were lucky to see them vacate their nest. The “mom” goes out first and sits on the grass and calls them and, one by one, they literally fall out of their house and land on the grass. When they are all out, “mom” keeps calling them and they all follow her down our grassy bank to the water and off they swim. We just loved to see this. There were 10 of them!
Then, we have the Canada Geese who nest along our shore and come up on our grass to sun themselves during the day — and leave a bit of a mess!
We also have bears, coyotes, foxes and deer come to visit us! So, we absolutely love seeing them all! We love our life at the lake — except in winter — and then we spend 6 months on South Padre Island, Texas, and watch the sea birds there.
Have a great week, Mary! Enjoy your boat!
You captured fantastic photos of the ospreys and provided such interesting information about them. Thanks for sharing that.
And Lola and Sophie – oh my gosh, they are just so beautiful. I love seeing Lola stretched out on the boat seat. She’s a sturdy girl! They’re both so sweet.