Rex Trulove
Immediately before we moved into the house where we now live, we lived in a place about 12 miles south of here. It was literally a large log cabin with no power or running water, overlooking the river. Immediately across the river from that place was a raised platform on a telephone pole, erected for ospreys to build a nest on. The whole time we lived there, there was indeed an osprey nest on the platform and the ospreys were almost always in the nest or nearby.
This led to one of the most unique morning rituals I’ve ever been associated with. You see, it was my habit to get up before dawn and when the sun would just start cresting the surrounding mountaintops, I’d go outside and walk around, taking in the tremendous beauty that was all around. Each morning, I’d go out and sit on a big rock and I’d look out over the river, marveling at the ospreys and the young they subsequently raised.
For those who’ve never been around ospreys, they are beautiful birds of prey, roughly the size of a hawk. They eat very little but fish and are experts when it comes to fishing. Whether from a perch or when flying in a circular pattern, if the osprey sees a fish in the water, they tuck their wings and dive, head first. Just as they get to the water, they raise their heads and lower their talons, hitting the water with a splash. At full speed, the osprey momentarily disappears under the surface of the water and almost immediately erupts from the water, usually with a fish in their grasp.
That part has nothing to do with the ritual that was established, but it was part of the fascination I had.
I’d been watching the ospreys every morning for a few weeks when one day, something astounding happened. The female osprey saw me sitting there and flew across the river toward me. She perched in a dead cottonwood snag on our side of the river. Then for the next five minutes or so, she “spoke” to me, making her high-pitched shrieking call. It was as if she was telling me, “Good morning! It is a beautiful day!” Of course, I spoke back to her.
From that day on, every morning when I would go out to watch the ospreys, she would fly over, perch, and tell me good morning. On some mornings, the “conversation” would be longer than on other mornings, but she kept it up morning after morning for several months, until we moved into town.
That was six years ago and the last time we went by that spot, the nest and the ospreys were still there, though I don’t know if it is the same pair, their offspring, or a different pair of birds. It brought back memories of those many mornings when the female osprey would fly over, perch in the cottonwood snag, and say, “Good morning!”
This picture is of the female osprey, perched in the cottonwood snag. The date shown in the lower right is incorrect, though. The picture was indeed taken on the fifth of August, but the year was 2012, not 2015. For whatever reason, the camera kept resetting the date to 2015, no matter how many times I changed it.
Beautiful Capture , Ospreys have high-pitched, whistling voices. Their calls can be given as a slow succession of chirps during flight or as an alarm call—or strung together into a series that rises in intensity and then falls away, similar to the sound of a whistling kettle taken rapidly off a stove.
The funny thing is that many tv shows and movies have used an Osprey call while showing footage of a hawk or eagle flying, implying that the sound was from the hawk or eagle. It isn’t hard to tell the difference between the call of an osprey and any other bird of prey.
Yeah , I agree with you on this.
Wonderful photo. How nice you can see these ospreys. I just noticed something interesting today. Each morning I stand in my open doorway that looks out to palm trees against the sky and I say my morning prayer. I thank the Lord for another day and all the good He has given me. Each time I see the palms moving a bit but even when there is no breeze. This morning I found out that I had someone listening to my prayer. I stayed in the doorway a moment longer and a squirrel with a big fluffy tail leaped away. So now I will look out for my morning friend.
Well, there is very little doubt that God hears you when you offer your prayer. I’m glad that you have a furry friend who also listens to it. I firmly believe that most animals are more in tune with the spiritual than most humans are.
Oh my goodness Rex. You are in a fantasy land that we all wish we could be. I would love to live in a place like yours. And the ospreys are incredible. I watch them on the Cornell webcams, amazing to see them and their babies. Thank you for sharing this story.
Despite no power or water, I enjoyed living there. The ospreys were wonderful and I still honestly don’t know why she decided to start saying good morning. We also had gobs of hummingbirds, more than at any other place we’ve ever lived, and we were visited by bighorns, deer, wild turkeys, and we even saw a bear once, on the other side of the river.
You should write a book. Rex’s Wild Travels….
LOL…thanks for the vote of confidence, but it is honestly hard to describe what I’ve seen and felt along the way.
Wow, what a wonderful story. It’s great when you make a connection with something so wild and awesome isn’t it. She sounds like just my red tail. I miss her as well. I know her off spring are around, one flew in the tree and spoke to me just last week. She clicks, and squeeks like a mouse.
They say they do have inherited memories now. Just sayin.. : )
BTW, what a wonderful way to start the day. I can feel the calmness and the beauty of those mornings as you described it very well.
: )
That is exactly why I started going out first thing in the morning to observe and appreciate the beauty. The calm serenity made an imprint on the rest of my day, every day. Sometimes I think that the osprey enjoyed our morning encounters as much as I did.