Mom and dad are on the nest, dad on the right, mom with her little tucked under her to keep him cool on this very hot day. Dad spots a seagull flying too close to his nest.
So he heads out to give him a strong warning to move along.
He dive bombs the seagull, swooping and diving after him.
This turned out NOT to be a good idea. The seagull turned on him and the chase began.
They squawked and reversed directions and soared through the blue sky.
Dad soon became over powered by three seagulls who banded together to drive the osprey away. As we watched from our boat seven seagulls arrived and the chaos ensued. Osprey dad didn't have a chance.... he finally retreated into the trees and the seagull group cried out their soaring crackling glee at winning this game. After looking very closely at my images I realized that juvenile seagulls were part of the group. Apparently that family banded together to protect their own nesting area. Can't wait to go see dad again, I worry about him extending so much energy on this hot day. He has so much work to do feeding his young family and protecting them as well. What a good dad....
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