FreeLists / bristol-birds / [Bristol-Birds] Comment on Osprey at Rankin (Cocke Co., TN)

[Don Miller <raincrow@xxxxxxx>]

August 29, 2004

In my post of earlier this evening, I forgot to mention something
interesting about the Osprey that I, along with Alice Loftin, observed
at Rankin Wildlife Management Area this afternoon.

At one point, the Osprey, which had been moving back and forth along the
zone where the lake meets the opposite shore, settled into shallow water
near a Great Egret and a Lesser Yellowlegs.  At first I thought that
perhaps the bird was fishing, but as we watched we realized that it was
bathing--dipping its wings and breast and head into the water, then
shaking them, then repeating the process.  The whole thing seemed
certain to flush the nearby birds, but the egret and the yellowlegs,
along with other shorebirds not far away, appeared unconcerned.

The Osprey took several minutes to complete its bath, then quietly
disappeared without our noticing it as we transferred our attention back
to shorebirds.

Don Miller
Greeneville, TN

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