Some new behaviors, continued…

My outing was so great yesterday, and I’ve got a dentist appointment first thing this morning, so I’m using the rest of yesterday’s story to fill in today. As you may recall, we got up to the point when I spotted an osprey down the bluff and just north of the soccer fields. Well, I couldn’t believe my luck when I spotted it again at the north end as it flew upriver with a nice big fish in tow. Even better, it landed atop the tall dead tree on the northern island, so I set out to get a closer look.

Before I could get there, however, I ran into this guy, who was in the middle of the trail, in almost the same spot I saw one a couple of weeks ago, but this one was fixated on that little tree. It paused for a moment to look me up and down, and I told it to take its time, so it went right back to rubbing its head against the trunk for a bit, …

and then giving it a good sniff. I’ve heard of this, of course, and see a few trees throughout the park with their bark rubbed off, but I have never seen it live before.

It reminded me of the way I’ve seen cats mark a corner in the living room, and it went on so long that I even had time to capture a video.

Anyway, the buck eventually decided that the trunk smelled just the way it should, and it backed away a bit to let me pass. Better yet, the osprey was still there and working on that fish.

I got the best picture I could, and then continued on to check the north end. When I got back, the fish appeared to be all gone, and the osprey was cleaning its beak and talons.

Then it turned, sat upright, puffed up its feathers, and settled in to soak up some morning sun and digest a belly full of fish.

Finally, the flickers have thinned out quite a bit lately, but they’re not all gone yet.

With any luck, I’ll be back in Estabrook on Tuesday.