During the early part of the week, Olivia cleared all the twigs off the nest platform. The nest is gone. there remains only the bare platform itself, which she and Junior occupy. It is like the deck of an air carrier, cleared for air operations.

Junior is as big as his mom now. She tries to get him to flap his wings, but he’s too lazy and after a few flaps just stands there like a dummy. She still does the fly-around-the-nest bit, but he’s buying none of it. He is in the equivalent of early teens, and it’s quite evident. She is still feeding him, by the way, although he’s capable of feeding himself. I guess it’s to maintain his dependence and her motherly dominance and control. Mothers have a way of doing that.

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Thus continues Michael Koblos’ 26-week saga of the doings of his nearest osprey family. A 78-year-old retired naval officer, Koblos lives in a small cottage on the water, Home Port, in a place called Cobb Island, located in the wide Potomac River about 50 miles south of Washington, D.C.