Sketching the Pandemic Year 2020 week 16 April 12-18
Every year the Osprey pair return like clockwork sometime in late March from wintering elsewhere. As always, in no time at all they renovate their nest built on the ‘no wake’ pole at the bend in the river. The male searches and finds the sticks and the female does the necessary work of making the nest just right. There is no time to waste - the nest has to be ready for the eggs and then the chicks! The bare branch of the tree on the riverbank is the male’s favorite spot to sit. He brings the fish he catches to the branch to eat. Sometimes he is perched there grooming. The female usually sat in the nest - especially once she laid the eggs. A pair of fish crow appear in the nearby branch as soon as the Osprey lands with the fish. Mostly the crow were content to swoop down to the ground below and devour the bits that fall off. Once there are chicks in the nest for the crows to tend, they get aggressive but Ospreys with parental duties also don’t tolerate the crows anywhere close by!
Osprey Resting watercolor by Meera Rao
Sheltering at home meant that I was privy to all that drama. I had the time to notice how often they came to sit on that branch and recognize their calls. I made an effort to tell the difference between male and female Ospreys. I researched about their habits and life. The binoculars were always on the table by the window and I was happy to spend hours watching the majestic birds flying, swooping to catch a fish, tearing into it with its sharp claws and beak to satisfy its hunger or feed the chicks.
The photo of John Singer Sargent’s beautiful portrait of Betty Wertheimer in the Smithsonian Engagement Calendar 2020, like all his other paintings showcases his magnificent talent. There is only a small sketch - a study of dead birds attributed to him among hundreds of his works. I am sure though, had he turned his attention to Ospreys, there would have been wonderful portraits of birds for us to admire.
No comments:
Post a Comment