In the book, I mentioned the osprey behavior of not responding well to small tidbits. This last bird was making me rethink this. He would fly a couple of hundred yards to a bite. He did this repeatedly with only a little hesitation.
Until today.
For two hours he diligently hunted. I maneuvered him to the three ponds using a combination of a hooded golf cart trip to the first site, a multi-stage tidbit trip to the second, and his own return to his favorite perch at the third. He dove several times without success at each place.
Well, at the last pond, he hunted OK but refused to quit when I presented my garnished glove. He just looked at it briefly then resumed his scan. I repeated this maneuver several times—and he repeated his response. His call increased in pitch to “I’m coming now” level, but this lasted only a second and faded away.
His weight was at the high end (1350 grams), but he had been flying to me multiple times at this weight. We’ll see if this behavior continues at lower weights.
Anyway, as soon as I presented a large tidbit (around 40 grams of fish, or a third of a bream) he immediately responded. Prior birds have also been selective about their return. He is hunting so well that I hate to drop his weight, but I suppose I am more likely to lose him without a better response. I would certainly be worried about a redtail.
I am just not sure if I need to better apply normal falconry or if this is a true difference with ospreys. I will do some tinkering and, hopefully, figure it out soon.