A year in the life of an Osprey

It happened in Latvia
Not long ago
A camera was fitted
To watch the show
An Osprey family
High in the crown
Of a tree in a forest
It’s a long long way down

All kinds of branches
Hefty and thin
Weaved into a nest of sorts
Great magic they spin
With their big yellow eyes
Observant they be
Taking turns to sit briefly
On their eggs
1 2 3

Coming and going
All of the time
Chirping like crazy
The way that they climb
About on the nest
With the eggs lying there
Be sat on and tread on
Way up in the air

Caution to the wind
With a vast kind of howl
Backwards and forwards
The two of them prowl
Fetching fresh fish
For their high tea
With resolute courage
So High in the tree

With their colourful feathers
Flapping about
It takes ingenuity
Without a doubt
The hen and the cock
Are pretty big birds
Affectionate playfulness
I’m lost for words

Out of One of the eggs
A fluffy grey soul
Looks like a dinosaur
Its risible role
On the edge of the nest
Is to stay put and feed
On the fish being brought
Satisfaction indeed

It starts to rain
Heavy drops everywhere
Perched on the twigs
A family who share
The comings and goings
They do seem to be
Soaked to the skin
So unfortunately

The excitable pair
A fidgety craze
Nervous and skittish
Each passionate phase
Feelings running high
Each fish that was caught
Got bigger and bigger
Elation in short

They have a large wingspan
And flap them a lot
Backwards and forwards
Sat on the spot
Loving in some respects
And attentive pair
It must have been cold up there
I am aware

Sitting up in a hide
In what is heavy rain
Preening and feeding
A chick half insane
Ripping the slivers
And fed beak to beak
The baby was growing
Bigger each week

A bountiful harvest
And generous size
Backwards and forwards
Down from the skies
Fish after fish
Broth spurting high
The baby soon ready
To actually fly

Fledged it’s remarkable
What you can see
With a camera perched
On the top of a tree
In a wind that’s just howling
They are jostled about
Their single mindedness
Without a doubt

It Keeps them unnerved
In an unwavering way
Undiscouraged in fact
To each passing day
Their penchant to succeed
Wildness their strength
Unbidden free will
An impossible length

Of commitment affirming
The family asserts
The future is a good one