Ospreys at Whitfords

Male osprey brings in a fish

I'm monitoring the osprey nest at Whitfords Nodes Beach Park near Hillarys in Perth. The nest is on top of the mobile phone tower there.

Last Sunday the male osprey flew up to the tower with a fish in his talons, and later brought the fish up to the female at the nest. The female then proceeded to feed one juvenile, which you can see in this photo. The juvenile is on the left, female in the middle and male osprey on the right, watching the proceedings.

Three ospreys at the nest, juvenile on the left

This juvenile is already quite advanced in growth and there may be more than one juvenile. It's quite hard to get a good photo with all the mobile tower contraptions obscuring the view.

Another shot of the osprey wrestling with a fish.

osprey with fish

Are rising sea levels changing this Perth beach?

This was a sandy beach six months ago. You can see that the rocks in the foreground have recently been exposed as the sand has been washed away. Water levels seem to be higher than they were last year. No one really knows why and the locals say this has never happened before.

Mettam's Pool was once a sandy beach and a sheltered rock pool, well protected from shark intrusion. The area has long been a favourite safe swimming spot for children and oldies. Now just getting into the water is becoming treacherous.

I will revisit in November, at the end of our winter, to see how the sand is faring.