Fort Pickens is a great place to view osprey during nesting season. Their nests are along trails that make it easy to observe their behaviors. Late July, they are just beginning to fledge from the nest. 

Juvenile OspreyA pair of juvenile osprey in Fort Pickens

This nest had two juveniles, at least one of them can fly. The nest is located on a trail that leads to the beach so they are used to human activity. They seemed as curious about me as I was about them. 

Juvenile OspreyAn osprey in flight at Fort Pickens

Osprey with FishAn osprey with its fish catch

This osprey looks to be eating a Spanish mackerel.

​​​​​​ Nesting OspreyA family of osprey at their nest in Fort Pickens

Walking down a trail I spotted this family of osprey. The two juveniles are on the nest while the adult female looks over in the background.

Nesting OspreyA family of osprey at their nest in Fort Pickens

This is a good shot showing the difference between a juvenile and an adult osprey. Notice the white trim on the black feathers. Adults do not have light colored trim at the end of their feathers.

Juvenile OspreyA juvenile osprey in Fort Pickens. Notice the white trim on the black feathers. An adult osprey does not have that.

Adult Female OspreyAn adult osprey at Fort Pickens looks over its nest

This is an adult that doesn't have the white trim.

Juvenile OspreyA juvenile osprey in Fort Pickens with it's parent in the background Juvenile OspreyA juvenile osprey in Fort Pickens

While observing this nest, the male parent brought a half eaten fish to the nest. Osprey start eating the head of a fish. I noticed the male was perched in a tree away from the nest. After it had its portion, it flew to a nearby branch next to the nest. Making sure things were safe, it then brought the remaining fish to the nest for the youngsters to eat.

Osprey Fish CatchAn adult male osprey brings a fish catch to the nest in Fort Pickens Osprey on the Gulf CoastAn adult male osprey brings a fish catch to the nest in Fort Pickens Nesting OspreyAn adult male osprey brings a fish catch to the nest in Fort Pickens Juvenile OspreyAn adult male osprey brings a fish catch to the nest in Fort Pickens

I saw another nest along the trail, and it has just one juvenile. It may be the only one that made it this far, although I did see another juvenile flying and perching in the area so that could have been its sibling. This one was testing its wings so it looked to be almost ready to fly from the nest. 

Juvenile OspreyA juvenile osprey in Fort Pickens. Notice the white trim on the black feathers. An adult osprey does not have that.