Hellgate Osprey - WB and Happy Birthday Antali! Squee! - Sat 8/17/24

A fish for Antali on his two month young birthday - ON the nest w/Mama - how wonderful! Enjoy this when you have some time to sit and chill w/Iris and her boy. I ADORE the "squees" of delight when they get fed and man, I will miss those sounds!

So Iris had come in, clearly having eaten some of the fish she had. She waited for quite some time, hoping for one of her young 'uns to arrive. I could hear calling out there and it sounded like Antali to me!

He had been missing from our view since his accidental fledge aka fludge on 8/14. Then, we got the joyous word - AND pictures - from Dr. Erick Greene that he had spotted Antali, up river, on a branch! YAY! He said Finn was feeding his son, so all was well. RELIEF!

I was thrilled to see him fly on in, back to their nest and to our view today! So I decided since we are enjoying this rare treat of him - why not just keep on recording these moments! First, we had sister, now we have brother - for all time, and all on the same day, same morning! How delightful!

LOOK at the way he looks at Mom when first he arrives - this went right to my heart. There is just something SO deeply endearing about this bird! I love them all but I confess, out of these VERY special offspring of the new union of Iris and Finnegan - this guy Antali has totally taken over my heart.

They are both gorgeous - they are both wonderful, each in their own ways, but this guy? Oh man, he has continually melted my heart since the day he hatched on June 17, 2024.

Enjoy sitting back, letting everything else go, and take in these precious moments of Mom Iris w/her son Antali. He has been on the nest, all day, ever since flying in this morning.

I do think he considered taking off the nest more than once today , but simply did not. I also think he has quite a ways to go yet to build his confidence and bravado. I keep telling him = "Sweetie? The only way you will get more confidence is by doing it love! Fly and land, learn your wings, learn the wind and learn how to negotiate your brand new, wide open skies. You can DO it!"

He's just so precious. I don't worry much about his sister Sum-eh. Yes, they ALL face risks out there, however - Sum-eh is very well along in her all. The odds are in her favor of her thriving out there as she is fierce!

Antali is not there yet, imo. He is chill, he is more laid back, not at all coming across as confident, let along cocky. I wonder how much he has been flying out there, since his accidental fledge? We can't know but I suspect not a lot. I will continue to hope that he practices more and more, before it's time to take their leave come September.

We love you Iris, Finnegan, Sum-eh and Antali! We want THE best for you in every way = safe flights, lots of fish, growth and a healthy journey when you migrate and beyond! You will never know how VERY blessed SO many humans around our world feel over knowing all of you!

Thanks for watching!

TYSVM SHOUT OUT TO: The Montana Osprey Project and The Cornell Lab Bird Cams!