After their parents leave the nest for the winter, their three young ones are left to fend for themselves. The parents don’t teach the young ospreys how to dive and catch fish, so they must teach themselves.
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TRANSCRIPT
- [Narrator] In the coming days, the young male takes to floating above the nest, getting a feel for the wind.
He was the last to hatch.
Now he's the first to fledge, and his sisters seem impressed.
He graduates to short trips, mastering takeoffs and landings.
Almost.
Inspired, his sisters begin to stretch their wings.
Soon, all three siblings are soaring over the marsh.
But the nest is still a source of security.
They often come home and settle in for the night.
The young male is still reveling in his newfound joy of flying.
He seeks out other fledglings for mock battles.
It's both play and practice.
He'll need to be good at it.
He'll need the skill and courage of his father, and all those fish he probably took for granted, he'll now have to catch for himself.
Dad made it look so easy.
A rainy day doesn't help at all.
(water splashing) Not even his father could catch a fish he couldn't see.
But no one teaches an osprey how to fish.
it just comes to him, a gift from all the generations of ospreys before.
