Osprey Dominance
I'm not sure what's going on with this behavior. The perched osprey is the juvenile which has just begun its first short flights from the nest. I believe the osprey on top is the male which landed on the juvenile's back, no damage done. My theory is that it is a show of dominance, possibly a prelude to "encouraging" the juvenile to head off into the world on its own. That said, the adults paid close attention to the juveniles first flights and were, of course, still providing it with fish. This was an "only chick", somewhat unusual for osprey which usually have 2 and more often 3 or more chicks. (Pandion haliaetus)
Osprey Dominance
I'm not sure what's going on with this behavior. The perched osprey is the juvenile which has just begun its first short flights from the nest. I believe the osprey on top is the male which landed on the juvenile's back, no damage done. My theory is that it is a show of dominance, possibly a prelude to "encouraging" the juvenile to head off into the world on its own. That said, the adults paid close attention to the juveniles first flights and were, of course, still providing it with fish. This was an "only chick", somewhat unusual for osprey which usually have 2 and more often 3 or more chicks. (Pandion haliaetus)