Hover

The ospreys had been guarding the nest site since the windstorm destroyed the nest, but yesterday afternoon there was none in sight. This morning when I got down there, the platform was also empty, but after awhile, three or more ospreys appeared and began circling. One had a fish and it started hovering over the platform and calling. It mostly hovered, but would move a short distance and hover again, all the time calling. Finally it landed on the nesting platform. and was shortly joined by another osprey after which the two took off almost immediately. I’ve seen this hover behavior before and have assumed it’s some kind of courtship ritual.