The rest of the story....

I was out there all day again today....so many nests. But the highlight of the day was going back to visit the male who suffered a fractured keel last summer. As many of you recall, he was in rehab for a month, leaving his mate alone to care for three chicks. When I released him back at his nest, I was surprised to have the female go after him as if he were an intruder. She was relentless in her nest defense, chasing him away for the last month of the breeding season and preventing him from bringing fish, though he tried. After the chicks fledged and one of them had dispersed, she began her migration, leaving two chicks still hanging around the nest and he was finally able to bring fish and remain in his territory. His parental instincts remained intact and he watched over his offspring until September. He was one of the first Ospreys to return this spring and he has been working very hard on his nest for several weeks now. Well, his mate finally returned in the past few days. She is unbanded but her markings match the drawings I had made of her. The story has a happy ending, as she accepts him, they are coexisting peacefully and copulating successfully. It was such a pleasure to watch them together today. When I left they were sitting side by side on the nest, snoozing. Yeah! Wishing them great success this year!