April 6....out and about...

I was out there checking nests again today. I visited 19 nests and 6 had one osprey on them and one had a pair. I always say, " read bands early and read them often"....and today I found several banded birds and one unbanded bird on a nest that they didn't belong on! These early days are so fascinating to me....this is what lead me to documenting all the extra pair copulation and nest swapping that I have (which resulted in a published paper). It requires me to be out there, reading bands quickly, to document these interesting behaviors. The Ospreys are moving around, looking for territories. Young birds are hoping to usurp another Ospreys spot on a nest. I found a new banded female I had never seen before, and an unbanded male on a nest that should have a banded male, a banded male on a nest that is not where he belonged! I also am always so happy to see a long time pair, together again, back on their nest. It still amazes me that they can make that long trip to south or Central America, and return to their longtime mate and established territory, year after year. Really, stop and ponder that journey for a moment. Still a lot of empty nests, but more and more nests are occupied everyday....and I am keeping very busy visiting nests to document the behaviors that I find so interesting, and meeting with new volunteers. Driving down the road and an osprey flies over above me....wait, who is that? Where is that one going? Turn around, look around. Ha ha. It's a beautiful time of year....before the bugs and the heat. Just the pleasure of watching these birds I love so much!