Arboretum cam nest...

Well, well, well....for those watching the Arboretum cam...as often seems to happen on this nest in recent years, a drama is unfolding. The male from last year, Z3, was seen on the nest when he first returned from migration. He did some work on the nest, bringing some unusual nesting materials. In recent days he has disappeared. I went searching for him today and drove over 100 miles checking nests in the vicinity, moving further and further away from the Arboretum cam nest. At the end of the day, he was found on another nest, bringing fish to another female. During my visits to the Arboretum nest, I found what may be his unbanded mate from last year, sitting on TOP of the cam itself. I must admit I am hard pressed to explain Z3's behavior. In my 23 years of studying these birds, "divorces" ( a pair of Ospreys splitting up to nest with other mates on other nests) usually occurred after a failed breeding season. But Z3 and his mate were successful in fledging one chick last year. Perhaps he was uncomfortable with the level of human activity near the Arb nest. The new nest he seems to have adopted is on a cell tower, far removed from the activity below. I did see evidence that he may have been at the Arb nest today also. For regular readers, you are familiar with our polygynous male who attended two nests and produced six chicks last year in another part of town. Is this what Z3 is up to? These two nests are not very close to each other. Time will tell how this drama unfolds. If the territorial male at the other nest returns, he is likely to displace Z3. Meanwhile if the female remains near the nest at the Arb, she may nab a new male. Time will tell how the story will end. I am surprised, although I will be the first to admit that I am still learning about osprey behavior after all these years. This is why I continue this work. This is why I think the research is still important and close observation has many more insights to offer. This also goes to show that what we can see while viewing these bird cams, is only a part of the story, and many interesting behaviors occur away from the view of the cam. Putting the pieces of the puzzle together is challenging sometimes, but it is what keeps me watching these birds!

UPDATE: the male, Z3 returned to the Arboretum nest this evening! I wonder what will happen next!