Six hours...two bands read!

Well, I had a challenge today! I found out about a new nest and went exploring. It was easy to find but not easy to access. I viewed it from quite a distance and I quickly determined it had two banded birds on it and at least two chicks. Now, how was I going to get close enough to this nest to read bands? I drove around the area, driving into some private property to speak to residents to see how I could get closer. "What kind of nest? What is an Osprey? " So I did a bit of educating. 
You all know about my band reading challenges this year, I am still behind, and at this time of year it's critical to get bands read and not save them for later. There may not be a later....if nests fail, as some have, without us getting those bands read. Adults can disappear leaving us without important data. I finally discovered that a power company was doing some work in the area and had set out that dura base material to make a road over soft ground...and they allowed me to drive out to get a better view of this nest. I watched for over six hours to get these bands both read! This time of year is difficult because the females rarely leave the nest. They remain in the nest with the young chicks, feeding, shading and tending to their care. I got the males band read fairly quickly, but that female kept me there all day! I can't stand an unread band! She remained in the nest where I could not see her legs. The upside of this frustrating experience is that I am forced to sit and watch the behaviors for long periods. This devoted male brought NINE fish in six hours!!!! They were quite small and most often were goldfish! This guy rarely stopped to rest, perch, preen....he was delivering fish constantly! He was a male I had known earlier...he nested elsewhere for several years and disappeared a few years ago after a series of problems...storms, eagles etc. I have been looking for him and was so happy to see him again with a new mate and a very nicely built nest in a lovely setting. When I got closer I was able to see that he has three chicks...all very well fed, with bulging crops all day long. Towards the end of the day the female finally took a little break and flew to another spot to perch and preen, away from the chicks and I was able to read her band. I had planned to visit many nests today but only got three checked since this new nest required so many hours to get the important info. I found another nest failed and we had not been able to get that female identified. It almost kills me to have to write "unknown" in the chart under the band number column. Even worse to not know why the nest failed. But I have to accept that I just cant do it all, and I should be pleased that I got all the important data on this new nest. I also met new people and was able to share some information and stimulate some interest in Ospreys in these people who live near this nest. Special thanks to the person who let me know about this nest. We rely on the public to report new nests to us and so deeply appreciate it when people do find me and direct me to a nest I was not aware of. We have had several reports like this lately, and I am so grateful to these people! The population is booming!