Sad situation....

There is always something to worry about in the osprey world. Many of you see a fair amount of drama on the osprey cams around the world, and those sorts of things occur all the time without people even knowing. Sadly I have discovered a nest that has a female missing. She was there a week ago but yesterday and today, I found no female. Chicks were left alone for quite a while and then the male arrived with a fish and fed the chicks. I watched for several hours yesterday and today. It took several visits to be sure she was nowhere to be found. My heart breaks for this family. I have known this male for quite some time and I could write a book about him. His behavior has always been unusual since his first known nest attempt at five years of age. He has continually surprised me. I won't go into all the details now but suffice to say, although he is an experienced male who has successfully raised chicks in the past, he has never been a particularly devoted male. Today when I arrived the chicks were alone again. He finally arrived with a fish and fed the chicks. He then flew off, and my heart sank. These chicks need shade and protection. But he returned in minutes and shaded the chicks and watched over them. That is how I left them. For this nest to succeed, he will have to muster some heroic effort. I was tearing up as I observed him as he has been thru so much in the past. I ponder how his confusing thoughts and instincts must be pulling him in different directions. He seemed to be trying to continue his usual male role with the focus on provisioning, but at one point he perched near the nest and looked back at the chicks with no female shading them, and then he returned to the nest, and the chicks huddled beneath him. The instinct to care for his offspring is strong, tho he must leave the nest to feed them. He looks around a lot, as if he expects the female to return. This is a new wrinkle and he seems to be trying to adjust. I will watch over them as closely as I can, since this is something I have never observed before. I so want him to pull this off. The chicks look to be about 3.5-4 weeks old...about half way to fledging. I am thankful that they are a little older, with some feathers and the ability to thermoregulate, so they have a better chance of surviving the times when he is gone. I do not want to call much attention to this nest, they need no extra stress from people. I know there is a cam with a male caring for chicks alone in Ontario Canada, so we will see what both of these males can do. Keep your fingers crossed and think good thoughts...very good thoughts. Please.