Loose ends....

Once again I have gotten behind in writing some posts for you all. So many stories to follow up on, so many loose ends to try to tie up. I spent all day Saturday and Sunday last weekend searching for the chicks that we released after several weeks in rehab. His parents had given up and left the nest and he  exams capable of flight during his time in the hospital. These situations are so difficult. We decided to release him near a nest where we hoped the active family might adopt him and help care for him. This does work sometimes. The younger they are, the better it works. At any rate, he was not adopted by any of the families in the area. We saw him a few times over that first week, always with an empty crop, but not looking all that bad when I last saw him. That was almost two weeks ago. All my searching last weekend did not locate him. I also looked for over three hours yesterday and did not find him. I am afraid he may have perished with no adults to care for him. I will still look, but its getting harder and harder to find chicks now. 

On a happier note I have visited the single Dad who lost his mate when the chicks were very young, and he successfully cared for these chicks on his own. They all fledged, but one landed on a power pole and cross phased, which resulted in electrocution. But the other two chicks are doing very well. I never seem to be sleep to find everyone at the same time but between visits on Thursday and Friday I did see both chicks and dear Mr Mom. He was chasing a bald eagle away, followed by a juvenile learning the skills of eagle chasing! I even saw one chick return to the nest, all wet, with a fish! I am so thrilled that this very special super osprey has been so successful at raising these chicks alone, playing both Mom and Dad to them. They are so beautiful and healthy. It was not easy for him, but he managed to balance his double role perfectly. 

Today I went to visit our oldest male at 23 years of age. He is still bringing fish for his two chicks. We have never had a male this age breed successfully. So this male also can be considered to be a super osprey! 

I also was thinking about a male who had his nest blow down in a storm last year, destroying all the eggs. I saw him once early in the breeding season this year, in May, dropping sticks on a power pole. It never really turned into a nest and I have wondered what happened to him. I have looked for him so many times as I was in that area, but never saw him again. I just wanted to make one last effort to find him and as I drove a route today that I have driven SO many times this year, I saw an adult perched in a dead tree. I stopped the car and put the spotting scope on the window, and gasped....it was him! Waiting for me! In my field notebook I wrote, " WOW, this is WEIRD". When I go looking for a specific bird, it is often like searching for a needle  in a haystack...and to have him show up like that gave me goosebumps. I don't know where he has been all summer. I looked for a new nest in the area but did not find one. He would not share his story, but he showed me that he is alive and well, and still in the area. So many searches for the rehabbed chick have failed, so to locate this fellow just when I wanted to find him, is one of those little miracles that seems to reinforce my connection with these birds, and tells me that the effort is worth it. Especially on this very hot and super muggy day, when it's a challenge to be out there all day. My curiosity about each bird, how their stories unfold, what their behaviors reveal about the species and how we can better care for them keeps me going, paddling upstream so often, learning as I go, putting the pieces of the puzzle together...and sharing it with you!