its over....

The winds switched directions yesterday and northerly breezes brought much cooler temps. I visited a few nests after work on monday and found several juveniles still hanging around their nests. Today I revisited those three nests and could not locate a single osprey. I hiked out to one nest, the leaves crunching under my feet, and the honey crisp apple I was eating was crunching in my head! I had to stop moving and stop eating to listen for the Ospreys. Silence. I continued to the nest. Empty. I examined all the perches where I had seen Ospreys throughout the breeding season. No Ospreys. I stood silently, waiting, in case. A single redtail hawk soared in circles above the nest, calling. It almost seemed as if he was looking for the Ospreys also. I slowly ambled back to the car, sat there with the car door open as I wrote the final entry in the 200 page field notebook..."it's over". I sadly drove away, with my eyes still to the sky....Be safe, my friends.