Happy Solstice

It’s the winter solstice and we are winding down to the end of the year. I wish you all a peaceful holiday time, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Solstice, Happy New Year....

I want to send out a special thanks to John Howe and the Raptor Resource Project for their generous year end donation to help us keep the research going for another year. Thanks also to everyone who has donated financially and especially those who have donated so many hours to help me watch over all the nests this year. We will be posting another update soon about some of the hurdles we face and how you can help. And of course I will soon begin the huge task of gathering all the data and compiling the annual report. Results will be posted here when it is complete. 

So tonight, dance around the fire, burn some incense, release the problems and wait for the light to return......

Peace to you all....

Still a few ospreys around.....

As our Osprey season begins to wind down, I savor the opportunity to spend some time searching for the remaining birds, listening to their food begging, watching their behaviors, reading some silver bands and re reading some color bands on our beloved Dads. Many nests are empty but I was surprised at how many ospreys I was able to locate today. I intended to spend half a day with the ospreys, but of course, I was out there all day. I was so happy to see a few of my favorite banded males, still attending to a remaining chick.
Last week I returned to the nest where the long time male had been hit and killed by a car. The nest had five ospreys flying around for hours! The neighbors reported it was the same the day before too. In addition there was an unbanded adult male in a tree watching it all. Lots of circling, chirping and occasionally trying to land on the nest, which caused another adult to chase him off. As I watched carefully, they appeared to be unbanded adult males. I heard one juvenile voice in the mix. It’s amazing how quickly other ospreys figured out that this was an undefended territory now. I pondered how it appeared differently to these birds, from a nest where the family has migrated away. There appeared to be at least one chick still there, with no adult male defending or feeding that youngster. I believe there were lots of subtle signals that caused all this commotion and testing by these adults. Tho this situation breaks my heart, I do find any circumstance like this interesting to watch. I remain so curious about behaviors. And just to be able to leisurely hang out today with some of the remaining chicks and dads on these final days soothes my soul. Below is a stunning photo sent by Ann Merritt, one of our wonderful monitors, of a juvenile who successfully caught a fish! Many will not be successful until they begin their first journey south. Gosh, what will we do without our winged friends? Every year it’s so hard to adjust to life without them.

This is an important post I am sharing from Paul Wildlifewriter in the UK...about water quality in Europe. Given the high failure rate in our Osprey population this year, and the fact that the failures are clustered in specific areas, this raises questions. I wish we had more money to be able to do blood tests and banding. 

INFOGRAPHIC: Europe's heavy metal band

Ospreys are an “indicator species”. What does that mean? It means that creatures such as ospreys, otters, water voles and many others, have a lifestyle that directly and measurably reflects the health (or otherwise) of the environment in which they live. 

In recent years, there's been a worrying discrepancy in the statistics on survival rates of juvenile ospreys in different regions of Europe. Studies in western zones (such as the UK) suggest that about 50-60% of fledged ospreys are still alive after their first year. BUT... researchers in Scandinavia insist that the comparable survival rate in THEIR study areas is lower – around 40%.

Are some of these results right, and others just wrong? Maybe not...

Comparing like-for-like is difficult and there are many factors to consider:- Swedish ospreys (for example) undertake generally longer migrations end to end, and have a wider expanse of the Sahara desert to cross before they can reach their wintering grounds. But would that make such a large difference? In theory, it shouldn't.

Over in the USA, the excellent Dr Erik Greene has established a causal link between mercury and other metallic compounds in the environment, and osprey population figures. [1] Greene's work is now widely cited in other surveys and the results cannot be doubted.

So what if the local variations in European osprey survival have nothing to do with migration? Is the “indicator species” giving us an indication that there might be a problem here, too? The graphic above shows the water quality status (mercury) from the last survey carried out by the European Environment Agency. It's a result that startled me – and it might surprise you as well.

-WLW

Sometimes, all you can do is cry....

Well my heart has broken about a thousand times this year.....and I have avoided sharing some of the saddest tales and disturbing photos. We have had a chick hanging dead on the side of a nest, one who got his talon caught and died unable to free himself, several hit by cars, the chick who got injured in the gravel pit machinery, a record number of failed nests, about a third of them. We lost our friend who had promised to help us repair or replace deteriorating nest poles ( he moved to another state). But the day before yesterday we lost a long time  breeding adult and I feel shattered. He had built a nest 8 years ago and been there ever since, breeding successfully EVERY year, producing 19 chicks during those years. Someone hit him with their car and killed him. His chicks are still dependent upon him for food. It is close to migration time so they will probably be alright....I hope anyway, since there is nothing we can really do to help them. The story is that, for some reason he was perched on the ground ( very windy day?) and the car did not even try to avoid him. I know this is the way of things, all ospreys will die, as will I ...but after all the rescues, and the ongoing long hours in the field trying to confirm successful fledging on all the nests, ( meaning that they didn’t just fly away, but were returning to the nest to eat...and were all accounted for post fledge), all the hours answering phone calls and emails....I feel so drained and saddened this September. To lose a great breeding adult like this is not just a personal loss....it is a loss to the entire Minnesota Osprey population. So many of my beloved Osprey friends have flown off to the other side...never to return. And I miss them, as I will this wonderful male. 

A better world

We have had a trying few days...and in an odd way, it’s been an uplifting experience. First let me say, I am an idealist. Yup....head in the clouds, often crushed by humanity’s selfishness. But two days ago I got a call about an injured Osprey chick. This poor thing had gone thru such an ordeal. This is a nest in a gravel pit and the fledgling had apparently landed on a conveyer belt carrying gravel to dump into a pile. One of the guys working in the pit saw an Osprey go thru a chute and get spit out into a  pile of gravel and was being buried alive  in gravel. He immediately shut the equipment down and rescued the chick. They called me. It was rush hour and this nest was as far away from me as you can get.....so I called the Raptor Center to see if they had a volunteer closer by that could pick the bird up and take it in for medical care. They had one who lived very near the gravel pit and knew about the nest and would do it. Whew. The good news is that although the poor chick was having some trouble breathing ( gravel dust) and an abrasion on its wing...it had no broken bones! They gave it oxygen overnight and he was doing better the next day. The rehab director talked to me about possible release in about a week but wanted to know what the situation was at it’s nest. Unfortunately, last evening I got another message from the gravel pit guys about another injured chick. This was late in the evening and I could not get the chick before the raptor center closed so arrangements were made for that same volunteer to pick it up in the early morning. Sadly, that chick died overnight. I spent five hours in that gravel pit  today trying to determine if the dad was bringing fish to the remaining chick. As our population of ospreys has grown, behaviors have changed, and with so many nests close together, I must admit it can be difficult to determine which fledglings belong on which nest, and which ones are roving to neighboring nests! But the real reason I wanted to write this post was to say how uplifting it is to see all these people come together, to work so hard to save one, individual young Osprey. From those wonderful guys in the gravel pit , Nate Paulson and Steve Grzybowski, who were paying such close attention and rescued this little guy, put him in a box, and contacted me; to the Raptor Center volunteer who picked the chick up and took him to get the medical care he needed, to the clinic manager at TRC, Lori Arent and the rehab manager, Josh Travers, to all the other medical staff at TRC  and volunteers there who are caring for him, and of course my efforts as well. It truely takes a village. To see all these people spend their time and energy without ego, and for some of us without pay, to help this little Osprey survive and hopefully make it back to his nest...Well, it speaks to the best part of humanity, who think that every little life matters and is worth their time and energy. Sadly, I once worked for a man that said “we dont care about individual birds, we only care about the population as a whole” , but I just don’t agree and have often felt out of step in my idealism and my concern for each and every Osprey. So to have a trying situation, that definitely has had some very painful moments, and yet to see all these special, caring people work for the benefit of one little Osprey, gives me some hope for the world. I work so hard, and so do these other people, because we all think that each life is precious. When good people come together to do the right thing...I am uplifted by the sense of community, the way it’s supposed to be. No ego, no power issues, just, damn good hearts. Thanks to all who have helped rescue this chick. I hope we manage to organize a successful release for this little guy, so he can have a good long  life. 

Which end is up?

Here we are in mid August already. Many of our chicks have fledged, tho we have a few  very late nests that may not fledge till late August! I am spending a lot of time visiting nests and searching for chicks to confirm successful fledging. It’s often a challenge but I rather enjoy these searches. Where’s Waldo! It’s also a time when I have to put together some pieces to solve a puzzle. We have one nest that I have visited five times since late June to early August. Each time I clearly saw two chicks in the nest, usually with a parent. Another monitor suddenly saw three chicks in this nest, on at  least two occasions. Now I know with my wonderful scope, and 26 years of experience, I did not miscount the chicks five times! So how do we explain this? Well, at this time of year, post fledge, it’s not uncommon for a neighbor chick to pay some visits to the kids across the street. As our population grows and nests are closer and closer together, these roving chicks have easy opportunities to stop by and perhaps steal a fish. A few years back, I found a banded chick visiting several different nests and stealing fish from those younger chicks. Pretty funny! That’s one way to survive! 

I have also spent some time this year at a nest with three female chicks which are very entertaining. As I observed one day, Dear old Dad dropped off a fish in the nest and all three chicks dove for it, and a hysterical fight for the flopping fish ensued. Finally one came up the winner, but she had the fish upside down and was trying to start eating the tail first! The problem was, it was still flopping! She turned around in circles as she struggled to keep it away from the others. They were both hollering (“you are doing it all wrong!). She did not dare drop it and turn it around because someone else might get the fish! She struggled for the longest time....trying to grab that flopping tail and get a bite out of it. I was laughing out loud. Finally, exasperated, she dropped the fish and walked away. “ I give up”! All three chicks sat there staring at the fish and crying, as if they expected Mom to come and feed them. Eventually another chick decided to give it a try. This youngster ALSO grabbed the fish with the tail first, and tried to start eating it, at which point I started coaching from the sidelines, out loud, sitting in my car. Turn it around honey! ( gosh I hope no one catches me talking out loud to the ospreys) But this juvenile took my advice and turned the fish around and started to rip and tear those yummy fish lips. Success! Every time I visit this nest I end up belly laughing out loud. The struggle to grow up is real! How can you not love these birds?

New nests, new pairs...

I know I say this all the time, but CRAZY busy....chicks are fledging and I am trying to be sure we have accurate numbers, and confirming successful fledging whenever I can. Just because a chick flies away does not make it a successful fledge....we need to confirm that they are landing safely somewhere and making it back to the nest to eat. In the process of visiting many nests, it’s amazing how many new adults are out there looking for mates and territories. I found a new nest being started and read the band on a male I had never seen before. I went to another nest to check the chicks and heard all this chirping that was not coming from the nest, so I kept walking and found some dead trees with four adult ospreys perched there talking to each other. Two were banded and two were not. I only got a partial read on one band before they flew off. Today I found three ospreys circling near a nest that had failed in May. The original pair there were both unbanded, but this pair included a banded male, but again he flew off before I got it read. Clearly the growth of the population has stimulated all this increased socializing among these adults. The one band I successfully read was a three year old, so probably looking to establish a pair bond and a territory for the first time. I often see young pairs building nests and claiming a territory at this time, late in the season. The difficult thing is that we must separate frustration nests, built by pairs whose earlier breeding attempt failed, from new nests. If at least one of the pair is banded, this is fairly easy to do...but with so many unbanded birds now, it can be problematic. For good scientific methods, we can’t count one pair of ospreys twice....which can happen when they build frustration nests. When we are counting nests, we are really counting pairs of ospreys. A pair that builds multiple nests can’t be counted twice without skewing the data. Now that we have some fairly dense clusters of nests, and unbanded birds, it’s not always easy to figure things out. So I make many visits, carefully noting feather markings, birds going back and forth between two nests, defending two nests. It’s exciting, fun, educational and exhausting.

Where oh where?

I have spent some long days in the field lately...10-11 hour days...trying to get correct head counts and watching for fledging, making sure bands are read. Yesterday, after one of those long days I got an email from a new homeowner near a nest saying there had been a bald eagle in a tree near the nest all day and she had not seen the chick at all. Oh dear. (He had been on the nest all day the previous day, and I had taken a peek at him myself....still on the nest.) This occurred at 8 in the evening while I was icing a swollen, red toe from lots of walking on a hot day. It made no sense to me that adult ospreys would allow a bald eagle to remain close to a nest. Perhaps the chick had already been predated. I realized there was nothing I could do at that time of day....so I promised to come first thing in the morning. I was there by 7:30 a.m. Nest was empty. Damn. One adult in a tree nearby. I watched closely for 30 minutes.  No vocalizations, no sign of the chick, but thankfully, no bald eagle. I was sadly coming to the conclusion that the chick had been predated. Then the male came with a fish and he flew around, offering it to anyone who was hungry. No takers. After a few fly abouts he landed in a pine tree away from the nest. He nibbled on the fish. I knew he was trying to find and attract the chick. Then something flew past....flapping way too fast, as juveniles often do at first. But he disappeared behind some trees. The male waited . Eventually he delivered the fish to the female, and she took it and immediately flew in circles over the area, behind some trees, disappearing for 10 minutes at a time. Then returning to her perching tree. She nibbled on the fish. Then she did the same thing, circling around the area, displaying the fish, disappearing....and then returning to her tree. After one absence she came back with very little of the fish remaining. She sat in her usual perch and finished the fish. She went on another spin around the area, clearly searching for her youngster, trying to get him back home. She seemed to know exactly where he had gone. FINALLY I saw that rapid flapping and an Osprey landed in the very tippy top of a pine tree. Yes, it’s the chick. Woo hoo, the adult male remained in his perch , but the female went over and perched about three trees away ....close, but no too close.  All is well. I was so amazed to observe all this for 3.5 hours......the parents concern, the female who knew exactly where her chick was, their attempts to get him to return to the nest to eat. He was enjoying his first forays out into the world on his own.....like some teenager who was exploring his independence. I left them in their perches to go check other nests. And when I got home at the end of the day, I just had to make one more visit to this nest, so out I went again, to find that sweet little guy on the nest, with a full crop, and both parents perched in the tree near the nest. What great parents. What fun it was to watch this family’s dynamics. Once again, I have fallen in love. I try not to anthropomorphise, but it was quite clear what they were doing. They knew the chick was not dead, and they knew where he was, and it certainly appeared that they wanted him to come home and eat. Many of these interesting behaviors are only revealed if you spend a great deal of time just observing, without preconceived notions. I don’t get to do this very often these days, with so many nests to visit. I dont think there was ever a bald eagle in the tree....I think it was the youngster, who has different coloring than the adults. But it was a treat to sit and watch all the subtle clues and reactions that revealed what was happening at this nest. Very sweet, very attentive adults. Ya gotta love these birds! I sure do! 

Fledging!

Just a quickie tonight....our first chicks have successfully fledged! Fun to watch them today doing their loops, perching in different places as Mom stayed near the nest watching over them. It’s very exciting! But it’s also a vulnerable time.....now the door is open to them getting into all kinds of new trouble. I am always prepared with boxes, towels, in my car. Hope I don’t have to do any rescues this year. I also enjoyed watching some chicks practice the fine art of self feeding. One chick had a fish and kept switching which foot he would hold it in, and in the process he kept turning in circles. “Am I left footed? Am I right footed? How do I know? Nothing feels right!”

We are also dealing with a lot of sad struggles on some nests, but I will save those stories. Tonight, let’s celebrate these first flights and behavioral milestones which are so fun to observe!

Gone

The accumulating nesting failures this year are continuing. Below is a photo from last year of a nest built in a dead snag in a marshy area. About a week ago that nest held two beautiful chicks....and yesterday when I visited this nest it was gone and the chicks perished. This is the challenging life of an Osprey, but it still breaks my heart. ( in fact I pulled over on the side of the road and let out a few swear words.) I had so recently watched those sweet chicks with such joy. All the heavy rains and storms must have collapsed the nest. This was one of very few nests in a tree that we have documented in this study. This also points to why the increasing nest attempts on cell towers and ballfield lights are actually a smart adaptation for the ospreys since those structures do not fall. Many nests have failed for many different reasons this year. I am still trying to decipher the unifying factors in all these failures, if there are any. My cursory count of nest failures so far is 46. And this is still early July, with more failures possible. We had 40 failures last year and 37 the year before. To me this is a growing to a startling number. It’s curious that so many of the failures are clustered together and nests in other areas are successful. Many of our chicks are a little younger than they usually are by early July, but still a delight to watch the little guys motoring around the nest. Some of the older ones now are almost fully feathered, while some recently hatched chicks have not even been seen and counted yet! What a weird year.

June 27 update...

It’s been a busy few weeks trying to keep up with all the changes on our nests. Sadly, I believe we are heading for a record year regarding nest failures. We already have about 36 failures, probably more as I write. Last year we had 40 and the year before we had 37.....but this is still only June. One day last week I checked 24 nests and 11 had failed. Many of the failed nests are near each other. It becomes a real thrill to pull up to a nest and see three chicks motoring around on the nest...a real cause for celebration! Some surprises have occurred also tho. There was one nest that was clearly being  horribly attacked by black flies, with the female flying off the nest over and over. I watched that nest one day for 90 minutes and I believe she was on the nest for approximately 15 minutes during that visit. I thought for sure that nest was headed for failure....but it did hatch successfully! I have come to the conclusion that eggs may survive longer periods without being incubated than I originally believed, if the weather is warm. But most of the nests where we observed adults struggling to shake off the black flies, have failed. There are many other nests where I cannot say what the cause for the failure is. Since the failures occurred during the time when we observed swarms of black flies on other nests, it may be related to that issue.  I wish I could visit nests more often. Many nests are only visited every couple of weeks. One week they are incubating, or caring for newly hatched chicks, and at the next visit, the nest is empty. When I do the annual report, I will try to separate the failures into nests that failed to hatch and nests that failed after signs of hatching were observed, but without more frequent visits, I may not know for sure on many nests. I am continuing to find new nests, with two found this past week! I wonder how many there are that I dont know about! At any rate, having said all that, the black flies seem to have died off and many ospreys that survived the swarms, are much more comfortable now. This year has raised a lot of questions in my mind. I watched one nest, which has failed for five years in a row, and wondered why they stay at this site. Would moving to a new territory improve their chances of breeding successfully? Well my answer to all questions is to just keep watching, keep taking notes. Clearly this is going to be a tough year regarding our productivity rates, but as I keep saying, this is why we keep going. So few long term studies exist and being able to look at the data that has been consistently collected for 26 years maybe very useful in helping us understand this planet and the changes it is experiencing. On a happier note, it is such a joy to watch the developmental stages the little guys go thru...I was noticing how interesting it is when you see the chicks move from being entirely focused on a very small world which consists of their siblings and their parents, and each little bite of fish, to becoming aware of the world that surrounds them. Suddenly they are toddling off to the edge of the nest to look around at their world. They begin watching other birds that fly over, or even planes above. Their little worlds are expanding. They will move out into that world sooner than you think!  These little friends of ours  grow so fast. 

Nest failures....

I am back in town after seeing Paul McCartney in Madison....and very sad to report that it appears that the Arboretum cam nest has failed. I believe the newly hatched chicks may have succumbed to the swarms of black flies, or buffalo gnats, that we have been observing. There is an article on the front page of the Star Tribune about this very issue. They refer to the issue as approaching historic levels. The MMCD, who usually treats the black fly larvae, was unable to this year as a result of floodwaters. I have never seenanything quite like this and it’s disturbing. Another nest in the area of the Arboretum has also failed, and we suspect for the same reason. I will be checking nests this weekend....as many as I can, to see if others have failed.
(There are many more comments and conversations about this topic on our Facebook page). 

I also hear that the Raptor resource project is observing black fly problems with eagles nesting in Iowa. Hoping for some dry, windy weather. 

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Hatching at the Arboretum cam nest

The first chick has hatched on the Arboretum cam nest...yesterday, In spite of the torment caused by the black flies. The cam lens is already covered with poop so it’s bard to see much, but I could tell by the adults behavior that hatching had begun, right on schedule. They are restless, sitting high and slightly hunched over, protecting the chick but trying not to squish it! I have not seen a feeding yet....and have to go to work....but will tune in later. We may get another chick today or tomorrow! Kind of creepy watching the black flies crawling on the cam lens! They look huge, but are really tiny. Hoping the chicks survive the onslaught. The adults have heroically withstood the torture to hatch their offspring.

Black flies

Things have taken a disturbing turn in the last 24 hours. Yesterday I was watching a nest and the female jumped up and flew off the nest repeatedly to fly loops, leaving eggs unincubated for 5-10 minutes or so at a time. I found this odd. I was standing outside with my scope on a tripod and was aware that there there was a sudden increase in bugs. They were crawling all over my scope , my head, flying into my eyes and nose, but I did not feel like I was getting bit. The previous two days it was bug free and pleasant to be out there in the field. I noticed the female was shaking her head almost constantly. She repeated this pattern of flying off many times. I finally left and proceeded to another nest. At this nest I found no one on the nest at all. Oh dear. Then the female finally returned, sat down in incubating posture for a few minutes and the suddenly jumped up and flew off. She did this over and over, flying loops before returning to the nest briefly. For over 90 minutes this continued. At one point she was gone for 20 minutes and came back with blood on her neck. I hope it was fish blood. She never stayed in the nest for more than five minutes at a time and was shaking her head constantly. I started to connect the dots between the observed behaviors on these two nests. Then last evening I got a report from someone watching the Arboretum Cam nest. Female would not stay on the nest. She was shaking her head constantly and you could see bugs swarming the nest. When I went to bed, the eggs were still uncovered. This morning the male was in the nest. Then I received another report of a female that would not stay on the nest. The monitors are very concerned, as am I. This appears to be a new hatch of black flies which are tormenting many ospreys. I don’t remember it ever being quite this bad, tho a few years ago, we had a huge hatch that caused a chick on the Arboretum nest to jump to its death prematurely, to escape the flies. This is coming at an earlier time this year when we have newly hatched chicks, or eggs about to hatch. The timing could not be worse. I have been observing today that some nests seem to be unbothered......those that are further away from lakes and who are higher up. On some very tall cell tower nests, I see a definite breeze and no head shaking at all. I am afraid that some nests may fail if the adults literally can’t stand to be on the nest. Black flies live for about three weeks, so those late hatching nests may be the lucky ones this year. This all may be related to climate change and the heavy rains we have had recently. It’s very hard to watch these tormented ospreys, but there is nothing we can do, but observe closely, document carefully. This is how we learn, and this is why we keep monitoring these nests for so long. Ospreys are an indicator species so the health of their population reveals much to us about the health of our environment. So monitors, pay close attention to behaviors. Head shaking and agitation may seem like a small thing but it may turn out to be critically important. Watch closely. For me these seem like dramatic changes in behavior. It’s even important to report the lack of head shaking! It may help us figure out which nests are more vulnerable to black flies.

We have had a number of nests fail in recent days....adults are just suddenly gone. Could it be black flies that drove  them off the nest? Time will tell. As I continued to make some rounds today, many nests seemed to be fine, or only slightly bothered...not enough to cause them to leave the nest. The breezes picked up as the day progressed. That may help the situation. Fingers crossed for this to be a minor blip, but I encourage all Osprey nest monitors to pay close attention to the head shaking and how long adults are off the nest. Include this info in your reports.

Think good thoughts for our winged friends! 

Hatching!

Our long wait is being rewarded ....our chicks are hatching! We have a couple of nests for sure, and many more will follow every day. I am STILL plugging away at reading the difficult bands. The sad news is that we are also at that stage where nests are failing. And many times I don’t know why. Incubating one day, gone the next. The only real explanation I can offer is predation. One of our new nests this year has already failed. I was unable to find any adults and this is troubling. I hope it was just eggs that succumbed to predation or the pounding rains, and not the adults that may have perished. I searched for bodies, feathers, some clues.....but found nothing. The homeowner that lives near this new nest is heartbroken. I understand. And I love how people do fall in love with these birds. There is just something about ospreys. We still have a few nests, with a pair present, but no eggs laid. At this time, it’s probably too late and hormone levels are dropping. But sometimes this occurs because the female is too young to lay eggs and they become what we call “Housekeepers”...working on the nest, establishing a pair bond thru feeding, but raising no chicks..

The new volunteers are learning the subtle signs of hatching. When one reports that the male brought a fish and the female took it and started eating, IN the nest.....this is often a sign that she has wee ones to feed, tho we can’t see them for a while. Those little guys can’t stand up and are not visible above the nest edge for a little while, but we can observe the changes in the adult behaviors...restlessness, getting up to look down into the nest cup, eating on the nest and offering small bites to the little guys. Males also often stick closer by, and seem to enjoy watching the feedings....some will even help with the feeding. Can’t wait till I get to see the first bobble heads!

Another cold gray day...

Another interesting day with the ospreys! It was yet another gray, chilly, blustery day here in Minnesota....just the kind of day I like!!!! Unfortunately it started with needing to buy new tires. All the driving I do wears them out quickly. Then I visited a nest that I have been to so many times this year and I have not been able to get the males band read. This nest has had a banded pair for years and the female has been very accommodating, over and over, revealing her bands.....but the male is always incubating or gone! I have checked and rechecked all his favorite perches, used in the past. This has made me wonder if it could be a new male. But they were one of the very first nests to lay eggs, so that often indicates an old experienced  pair that got down to business quickly, as they know that the sooner they lay eggs, the greater chance their offspring have of being ready to survive migration. Hmmmm. I searched again, but could not find him, so I started to drive away and as I went down the road, around the bend, behind some tall trees, I glanced up and saw an Osprey perched very high in a very tall tree. I pulled over and put up the scope.....ahhhh there he was! A new perch for this male this year! I have probably driven under him many times. Trickster. Today he said, hey Vanessa, pay attention! It made me laugh. 

I drove past a few other nests to be sure they were still incubating, and came upon a pair incubating side by side. Always such a touching sight, one that I don’t see very often, but this kind of teamwork always warms my heart . (Forgive the crappy photo, taken with my iPad thru the scope.) 

Then I proceeded to another nest where I have been getting skunked on bands. This nest has a new male. I know this because the male who was here last year is now nesting on a new nest across the lake. (This is probably a response to the nest failing last year.) I have spent many hours, many repeat visits, and have only gotten a glimpse of one digit on his band. He, too, is either incubating or gone and I cannot find his favorite perch. I watched as he sat in the nest while the female preened on the nest edge. She finally moved closer and began food begging quietly, and he jumped up and flew away. Damn. I never get a good view of his bands. He headed towards the lake, so I followed. Unfortunately, it takes me longer since I have to zoom along these winding roads! I got down to a boat launch to find about five people fishing. I opened my window and grabbed my binoculars to search the lake.....jackpot! TWO ospreys fishing! I suspected I knew who both of these males were, but which one is the one I am trying to identify?  It was SO windy, and the water so choppy and gray. None of these fishermen even looked up at these two magnificent birds flying above. My instincts picked one Osprey to watch...and he hovered, dropped into the lake but came up empty. He circled around and tried again in the same spot...bingo! He came up with a fish! So fast, so easy, in spite of the choppy water and strong gusty winds. These birds are so amazing! He circled back towards the shore and dipped low behind some trees. I assumed he might perch there out of the wind to eat the head before he went to the nest, so I drove around looking for him. Could not find him, so I headed back to the nest....and he beat me there! He was making the hand off of the fish to the female and she went to her perch to eat. He once again took over the incubation duties. It’s such a treat to see them hunting, and to see a successful dive.....but I still didnt get his band read!  As the winds picked up even more and the temperature dropped, a few spits of rain were beginning. Another day in the field comes to an end. It’s a good day when you get a few more bands read, see an Osprey incubating next to its mate, and witness a  successful fishing attempt! 

Did you think I forgot about you?

Did you all think I forgot about you? Forty lashes for me for not writing more often. This Osprey season is off to a crazy start, with so many new nests being reported or discovered, and it seems like the early days of the season have gone too fast. I love a slow start, with cool days, slow arrivals, time to read bands before incubation, and before woodticks....but that’s not the way 2019 is going. Most nests are incubating now and I am still trying to get the bands read. That can mean waiting for a long time for a bird to stand up and show me its legs. I visited a nest last weekend with two banded birds and it took me three and a half hours to get the bands read. Those of you have read bands may understand, trying to approach a nest slowly, wondering if one more step will cause them to fly off the nest. Trying to stand as motionless as you can, as your mind races...can I move a little more around this way or that way, or will the bird just raise his tail a little so I can see his legs, will he untuck his banded leg, will the clouds stop the glare of the sun. Where did the other one go? Should I move or will the bird move, will I miss my brief chance if I do move. My heart always starts to race when that golden moment arrives, the bird is in the perfect spot, the light is perfect, now just get the scope focused....got it!! Kind of exciting, but time consuming. Today I spent a lot of time trying to read a silver federal band on an Osprey, with nine small numbers all the way around the leg. These bands are primarily meant to identify a dead bird. The auxilary color bands, with two large digits, are meant for identifying a live bird from a distance. I am so damn curious tho, I stayed until I had six of the nine digits, but then she returned to her nest to incubate. Ahhhhhhh. I will try again, and I will get this one. Some others are almost impossible. I have a silver banded female on a nest on a very tall cell tower, and I am not sure I will ever get that one.

Ospreys are semi colonial, which means they like to nest near each other, so many of the new nests are in the neighborhood of other established nests. I am still learning about how close ospreys will nest to each other and our population is developing into definite clusters. As a result we are seeing increasing interactions with other ospreys. A few weeks ago I went out for a four hour walkabout with one of my volunteers, in an area with a growing cluster of nests. It was so amazing to watch all these ospreys flying around, some ospreys were seen as intruders and were chased off, while others caused no concern. We had a hard time figuring out which nest each Osprey belonged to! Thanks to all who have reached out to me , shared sightings, reported new nests to me, volunteered their time to help us out! More soon, I promise.

the Arb cam

The Arboretum Osprey cam is finally on..... http://www.arboretum.umn.edu/ospreycam.aspx

I was there three times during the day on Friday, April 26 and saw only the female, but now that the cam is on I see she is incubating, and the male is the same as last year, Z3, who is now 7 years old. The female is unbanded and is probably the same one as last year. As of today, May 3, we have three eggs.  I also took a photo of the cam and nest, so you can see why there are so many problems with feces covering the cam lens and obscuring the view. The nest is being built up more and more every year bringing the chicks cute little butts closer and closer to the cam. The cam was never positioned well to avoid these problems and it is right in the line of fire, so to speak. I have expressed my concerns and suggestions but in spite of getting a new cam, the positioning was not changed. 

Too many ospreys!

Wow this early Osprey season has been a crazy one. We already have found 6 new nests, and we are plugging away at getting birds identified. Sadly, we are losing a lot of our banded birds....even ones that were not very old. The lovely article that was written by Jim Williams and published in the Star Tribune last week has stimulated a lot of interest in monitoring and new volunteers are being assigned nests. ( Be patient as I figure out what nests need monitors! ) We have found over the years that having good equipment, a spotting scope, does help a great deal in collecting the data we are seeking. If anyone is interested , please contact me. And a huge thanks to all the people who have reported new nests, and to the volunteers who have spotted new nesting activity while they are out and about! Many have developed a keen eye!

We are not sure why it seems like so many banded birds have not returned. Is the mortality rate going up for some reason? Some formerly active nests are now empty. I did find a banded bird today who we thought had not returned....and I was very happy to see him. I am still looking for our dear formerly single dad, without luck. A new unbanded male is working on that nest, tho I have not seen a female there yet. Many nests are incubating now but it also seems like a slow start to egg laying. As we drive around checking nests, many of my volunteers are reporting extra ospreys flying around. It was rather chaotic where I was monitoring today! Holy smokes, chasing, soaring groups of ospreys, chirping, and serious competition at some nests. I don’t get very far each day as I sit and watch all the activity! It also seems like an increase in eagle nests and eagles bothering ospreys. A number of birds have lost their nests and are having to rebuild as Cell companies, radio towers etc seem to have removed a lot of nests this year. I also have to send out a huge thanks to those who have made generous cash donations....wow, I am so touched by your support!

On a more specific level....I did swing by the Arboretum this week and found a lone female on the cam nest. I checked it several times and saw no male. Hmmmmm. I wonder if we have lost Z3. I will keep looking.

Anyway, spring has sprung, chicks are on the way, data is being collected, new volunteers are being plugged in....no rest for the weary! One of the volunteers that I connected with today said she thought she might need a Xanax!!!!! A special thanks to Barb for being my rock.....checking SO many nests, working so hard on bands, and being the one I can turn to and say....”can you run over and check this or that nest?” This truly takes a village of very special people!

Article....

Hey there was a really nice article in the Star Tribune today about our efforts! Thanks to Jim Williams for the lovely story!
http://www.startribune.com/twin-cities-area-osprey-nests-are-a-catchall-for-castoffs/508951712/

Happy Easter, Happy Earth Day

It’s been a challenging week...we are trying to get around to visiting all nests, identifying all banded birds, and it’s a huge task these days. Some of us are growing increasingly sad as we visit and revisit a nest where a beloved Osprey has resided in the past....and we keep finding an empty nest, or another Osprey there in his place. I have visited the nest where our beloved, formerly “single” Dad lived. He raised three chicks alone two years ago and earned a permanent place in my heart. I have not seen him. Today I found another male on that nest. My heart sank. One of my most dependable and devoted volunteers is also feeling a sense of loss as her “first love” in the Osprey world has not returned to his nest. These losses are inevitable and I have lost many ospreys that I loved, but it’s never easy. We do grow attached, while we know these are wild creatures and migration is not without great challenges. I also received a call about a dead Osprey, so I rushed out to check the identity. I was relieved to find that it was not the banded male from a nearby nest, but probably a young male, trying to establish a territory and suffering a catastrophic wing injury. Every loss, of every beautiful Osprey causes me great sorrow, even after 25 years. They are just so stunningly beautiful. Holding the limp body of such a perfect creature is a gut wrenching experience. Life can end so abruptly.

On a happier note, some of our favorites have returned and the first eggs have been laid. Chicks are on the way! I have also found some nests removed, and some ospreys are having to start over, rebuilding their nests quickly. We will keep making the rounds, reading bands, observing behaviors, doing what we can to keep up the research, collect the data, rescue birds when necessary, educate the public and build relationships in the community. Hoping that we can help each of you to fall in love with these magnificent raptors. Happy Easter, Happy Earth Day.

April 14, 2019....

I finally had a day that I could spend making some rounds and checking nests. I visited 20 nests. 11 had no ospreys on them, 4 had one bird, and five had a pair. I read three bands. Several other females were uncooperative as far as revealing their legs! Three males were older established males that I have known for quite a while, back on their nests. That may give you some idea of where we are regarding the return of our Osprey friends. In addition, one nest had been removed from a cell tower. Sigh. No sign of any rebuilding there.
I saw no birds at the Arboretum nest which has the cam.
It was a lovely cool, but bright day (hard for band reading.) It was so nice to be out there, watching, listening, enjoying my Osprey friends. Some lakes are still partially frozen...so don’t panic if your favorite Osprey is not back yet! We had a slow start last year, and it looks like we are experiencing the same thing this year. I expect we will see many more of our friends this week!

Sky dance

As I was coming home today, I saw a male Osprey doing a sky dance, so of course I checked the nearby nest and sure enough, a female was sitting there. He was trying to impress her! I am always impressed with this courtship display! I usually hear it before I actually spot the male, high in the sky, performing this mating ritual.

I saw this video (link below) and thought it might be a good teaching video for new volunteers have not yet witnessed this display. It still thrills me to see it!

I checked a handful of nests today, and saw one of my dear, favorite male Ospreys working diligently on his nest. I also checked out a new nest, new to me anyway, occupied by two unbanded ospreys! I still have another new one to check out on the other side of town soon. The population keeps booming. I am sure there are many nests that I don’t know about, so please do send in your reports of new nests, as we are doing our very best to keep track of them all!

Lots of reports are coming in from around the metro about ospreys back on their nests, and I deeply appreciate each and every one of them!

Hope everyone hunkers down during this spring blizzard they are predicting....5-15 inches of snow!

https://youtu.be/--F85zJmD4Y

Yes, I have seen, and identified, my first Osprey of 2019

Well, ya all probably knew I couldnt wait to see my first Osprey, so I ran up to a nearby nest and watched a banded female, band read, as she picked up sticks off the ground and worked on the nest. I watched for an hour, my heart racing...what is it about these birds? But I have to stay focused on my income producing work this week.....holy smokes it’s gonna be hard. So the 2019 Osprey season has officially begun!

There are are still a lot of volunteer monitors that I have not heard from, and we always need help watching all these nests.....and if anyone wishes to make a donation to support this field study in its 26 th year...we have a Twin Cities Metro Osprey Watch page at Go Fund Me to take donations.

They’re back!!!!!!!

I know that many of you are waiting to hear something from me! Yes the reports are coming in about the first ospreys back on their nests here in the Twin Cities. I have been so busy with my pottery business and a big show next week, as well as teaching three full classes a week now....that I have not had much time for ospreys. Gotta earn some money so I can afford to start putting on the miles visiting nests. Anyway, this is a heads up for the volunteers.....Osprey season has begun, finally! I may buzz up to a nest or two tomorrow if I can.....so do keep me posted about your observations!

Nest monitors!

Even tho we are still in the depths of winter here with several feet of snow on the ground, our Osprey friends will return sometime in the upcoming weeks.....not sure how many weeks. So I once again am putting out a call for volunteer nest monitors. If you have monitored in the past, and want to return to your nest this year, please let me know. Experienced volunteers become more and more treasured each year as your knowledge and instincts improve and increase each year. If anyone else is interested, we ask for a commitment to visit your nest at least once a week, thru the breeding season, April to September. After each visit you will need to send an email sharing your observations. We have a list of guidelines for what data we are trying to collect at each nest. It is helpful to either have a spotting scope or a good pair of binoculars to be able to closely watch for specific behaviors. If you will be unable to visit your nest for a week or two, (vacation, illness, whatever....) all I ask is that you let me know so we can plug in another monitor or I will check the nest. We have nests in all eight metro counties, tho none  are in the heart of the city, so you may have to drive a ways to monitor a nest.
I  like to spend some time in the field with volunteers when we are able to coordinate schedules, tho it doesn’t always happen. But I am always happy to answer questions in emails. The more questions you ask, the more you learn! The project is always growing and we always need help watching over all these nests. It can be a life changing experience to get to know a family of ospreys and many of our long time volunteers have fallen deeply in love with “their” ospreys!
If anyone is interested in volunteering, or has questions, you can contact me at Osprey.mn@gmail.com

2018 Osprey Research and Production Summary

Here are all the 2018 results, for those of you who like the numbers/ details!

2018 Osprey Research and Production Summary
by Vanessa Greene

Spring came quite late in 2018, with winter hanging on well into April. The first Ospreys were not reported until ‪April 10-11‬! A heavy snowfall of over 12 inches blanketed the Twin Cities metro area ‪on April 15.‬ I observed my first Ospreys ‪on April 12‬ and successfully read the first bands that day. Ospreys arrived slowly and the first signs of incubation were not documented ‪until April 26.‬ In comparison, we have had eggs laid as early as ‪April 12‬ in past years.

This year can be characterized once again as a productive one for the Osprey population in this 35 year study with the population continuing to grow and expand, although at a slower rate than past years. Overall, productivity numbers remain very similar to last year. There were 136 nests which were occupied* by a pair of adult ospreys. (132 in 2017. There may be more nests we do not know about.) Two additional nests were frustration nests and therefore not counted as separate territories. Eggs were laid in 125 nests (122 in 2017. There were also two additional nests that were discovered later in the breeding season and although no chicks were present, it was not known if eggs were laid or not) and 96 of these nests had at least one chick that was confirmed to have fledged successfully or survived to fledging age (95 in 2017). We documented 40 nests which failed (37 in 2017). We separate failed nests into two distinct subcategories; nests where a pair was present but no eggs were laid (9) and nests where eggs were laid but they failed to successfully fledge a single chick or the cause of failure was unknown (31). (Not laying eggs is considered to be a kind of nest failure by other scientists.)

There were 205 chicks that were known to have fledged successfully or survived to fledging age! (214 in 2017). Most successful nests had two to three chicks, 51 nests with two chicks, 29 nests with three chicks, and 16 nests that produced a single chick. The mortality rate this year was higher than last year with 19 chicks which were known to have died or disappeared before fledging, (19 last year also) and with three adults which disappeared mid-season and were presumed to have died. There were 15 nests that failed after signs of hatching were observed but before we were able to see or accurately count chicks (five last year), seven nests where no signs of hatching were ever observed, nine nests where the cause of failure was unknown, in addition to the nine nests were no eggs were laid. There were only 87 adult Ospreys identified by their bands, as the number of banded birds continues to drop. Three of these were from Iowa. We located 12 new nesting territories, including four nests that were newly discovered this year although reports indicated that they had been there for one or more years. Only two of these new nests successfully fledged chicks. In addition, there were six nests which had been unoccupied for 3-20 years, which were reoccupied this year. There were also 14 nests which had been occupied last year that were not occupied by Ospreys this year. One of these was taken over by geese and two were taken over by Great Horned Owls. There were eight banded Ospreys which were believed to have bred successfully for the first time and their average age was 4.75 years old. (Average age of first successful breeding for males this year was 4.71 years and for females it was five years). It is interesting to note that of the 136 occupied territories this year, 75 were on osprey nesting platforms, 23 were on cell or radio towers, 18 were on ballfield lights, 15 were on a power pole or transmission tower, and three were on other manmade structures. Two nests were built in a dead tree late in the season, with no eggs laid.

The overall productivity of occupied nests which were successful this year was 71%, (72% in 2017, 76% in 2016, 68% in 2015, 70% in 2014, 67% in 2013, and 77% in 2012). The mean number of young fledged per successful nest was 2.13% (2.25 in 2017, 2.24 in 2016, 2.43 in 2015, 1.77 in 2014). The mean number of young fledged per active nest was 1.64%, (1.75 in 2017,1.84 in 2016, 1.88 in 2015, 1.41 in 2014) and the mean number of young fledged per occupied nest was 1.51%, (1.62 in 2017, 1.70 in 2016, 1.65 in 2015, 1.25 in 2014). These numbers reflect a slight decrease in overall productivity per nest, although the number of chicks fledged per successful nests remained similar to last year. There were two nests which have failed for four years in a row.

There was a baffling and disturbing outcome on one nest, where the single chick was discovered alone on the nest. Three monitors took turns watching over this nest closely for nearly a week, and no adults came to care for this chick. Other adult Ospreys showed up occasionally, but provided no parental care. In fact, they seemed to cause the chick distress. It was through careful behavioral observations that we concluded that these visiting ospreys were not this chick’s parents, and it appeared that both parents had died somehow, since adults typically do not abandon their offspring. The nest was in a very inaccessible spot, on a large transmission tower in a lake, so mounting a rescue involved considerable legal and physical hurdles and we were not able to arrange for this before the chick died / disappeared. Those involved with this situation were deeply saddened and suspected that these adults may have been killed. It is very unusual for two adults to die at the same time.

The three oldest males this year, dropped to 15 years of age. Our oldest male last year at 23 years, did not return. Two additional older males, 18 and 17 years of age last year, also did not return. Our oldest females are younger with four that were 11 years old, which all bred successfully. It is interesting to note that we have recorded 2,270 chicks which survived to fledging age on monitored nests in the metro area since the inception of this project in 1984. 

(*Successful nests are those that were known to have fledged at least one chick successfully, active nests are those where eggs are laid and occupied nests are those where pairs are present at a nest site for a period of time, regardless of the time of year or whether or not they lay.)

2018 Acknowledgments....

There are so many people who have been instrumental in helping Twin Cities Metro Osprey Watch continue this Osprey research. This year, 2018, marked my 25^th year of monitoring all known nests in the eight county metro area surrounding the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St Paul, and I could not do this without a great deal of help. The careful, monitoring of these nests and the consistant collection and analysis of data over so many years may prove to be a significant contribution to understanding the world we live in, the health of our environment as well as overall productivity and behavior of this population of Ospreys. Special thanks to Alice Stoddard, Barb Ankrum, Margaret Wurtele, Phyllis Bofferding, Carol Christians, Janae Herman, Perry Westphal, Larry Waldhauser, Allie Gebauer, Dani Porter Born, Barbara Gaughan, Carol Reitan, Meg Smith, Jean and Rod DeZeeuw, Ellie Crosby, Betsy Kerr and Robbie, JoAnn Chase, Sue Welter, Anne Erickson and Carole Peter, for sharing their observations, their commitment to this effort, their photos, and their love for these birds. 

Thanks to all the private property owners who are such important and wonderful hosts to our Ospreys, and who have provided me access to these nests for monitoring.

Special thanks to Tim Fenstermacher at Aggregate Industries for his cooperation in allowing me to monitor nests on their property. 

Thanks to Ken Conrad for helping to stabilize a falling nestbox on short notice.

A very heartfelt thanks to all who contributed financially to the Go Fund Me page…Barbara Pierson and Paul Patton, Carol Craig, Carol Fischenich, Barb Ankrum , Robert Van De Loo, Gail Ireland, Betsy Kerr, Brian Almleaf, Sue Welter, and Cathy Gagliardi!  

I also want to send a special thanks to John Howe and John Dingley at the Raptor Resource Project for including me in their annual fundraising effort and for their generous financial support.

 I am deeply grateful for all the help I have received in so many different forms, and for showing your faith in my ongoing efforts to continue this research study.

Vanessa Greene      

February 2019

Osprey.mn@att.net

Osprey.mn@gmail.com