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.
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