Still looking…..

 I have not stopped looking for Kisa and the two missing chicks. Mom has not been seen since wednesday. Today I searched the nest area again, three nearby lakes, and even ventured 5-6 miles from the nest and carefully scanned the shorelines of several lakes. I did see one adult male osprey flying over the water at one of those lakes, but he took off over some trees and never landed where I could examine his feather patterns. No chicks seen or heard. Of course, its now a migratory period so many ospreys are moving thru. I will not give up the search as long as we have ospreys around.

At another nest today, I thought the area was empty, but then just as I was about to leave, I spotted the adult male perched in a hidden spot. He had a fish but was not eating….he was just looking all around. Finally he began eating, but after every bite he stopped and scanned the whole area. I love these devoted Dads, always looking for their chicks to see if they need food….even if they are watching from a very unobtrusive spot, not advertising their presence, but still, on duty!

Here is a pretty picture of a juvenile Osprey I hung out with a bit last weekend….they are so beautiful….they still take my breath away…

Searching….

 I spent four hours searching for the chicks and Kisa yesterday but all I saw was Mom staked out in the nest. I returned today for another four hour search ….but today mom was gone as well. I hiked all around the area, I searched the lake where I saw one chick on Monday, several times, but all I saw were eagles. I examined satellite images of the area, looking for lakes, ponds, any places ospreys might visit. In spite of all my efforts and explorations, I never spotted any chicks or kisa. The wind direction switched today , so now its a light north breeze tho only 5-6 mph….but maybe that is what caused Mom to leave. The weather has been horrible with dewpoints so high that my scope and binoculars were constantly needing to be cleared of condensation. It was not pleasant out there, and it was difficult not to weep at the silence, the emptiness. I will keep looking of course, but I am not hopeful. It’s hard to accept this deeply sad ending.

Oh no….

 Well the news on Kisa gets worse. I was at the nest by 6:30 a.m. and Mom was alone on the nest. I went searching for the chicks and kisa. I found the one chick that was missing yesterday….sitting in a tree, not far from the nest, occasionally food begging. I watched for a long time with no change to the situation, so I went to the other lake where I found the other chick yesterday. I found nothing but an eagle. I went back to the nest and now mom had a fish and was eating. Chick did not come to nest. I watched for a long time….talked to some great folks who were very interested in what I was observing. After they left, the chick got more desperate and she started food begging and flying in circles and finally approached the nest and Mom attacked her and pushed her off the nest. The chick flew off, over the trees and was out of sight. So that is why no chicks are on the nest and why Kisa is not delivering fish there. It’s so discouraging and baffling. I could not find Kisa or the other chick. I even examined sattelite maps and visited another nearby pond, as well as other lakes in the area. No ospreys. Maybe kisa has given up. Its so sad…..we have one adult who has surprising parental instincts tho he isnt a parent…..and another adult who IS a parent, but seems to have no parental instincts anymore anymore. She seemed to be a super mom at the beginning of this story. I can understand why the original males instincts may have been altered by the trauma of being in rehab for so long. Its hideously hot and humid today so I had to quit….and I have somewhere else I need to be this afternoon….but I will try again, early tomorrow. I am hoping the mom will start her migration soon, but that might take a strong north wind and there is nothing like that predicted anytime soon. Sigh.

Now what?

 Things are still a roller coaster ride at Kisa’s nest. I didnt get there all weekend because I had to check other nests, and I thought things were going well….so I got there this morning at 8:30 or so. Much to my surprise, MOM was on the nest! She hasnt been seen in over two weeks. No chicks on the nest. So I put my scope on the tripod and went searching. I did find KISA in a tree and the male chick nearby desperately food begging. I could not locate the other chick. Mom was also food begging occasionally. Finally KISA flew off and I thought he would return with a fish….but I never saw him again during my five hours there. The chick and mom had empty crops. Oddly, the chick wouldnt go to the nest but flew around landing in different trees, and he never begged for food from Mom! I kept checking on him, and he waited silently, as did Mom on the nest. Then I went to check another nest where a chick had been reported as missing. I found that chick very quickly, and came back to Kisa’s nest and went looking for the chick again and could not find him at all. So I headed out to some other nearby lakes. I did manage to find the male chick. ( I have a freakish talent for this) He was trying to fish, but not totally plunging into the water, just  trying to grab something off the surface, unsuccessfully. I could not find the other chick anywhere. I returned to the nest where Mom had been perching for five hours. I cant quite figure out what’s going on. The chick clearly sees KISA as the provider, not mom. And the chick did not want to be on the nest with mom. So, again,  behaviors are unusual, and hard to understand. Mom is able to catch fish. But somehow it seems like her parental instincts are turned off. Why would she not respond to food a begging chick? And why is she not even getting herself a fish? And is KISA staying away because she is there? He was doing a fine job or providing for these chicks the past two weeks. Sigh. I have no answers. 

I had to leave after five hours. I will check in again tomorrow morning, but I can’t stay all day as I have another commitment. I will also return Wednesday morning, a day that is predicted to be the hottest day of the summer, possibly 100 degrees. 

Sure hope somebody will feed these chicks, and I hope I find both of them. 

Home again, at last!

 Whew! Little stinker! Lil Arb is back on the nest after being gone all day! Scared me….especially after last year…..but now we can call this a successful fledge and a successful nest! Didnt look like we would get here, so many times this year. But this brave little chick has survived to fledge and this Mom learned the hard way how to be a good parent.

lil Arb was gone a long time on a very hot day so I hope she gets lots of fish this evening.

Fledged!

 The Arb chick fledged at about 11:36 today…..this is day 62 for her….a good age for fledging. I am still waiting for her to return! Unfortunately I have a committment today so cant go out there. So I hope people are watching for her return! Fingers crossed that she will do ok and get back home for food!

Just like a Dad…

 I spent time at Kisa’s nest again this morning and, as always, the behaviors are interesting. I have worried all along about these chicks, of course, and one by one my anxieties have been relieved. I initially thought KISA was really bringing fish to the female as a courtship ritual. Would he feed the chicks if she werent there? Well the answer we found was YES! So even tho we have not seen the Mom in almost two weeks, He is still bringing food. Then I worried that after they fledged and were not always in the nest, would he lose interest and perhaps begin his migration? This past week he has seemed to be more scarce. I would catch a chick eating a fish, but did not see KISA deliver it. The chicks are now spending time away from the nest and I have searched hi and low for them unsuccessfully. Several times this week I found the nest empty, and waiting, searching did not help me locate them. But if I returned several hours later, I might find them on the nest. This morning I arrived and there was one chick on the nest, apparently just finishing breakfast. After cleaning his beak, he flew off. Again, I searched for the chicks and found none. So quiet. Then as I was talking to one of the people I see frequently at this site, we saw an osprey flying very high. This appeared to be an adult with a fish, but it did not just fly to the nest…..it circled the area slowly for a long time and then finally dipped down low and I lost him. So I put my scope on the tripod and went out to look for him. It took a while but I finally spotted him in a tree, with a whole fish. Yes, it appeared to be KISA. He was just perched there, looking all around, but not eating. Then he flew a few loops around the area and landed in a different spot. Again, he was looking around in every direction, but wasn t eating. Many of you know, it’s quite common for a male to at least eat the head off a fish before delivering it to chicks. But he didn’t do that. He flew around, clearly displaying the fish before landing somewhere new and looking all around. It was very clear to me that he was doing, what I had seen so many Dads do later in the breeding season….looking to see if any chicks were around that were hungry! This is all quite normal behavior for a Dad, who has incubated eggs, cared for chicks that carry his DNA and has an investment in their survival. But this male is not the Dad! And yet it was so obvious that, even when the chicks have gone off on a little adventure, he is now looking for them and wanting to feed them! Then after about 30 minutes of this behavior he did start to nibble on the head of the fish….but when he heard the distinctive sound of a young osprey foodbegging he flew immediately to the nest where he was met by one of the chicks and he handed over the whole fish and departed.

These are subtle behaviors, but it was so heartwarming to see that even when the chicks are not around, he is concerned for their welfare. He has the instincts of a Dad, but he isnt the Dad! And he must know, he didn’t copulate with the female, he didn’t incubate the eggs, but still he feels the urge to care for them. Shortly after he departed the other chick showed up, crying for food as the other chick ate. I saw which direction KISA went so I headed that way, in hopes of seeing him catch a fish…..a long walk-about failed to spot him but when I got back to the nest, both chicks were eating! In every respect, he is behaving like a Dad. I now feel fairly confident that he will continue this pattern until they decide to begin their migration. So many times this summer I felt like these chicks were doomed, but even in the face of so many other tragic losses in our osprey population, this young male has risen to the occasion and lifted my spirits. He is a very unique osprey! I have seen so many single females struggle to care for chicks alone, and I would never have guessed this was possible. It’s been a pleasure to share this story with so many interested humans! There is so much going on in the natural world that we have little awareness of…so pay attention!!!!! Amazing things are going on!

Here is an unrelated photo….as I was driving away from a nest with a chick missing, I saw this one perched in a tree….and this is a spot where I have found ospreys perching for the entire 30 years of my osprey life….so I just thought I would share this image. I know you all like pictures!

Updates…

 A few updates for you all. I have been visiting Kisa’s nest most days at least for a short time. I have not seen mom since Aug 6….the day the first chick fledged. Both chicks have fledged now. I was worried that if the adult female left, KISA might discontinue his visits and fish deliveries, but he hasn’t. I don’t see him as often now, largely because he drops a fish and leaves. He is not hanging out there on the nest at all now and I am not sure how many fish are delivered each day. 

Previously, the  chicks spent a lot of time just waiting on the nest for the delivery man to come! But in the last few days they have begun spending more time away from the nest. I have searched all over for them and have not found their favorite hang outs. Today when I arrived there were no chicks anywhere. I hiked all over and drove around looking but did not find them. When I returned to the nest I saw a flurry of flapping wings and as I got my scope up I saw an adult flying off, leaving the chick on the nest with a big fish. Shortly after, the other chick arrived. I watched them for quite a while. I noticed that their bodies are changing, in a good way! 

Prefledge they looked so thin….I could see their sharp keel bone. But now they are starting to look a little….pudgy! That’s the way most chicks look as they pack on the pounds to prepare for a big journey ahead. I have not seen the rehabbed male since that possible sighting two days after we released him. All in all, this whole story is a bit of a miracle….I still hope to see and positively identify  that rehabbed male but just to see these two chicks surviving and making the steps necessary towards independence is heart warming. My fingers are still crossed that KISA will continue to bring enough food for them. It will be hard to see these chicks go tho, as we will not know them if and when they return. They have become very precious and important to me. Sometimes I feel sad that their Dad isnt there to watch them grow up, and their Mom sort of bailed out, possibly because she began to think of KISA as her mate…and expected he would care for the chicks as her instincts told her to prepare for migration.

I am spending less time there because I have to get the data on other nests. And that is not always a happy experience. Chick numbers continue to drop and we have to assume that chicks that disappear and are never seen again at this time have probably perished. Sigh. Flying away from a nest and never returning to be fed is not a successful fledge. We look for explanations….storms, Eagle nests nearby etc…

We still have some chicks that have not fledged at this late date….and I will keep checking them, but it does cause concern. 

I stopped at the Arb cam nest today to take a peek in person. Lil Arb was sitting tight on this windy day, and mom was perched on top of the camera! But I also noticed that the eagle nest that is a short distance from the osprey nest seems to be collapsing! Sorry Eagle lovers, but I think this is a good thing in this situation. I hope they have found a better place to nest next year, and we will have less concern for the welfare of our Ospreys. Look below the osprey nestbox for the pile of tumbling sticks in the pine tree behind.

Richmond the Osprey brings a hat….

 I was talking to someone today about how Ospreys are known for bringing weird stuff to their nests and I mentioned this video. It still cracks me up every time I watch it! So here it is, just for a good chuckle….This is Richmond and Rosie, the SanFrancisco Bay Ospreys….https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwiI-7LxqtiAAxWxlIkEHUbRA3gQwqsBegQICBAB&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fbayospreys%2Fvideos%2Frichmond-brings-a-hat%2F668313660030083%2F&usg=AOvVaw3twvU8B96N59OHWCibX2yL&opi=89978449

Home again!

 I have been at Kisa’s nest (no it’s not really his nest) every day…. Crazy long hours this past week. After the first chick fledged on Sunday I have searched and waited for him to return. They don’t commonly disappear on their first flight…. They tend to get into all kinds of trouble a bit later. I was pretty certain that we had lost him yesterday but I just couldn’t bring myself to write that post. Most chicks cannot feed themselves this early. Just learning their water starts, going into the water and getting liftoff out of the water, is a skill that they typically practice over and over before they begin to even try to catch a fish. Facing the truth of the situation was hard. In the process of searching for him, and for the rehabbed male, I even found a new nest, or one I didn’t know about….just barely in time to get an accurate count on chicks and to see and identify the male. I did not see the mom at that nest. Neither have I seen the mom at Kisa’s nest since Sunday.

Kisa’s visits are seeming to be fewer and further between. I woke very early again this morning and went back to check on the remaining chick who had not fledged yet. She was flying from one side of the nest to the other but had not actually left the nest yet. As I pulled into my favorite viewing spot and put up my scope I yelled out loud, OH MY GOD! TWO CHICKS!!!!! My heart started racing….and I quickly started looking for the unique head markings I knew this chick had. HURRY HURRY, turn around, lower your head. YES it was him ( or her…..some spots on the breast, less than the other chick. Could be a female). WOW. Gone four days and here this little rascal is. And I have been there so many hours, I have hiked around, driven around, watched and listened so closely. I did leave this nest mid afternoon yesterday to check a few other nests so he may have returned after I left. Both chicks had food in their crops…..not full, but not empty. They had clearly eaten, so KISA must have been there before I got there.

I watched them for several hours. So relieved. But I still had not seen the second chick fledge. I watched her walk out on the nest perch….and I wrote a few lines in my field book and looked up….perch empty! Wait, what? And then, boom she landed back on the nest! Well done! So both had fledged so my thoughts turned to all those nests I have been neglecting. I decided to make a super quick run past 18 nests and returned about 3.5 hours later…..both still on the nest. Crops emptier now. But still….so wonderful to see them alive and together. Then something startled them….don’t know what…and they both flew off the nest and circled above. Then one chick came back to the nest and the other disappeared. I went for a little hike and found him in a tree not far from the nest. So this was great to see…..now they are both able to fly away from a predator. I loved seeing their startle response, a successful escape from a vulnerable position, and a safe return. A huge hurdle has been passed over now. I am a little pissed at the stress it put me thru the past four days….but whew….so relieved that these two, in this difficult life circumstance, have made it this far. Now I just hope KISA will continue to feed them post fledge. It’s a bit miraculous what he has done so far….but as I told the monitor for this nest, maybe he should be called Kita….knight in tarnished armor. He is feeding them enough to survive, so far….but he isnt feeding them as much as a normal parent would, and he isn’t hanging around to protect them very much. Though I know these two would be dead without him. Mom….I don’t know. I haven’t seen her in four days. I am still hoping against hope that I will get to see the rehabbed male and read his band for a positive ID. So it was a big day, with some very happy news. It’s been such a roller coaster ride! Some people see my car with the signs that say Twin Cities Metro Osprey Watch, and they stop and ask about the birds. I have done a lot of educating during this whole weird year! But when I start to unravel this unusual story, people are amazed at how complicated and challenging their lives can be…..and how much I have observed and understood about what was going on! It does give them a new appreciation for what is occurring right under their noses, without much awareness. These people may never look at an osprey in the same way again! And when this season comes to an end, I will actually miss some of these people that took a real interest in the ospreys and wanted to hear the daily updates. My world is so different than most, and it’s fun to share all the insights I have into the lives of these magnificent raptors that have occupied so many years of my life and so much of my heart.

Happy

 A photo to make you happy…. Who are these two tadpoles? I am sure many of you have heard my story about the male who had a fractured keel and spent a month in rehab many years ago. When released his female treated him like an intruder, and yet he kept sneaking in with fish for his chicks. Very strong parental instincts. Well these are two of his chicks this year! There is one more chick that had not fledged when I took this photo. Don’t they look beautiful and happy? He is still a great parent.

More losses…

 So many events have unfolded in the osprey world this past week…and I always feel bad when I cant find time to write posts here!

Where do I begin? First of all….the photo I posted several posts ago of the single female with her only remaining chick…after her older, very reliable male disappeared. Other males were hanging around and she was having to leave to get fish. Well, after a couple weeks, and after another of her chicks died, that male returned to his nest! I am still completely baffled. But now he is around all the time, as reliable a mate as he was before the absence. How bizarre! I can offer no explanations. But this older male has always been one of my favorites so I am overjoyed that he is allright.

Now back to our rehabbed male who was released last Tuesday. As I was watching that nest on Thursday, a banded male landed briefly on the nest….just long enough for me to see that he had double bands, a color band and a silver federal band. My heart started racing! The other male was not around. The two chicks immediately started hollering for food and he leaned away and took off so I was unable to read his band. About an hour later the unbanded male, Kisa, was on the nest, and he started chirping….the vocalization they use when they see another osprey in their territory. They were all looking up and I saw a male with a split in his tail….exactly like the one that can be seen in the photo of the rehabbed male being released. So, tho I didnt read his band, so I cant say for sure, I do believe that was the older rehabbed male who has lived there for many years. Sadly, we have not seen him since. So he is flying well, easily made his way back to his territory but chose not to fight for the territory or care for the chicks. So far anyway. It’s been difficult to watch the chicks there who are getting enough parental care to survive, but are so often left alone. The female is oddly gone for long periods of time, even days. And this new male still drops fish, but does not hang around a lot. Yesterday the first chick fledged….luckily I was there to see it and he flew well, circling around the area and then finally landing on a rooftop across the road from his nest. I watched him there for 3 hours. He did fly off and loop around the area but returned to that roof top. So take offs and landings were solid and I am sure he could see the nest from there. I figured he would get back to the nest when he got hungry! I had to leave for a few hours, as it was raining and I had a sick cat at home….but returned later that afternoon but I was unable to find him at all. In fact I could not see the other chick in the nest either. The mom came back to the nest and she wandered around the nest picking up leftover fish bits, and no other chicks head popped up, noone asked for food. I watched mom for 90 minutes and saw no chicks. She finally departed, and I walked all around in the rain, until I was soaked, and quite sad. Most chicks first flights are short and successful….I have seen it hundreds of times. But nothing is normal on this nest this year. I finally left. I got up at the crack of dawn today and returned to the nest hoping to see both chicks….but there was only one. Sigh. I watched all morning and Kisa came with a fish for this remaining chick. I went home, checked on the kitty and checked a couple of other nests and came back. Still just the one chick, with occasional visits from Kisa. Again, I walked all around looking, listening but found no clues about where the other chick went. Usually if a healthy chick ends up on the ground, they will food beg if they see an adult with a fish. I heard nothing. I have located and rescued many chicks this way…but this chick seems to have disappeared. I will look again tomorrow, and I also keep searching any and all lakes in the area in search of our banded male. Its hard to accept all the sad twists and turns on this and other nests.

And if all that isnt enough difficult stuff….last friday I recieved word that a nest on a transmission had blown down. So at the crack of dawn on Saturday I went out to check that situation….and found three chicks perished. What a disastrous year for our ospreys. sigh.

Free…

 After four days of conversations with The Raptor Center, trying to sort out so many difficult aspects of this complicated situation with the single female, the new unbanded male that is bringing fish, and the original territorial male that has been in rehab for 7 weeks….we finally decided to release him today quite a long ways from his nest. I won’t pretend that this was easy and that I  totally agree with all the decisions, but I think it was weighed carefully and hopefully we have done the best thing for all these ospreys. There was great concern that releasing him close to his nest would cause an immediate territorial fight between these two males, potentially injuring one or more ospreys. We also had to consider the two chicks which are close to fledging, and who could have been frightened into prefledging  before they were ready, if a fight was occurring around the nest. They could have ended up injured on the ground, collateral damage. And we had to consider that this male had been in rehab a long time and he just may need some time to adapt to being free, catching his own fish,  before he would have to deal with either a fight or demands for food from his family. We don’t know if he will still feel his parental instincts, if he will see these chicks as his since they were just hatching when he was injured. There is just SO much we dont know and can’t predict. I do have some ideas about what might occur, based upon my experience releasing that dear male in 2015 that I have written about every year. His parental instincts remained very strong….but his female attacked him as if he were an intruder! The male we released today is an older bird who has been a parent many times, so I suspect his parental instincts may be quite strong. We just don’t know how much of a toll this long period in rehab may have taken on him. So the thinking was that releasing him further away would give him time to gather his wits, and HE will decide if he wants to get back to his territory and rejoin his family. Of course he won’t be expecting to have to fight for his territory at this time….but sometimes an older experienced male can handle this stuff swiftly. And sometimes older birds are displaced by younger ones. We don’t know how the female will react either. We will be watching his nest closely and hoping that he returns, either soon or perhaps next spring. 

I did check on the osprey family twice today….and I saw Mom, KISA and both chicks of course. I did not see the adults together….mom was there in the morning and KISA was there briefly this afternoon when he dropped off a fish. I do not even know who to root for….but this evening I realize I am hoping that the older male can return and regain his territory. I also recognize that these chicks might not be alive without Kisa’s efforts…..so I hope the older guy says “thanks” before he says, “scram”. This magnificent young male will be able to find a new mate and territory and I have done drawings of his markings so I will recognize him if he shows up elsewhere. But, what I want and hope for doesn’t really matter….events will unfold in their own mysterious way, quite often not the way we expect, and the story may not have the happy ending we want. Life is like that sometimes , and I will learn from all this….after spending SOOOOOO many hours watching. There may be holes in the data on other nests because I have spent so much time at this nest….but it seems to happen every year! Some nest, some crisis, some unusual behavior always grabs my attention! As always, I remain deeply curious! Now we wait and watch and see what happens next. Thanks to The Raptor Center for their excellent medical care of this osprey, and for including me in this decision and making sure I was able to attend the release. We cross our fingers, say our prayers, think good thoughts and hope that things work out well for all the ospreys involved in this interesting