The first egg was laid at the Arb Nest today….sometime between 3:30-4 I think. But they have not built much of a nest, you can see thru it in spots….its mostly a thin layer of grasses that will not provide much insulation for the eggs. Sigh. We will see …
OMG!!!!!! MS is back at the Arb cam nest!!!! A bit late, but better late than never! I hope anyway. There are a lot of other males to deal with! But here’s hoping things work out for them and that he will feed the female and BUILD A NEST! Whew!
The first eggs have been laid! Incubation has begun…..so other nests will follow soon. Chicks are on the way!
The plot thickens at the Arb cam nest. This morning there have been three ospreys on the nest….two unbanded males at once. One of them did leave a fish for the female. But in all the commotion, it’s difficult to always discern which male is which….head markings vary a bit, and the light and chaos keeps even me confused. The female has been bringing nest material. Interesting. As I said, things are unsettled, to say the least.
I have been out to the Arboretum again and have been watching the cam. The banded male we saw earlier, PZ, is now back on his nest with a female….so he seems settled at another site. The unbanded male continues to hang out on the cam nest, but he is not really feeding the female, tho I have seen her grab a fish from him. She is also clearly feeding herself. Very little nest building going on, tho some grasses and other small pieces have been added….no real sticks for a solid base. At the moment it doesn’t look like a match made in heaven. I sure wish MS had returned to the territory. With an unbanded male there, we have no history, no age to help us understand some of the behaviors. He may be quite young and not quite clicking with how to be a good mate. Time will tell.
I am also surprised by how many empty nests I am seeing elsewhere. It’s mid April….most established pairs are back by this time. We are still missing a few beloved banded males and females. Maybe they will still show up.
I still have many many nests to visit for the first time….so many miles, so much time. Hoping for some cloudy days for better band reading conditions….we have some tough ones to read yet.
And after a long weekend of driving, I am going to turn the iPad off and go for a walk and have some wine. Thanks to all the volunteer monitors who have also spent the weekend “working”. I am so grateful to them all.
Well today there has been an unbanded male on the Arb cam nest….things seem very unsettled there. PZ does not seem committed. MS has not been seen. I do think the female is the same one from last year.
We had a high mortality rate and high failure rate last year and I am seeing the results of that with some unsettled nests, birds that are moving around, seeking new mates and new territories. It’s like musical nests….when the music stops, where will they be? It’s keeping me busy trying to read bands over and over, revisiting nests to see what’s changed, trying to figure out what’s happening. We have some VIBs ( very important birds) still missing. And I am not getting very far each day. I have a lot of puzzles to figure out!
Oy vey!
We are seeing more activity on the Arb cam nest today. I wanted to update some info. In spite of what has been erroneously reported elsewhere, the male we are seeing today is PZ. He is a five year old from a nest in Carver Park. He has nested at another Arboretum nest, south of the cam nest, for the last two years. His nest failed last year which may be why he is trying to move. I am uncertain if this female is the one from this nest last year, or his former mate at the other nest. I am trying to compare markings and I see some similarities and some differences. I will keep working on that. Time will tell if the male from last year, MS, shows up. We still are seeing many ospreys arriving, some nests are still empty or missing one bird. We are observing lots of competition for nest sites so many territories are still unsettled. I will try to keep accurate info posted here regarding this nest…..don’t hesitate to ask questions. As many of you may recall, I helped put this pole up way back in 2001 and have monitored it every year since. I also monitor all known nests so I am able to track movements of birds like PZ.
For those who are interested in whats happening on the Arboretum cam nest….we are seeing a banded male, PZ, visiting occasionally. He is NOT the male from the past few years however! He is a male who has nested nearby in recent years but his nest failed last year so he may be looking to make a change. Time will tell if the territorial male returns or not. I got out there in person today and checked the nest where PZ has been in the past, but he wasnt there! There was an unbanded male! And I stopped at the Cam nest repeatedly and didn’t see him there either. Hmmmm This time of year we often have a game of musical nests and I was unable to locate him in person. I will solve the mystery!
I did see our oldest male back on his nest….21 years old this year! Also saw a 19 year old male back on his nest! Those old ones are so amazing to see again.
Assholes. Steal the ospreys fish, steal the ospreys nest. Opportunists.
I will add a few thoughts here….its interesting that raptors adapt as populations increase. Eagles are typically thought of as “sub canopy” nesters, meaning below the very top of a tree. I am sure many of you have seen their large nests in cottonwood trees, protected by the tree canopy. Ospreys are considered to be “super canopy” nesters, meaning above the tree canopy. They like to be out in the open, in the highest spot. But as populations of both of these birds increase we are seeing some changes as they adapt to living in more populated areas. Tho it’s not that common for an eagle to take over an ospreys nest, it does happen. Osprey nests are also smaller than a typical eagle nest. The nest in this photo is not very big. We also see Great Horned Owls take over Osprey nests, but that is normal for that species. GHOs don’t build their own nests….but eagles usually do. And now, even geese will take an osprey or eagle nest! We have often seen Eagles build a nest NEAR an osprey nest, and use the osprey nest as a feeding platform, but they haven’t actually laid eggs on the osprey nest. Both species are attracted to the same habitat, where fish are easily available. So these are interesting changes….and we are seeing increased conflicts between these two species as the populations grow. Time will tell if this is a successful strategy for eagles. Ospreys will not be able to dislodge these incubating eagles….as eagles can and do kill ospreys. I will be searching for a new osprey nest to pop up in the area.
I have had the pleasure of reading bands on some of my favorite, older male Ospreys in recent days. You all have heard the story of the male who had a fractured keel and spent a month in rehab before I released him back at his nesting site, only to be attacked by his mate! And yet he persevered in bringing fish to his offspring in spite of her aggression. Well, He is back! WOO HOO! Love that bird. This morning, in the pouring rain, I also saw another older banded male sitting side by side in a tree with his mate, while she ate a fish. Sweet! At yet another nest unfortunately I found a new unbanded male instead of the older banded male who should be there. It’s early, so there is still time for him to return…..fingers crossed. Many more nests to check….we’ve only just begun!
One of older banded males was identified today! Woo hoo! Waiting for his mate and chasing eagles. He was one of the very first birds back last year too. So reliable. What a great start to the 2024 osprey season!
Our first ospreys have returned to the metro area this Easter weekend! Right on schedule!
2023 OSPREY RESEARCH AND PRODUCTION SUMMARY
By Vanessa Greene
The 2022–2023 winter was long and very snowy, so the first Ospreys of the 2022 season were reported back on their nests on April 8, about a week later than usual. The first bands were read that day! In this 40th year of monitoring Osprey nests in the eight county Twin Cities metro area, the known population has continued to grow. There were more nests overall, with a higher failure rate, and much higher mortality rate than last year. This may be related to the extreme drought and heat experienced during the summer. The early Ospreys laid the first eggs by April 16!
There were 182 nests which were occupied* by a pair of adult ospreys. (167 in 2022). There may be more nests we do not know about and we hope the public will continue to report new nests to us. Eggs were laid in 174 active* nests (160 in 2022) which is quite a high percentage of occupied nests. There were only 129 nests that had at least one chick that was confirmed to have fledged successfully or survived to fledging age (132 in 2022). We documented 53 nests which failed (35 in 2022). We separate failed nests into two distinct subcategories; there were 9 nests where a pair was present but no eggs were laid (7 last year) and 44 nests where eggs were laid but they failed to successfully fledge a single chick or the cause of failure was unknown (28 last year). (Not laying eggs is considered to be a kind of nest failure by other scientists.) Out of those 53 nests where eggs were laid, there were 13 nests where hatching did occur but all chicks died. There were 15 nests where no signs of hatching were ever observed, and 16 nests where the timing of failure was unknown. The 2023 failure rate rose to 29%. This represents a slight increase over last year! (In 2022 the failure rate was 21%, 2021 the failure rate was 18%, 2020 it was 27%, in 2019 it was 39%, in 2018 it was 29%, in 2017 it was 28%, and in 2016 it was 25%.)
There were 253 chicks that were known to have fledged successfully or survived to fledging age! (264 in 2022, 295 in 2021). Most successful nests had two chicks this year, with 68 nests with two chicks, 28 nests with three chicks, and 33 nests that produced a single chick. The known mortalities of chicks this year were significantly higher than last year with 47 chicks which were known to have died or disappeared before fledging, (23 in 2022, 26 in 2021). Only one chick was known to have become tangled in baling twine this year and was taken to The Raptor center where it had to be euthanized. The causes for the high mortality rate among chicks are uncertain, but may be related to the unusually hot and dry weather. Many males seemed to be missing from nests more than usual, perhaps due to difficulties finding fish, requiring them to travel further, and be gone longer when hunting. Many females were observed leaving chicks alone to help provide food. These circumstances may have resulted in brood reduction, starving chicks and increased opportunities for predation. There were two known adult mortalities One was a 10-year-old banded male who was found on the ground not far from his nest, near a freeway, on April 15, and was taken to The Raptor Center where he had to be euthanized. Another was a five-year-old banded male who was found on the ground on May 6, not far from a nest where he appeared to be the new territorial male. He was also taken to the Raptor Center where he had to be euthanized. A third 17-year-old banded male was found injured and spent almost two months at The Raptor Center, and he was released on Aug 1, a long distance from his nest to prevent territorial fights since a new unrelated, unbanded male began bringing fish at this nest and providing parental care for chicks that were not his offspring. This is the first time a male has been this attentive to chicks that were not biologically his own in this project. The original banded male’s survival post-release could not be confirmed.
There were only 46 adult Ospreys identified by their bands, as the number of banded birds continues to drop. There were two additional adults with silver bands that were unable to be read. We were sad to document that there were 11 banded birds that did not return this year. Only one of the returning banded ospreys was from another state (Iowa).
There were 7 nests that were removed from cell towers over the winter. We located 14
new nesting territories with a pair present. Of these new nests, 8 of them successfully fledged chicks. It is interesting to note that of the 182 occupied territories this year, 85 were on osprey nesting platforms, 42 were on cell or radio towers, 31 were on ballfield lights, 20 were on a power pole or transmission tower, three were on other manmade structures and one nest was built in a tree.
The oldest male this year, was 20 years of age, with one that was 18, two that were 17 years of age, and one that was 16 years old. ALL of these older males bred successfully! Our oldest female was 17 years old, with two that were 16 years of age and all bred successfully.
The overall productivity of occupied nests which were successful this year dropped slightly to 71%! (79% in 2022, 82% in 2021, 73% in 2020, 62% in 2019, 71% in 2018, 72% in 2017, 76% in 2016, 68% in 2015).
The mean number of young fledged per successful nest dropped slightly to 1.96% (2.00% in 2022, 2.11% in 2021, 2.04% in 2020, 2.09% in 2019, 2.13 in 2018, 2.25 in 2017, 2.24 in 2016).
The mean number of young fledged per active nest dropped to 1.45% (1.65% in 2022, 1.78% in 2021, 1.65% in 2020,1.39% in 2019,1.64 in 2018, 1.75 in 2017,1.84 in 2016).
The mean number of young fledged per occupied nest dropped significantly to 1.39% (1.58% in 2022,1.74% in 2021, 1.49% in 2020,1.28% in 2019, 1.51 in 2018, 1.62 in 2017, 1.70 in 2016). These reflect the lowest numbers since 2019, when a large black fly hatch caused many losses.
It is interesting to note that we have recorded 3,516 chicks that fledged from monitored nests since the inception of this project.
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*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.
I finally have the 2023 osprey research results ready to post. I am sorry it’s taken so long, but I have been dealing with some challenging health issues that may require me to scale back or eliminate my research efforts in the coming months. Time will tell. In the meantime here are the acknowledgments for 2023…. And the 2023 data results will follow in another post in the next day or two.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 2023
There are so many people who have been instrumental in helping Twin Cities Metro Osprey Watch continue this Osprey research. This year, 2023, marked my 30th 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 consistent 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 Barb Ankrum, Carol Christians, Alice Stoddard, Perry Westphal, Dani Porter Lucero, Meg Smith, Ellie Crosby, Debbie De Frank Jordan, Ann Merritt, Larry Luebben, Jack Kimmerle, Pat Norton, Jean and Rob DeZeeuw, Donna Daubendiek, Rick Endo, Mary Mullet, Cindy Angerhofer, JoAnn Chase, Stephanie Burley, Allison Mcginnis, Ken Fischer, and Gail Isaak for sharing their observations, their commitment to this effort, their photos, information, and their love for these birds. I am deeply, profoundly grateful to those who kept their commitments and kept an eye on the nests throughout the season. With the continuing growth of the project, I simply can’t do it all alone.
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.
A very deep, heartfelt thanks to all who contributed financially to this project in 2022: Ruth Rechtzigel, Debbie Jordan, Robert Van De Loo, Rick Endo, Barbara Pierson, Stephanie Burley, Carol Craig, Allison McGinnis, Joan Maltman, Christine Mosley, Tricia O’Donnell, Cindy Angerhofer, Tamalyn Page, Janet Schwarz, Carolyn Kalter, and John Howe! And a huge thanks to The Raptor Resource Project for their generous ongoing 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
March 2024
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