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.
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