I visited a lot of nests this weekend and was saddened to find so many empty nests. I know, I know….it’s time for them to go but life is less interesting without them. And for some reason this year their departure is bringing more grief than in past years. I did find these two chicks, and their Dads were around somewhere! I also ran into one of our great monitors , Marjorie, and it was such a pleasure to just spend some time chatting about our winged friends. I sometimes wish I had a recording of our conversations about all things osprey….how did we know the female at this nest was a new one this year? How were her behaviors different than the previous female? What makes a good volunteer monitor, how did the two chicks behaviors differ, why do we do what we do, what are the rewards, etc, etc. During the middle of the season I rarely have enough time to just relax and talk about the ospreys, as I need to get to 20 nests or more! It’s usually only at the end of the season when I have time to just share the osprey experience with a monitor when I run into them. It was so fun to hang out with Marjorie and have lunch together. She has been watching one nest for four years now and does a great job!( and has a full time job and the nest she loves and has chosen to monitor is clear across town from where she lives!) As you can see, she is a photographer as well, so is able to provide images to support the data! Her enthusiasm never wanes and she has been a great communicator. So a huge thank you to Marjorie!
This year I started taking some photos of the volunteers when I ran into them in the field, so I will be acknowledging them in upcoming posts. Of course there are many monitors who I didn’t run into, and didn’t get pictures of, but who have steadfastly sent their weekly reports. I am deeply grateful to each and every one of them!
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