The most amazing osprey…

 A few posts ago I spoke about polygynous males. I shared the story of the female who had to incubate and raise chicks alone last year after the neighboring male fertilized her eggs and then disappeared. She was facing the same fate this year. We she made it thru incubation alone. And today I went to check her briefly before I visited a bunch of other nests. Well as soon as I arrived I saw that she was looking down a lot…see first photos…and my instincts said they have hatched….but I always need proof, especially in this situation that I am so interested in. So I waited for three hours….just taking notes, watching closely…..and finally she stood up, backed up slowly and flew off. She came back in THREE minutes with a small crappie and started feeding chicks! She was also wolfing down food herself…..she was so hungry. It seems miraculous that she is able to pull this off. I almost cried. When I drove away I was screaming out loud…”You are the very best osprey in the whole world! Osprey of the year…no, osprey of the decade! You should be famous!!!”

Think about her sitting on those eggs all the time for 39 days…no break, no help. I hope they all survive, but it gets harder and harder for her to provide enough food as they get bigger. But we will hope for easy fishing, good weather, maybe even a knight in shining armor to bring some fish. 

Chicks busting out all over….

 Well I got out my trusty osprey chart where I keep track of incubation dates….and from which I can project hatch dates….and checked 5 nests which were projected to hatch today. All five of them were hatching! Woo hoo. Damn I am good at this! Even after 33 years, it’s still very exciting….watching those early feedings. We can’t see the chicks as they have just busted out of an egg about the size of a jumbo chicken egg, and they can barely lift their heads. But I have learned the behavioral clues, which can be subtle. I keep copious notes as I watch until it all adds up to HATCHING! One of the tell tale signs is that the males get very interested….they often come and watch the feeding of the wee ones. At one nest the big tip was that the male came to the nest and picked up a half eaten fish! Ha! I knew I just missed a feeding. But I kept watching and it wasn’t long until mom was offering more tiny bits to the unseen chicks. It doesnt take much to fill up those tiny crops. I always look at the adults crops too for info….full or empty. If they are full, I might have to wait for a feeding….but if they are on the empty side, I wait, as a feeding may come fairly quickly.

There are a lot of signs of hatching, but none of them in themselves are definitive….except one. When the male, brings a fish, does the female take it and leave the nest to eat? No chicks. If she starts ripping the head off the fish in the nest, and then starts dipping low in to the nest….she is feeding the wee ones. But sometimes you might have to wait a long time for this confirmation. ( thus my interest in the state of the adults crops). And brooding looks just like incubating! I can’t stress that enough. So just looking at the females body position will not give you the definitive answer. Sometimes they sit higher, sometimes they don’t. Sometimes they are more restless, and sometimes they aren’t. One thing I have learned over the years is that a new set of parents, perhaps hatching chicks for the first time, will get REALLY excited….but older more experienced adults can be much harder to read. It just takes time….watching closely, taking good notes and adding it all up. Its SO much fun!

The first hatch!

 We have our first hatch!!!!! I pulled up and found both adults there, the female preening and staring down in to the nest. The male stood right next to her looking in to the nest as well. I often get my clue from the males behavior! They definitely get very interested when hatching begins! They both were so interested in what was in the nest cup. They don’t stare at eggs like that! Then the female rolled what must be unhatched eggs and then she very gently settled back into incubation/ brooding. The male stayed near. She was getting up frequently to peek below and then she finally really settled in. The adult behavior can tell the tale of what’s happening, but brooding looks just like incubating if you don’t watch long enough. So if you just pull up and take a quick look, it might not look like hatching has begun. I always wait, watch, see what the male does. I did not see a feeding but it was clear to me what was happening!

Male is on the right….so we have our first chicks! Woo hoo!

The hatching window opens….

 It’s interesting that the DYFI osprey project in the UK announced that today the window for hatching opens for them. Ironically, it also opens here in Minnesota! This is the first day that the first nest could start hatching. We are experiencing an explosive increase in new nests, with 24 documented so far. And it’s relatively early! Younger ospreys will be establishing new nests all summer. A few of these nests are actually not new, but were newly discovered or newly reported….but many of them are, in fact, “new” as I watched them being built. I cannot drive every road in 8 counties so we deeply appreciate when people report nests to us. Thanks to all the people who have reported nests this year, tho the large portion of them we did know about. I would rather have 100 nests reported that I know about than miss one we don’t know about, so don’t hesitate to report a nest, but PLEASE report it via email, ( osprey.mn@gmail.com) and not on this page. I wrote a post explaining the reasoning for this. 

We also REALLY need more monitors….but because the project has grown to be so large, I no longer have the time I used to have to train people….so we need people with a spotting scope, and with some birding experience, some basic knowledge about bird breeding behaviors who can commit to checking one or more nests a week and writing an email detailing your observations weekly. I do have written guidelines of what data we are trying to collect on each nest. Most people find it really educational and they quickly fall in love with “their” nests and find it deeply rewarding. It’s a whole new world. It does require patience and commitment. To me it’s quite meditative. 

Watching for hatching can be time consuming….one of the reasons I like monitors to watch carefully thru the long boring phase of incubation, is that the more familiar a monitor is with the normal behaviors during incubation, the easier it is to notice the subtle, and not so subtle, changes which occur when hatching is beginning. A quick look may not reveal those changes. We cannot see the tiny new chicks from the ground  until they are at least ten days old. So we rely on the subtle changes in the adults behaviors. They may become more restless….they may get up and look down more frequently than they did during incubation. They may wiggle and rock more. And the tell tale sign is when the male brings a fish for the female. During incubation, the female will take the fish and leave to eat on another perch, while the male takes over incubation. When hatching has occurred, the female will NOT leave with the fish…..she will begin taking small bites and leaning in to the nest cup to feed the unseen chicks. Feedings go quickly as those tiny crops fill up quickly. And then the adults will resettle….and brooding looks just like incubation. So it can take careful, and patient observation to catch the start of hatching. But it’s an exciting time for the experienced monitors! We tried to get incubation dates on most nests because it makes it much easier to know when to start watching for hatching. Most books say ospreys incubate for 35-43 days. In this area we found that most hatching begins on day 39. There can be some variation, especially if an egg is infertile or damaged. So we did our best to document the first day we saw them in incubating posture so we could count out 39 days and have a better idea of when to watch for hatching. I have been entering that data on a chart for the past few days. We have a LOT of nests, so it’s a big task wrangling the data! Some nests, because I couldn’t get there often enough, have no projected hatch date…..and some have a bigger window than I like. But we are doing the best we can. So that gives you some idea of how we approach monitoring all these nests. If you wish to participate….shoot me an email! 

And a million thanks to the long time monitors who have taken on more and more nests, and to the new ones who have committed to learning the ropes! It’s not only a chance to learn about ospreys….its also a way to learn  about yourself as you struggle with impatience, lack of focus, a distracted mind, the temptation to check your phone instead of watching the ospreys when it seems “boring”….to go check your nest when you dont feel like it or the weather isn’t great. It’s much like a meditation practice. And many find they NEED this time each week to be in nature, so set aside their daily concerns and be fully present and fully aware. Even I struggle sometimes…..and I learned early on when I was feeling impatient, to relax, let go of the thoughts, feel the sun on my back, feel the wind in my face, be present, listen to the vocalizations until you begin to understand them! Oh, that means she is hungry, oh that chirp is because they see another osprey who they don’t know, oh, that’s a bald eagle alarm, or that’s an alarm that means a human is too close. Notice what they are looking at, watch carefully as the female ,eaves with a fish to see where she goes and find her favorite perches. Notice what direction the male comes from with a fish. Notice if they have a full or empty crop. Notice the markings on the top of their head, unique to each bird ( tho subtle differences sometimes) so you can tell if it’s the male or female who is incubating just by knowing their head markings. There is so much to learn and observe. I love it. It can change who you are when you tune in to this degree. Well….you can tell how much it all means to me. So, now….off I go to check the very first nests which might start hatching today! And check new nests who had not yet laid eggs when I last visited! With such a large population, they are really spread out! Keeps me busy! 

Ospreys and Ravens!

 I let myself have a fun day today ….when I don’t try to get to a million nests, or answer a million emails. I spent all afternoon yesterday and several hours this morning doing data entry, ugh, to get caught up on osprey incubations dates. Our first hatches will begin in the next day or two. Then I got another Latte and I went back to watch the ravens and ospreys….spent over 3 hours there between those two nests. It’s so much fun to watch and figure out what is happening. First I looked at the raven nest on the cell tower….two of the three chicks has fledged. One was still wandering around the cell tower, flapping, hopping, poking at things….but not quite ready to fledge. He was mostly alone. The family was off somewhere. Then I went to look at the ospreys. At first I couldn’t see anyone in the nest, but finally got a view of the females head….barely visible. But I kept watching, waiting and finally the male showed up with a fish and I watched them swap positions and the female flew off with the fish. I finally found her eating perch and took some photos of her. Then I returned to the ravens….finally an adult came to the cell tower….the chick was still bopping around, lower on the tower. The adult came down once and put something in the chicks mouth. At one point there was another juvenile that came to the tower but didn’t stay for long. The hours just flew by as I watched them. The vocalizations were definitely raven and not crow. But when they flew off I searched for them and could not spot them in the trees, tho I could hear them. I kept watching for any interactions with the ospreys, and luckily there were none. I imagine by the time I get back again, the last raven chick will have fledged and I am guessing they won’t hang around the cell tower. I wonder if they will return next year. It was a fun way to spend a day….broadening my horizons, still curious…Twin Cities Metro Osprey and Raven Watch!

Ravens displaced the ospreys?

 Life is so interesting in the osprey world….and I am always so curious. Today I was checking nests and went to this cell tower where ospreys have nested sucessfully for several years. Earlier in the spring when I visited for the first time, they were not there! The nest was intact, but there were two crows ( ravens!)on the tower. I quickly found the ospreys had moved a short distance away and had built a new nest on a large transmission tower. I checked them, incubating, all is well. Then I got curious…..why did they move? They had successfully fledged chicks last year…..and the nest seemed fine. So I went back there to look again…..I looked from all angles. There was still a crow perched on top….but seriously, ospreys are not afraid of crows! There was nothing in the osprey nest. Hmmmmmm. I looked a little closer and started to notice movement….and I realized the crows are nesting on the cell tower, but not IN the ospreys nest, but below it in kind of a weird spot! There looked like there were three crows in there! The adult was perched above and then she finally did not down into the nest, and then flew out….but I was wondering g how those chicks were gonna fledge out of there! It was hard to get a photo cause they are black! I watched this situation for way too long….

I have seen crows nesting normally in a pine tree….and in all my years I have never seen anything like this. Maybe it’s common….i dont know. But apparently the crows scared the ospreys off!
First photo is the new osprey neat and then is the photo of the cell tower, with the osprey nest visible and the crow nest below it is circled in red. I notice so many interesting things…..

I have been corrected! It’s a raven not a crow! I wondered about that big beak!!!! Ain’t life interesting?

Polygynous males…

A few weeks ago I posted about following a male as he flew away from his nest, because he was not headed to his usual fishing spot. He headed to a cell tower to copulate with another female! Well, I have caught him doing it again….and there is no nest on that cell tower. It seems to just be their rendezvous site. I am not sure where she goes and what she does the rest of the time. And just when I was thinking negative thoughts about this male, I caught him feeding his #1 female as she incubated….very attentive. Caring for his mate is also a strong instinct. It’s an investment in those eggs, those chicks. 

We also have another female that’s in a pickle. I told you about her last year. Two years ago her mate disappeared mid season when she already had chicks that were at least a few weeks old. He must have met some tragic fate and she managed to finish raising the chicks alone. Last year she returned and waited for a new male to show up. Unfortunately, the male that showed up was a banded male from a nest down the road, where he had another female. He stayed with our girl just until she layed eggs and then he abandoned her. His mate at the other nest laid eggs much later and he remained with her. We watched our girl as she incubated alone….leaving for five minutes to catch a fish and return to eat it quickly on the nest edge before she resumed incubation.  Most females in this situation tend to abandon eggs to care for themselves. But our girl hung in there and hatched two beautiful chicks on her own! She would leave them alone for short periods to go get food for them. Of course as they grow, they need more and more food…and sadly one of them didn’t make it. But she successfully fledged one chick, which is rather miraculous! She did it all alone. Ironically his other nest failed, and in spite of getting his full attention, those chicks did not survive. 

We had hoped for a new mate and better situation for our girl this year. It’s been very frustrating to watch the whole scenario repeat itself this year. The same male was there, copulating with her, even bringing sticks….until she laid eggs. Now we are only seeing her incubating alone. He is at his other nest with his other mate, who is now incubating as well. he did show up briefly today when several other males were flying around, he came to chase them off, not to care for the female. He sees it as his territory.

If some of you have watched the Hellgate Osprey Cam  in Montana, you may be familiar with Iris who faced the same scenario, year after year…..when Louis, her former mate, kept coming back from his new nest and new mate, to copulate with Iris. although the outcome was different there since every time Iris would leave her eggs to feed herself, crows would take her eggs. So her nest failed every year. So it’s miraculous that our female pulled it off alone and fledged one chick. Will she be able to do it again? And how many years will this go on….Iris went thru this cycle at least five times….wasting precious breeding years. I hate to admit it, but I hope this male doesnt return next year….because as long as the situation remains the same, I fear her fate will repeat. This other male now thinks this is his territory too. She deserves better. Will she ever happen to find a new mate who will fight for her and the territory and chase the other male away? Iris has herself a new mate and they are incubating eggs now. That gives us hope that our girl will be able to break the curse next year. In the meantime, we will see how this year goes for her. She is an amazing osprey with awesome fortitude. We must refrain from anthropomorphizing and projecting human morality upon ospreys. These polygynous males are just following their  instincts. The two driving forces for ospreys are surviving and reproducing….so when presented with the opportunity to spread his DNA, he takes it. It was ironic that the nest he gave his attention to ended up failing and the one he abandoned, was successful. And raising chicks alone is our girls normal now…..she knows how to do it. We are rooting for her.

Polygyny is something we have observed many times over the years. One amazing male had two nests, three years  in a row, and he successfully fledged 3 chicks at each nest for two of those years. He fed six chicks and two females! Most of the time one nest fails in this kind of situation, but he did nothing but fish…and he pulled it off. Of course those females had to pitch in too when the chicks got older and needed more food. 

There is actually a lot more I could say about these behaviors….but maybe we will return to this to this topic again later! There are a lot of interesting aspects to it.

Wayzata nest on highway sign….

 For all the people contacting me about the nest on the Highway sign in Wayzata…..yes we knew about it. We watched those ospreys build the nest last summer…tho they didn’t lay eggs. The nest was removed over the winter. When the ospreys returned this spring, they rebuilt a large nest and it was removed again. The DOT put a cone and some flags up there to deter them, but apparently the people in power do not understand that ospreys are very philopatric…..very loyal to their nest site. They are stubborn. So the ospreys rebuilt their nest AGAIN. I caught the male perched on top of the cone they installed to scare them away. They laid eggs on April 29…..so now they are protected under federal law as well as state law. Our attempts to communicate with the DNR earlier were ignored. We are watching all known nests in 8 counties…..and I am often frustrated because I know a lot about osprey behavior. I see what is going in the metro. Our population is exploding. We have found 21 new nests already this year. A few were not new, but we didn’t know about them so thanks to everyone who has reported their observations to me. It is deeply appreciated. I have also seen sad mistakes made, when the DNR issued permits for a nest removal and someone built a new nest, set a new nestpole….all admirable and appreciated efforts…but because they didn’t consult with someone who has knowledge about ospreys, poles were placed too close to tall trees, which may eventually result in the osprey returning to the lightpoles which created problems. Nest boxes were built wrong, with solid wood bottoms that provide no drainage, no way for the nest to breath. Chicks have died uneccessarily in a heavy rain In the past in similar situations. I do my best, am happy to share my knowledge, I even sometimes have a nestbox to donate.

We are trying to continue to monitor all known nests but we sure need help, if anyone wants to volunteer to help monitor these nests. And with the cost of gas, I also need financial support.

If anyone has questions or concerns, or sees a new nest being built, wants to volunteer, or needs advice about where to place a new nest or how to build a new nestbox, I have 33 years of experience with all this…please contact me…osprey.mn@

Egg #3 at the Arb!

 Egg number three has arrived at the Arboretum! Hard to determine exactly when, but looks like between 3:00-4:00 pm. on May 3!

2nd egg at the Arb!

 Shortly before 9:30 p.m. Thursday evening the second egg arrived at the Arboretum Cam nest!

First egg at the Arb

 We have the first egg at the Arboretum Cam nest! It was laid shortly before 5 am this morning, April 28. Ospreys typically lay their eggs about 2-3 days apart so we will watch for another egg Thursday or Friday.

Females at the Arb…..

 So these are the photos of the female ospreys I have seen at the Arboretum cam nest….first I will post the female I saw early in 2026….I did not get enough pictures of her….but the back of her head looks different to me that the female that is currently on this nest (2nd photo)….and the final photo is the female from last year. I believe we have the same female now. See what you think….

The Arboretum cam nest history…

 I have been doing a bit of a deep dive on the Arboretum Cam nest history recently. As I may have mentioned, I helped put up that nest pole back in 2001. An osprey had started building a nest on an active power pole so we went to work immediately and got Xcel to help us put up that Nestpole. The ospreys were circling as we installed it and as soon as we retreated to watch from a distance, they landed on the nest!

 The first male was banded Y1 and his female was FM. They were young and failed to lay eggs that year. They returned in 2002 and produced one chick. 

In 2003, the female FM returned but her mate, Y1, did not show up. He was replaced by another banded male, 79. He went on to become a legendary osprey to many of us. He had nested  elsewhere before he came to the Arb nest at 11 years  of age. 79 nested on this Arb nest from 2003 to 2014! He produced 21 chicks. From 2005 to 2012, he had the same mate, HY! In 2013 and 2014 he was joined by a new mate, 3S. 

2015 turned into a tumultuous year at that Arboretum nest. 79 returned late, as he always did, but he would not feed his mate or defend the territory against other males. He disappeared and I searched for him, eventually finding him on the side  of the road by Lord Fletchers. He did not look well, and I tried to rescue him but he could still fly so he made short flights and disappeared. Eventually I thought to contact the Raptor Center and yes, they had received him. Someone found him floating in the water and rescued him. He had BB pellets in him, had a necrotic wing injury and an eye injury. He had to be euthanized at 23 years of age. He was the oldest male on this project so far. Honestly, I still puddle up when I drive past that spot where I last saw him. I think about how hard he must have fought to complete his migration and get home when he was in such bad shape. I watched him for so many years that he feels like a member of my own family. Bless his spirit. 

That left something of a free for all at the Arb nest that year as four different banded males were seen there, along with three different females. The former mate of 79,  3S, decided to move to another nest. The Arb nest was then occupied by a new male, Z3, for the next six years with an unbanded female, 2015 - 2020. 

In 2021 the banded  male MS came to the Arb nest as a 3 year old. He was there until 2024, with an unbanded female. Late in the breeding season of 2024 we had a lot of eagle activity around that nest….eagles had a nest nearby…and MS disappeared while the fledgling was still needing him to feed her. She also disappeared shortly after he did and we suspect that eagles may have gotten them both. 

MS did not return in 2025 and we had an unbanded male for the first time. I have poured over photos to try to identify the current two unbanded ospreys on the nest. I do believe this male is the same one we had last year. I will post two photos of that males head markings, last year and this year, which show similar markings. 

It gets more confusing regarding the female. I looked at her markings early this year when she first returned and felt that it was a new female. But as I tried to find photos to share with you, I discovered that the female that first showed up on this nest does not appear to be the same one that is there now! So I will show two photos of the back of the head pattern on the two females this year….perhaps you will agree with me that they look different. I have come to the conclusion that the current female is the same one that was here last year, but not the same one that was here in those first days on the nest this year. 

Unfortunately, we all might remember the sad outcome of last years breeding attempt. Several eggs were damaged, and when the only chick hatched, the female did not feed it. She struggled with getting close enough to get food in the chicks beak. We watched the chick do all the right things, stand up, open its beak, and yet not enough food was ever fed to this poor chick to survive. The female just didn’t seem to have fully developed parental instincts. Most ospreys are not able to breed until they are three years old. I once watched a banded two year old female who did lay eggs and hatch a chick, and she also didn’t seem to know how to feed that chick! Luckily she was mated to a male who had been an experienced parent. He was able to feed the chick and teach that female how to care for her offspring. This made me wonder if the Arboretum female last year was just too young to have the necessary skills and instincts to care for that chick. It was painful for many of us to watch.  So we have reason to be concerned about what might happen this year. Let’s hope now that she is older, she will be a better parent. 

And identifying ospreys by their markings is not always easy, but I have been looking at ospreys for 33 years now and I have used my experience to draw conclusions about these current ospreys. We don’t have many banded ospreys left anymore to help us identify them  with certainty. 

So first two photos are the male, last year and this year. I don’t want to overwhelm with too many photos….so I will share the photos of females in another post!

Which is which?

 So many stories and so little time to write them! I have been checking 15-30 nests a day….I will catch up on the storytelling sometime soon….but this is a little teaching post. For the volunteer monitors….They always ask me how to tell a male from a female….and we usually immediately go to breast markings…darker heavily spotted breasts are USUALLY a female, and lighter, whiter breasts are USUALLY male. Sometimes they can be somewhat conclusive, but more and more I see aberrations that might mislead you. And sometimes they are facing away, so then what? Generally females are larger than males and they also have thicker sturdier legs. But you can’t always see the legs….so another physical attribute I look at is the size of the beak. This photo is perfect to show this….can you see the difference and tell which one is the male and which one is the female?

Oh my….

 I have so many stories I could tell….Here is one. Țoday I was headed to my pottery class….so I stopped at a nest on my way. Both ospreys there, male working hard on the nest,  bringing sticks, moving them around . On the way home I thought I will just pop in again quickly…female was there, but I didn’t see the male. As I was sitting at the stoplight nearby,  I see an osprey fly over my head heading south….I thought, oh that must be the male going for some dinner….I kept watching, wondering why he wasn’t  veering off towards the usual fishing spot. He just kept going south, and I kept watching. When the light turned green I zoomed down the road, following him….and he went to a nearby cell tower. I found a parking spot and put up the scope….its the banded male from the nest I was just at, copulating with another female! There is no nest there. I suspect this stuff happens far more than most realize, and I have caught many males in the act. Since he is banded it’s provable. So now, what will he do? Will he build a nest there too? Or will he ignore her except to spread his DNA? Will she give up and leave. The plot thickens. Sadly, he did this last year as well, but the other nest failed when that female decided she could not incubate alone and she gave up. Ironically, the female that we now see as his “wife” , began as his mistress last year! But they successfully raised two chicks! In fact, for the long time readers, last fall I was continually  posting photos of the last remaining chick that I knew of….and that was his offspring. He was a good dad at this nest. But now he has found a new female at a new site. These behaviors are quite common, but it goes undocumented. I notice everything tho…so there I am chasing this guy down, wondering, where is he going if he isnt heading to his usual fishing hole? My curiosity never ends, even after 33 years. So much drama eh? I have another complicated story of a female in a challenging situation to share with you soon. I am also working on a post about the Arboretum Nest. Osprey behaviors are so interesting. Stay tuned!

17 nests in the rain….

 I visited 17 nests on this rainy, gray, cool day. Sometimes these days are good for getting info….I read three bands. Ialso sadly discovered that at a school in the metro, who had a nest on their ballfield lights last year, they had erected a tall Nestpole for the ospreys….but, in spite of my emails, and their communicatons with state agencies, they build a nestbox that is potentially dangerous to the chicks. It has a solid wood bottom….with no drainage. Sigh. It’s so frustrating to try to help and have the offers ignored and mistakes made unnecessarily. And yet, down the road is a huge nest on ballfield lights that has remained in place for many years. I am grateful for that schools respect for these birds.

I was very happy to see the three banded males I know today….tho one had his nest removed from a cell tower and the tower altered. It did not take me long to find him, at the next cell tower down the road. Hope they can make it work there!

I did find two females who seemed to be incubating already….it seems early so I watched for over 20 minutes to see if they would get up, as if they were just testing the nest for comfort, but they remained low in the nest. Maybe!?!

Take a look at the pair of ospreys on the nest in the photo ….which one is the male? Ha ha. I argued with some folks last year who claimed that males have white breasts….and it just isnt always true. Sometimes it’s hard to tell the two apart…..tho males still have skinnier legs and shorter beaks. I also have seen a female this year with a very white breast…..I have yet to get a good photo of her. So as the genetic pool gets mixed up, there are some variations in markings. Just to keep us guessing!

It’s good to be home and out of the rain.