Pictures were challenging today, but our older male is not alone anymore….his long time mate showed up one day after he arrived and I was able to read her band today. I was overjoyed that they are both alive to make some more beautiful chicks together! They are so comfortable together...their instant ease is palpable.
I work very hard to compile all the data in to reports that I can look back thru for info…and it’s so grueling to do, but I am so happy to have the information I need at my fingertips! So I looked back at the histories of these two. They have been together for 10 years now and have produced 23 chicks. The female was on this nest one year prior to when the current male joined her. They both had nested successfully previously, and didnt get together until they were nine years old! But it’s a match made in heaven. They have been successful every year.
This male had nested at another nest not too far away prior to that but in 2015 his nest blew down in a storm killing both chicks and possibly injuring that female. That may be what precipitated his move in 2016. I believe his female didn’t return.
The female was a floater seen at another nest in 2014, and she moved to this nest in 2015. She was quite old to be breeding for the first time, 8 years old, in 2015. Perhaps she nested previously somewhere we didn’t know about. At any rate, once they found each other, they have been deeply bonded and they work together like clockwork. So much fun to watch. They are both 19 years old this year. We hope they will be successful again this year, and for some years to come as well. 
