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.
No comments:
Post a Comment