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!