Whew….

 I mentioned that last week I visited a nest where three chicks were totally alone with no adult for over an hour before mom finally showed up with a small fish. I revisited that nest yesterday, and watched for two hours….no adult anywhere, and the chicks had fairly empty crops and two of them had a lot of salt around the nares. I was worried…..but after a long day in the field during this very hot and humid weather, I just had to go home. So I started back up today at that nest at 7 am. Damn,  chicks had empty crops. I finally spotted a male osprey perched nearby….but the chicks were not food begging. Was this Dad? No female anywhere…..and I had not seen her for two hours yesterday. My stomach started to tighten. He finally flew off. I waited for an hour and then he finally returned with a small fish. He dropped it in the nest. So yes, this was Dad. The chicks are big enough to self feed here so one grabbed the fish and ate…..the other two were respectful, tho waiting and trying to snag a bite occasionally. This told me they were not starving. Finally one of them grabbed it and started eating as #3 waited. I felt relieved  enough to head out to other nests. But where was mom? Had something happened to her?  I always start pondering possible actions we can take to help….but knowing that there was one adult bringing food, I figured at least some of them would be ok. I checked many other nests….we have lost some chicks on some nests, and one nest that had three chicks two weeks ago was totally empty. Damn. After traveling many miles and sitting out in the hot sun for many hours, I looped  back to this first nest…..WOW!!!!! Mom was there feeding the three chicks! All had full crops!  Mom was ok. And I had seen Dad earlier. I was so damn relieved. So what is happening here….with chicks being left alone for several hours at a time….both adults gone. Where were they? I believe this is a clue that the water quality is poor in some places….lakes are full of algae and lily pads…..and this makes fishing difficult. That may require these adults to both pitch in and to travel further than normal to get enough food for these three beautiful chicks. It looks like three girls to me. They are starting to flap and will fledge in the next week or two. I have lost sleep over them and was so happy to see both Mom and  Dad today, and full crops on all chicks by the end of the day… oh what they put me thru! But I am vigilant, I keep watching until I get the answers I need. It’s not easy. I am never able to just say, oh well, they might not make it….I want to know what’s going on, so I watch for many hours, I return as necessary, until I get the full picture and am able to under stand what is going on and what the likely  results are. These chicks are vulnerable when left alone for many hours….but it won’t be long before they can fly away from any danger. And these adults are doing the best they can to ensure their survival. Times are tough. Climate change is real. Extended heat waves like this increase the algae blooms in lakes and these chicks need fluid from the fish to stay hydrated. I have to remind myself sometimes that I cannot control the outcomes….but I can watch until I have all the facts and can understand what is happening. This is not the only nest like this, where we see adults gone more than normal….chicks alone for too long. But in this case it seems that the adults are doing what they have to do to provide for these beauties. We are facing a week ahead of extreme heat….so my fingers are all crossed that they make it. These are some spectacular young ospreys.