Parental care….

 I have been SO busy that I have been saving up a bunch of posts that I wanted to share with you all. These days, when chicks are fledging, are among the most important and I have to devote myself to watching them and gathering the data before we run out of time. So answering emails and writing posts have sort of taken a back seat….and I am working long hours during super hot weather….and well, one person can only do so much. So my focus has been on fieldwork, collecting the data.

Anyway….as chicks fledge I keep observing these behaviors from the adults that really touch my heart and show how deeply they care about the welfare of their offspring. A recent newspaper article here in MN claimed that osprey adults swoop down on the chicks and try to get them to fledge, to leave the nest. This is completely untrue. Osprey chicks fledge when they are physiologically able to. It is related to when the blood recedes in the feather shaft, causing the feathers to stiffen and become capable of sustaining flight. Osprey parents would never try to force their chicks to fledge before they are ready. They fly, with no encouragement or stimulation from the parents, when they are ready. One of the endearing things I have seen at many nests recently is how, when the chicks first fledge, and often land awkwardly somewhere, I see an adult go and perch very near them. There is nothing they can do to help the youngsters, but they can offer some protection from a predator….and it seems like moral support! I was at one nest, over a week ago now, where there had been two chicks on the nest and when I stopped to check….nest was totally empty. This is a nest on ballfield lights. No adults were seen and no chicks were perching on other lightpoles. I was concerned, so I drove all around the area….went down a road that goes behind this ballfield…..looking on the ground, and in the trees…..no chicks seen. I got to the end of this road and turned around….and quickly spotted two ospreys sitting side by side on a fence. I put up the scope on the car window….mom and chick. Side by side. So sweet. Then I thought, I drove right past them coming in but now they know I am looking at them…..how do I get out without disturbing them? Hmmm. Well, I will drive as far to the other side as I can and go quickly without looking at them. It didn’t work….mom flew. But chick stayed put. There was another chick missing too, so I thought I will go check some other nests….but as I drove away I thought….nope can’t do it. Gotta go back. So I watched that chick on the fence from a distance. Then I looked up and saw that dad was perched on a lightpole directly above the chick. Suddenly a lot of commotion, food begging, erupted and I saw the other missing chick return to the nest and mom met him there. When the fence sitter heard all this, she started to think she was missing something….and she walked back and forth on the fence and then finally jumped off and started circling to gain the altitude needed to get back to the nest….it was a bit windy that day and when she finally got up higher she decided to just land on the lightpole next to the one where the nest was. And within a minute, the male came over and perched right next to the chick! This is what they do! They stay close. After the chicks have been successful, this kind of care and attention will lessen. But I have seen it so much this year. At the nest with our two oldest parents, both 19 years old….when their chicks first fledged, and landed in some odd spots…..the tippy top of a pine tree….an adult would show up on the next pine tree over. Staying close. And today I was watching a nest in a gravel pit. They had one chick and the nest had no chick in it….but an adult was on the nest edge. So I closely studied the whole area, looking for the chick, and spotted him on some equipment on the far side of the quarry….and dad was perched right near him. I see this so often, and see the deep concern and support they show to these newly fledged chicks. This is a side of osprey behavior, that many may not be aware of, just warms my heart so much and makes me love them even more. What spectacular parents they are.