The Arboretum cam nest history…

 I have been doing a bit of a deep dive on the Arboretum Cam nest history recently. As I may have mentioned, I helped put up that nest pole back in 2001. An osprey had started building a nest on an active power pole so we went to work immediately and got Xcel to help us put up that Nestpole. The ospreys were circling as we installed it and as soon as we retreated to watch from a distance, they landed on the nest!

 The first male was banded Y1 and his female was FM. They were young and failed to lay eggs that year. They returned in 2002 and produced one chick. 

In 2003, the female FM returned but her mate, Y1, did not show up. He was replaced by another banded male, 79. He went on to become a legendary osprey to many of us. He had nested  elsewhere before he came to the Arb nest at 11 years  of age. 79 nested on this Arb nest from 2003 to 2014! He produced 21 chicks. From 2005 to 2012, he had the same mate, HY! In 2013 and 2014 he was joined by a new mate, 3S. 

2015 turned into a tumultuous year at that Arboretum nest. 79 returned late, as he always did, but he would not feed his mate or defend the territory against other males. He disappeared and I searched for him, eventually finding him on the side  of the road by Lord Fletchers. He did not look well, and I tried to rescue him but he could still fly so he made short flights and disappeared. Eventually I thought to contact the Raptor Center and yes, they had received him. Someone found him floating in the water and rescued him. He had BB pellets in him, had a necrotic wing injury and an eye injury. He had to be euthanized at 23 years of age. He was the oldest male on this project so far. Honestly, I still puddle up when I drive past that spot where I last saw him. I think about how hard he must have fought to complete his migration and get home when he was in such bad shape. I watched him for so many years that he feels like a member of my own family. Bless his spirit. 

That left something of a free for all at the Arb nest that year as four different banded males were seen there, along with three different females. The former mate of 79,  3S, decided to move to another nest. The Arb nest was then occupied by a new male, Z3, for the next six years with an unbanded female, 2015 - 2020. 

In 2021 the banded  male MS came to the Arb nest as a 3 year old. He was there until 2024, with an unbanded female. Late in the breeding season of 2024 we had a lot of eagle activity around that nest….eagles had a nest nearby…and MS disappeared while the fledgling was still needing him to feed her. She also disappeared shortly after he did and we suspect that eagles may have gotten them both. 

MS did not return in 2025 and we had an unbanded male for the first time. I have poured over photos to try to identify the current two unbanded ospreys on the nest. I do believe this male is the same one we had last year. I will post two photos of that males head markings, last year and this year, which show similar markings. 

It gets more confusing regarding the female. I looked at her markings early this year when she first returned and felt that it was a new female. But as I tried to find photos to share with you, I discovered that the female that first showed up on this nest does not appear to be the same one that is there now! So I will show two photos of the back of the head pattern on the two females this year….perhaps you will agree with me that they look different. I have come to the conclusion that the current female is the same one that was here last year, but not the same one that was here in those first days on the nest this year. 

Unfortunately, we all might remember the sad outcome of last years breeding attempt. Several eggs were damaged, and when the only chick hatched, the female did not feed it. She struggled with getting close enough to get food in the chicks beak. We watched the chick do all the right things, stand up, open its beak, and yet not enough food was ever fed to this poor chick to survive. The female just didn’t seem to have fully developed parental instincts. Most ospreys are not able to breed until they are three years old. I once watched a banded two year old female who did lay eggs and hatch a chick, and she also didn’t seem to know how to feed that chick! Luckily she was mated to a male who had been an experienced parent. He was able to feed the chick and teach that female how to care for her offspring. This made me wonder if the Arboretum female last year was just too young to have the necessary skills and instincts to care for that chick. It was painful for many of us to watch.  So we have reason to be concerned about what might happen this year. Let’s hope now that she is older, she will be a better parent. 

And identifying ospreys by their markings is not always easy, but I have been looking at ospreys for 33 years now and I have used my experience to draw conclusions about these current ospreys. We don’t have many banded ospreys left anymore to help us identify them  with certainty. 

So first two photos are the male, last year and this year. I don’t want to overwhelm with too many photos….so I will share the photos of females in another post!

Which is which?

 So many stories and so little time to write them! I have been checking 15-30 nests a day….I will catch up on the storytelling sometime soon….but this is a little teaching post. For the volunteer monitors….They always ask me how to tell a male from a female….and we usually immediately go to breast markings…darker heavily spotted breasts are USUALLY a female, and lighter, whiter breasts are USUALLY male. Sometimes they can be somewhat conclusive, but more and more I see aberrations that might mislead you. And sometimes they are facing away, so then what? Generally females are larger than males and they also have thicker sturdier legs. But you can’t always see the legs….so another physical attribute I look at is the size of the beak. This photo is perfect to show this….can you see the difference and tell which one is the male and which one is the female?

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!

17 nests in the rain….

 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.

31 nests!

 I visited 31 nests today! Many were occupied by a pair….a few had just a single osprey but the partner may have been out fishing, and a few were empty. It’s got me scratching my head…..but time will tell. Sadly our oldest male did not return and I feel a very real sadness about that. He would have been 21 this year. I did get some nice photos of him last year that I will treasure. Most ospreys seem to be in the recovery mode….just laying low. Not much copulating, some nest work going on. I still have some bands to read tho I did get a couple identified. But still so many nests to get to for the first time…and now they are calling for a rainy weekend….NOOOOOO! It is distressing how many nests were removed this winter….but some huge nests have been left untouched and I am grateful for that!

Arboretum

 We seem to have a pair at the Arboretum and I have been trying to compare their markings to last years pair. The female seems to be a new one to me…..the male I am not as sure about. I will keep watching and comparing markings as time permits.

Happy Easter…

 After a very long day in the field I sit here staring at this page….how do I get it all in one post? Well I can’t…..so I won’t. For starters I finally got a new used car, so am more comfortable putting on the miles to check more nests. So I headed out early this morning….a beautiful Easter morning in a lovely park, with only one other human being seen. But I did see a male osprey back on his nest! It was a spectacular sight, so quiet. Sometimes I feel so lucky to be right where I am, seeing what I see, experiencing what I experience. But there was no female yet at this nest. It’s early tho. Then on to other nests….many of them empty, about four that had a pair! One of those nests should have had two banded ospreys….but only the male was banded. The older banded female was nowhere to be seen and he was bringing fish to this new unbanded female. There is still time for the older female to show up. It can take me a long time to just figure out if they are banded…lots of patience. Can’t blink or I will miss it! I visited 17 nests….four had pairs, one had a single osprey. One of those nests has quite a story so I will post that soon in a separate post. Enjoy the crummy photos….a windy day, hard to get a sharp shot sometimes holding my I phone up to the scope. I did mostly like the newish car…..but holy crap, I have to go to school to learn it all. The tech issues….what is that button for? Why is it beeping? How do I turn that off? I am so old school.