Rescue

 What a roller coaster ride it’s been the last few days…..on Thursday I learned about a heroic rescue of an osprey that was caught in fishing line, hanging from a tree. The fire dept climbed the tree and cut the limb so they could get that osprey the help he needed. I have seen and participated in so many of these kinds of rescues…..with an osprey hanging from either baling twine or fishing line. The injuries are usually very severe. It’s so beautiful when humans work so hard to rescue a bird, and sadly, the outcome is often not what we hope for. This case was no different. I learned about the rescue on Thursday, had to set that aside to meet with the new monitor and check a new nest on Friday, but when I got home I received an email from the Raptor Center that they had to euthanize this poor osprey. So many people tried so hard and yet, the injuries were not treatable. But then my concern turned to the possible mate and chicks that might be on their own. The site of the rescue was very near a few nests I knew about ….so today I was up and out the door early to see what I could figure out. I went to the nest closest to the rescue site first. I waited and watched for about an hour, collecting clues….her nares are not salty, she does not look dehydrated. The chick pooped, so it has eaten fairly recently and then a male arrived with a fish….no unusual reaction from the female so I knew it was her mate. Whew! This nest is ok. On to the next closest nest. Another long wait….watching mom and one chick on the nest. Collecting clues again…..and then a male arrived with a fish! Whew. These guys are ok too! The next closest nest was not very close….but I went there anyway. Waited a long time. Got worried when a visiting male stopped near this nest, mom was chirping and food begging….chirping signals an unknown osprey….and sometimes females in distress do a kind of desperate food begging….different than the way they talk to their mate. That visiting male finally took off. And as the know in my stomach started to grow….a male arrived with a fish, no fanfare, no unusual reaction from the female….she just took the fish and fed the chicks. So all was well at this nest too. All this was a relief. But still, who was the male who was so seriously injured that he had to be euthanized. There may be nests I don’t know about, and we continue to hope people will report them to us. But it’s Lao possible that beautiful bird was a “floater”, a young male without a mate or territory. I still grieve for every single osprey we lose, especially like that. He suffered. And the cause was humans leaving fishing line out where it can cause so much harm. But it appears that there isn’t a huge ripple affect to a family of ospreys. My heart still hurts. Thanks to TRC for trying their best to help him, and to the Fire Dept guys who mounted that rescue. 

So now, dear readers, go out and pickup baling twine, fishing line, landscape netting, and any other manmade materials that are left where it can harm wildlife….do it to honor that beautiful osprey! 

https://www.facebook.com/reel/869461569015426/?fs=e&s=TIeQ9V&fs=e&fs=e

New nest, new monitor!

 I have had a busy week….and on Friday I managed to carve out a day to visit a new nest, meet one of our new volunteer monitors and make a big tour of a bunch of other nests way out in Wright county. 

The new monitor, Mary,  found this new nest earlier this spring and reported it to us and is also monitoring it! It isnt always easy to find time to connect with the monitors, but I enjoy it so much when I do. We had a delightful day, tho a little wet in the beginning, that Mary ended up describing as a treasure hunt! Visiting nests, counting the little heads, trying to figure out behaviors, watching a little conflict with an eagle etc…. SO many interesting things to observe and talk about. I took these crummy dark photos at the new nest….it had just stopped raining. There actually were three chicks tho I couldn’t get them all in one photo as they popped up and disappeared….but we both counted three! But what struck me when I looked at these photos at home….was the Mom. Dad was feeding two of the chicks and the tiniest one was snuggled closer to mom. But look at Moms face…..she is watching the male feed the chicks with such focused intensity…it just really touched me.

And a photo of Mary….who I already know will be a great asset to our project!

And then there was one….

 Some more sad news about the female who was raising chicks on her own after she mated with a polygynous male. Last Friday I saw that male actually deliver a fish to the two chicks and mom (one chick had died) and over the weekend one of our great monitors, Vicki, saw that male deliver a fish twice ! I was feeling hopeful that with a little help from him, perhaps those two chicks would both survive. I visited them today, and sadly there is only one chick left. This is what I feared would happen. Momma left the nest for four minutes and came back with a very small fish and she and the remaining chick wolfed it down very quickly. Both were clearly very hungry. The chick kept food begging after the fish was gone. Last year this female did fledge one chick so our fingers are crossed. with so many nests to check, I can never stay as long as I want to…..but I hope to get back there soon….

Turning in to a good mom….

 Interesting to watch a feeding at the Arb this afternoon….first thing I noticed is that the chicks heads are much less wobbly now….that makes it easier for mom. I also noticed that the older chick was stepping up and getting most of the bits and mom tried to reach around that chick to get to the smaller one. It was clear that she was trying to make sure the little one got some food. That was a very good sign. Eventually the bigger one fell into a food coma and the little one got more food until both were collapsed in a pile. Then Mom began her obsessive work to clean up every dropped bit…..it makes me laugh. She really goes to lengths to get every bit, even if she has to disturb a sleeping chick to get it. So I think things are looking pretty good there now….lets give her a lot of credit for learning how to be a better parent. Obviously the third egg is a dud. Now I can watch a feeding without my blood pressure going up. 

What’s a crop?

 I have been looking at ospreys for 33 years so I notice so many small things that others may not…..especially those who are just watching online or are new to watching ospreys in person. I have mentioned their crops…..this is the area on the upper chest where the food goes to start the digestion process….ospreys don’t chew, they just swallow so the food begins to break down in the crop. Their crops will be empty and full many times during the day. I often get a sense about how recently they have eaten by looking at the crop….so it’s something I often record in my field notes. I also sometimes note if I see them poop. Sometimes when I am trying to discern if chicks have hatched, when I still can’t see them because they are too tiny, I will see a little poop squirt coming out of the nest! Yup they are in there.

Anyway as I watch the Arb cam I watch the crops on the chicks ……they should have a nice bulge after eating if they really got enough food. In the early feedings there was almost no bulge….sigh. But now I am seeing fuller crops. So here is a screenshot with the bulging crop circled…..so you can learn to focus in on that part of their little bodies to see how the feeding really went. A lot of food is dropped, and this mom ends up eating a lot of the bits herself. Most females focus more on the chicks and then finish the fish themself when the chicks fall down and go to sleep (“food coma”). I am happy to see some fuller crops now….so that is something you all can watch for!

Still three….

 Our single female who is raising three chicks, still has three chicks! Every week is a milestone! And she has no new suitors, as some suggested she would have. The coming week will be a challenge with very high temps and humidity. I hope they all make it. She is so amazing…they all seem to be doing well, bopping around the nest.

The other female with the polygynous male has hatched her chicks too now, tho I have not been able to see them yet. I didn’t see the male at either site today.

And then there were two!

 We have a second hatch at the Arb….I think mommas mind is blown.