Smoke…..

 Things started to feel apocalyptic this morning! In addition to this horrible heat wave, we were stewing in a thick smoke from the wildfires up north. I had an early medical appmt and then I just had to recheck a couple of nests. I returned to the nest where one chick had fledged yesterday, and found all three had fledged. Both parents, the 19 year olds, were close by…the male perched in a tree near a fledged chick who went to the same tree that yesterday’s fledge landed on. And another chick was flying around, flapping too much, disappearing behind trees and he finally returned to the nest and picked up a fish and ate. I tried to keep my eyes on all of them, but I did not see three chicks at once. I waited for 90 minutes, but the smoke and heat were too much for me. I got a few photos of the last chick to fledge, and the other one eating and Dad in a tree. Terrible photos, but that’s what it looked like….gray, smoky, weird.

Then I moved on to another nest that I knew should be fledging about the same time. As a little treat, I stopped for a strawberry rhubarb scone and an iced latte to take to the next nest. Yesterday those two chicks were still just in the nest but today as I pulled up…..there was the male chick on a power pole! I stayed for a while to see if he was ready for any other moves….but honestly, I just couldnt stand the heat, tho the smoke was lifting a bit. It was intolerable. Dad came to the nest with a fish and mom fed the other female chick…..but the fledgling did not think it was worth the short flight back to the nest. So I will recheck them soon….but after many days out in the heat, I just had to go home. The ospreys are handling it better than me. They usually do.

More fledging!

 Another stinkin hot day….mid 90s, hi dewpoint. But I went out again before 7 …..I visited a lot of nests, and found a few more chicks that have fledged! One of the nests I visited is the one with two 19 year old adults and three chicks. I discovered one chick fledged and perched across the street from the nest on the tip top of a pine tree! Woo hoo! And the endearing part was that Momma was perched at the tip top of another pine tree just a short distance away. Not one of her usual perches, so it was clear what she was doing…staying close. Then she flew over to a very high perch in a semi dead tree that the adults often use to watch over the whole domain….where she could see the fledged chick and the two remaining on the nest. At one point an intruder was wafting around and Mom gave a chirping call and in very short order Dad appeared on the nest. The intruder flew over and he escorted him away. Such awesome parents.

Then I moved on to another nest and discovered another chick fledged. I also found many nests that are still not ready, including one that is so far behind I was just able to count chicks for the first time! In one area I was watching the nest but could hear a lot of chirping and I looked up and saw seven ospreys flying around together. It’s a booming population!

I am enduring this horrible heat wave by getting up very early and getting out there for 6-7 hours before I just have to come home and put my feet up and drink pellegrino and fresh lime…..lots of lime. This weather is so draining….and yet, most ospreys seem to be handling it.

First Fledge!

 Fledging season has officially begun! I found the first chick fledged from its nest on a cell tower. He was perched below the top of the tower, below the nest. But he also flew to the other side of the tower, so flight is good and landings were successful. His sibling remained in the nest with mom this morning. I watched for quite a while but on this stinking hot day, I knew I had more nests I had to check today, and he might sit there for a while! He kept looking up at the nest and thinking about how he would get there….gonna have to circle around a few times, but I had faith he could do it. I will recheck tomorrow if I can. This is the nest that I thought would be the first to fly, so this unlocked the fledging window for a bunch of other nests. I checked about three other nests and no one was flying…..few were even flapping ( one chick was). Maybe tomorrow. But this weather….oy vey. It’s miserable out there. I also found yet another new nest…..found one yesterday as well. Careful examination led me to believe that these last two nests are just being built this summer…..no whitewash which would indicate there had been chicks in these nests. I don’t know if they laid eggs or not. So we are up to 30 new nests this year. And those are just the nests I have discovered or been told about…..there may be more. I do not have enough hours in the day or volunteer monitors to follow all these nests. Now that it’s fledging time I have to get to all nests to confirm outcomes….and try to get the final chick counts. A nest is not successful until at least one chick is known to have fledged successfully. And this weather is making it very difficult. I hope the ospreys can handle it better than I can.

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. 

Happy Fourth of July….

 Allow me to introduce you to some of my friends….

I was going to post about behaviors ….but it was such fun to just take pictures of this pair and their family….both adults are 19 years old. They have three magnificent chicks. They were all fighting for mom’s shade, and one was flapping and hopping…..and then Mom saw an intruder, gave an alarm call, which made the chicks pancake ( obedient) and she took off after him….which brought dear old dad to the nest in no time. Such great parents….I love this family so much

 

Doing so well….

 I stopped today to check again on the female who is raising a chick on her own after mating with a polygynous male…..his other mate has one chick. Whenever I am anywhere near her nest, I have to check in. She was there and it took me a while to see the chick..as he was snoozing. Then the female started food begging….and I thought maybe her “mate” was coming. I looked around and found a totally different male perched on a water tower down the road. Then she walked around the nest edge and picked up the remains of a fairy large fish….and that got the chick up! I got to watch the feeding…..and I was so happy to see this chick with a full crop, and he ate until he didn’t want anymore and he walked away and laid down to sleep it off! Mom kept eating tho. I am sad that she lost two chicks here, but I was so relieved to see them both eating well. I don’t know if she caught that fish or if the male delivered it, but it was wonderful to see them doing well. The chick is getting big and looking healthy! She is a spectacular Mom in the worst circumstances. Amazing.

Success!

 Oh this is a happy one…..I checked this nest yesterday….and was so happy to see two chicks and then….#3 popped up under mom’s tail!!!! This nest has a banded male whose nest has failed for five years in a row. His nest was successful for the three years before this sad string of losses. The nest has been removed, blown down in storms, chicks disappeared, various different kinds of failure. He is 12 years old this year. He has great genes…..His Dad was a beloved banded male who lived to be 20 years old, but sadly did not return this year.

We are thrilled to see this large nest and three magnificent chicks. His perserverence has paid off. I hope, I hope, I hope that nothing goes wrong and all chicks survive to fledging age. They look to be close to 4 weeks old now, so half way to fledging time!

We celebrate those three cuties and his dedication to his territory, and this female who has been a great teammate! Sorry I couldnt get a photo of him with the family.