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.

Great males….

 Another ten hour day in the field….started out by finding our 28th new nest this year. Oy vey. Then I watched a bunch of hatching and a bunch of feedings, and was able to count some little heads. Quite a few three chick nests! But the most amazing part today was the males…..

At one of my early stops the female was feeding chicks and I was struggling to count them, since they pop up here and there, and you keep waiting for them all to be up at the same time to be sure. So I am standing outside in a park, insanely talking out loud to myself….” There is one under her tail, one in front of her….and she is feeding something I can’t see.” Dad was watching. When mom seemed to stop, he picked up the rest of the fish and started feeding a different chick…. So he was feeding, walking around the nest with a big bite in his beak, like “anyone want more?” So sweet. He was just as involved with the feeding of his three offspring as she was. Not all males are like that….but it’s awesome when I get to see it.

Then I got to one nest and the female was in incubating posture and the male was feeding her as she sat. She got up, and he kept feeding her ( it was far away and the heatwaves were bad but I got some crummy photos…one is photo below ) and then she started passing the bites on to an unseen wee one. Sigh.

Some days I am tired and stressed, and then I have a day like this….and I walk away thinking, I am the luckiest person on earth to get to see this stuff, and to understand what I am seeing. People are running past me, biking past me and missing all these little miracles that are going on. Right there…..for free….for those who are aware.…and for those who invest their time and patience. I hope I am able to provide some insights and inspiration so people will be more aware of the awesome beauty of this species, and the natural world in general.

First hatch at the Arb….

 Yes the first egg hatched right on time this morning at the Arb cam nest. I am having phone problems so couldn’t post anything until I got home to my iPad. Technology frustrates the hell out of me.

Anyway I remain concerned about the feeding issues…..looks like the female got some bites in but still seems to have trouble with getting the food in that tiny beak. I sure hope she improves quickly. Or I hope that male steps up and does some feeding. Other males will do that….I saw one feeding a chick yesterday.

Oldest pair….

 This, my friends, is our oldest pair….both are 19 years old! They have been together for ten years…..both had previous nests / mates before they got together. Both are banded and they hatched in the opposite sides of the metro from each other. What good fortune that they found each other! They are always among the first birds back in the spring, among the first to lay eggs and hatch and among the first chicks to fledge. You can practically set your watch by them! They are so fun to watch…they work so well together. This male is super devoted, so there he was today standing right next to his mate, as they watched over their brood. They hatched about ten days ago and today I was finally able to count the chicks! THREE!!!! What cutie patooties. I could not for the life of me get a photo tho….with the heatwaves, and sun and tiny heads that rarely pop up at the same time…..so the official count doesn’t come until you see ALL of them up at once. But I did see them! They are looking bigger than I expected….so the incubation and hatch date may have been off by a day or two. But it was such a joy to see them and welcome them and watch their amazing parents, side by side, gazing at their offspring. These are the moments I live for. I am sure that I either banded the male, or held him as he recieved his band as a nestling. The female was likely banded by someone else on the other side of the metro….tho I might have been present.

I have watched these birds for so many years, and know so much about them…..it’s a feeling I can’t explain or express.

They are like my family.