No feeding….

 It was a disappointing day with our osprey friends….when I arrived a little after 9 am….the male was eating a fish. As usual, as soon as he finished, the chick showed up screaming for food. She had an empty crop. Eventually he took off to the SE. the chick quieted down and about ten minutes ,after she took off in the same direction. So I looked at a map…..I had searched several lakes in that direction and never found them but today I noticed a smaller lake right before the other larger lakes….so I went down there and drove a road that had homes on one said the lake on the other with a lot of trees and brush blocking my view of the lake. But as I looked thru holes in the vegetation I saw something white….backed up and put up the scope. Sure enough it was an osprey…..it was the male. ( damn, I am good at this). I would know his head markings anywhere. He sat there staring in to the water. After a few minutes I heard the chick and she came flying past and tried to land next to him but she couldn’t stick the landing so sort of hovered above him and then kept flying….he watched her. Then he took off and I could not see them….started to head back to the nest and I looked up and they were both flying together above me. I know it’s that chick due to her broken feather that leaves a gap on her right wing. I got a few crummy photos….the male in the tree and the two of them flying. At first I was very happy. They were together and maybe she was learning from him! I thought they were heading back to the nest so I wanted to beat them and be ready to get some photos…..but they didn’t show up there. I waited, I went and got a coffee. Still no one around the nesting area. So I went back to this small lake….a d the male was back on his perch and the chick was nowhere to be seen or heard. I kept searching but found nothing. Then the male gave an alarm call and flew off so I followed him. He went back to the water tower where I first saw him back in June. He sat there for over and hour. No chick showed up. I searched all the places I had ever seen either of them and came up empty. I listened for her. Nothing. Eventually the male flew off again….and once again I found him in that perch that I could barely see. No chick. I went back to the nest again….nope, she wasnt anywhere around there. I checked the small lake again, male was gone. I finally came home. I was there for 6 hours and never saw the chick get fed, and I never saw her again after about 10:30, and I only saw the male eat the one fish early in the morning. At first I was excited to see them together at a lake….seemed like a step forward for them. But to see her empty crop in the morning and no feeding after that is concerning. I thought she had figured out yesterday that hanging around the nest was the best way to get fed. But maybe she is trying to feed herself. Today marks one month since she took her first flight…so it’s time. I have other commitments tomorrow but will check a few other nests on my way to and from and will recheck these guys on Wednesday. Hoping she is just beginning to be a little independent ….

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Today’s update….

 Another day, another story about the chick and her non-dad. Step dad? Benefactor? 

I got there about 8:30 and waited for 2.5 hours. No ospreys. I looked in all the usual places….nothing. So I started thinking and looking thru the notes. It’s interesting how this male slowly slipped in to their lives. On 6/12 I did see the banded polygynous male being a fish. This was a rare occurrence with him. The first time I saw the new unbanded male was on 6/26…perched on a large water tower….maybe a block or two away. I notice these things and include everything in my notes….cause you never know what might turn out to be important. (Note to monitors…include everything you see, dont judge something as unimportant …like another osprey perched some distance away). Anyway, I noticed him and noted that he was unbanded…this made it clear he was NOT the polygynous male who actually was the biological dad. I didn’t see him again until 7/19. I visit this nest about once a week….sometimes less….because I have a monitor here, Vicky, but I have a special interest in this nest due to the unusual circumstances. On 7/19 is the first time I saw him bring a fish, tho that doesn’t mean it’s the first time he did it. He started out sitting on a lightpole next door, eating a fish. The mom saw him and started food begging. He kept eating but would occasionally stop and look at her and the chick. Seemed like he was thinking about what he should do. Finally he came to the nest with the fish and Mom did not shoo him away….she took the fish and turned her back to this male and fed the chick. Turning her back was a trusting thing to do. Tho I also remember that the chicks at the hack site during the reintroduction would turn their back to me when I tried to feed them…like if they didn’t see this human, it was easier to accept food from her. At any rate she fed the chick the whole fish and then when they both turned around the male was still there. It was a big fish and the feeding took considerable time and he didn’t leave. He preened, snoozed, and was very comfortable there.  But when the fish was gone the chick moved towards this male and he flew off. Nope, not gonna deal with that chick. I concluded that the fish delivery was a courtship attempt for the female. The next time I saw him was on 8/2. Mom came flying in to the nest with a fish ( she was still fishing for the chick) and so did this male! They both stood there with a fish. I have photos of this. The chick came flying in and the male took his fish to a light to eat. Mom started feeding the chick, and the chick said “I can do it myself” and wrestled the fish away from mom. She watched the chick eat. Then the male came to the nest with his fish. He stood there for a while and then he flew off leaving his fish behind. The chick dropped what remained of moms fish and lunged for the bigger fish the male had delivered. Kids. So mom took what remained of her fish and they both ate. Sadly, that was the last time I saw her. It doesn’t mean that’s when she left tho. Vicky  reported seeing her and the chick on 8/7. But looking back, we are not sure if she saw Mom or the male. Ironically when I looked thru last years notes….the last time I saw the female in 2025 was on 8/2 also!!!!  On 8/15 this year was when I saw no Mom, and still that male brought a fish to the chick. This begins his regular care for this chick, and clearly he was no longer bringing fish as a courtship behavior for the mom.  This just increased my curiousity. You have read the recent stories…..so today after 2.5 hours of seeing no ospreys anywhere I started to wonder if they had departed. We had strong northerly winds yesterday which is often when they leave. Somehow it seems like if I leave, the ospreys show up. So I decided to go check another nest and make a quick trip to a veg stand for some fresh tomatoes and corn. I came back in a little less than an hour. No one on the nest or the lights….and then I saw the chick in one of her favorite trees. I got closer and put up the scope. SHE HAD A FULL CROP! So the male probably brought her a fish right after I left, of course. She was sleepy, content, quiet. I took a lot of pictures of her. I watched her for over an hour….and then suddenly she started desperately whining….many of you know the sound of a cry baby osprey. She flew to the nest as the male was coming in with a fish. I had to move my car get the scope focused etc….and totally missed the delivery. The the male flew to the light. The chick stayed in the nest mantling over her fish and crying. I always think of one of my long time monitors who said “they cry when they dont have a fish and they cry when they do”. It’s true, and it’s funny. Eventually the chick gathered her wits about her and took her fish to the  tree where she had been earlier. I got a video of her eating and crying. The male stayed nearby on the lightpole. Suddenly the chick screamed and flew off with her fish, circling, upset…and I saw another bird land in that tree. The male shot over there instantly and started dive bombing this other bird, repeatedly! It finally flew off…a redtail. Not a bird that they usually have much conflict with , but the chick was threatened and this male protected her! I am telling you, I felt like crying. His defense of her, when he is not her dad, was amazing. So I was thinking about how his involvement has slowly increased to the point where he acting fully like a biological male would….without the adult female even being there. So he wasn’t defending a mate or potential mate….but someone else’s offspring. And it appears he had brought two fish to this chick so  far today, and he was hanging around to watch over her and what he seems to perceive as “his” territory. This  redtail visit happened around 2-2:30. I have spent so much time there recently. The more time you spend, the more amazing the stuff you get to see. I always say, the ospreys will reward you. But  my life is falling apart at home so I decided to leave for today and get a few things done at home….and I will probably return tomorrow for a while, because I can’t be there on Tuesday…..other commitments beckon. But it was quite a day, both in what I witnessed, and what looking thru my notes revealed. Another reason I have to be there tomorrow is that it will be one month since this chick fledged!!!! I hope these two stay a little longer, because I am in love with them…and their relationship is changing….at first I dont think this chick  thought this other adult would care for her. She was used to having Mom around….but now both of them spend more time close to each other. This male does seem to have adopted this chick.

Today’s update…

 Another long day….why can’t I be less curious, less worried? I stopped to check the orphan and her benefactor at a little after 7 this morning. No one home. But after about an hour the chick showed up briefly….and then she took off. No male seen. So I waited for several hours, again searched some nearby lakes. About 10 am the male showed up with a large fish….carp? He nibbled, looked around, waited, nibbled some more…..he was there for 90 minutes and had not finished the fish. He was clearly saving some for the chick….but she didn’t show up. By 11:30 I decided I needed to check a few other nests so I left for about two hours….had a mix of good news, bad news at those nests….some missing chicks showed up for me and one nest had two adults and no chicks. Hmmmm. I finally made it back to our orphan chicks nest. No one home. Shortly after I returned tho the chick came crying to the nest, followed by the male with a fish….but I didn’t have my scope focused and my phone ready….so I missed the delivery but got some fuzzy photos of the two on the nest. Then, as I tried to refocus the scope, they both flew off! And I missed where they went. I found the male pretty quickly on a nearby building where I had never seen him perch before….tho it’s a spot that Mom used to perch on. I lost the chick. I searched for two hours and could not find the chick. But interestingly, the male stayed put in his spot for TWO hours. That’s unusual for him….I was getting tired of waiting for the chick so left to go to Walgreens for something to sooth a bug bite that was itching like mad. Then I thought I should return to check one more time…..the male was gone and the chick was in the nest! I stayed for another hour….as the chick went from one spot to another, then back to the nest. She also was waiting around longer than usual for a fish delivery. I wonder if they are starting to realize that they each need to stick around more to be able to connect. But after an hour…and close to 5 pm, after arriving at 7:15 am….I needed to head home. It was hard to leave cause I expected a fish delivery soon….but I at least know the chick got one fish today and I suspect dinner was on the way.

Juvenile/ adult?

 Just a quickie here…..some people are still asking how to discern an adult from a juvenile. Adult ospreys have solid dark brown feathers on their back and juveniles have a light, or Buffy, tip on every dark feather which gives them a speckled, or scalloped pattern on their back feathers. It serves as camouflage when they are in the nest….and even as they learn to fly and perch in a tree. As they age the light tip begins to wear away, fade away and it can become more difficult to discern, especially when they are wet. The juveniles also have a different eye color, starting out as a rusty red and slowly lightening to a rosy gold. Adult ospreys have yellow eyes. Here are some photos of a chick and an adult side by side so you can see the difference…

Finally, a fish….

 I suppose some of you want your daily report on the orphan chick and the kind hearted, but unrelated, male! After a night of very weird nightmares, I got up early but with one of those anxiety hangovers from disturbing dreams. I wanted to get an early start but my trusty monitor Vicky beat me to it and was already at the nest site and reporting two ospreys there! Yeah! So I zoomed over and found the chick on the nest and Vicky out searching since she had seen them both fly off to the lake nearby. So she came back and we watched our girl after she moved to the lightpole. After a while the chick flew off and then, of course, the Male came with the tail end of a fish. He went to the nest first….and no chick came so he moved to the lights and ate it. These two seem to have trouble connecting!

It is always fun to connect with the monitors and chat a bit! Then Vicky had to depart and I sat and waited. The male departed….and I was there for several hours. No ospreys. Then about 10 am the chick returned, did some food begging….but she didn’t stay long. She did try to poop, and only a drop came out. This concerned me. She needed her tank to be filled. Off she flew, I checked all known perches and could not spot either one. After several hours I just had to pee and get some lunch so I headed up to a nearby grocery store.

I drove past à lake and something caught my eye, so I turned around and went back….sure enough, across the lake was a juvenile osprey. I watched for a long time….and slowly started to notice that she had a silver band on her left leg….so she was not the chick I was looking for. She made a dive in the water but came up empty, as most chicks do. Then I continued to the store and high tailed it back to the nest.

Damn. After literally hours of waiting and watching, when I am gone for 30 min….the male seems to have delivered a fish as the chick was on the nest eating! Woo hoo! I watched her for a while and then she flew off to the lake and one of her favorite perches and finished her fish. It wasn’t huge but it was a decent size fish and when she had finished, her crop,was full. I have waited all week to see this. I was very tired so decided this was a good point for me to head home. I will revisit tomorrow, after I check a few other nests.

I am relieved that she finally had a good meal. I hope she and this heroic male can make better connections and she can fill her tank for the grand journey ahead. I have fallen deeply in love with her….there is one or two like this every year, that command my attention and captivate my heart. And a part of me can’t wait for next year to see if this male and the single mom will both survive and become a real mated pair and produce a big family….and the female will finally have full support and protection from a male. I hope he will fight off the polygynous male down the road, and fully claim this territory.

Whew! She’s ok….

 Once again I returned to check on the single mom’s chick and the unrelated male. When I arrived at 8:30 the male was there. Sitting. Waiting. After 30 min he flew off to the east. I waited to see if he would return quickly but he didn’t so at 10:30 I left for one hour to check two other nests.

I returned to find no ospreys at all. Again I waited, searched the usual perches and surrounding area. Nothing. So I drove off to the east to see where the male might have gone…..checked a couple lakes and found….Bald Eagles. No ospreys. So I returned to the nesting are and found the male again, on the lights eating a fish. He stopped eating every couple of minutes and looked all around in every direction. No chick. He finally finished the fish and he departed at 2:00 pm…..heading southwest this time. I now have not seen the chick since Monday morning at about 11 am….3 days. I was feeling sad and discouraged…..about ready to head out and visit some other nests I have been neglecting. I wrote some notes and suddenly I heard something, I looked up and there was our sweet chick on the lights!!!!! It was 2:10!!!!! I am not kidding. The male left ten minutes before she got there.

She looked a little worse for wear….one broken feather hanging down on her right wing, an empty crop and she looked wet, like she had tried to catch a fish. I watched her preen, she worked that broken feather back into place. Suddenly she saw something and started food begging

and flew to the nest…..I followed her. She sat there for almost 90 minutes and the male did not show up.

She thinks there is no one to feed her….but there is. He has tried so hard. I told her that she needed to just stay put and he will bring a fish. But after 90 minutes she flew off …..to the east ( the opposite direction that the male had gone). I stayed for another hour hoping one or both would return but it had been another very long day for me, after a sleepless night. I left. But I will return tomorrow.

At least we know she is ok. I wish there was something I could do to get these two ospreys in sync. I just want to see her eating, with a full crop. The male is showing up at least twice a day with a fish….

Perhaps you will also find it interesting that for the past few days I have also stopped at the nest of the polygynous male down the road. I saw neither the chick or that male. This morning I rechecked that territory and found the male in a tree with a fish….and no chick food begging or visible in the area. On my way home, after seeing our little chick…..I stopped again at the other nest and found….no male and a hungry chick….half sister of the one that is occupying all my time! So even with a real Dad, these situations can occur. This is the process that chicks go thru to become independent…..they head out for some wild adventures, and then return home when they are hungry. Growing up happens in fits and starts, and clearly not all chicks make it. I hope these two do.

First photo is the male with a fish….then the chick, perched in the exact same spot when she first returned, ten minutes after the male left ….and then sitting on the nest waiting….with an empty crop.

Where is she?

 I revisited the chick and male on Monday…..In fact I spent about 7 hours there. I saw the male deliver a fish to the chick at about 10:30 in the morning….and she took it to the tree and ate. I last saw her about 11:00. The male returned about 12:30 with a fish but no chicks came to the nest. Eventually the male ate the fish and he departed about 1:15. I searched all afternoon and never saw them again.

I ran into another couple who have been watching this nest for many years and they went on a walk around the closest lake and reported seeing an adult osprey out there.

I was worried so I returned today. The male was in the habit of stopping by around 9:30 with a fish so I arrived a little later today…around 9 am. No ospreys. No 9:30 delivery. I hiked around one side of the lake, I looked in all the chicks favorite perches, but I found nothing. I heard nothing. So I took a spin around to some other nearby lakes…three of them. I scanned for any perching ospreys or fishing ospreys. I listened. Nothing. So I returned to the nest area.

So I decided to hike a different route along the other shore of the lake. I saw no ospreys but when I got to the furthest part of the lake I looked back towards the nesting area and saw an osprey perched on the lights. So I ran back along the lake, back to my car, drove back to the light and put up my scope….its the male. It’s 12:30 again. He looks all around, but no chick comes, so he eats the fish. Then he gives an alarm call and flies off like a bat out of hell…..probably saw a bald eagle. He disappeared. I waited. No sign of the chick. Then shortly before 2:30 I look out over the lake and I can see an osprey flying in circles….he has a fish. Hmmm… he slowly circles back and lands on the nest with a fish. It’s the male. He was clearly trying to lure the chick back to the nest by displaying it….this fish was for her. He sat there, looking in all directions….no chicks came. So he flew off with the fish to the lights nearby. He waited, looking all around. It was at least 15-20 minutes before he started eating the fish. This male is acting like a dad….but he isnt the dad. He knows that. And it’s so touching, and so troubling that the chick is not around to eat the fish he is bringing for her. I am worried. But sometimes these fledglings do take off for a little adventure to test themselves….and they maybe gone for a day or two and then return when they are very hungry. I hope nothing tragic has happened. This male is amazing. Many times when a new male shows up in a territory, we assume he is a young male looking for a mate and a territory for the first time. But this males parental instincts are so much like a normal parent, I wonder if he has raised chicks previously. He may have lost a mate, lost a nest, who knows. When he finally finished the fish, which he ate haltingly…..stopping and waiting, looking for the chick, he flew up in circles above the nesting area….circling slowly, higher and higher and I watched as long as I could until he disappeared into the sun. I hope he won’t leave yet….this chick may still need him. Where is she? I have put in so many hours, and yet I will probably return tomorrow….I have many other nests to check but this one has a special place in my heart. I don’t know why the female left so early when she had a chick depending on her…but this male is trying his best to care for this chick. But where has she gone? I hope I get to see them both tomorrow. This always happens at the end of the breeding season….some nest, or nests, capture my attention and I give in to my desire to know what’s happening….this is how I learn. Many many hours watching them.