New male????

 Well, each day is more interesting than the last! This morning I headed out to check on the single female who is raising the chick alone….with the polygynous banded male only showing up occasionally. I first stopped at his main nest, where there is a female and one chick. As I arrived in the area, I saw an osprey fishing in the lake and I stopped and grabbed my binos to look and it was the female! Hmmmmm. I went to the nest and the chick was alone, and the female arrived very quickly with a large bullhead. Where is the male? So I ran down the road to the other nest and found the female with her chick. I was taking some photos when she started food begging. A male flew in and dropped the tail end of a small fish….hardly a meal….and immediately flew off. Was that the banded polygynous male? I dont know. Mom ate a few bites and then let the chick have it to finish. It was gone in no time. Everything was quiet for a while….and then mom started food begging again, much louder and more insistent. I looked around and saw a male with a BIG fish eating on a light pole a short distance away so I zeroed in on him with my scope….oh my….it was an unbanded male! NOT the polygynous banded male. The female kept hollering and he just kept eating….but he would stop and look over the the female and chick. And then he pooped and that often signals an osprey about to take flight so I got the scope back on the nest, got my phone up to the scope and he came and delivered the fish!!!! Mom grabbed it aggressively and immediately turned her back and mantled over the fish….defensive, and with her back turned to the male she fed the chick…..for a LONG time. And the male remained on the nest the whole time. She did not shoo him away. I took a lot of pictures so I could document his dorsal feather pattern for future identification. When the fish was gone….the chick turned and started to walk over towards him and he flew off. Didn’t want to have anything to do with the chick….he knows it’s not his. But he may have decided to help this damsel in distress as a way to secure this territory for next year. He is a handsome fella. And a generous osprey….and I will also say, a smart osprey. So I had seen a male perched very far away on a water tower a few weeks ago, and that may have been him….and somehow he has worked his way in to her life. Me and the other monitor on this nest have not seen anything like this before tho….and I don’t know if the first male who dropped the tiny fish was him or the banded male. Aint osprey life interesting? I just want to be there all the time now, watching to see how often he is there. Did something happen to the other male to allow this opening? The other female was fishing for her chick today. I have so many questions….but it’s definitely a positive development! Here are a bunch of photos!

My reward….and a thanks

 I had a fun morning…..this past ten days have been a struggle with the heat, smoke and so many nests….and today was my reward. The ospreys always do reward people who watch them a lot. I got up at 4:30 am to head out to check nests before it becomes too unpleasant….I had a long drive this morning but got to the first nest about 6:30 am. I hiked out to the nest in a beautiful park….no other people around. So quiet and peaceful. I got to the nest and immediately saw two chicks standing up, and Mom on the upper perch. I set up the scope and could see the third chick laying low in the nest. One chick began hopping and flapping…..and I thought, oh, this one might fledge this weekend. As I continued to watch and this chick was really working hard, flying from one side of the nest to the other. The other chick layed down too to stay out of the way….and I thought, I can’t leave, this one may fledge any minute! Then he stopped and stood on the edge of the nest for a while looking around, thinking….and then off he went! Flying loops all around the area. Of course I didn’t have my phone up to the scope when he did take off and I first I just kept my eyes on him. As I teach  the monitors..if they fledge don’t take your eyes off the chick until it lands somewhere! And I keep watching, my heart racing….and as he headed back to the nest I quickly got my phone up as the other two chicks stood up to watch….and I got his landing! I was jumping up and down and yelling woo hoo! There wasn’t anyone around to tell! 

It was so much fun to watch and for him to make it back to the nest made it a successful fledge. This is a very fun nest to watch and I have to also acknowledge one of the people who made this possible. This nest is a very old pole that was put up way back in the early days of the reintroduction…but it was never used. So after some discussions about why, Larry, a seasonal employee at this park, cleared away all the trees that had grown up around the Nestpole and he filled the nestbox with sticks, added a big perch for the adults…and then voila, we had ospreys there! The first year it was a male with a silver banded female who turned out to be too young to breed, so they were just housekeepers the first year. The following year she returned but she was displaced by another female. So…..that silver banded female moved and she is the one you all have heard about who is the single mom raising a chick alone after mating with a polygynous male. Anyway, these two unbanded ospreys have now been there for six years and have successfully fledged three chicks every year!!! SO thanks to Larry for all his efforts! 

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.

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.

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.