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.

The new male…

I spent the entire day today and a few hours yesterday  at the nest of the single female who was rising a chick alone…..until recently when an unbanded male showed up. I have been so busy lately I have not gotten back to that nest in a little while. The monitor watching that nest was reporting seeing the female and chick on several occasions. When I was  there  yesterday I saw only the male and the chick. I wondered why I see that male often and she never has…..and then I realized that she probably had seen him and misidentified him, thinking any adult there would be Mom. That Mom has a very light breast for a female so discerning the difference between the male and female might be a challenge. I could see the difference. She has a silver band, and he doesn’t….(and I always notice bands) and I am familiar with her markings and when I first saw the male I made note, and took photos, of his markings.  

Anyway when I was there yesterday for almost 2 hours, I did not see the female at all. The male was there and he did deliver a fish to the chick. Photos below. This is amazing, since he has no biological incentive to feed that chick. But it caused me to worry so I returned today and stayed all day. It appears that Mom is gone. I hope nothing terrible happened. It’s hard to understand why she would abandon her chick at this point. But maybe her female instincts were telling her it’s time to head south….and she had some kind of sense that this male would feed the chick? 

This morning I found no one there for the first 90 min. Then at 9:45 the male showed up with a big fish. But the chick wasn’t there. He waited. He had eaten the head but he did not eat the rest of the fish. After another hour the chick came in screaming and whining the whole way to the nest. The male immediately came to the nest with the fish and there was a fury of flapping wings and chaos and then the  male flew off. The chick flew a short loop with her fish and then went back to the nest to eat. She ate for quite a while and then just dropped the fish and walked around the nest a bit before she flew off towards the lake. 

I went searching. I finally spotted her in a tree. As I sat there and watched her  she took off and did some loops, foot dragging in the water, and then a few actual water starts! She is practicing! Then she went to a tree.  Then she flew off to a part of the lake I couldn’t see. It was now noon so I had to find a bathroom and get something to eat. I was gone for 25 min. When I got back, the male was on the lights again, with no fish. He stayed for an hour and then he departed. I went searching for the chick and found her in a tree. I watched her there for a long time. She was clearly getting hungry and she went back to the nest and got the dried up remains of the fish she had left there three hours earlier. She flew off and I lost her. As I was searching for her, the male came back with a big flopping fish! Damn it….the chick just left with the dried up leftovers and here he is with food. He waited for about 15 minutes and then he ate the fish. Dang. I could not locate the chick. Just as he finished the fish, the chick arrived on the nest hollering for food. I am not kidding…..these two are out of sync. At 3:15 the male left….and I was hoping he would be back soon with a fish….but an hour later, the chick gave up and flew off….I looked for her but then decided after 8 hours of watching them I needed to go home. The chick had an empty crop and I hope he returns this evening with food. But he doesn’t have to. This is not his chick. Why is he doing this when the female isn’t even around to impress? Instinct? Many males wouldn’t do this, and  he could stop at anytime. This chick is alive because of this male. I am baffled why the female has disappeared. Maybe she is still around, but taking time to prepare for her own migration. But most of the time when a female ends up as a single parent, she plays the males role and stays to feed chicks until they depart. But maybe this males presence is triggering her to act in a more typical pattern for a female. I just dont know. But my fascination and curiosity makes me hang out and watch….because I am driven to understand these birds, their behaviors. Will she survive without her mom? I have concluded after 33 years that most chicks need about a month post fledge of their parents food support before  they begin to disperse and care for themselves….some take longer, and some males take less time. This is a female chick. She fledged about 3 weeks ago. Will this male hang in there and feed her for another week? Well, you know me, I want to camp out there and watch. But I have SO many other nests to check. But I probably will be back there in the next day or two…..( who am I kidding…..it will probably be tomorrow).

Unique

 Just an interesting look at an osprey…..for those of you who have looked at many osprey’s you know that females often have what we call a “necklace”….spots on the upper breast. And males often have a whiter breast….sometimes completely white, and some have some spots on the upper breast. And there are ospreys whose markings are confusing. I currently have a female with a very white breast, and also we have a male with quite a few spots….if you saw him alone you might say “female”. But I was watching this adult today….and I have never seen another osprey quite like it. Not actually sure which sex it is but I think male…..but look at those spots way down on his belly, between his legs! It looks like a red tail hawk’s belly band! Is this his Halloween costume? This ospreys is nesting on a very high transmission tower so I never got a really close look before today….the chick fledged and this adult was hanging out close to the chick. Always interesting stuff to notice about these birds.

Tragedy

 So much is going on every day that it’s hard to keep up with writing posts to share things with the readers. Fledging is a very challenging time for the ospreys and those of us watching over them. Many times watching a newly fledged chick can be exhilarating , and brings a joyful WOO HOO when it gets back to the nest safely. But sometimes, even many days after that first flight, tragedies can occur. About ten days ago this chick was seen wedged into the framework of the light that its nest was on. The Long Lake fire dept and a volunteer from The Raptor Center managed to rescue this chick and get him to TRC for medical care. Sadly, the chick had to be euthanized a few days ago. This is the same nest where I posted about the fence sitter a few weeks ago…..both chicks had been fine after their first few flights until this happened. Who knows how it got itself into this predicament. And I have not been able to determine yet if this was the fence sitter or the sibling. Every loss breaks my heart. Many thanks to Michael who rescued this chick and took the photos….and to the Long Lake fire dept for getting him up there, as well as The Raptor Center for their efforts to save this juvenile.

The good news is that thru this tragic situation I was able to connect with Michael who will be one of our new volunteer monitors!

Distressing issue….

 I have so many stories to tell, so many experiences to share…I can never get around to them all. Here is one more for you. This is a nest that popped up this year on a power pole near a big power plant. In those early days of watching them I thought….my that female has such unusual markings…..such a dark face. And then her mate landed next to her and I thought, how odd….he has very dark markings too! Then suddenly my brain exploded and I understood….this power plant processes coal. This birds are covered in coal dust. I was horrified. If this is what their faces look like, what is happening to their lungs? This coal dust does not wash off in the rain or when they bathe. I have been deeply worried about the two chicks…..but I am relieved to report that they both fledged successfully. So I am hoping they will begin to spend time further away from the coal piles, in safer surroundings. The chicks don’t look as bad as the adults. I hope the power plant removes this nest and this pair will find a better place to nest next year….tho I won’t recognize them probably!

Missing old friend….

 I had a very exciting morning today….there is a lovely banded male who nested on a cell tower for the past five years, and sadly his nest was removed and the tower was altered so he could not rebuild there this year. I searched for him and found him a short distance away in other cell tower. He and his mate were there dropping a few sticks. When I visited again, no real progress had been made and the female was gone. I watched the male just sitting there. The next time I visited, there were no ospreys at all. I searched for him at least three times this summer to no avail. I was very fond of this banded male….he also has a brother who is nesting about 8-10 miles away. I knew he had to be around and I also know that ospreys are very philopatric….loyal to their nesting territories. As I headed out this morning I thought, I will do one more search, extending a bit further south. I checked cell towers, transmission towers, a previous nest site of his…and found nothing. I went back to the cell tower where I last saw him…no one there. As I was driving away I saw an osprey flying across the road with a stick….I quickly turned around and got myself focused on the cell tower as he landed….IT WAS HIM! I was so happy! He is alone, but now he is doing some work on building a nest on that cell tower. I don’t know why he didn’t do it earlier….but I wonder if they nested somewhere else and failed. I just don’t know….but finding him again made me very happy. I will recheck to see how the nest is going and I hope his female comes back too. He is a great parent who has fledged chicks every year except this one. It’s funny how attached you can get to these banded birds when you watch them year after year. Gosh, that made my day….

Confirming successful fledging….

 Crazy busy weekend….frantically trying to gather data on successful fledging….that means visiting nests and watching for a while to try to account for all chicks right after fledge. It’s not easy, it can be time consuming. Many people don’t understand the value of this info….it determines if a nest is successful or not, it also determines the number of chicks that we record for the overall totals. My mentor, Sergej Postupalsky, wrote a paper about terms and methodology that is still very much a guiding light for me. It’s important that we discern the various causes for failure and what constitutes success. I had a boss that wanted us to consider the number of chicks we banded at 4.5-5 weeks of age as the final number. Sergej strongly disagreed with that since at that age the chicks are only about half way thru their development….and many won’t fledge until they are close to 8 weeks old. There are a lot of losses in those weeks, so an earlier number is falsely exaggerated, and slants the data. So I try very hard to get a number of chicks right before fledging age….and then confirm the number of chicks that we know fledged successfully. That does not mean they flew away….since osprey chicks are dependent upon their parents for food for several weeks or a month post fledge. So we are looking for chicks that have flown, landed safely somewhere and are returning to the nest to be fed. This is not easy. I am working very, VERY hard to get this data. Sometimes I just don’t get back soon enough after fledge to find them all and see that they are being fed. With well over 200 nests now, it’s becoming an impossible task without more help.

But I am making the rounds and doing my best. I visited two nests yesterday where I had seen no chicks on the nest, which worried me…..I could not find them anywhere. And upon this return visit…Boom! One by one they returned to the nest!! Some photos below of those nests with three chicks each. I also went to another nest where I had seen all three fledged last week and sadly, the nest was empty….but I thought, it’s ok. Then I heard this very loud foodbegging….and I looked up and a chick was right above my car! I slowly mover around to take a photo….but my scope almost couldnt zoom out enough to fit her in the frame….she was so close! And so tolerant. I laughed……food begging with a fish in her talons!

I call these gatherings of all chicks “the morning meeting” ….and it got a bit testy at the first one!

What a beauty….

 After the rain today I did step out to visit a few nests…

It’s been so frustrating, with so many nests to check, when I visit and the chicks are getting close to fledge…..and then I return 9 days later and they are gone. I cant find a single one of the family. I searched and waited….even found a new nest, or start of a nest, or maybe something this pair had started previously. I didn’t hear any chicks, tho I finally found the male on another celltower. I will have to try again, and sometimes I have to accept that with this many nests, some will fall thru the cracks and I won’t have definite final outcomes. I know those chicks made it to fledging age. I just can’t get back to them soon enough. We are also searching for missing chicks post fledge on many nests….and sadly, I found another dead chick in a nest.

I also visited a nest that had three chicks but all of them disappeared much earlier in the season. I don’t know the cause, but I suspect predation. Since then I had not seen the adults and that worried me…but yesterday I found them both perched side by side , each eating a fish. The male is banded. It was a relief to know that they are both ok.

So after a disappointing few days…I went to another nest that I had been to 9 days earlier. That solo chick was starting to hop and flap then, and today when I arrived there, I could not find a single osprey. I searched all around the area, and then just sat there waiting….hoping….and when I looked up from my field book….this stunningly beautiful chick was perched on a nearby celltower. I was so happy to see him. Somehow, when you watch chicks in a nest, you don’t always see all of them, you don’t notice all the spectacular markings….and when they have fledged and are perching in the open….boy it can take my breath away! I saw no adults, but I am sure his dad is around. But some females are starting their trips to the spa….as they begin to build up their strength, their muscle mass, their hunting skills, to prepare for the big trip ahead. On a nest with a single chick, this leaves the chick alone a lot. It often seems that on larger brood nests, the chicks fly around together, they have someone to play with, someone to compete with. But on the other hand, single chicks get all the food! Anyway, this nest is one of my favorites….tho we lost the long time banded male several years ago. The new male has been a devoted mate and Dad. I think it’s the same female, tho she is unbanded. So it lifted me up to see this spectacular male chick, with a totally white breast, perched up there in the late afternoon light. What a beauty. He made my day!

The new male returned….

 Yet another interesting day where I don’t get as much done as I planned. I stopped at the single females nest…..no one was there. No one was perched in any of the usual places. I heard nothing, I searched and waited for an hour…..starting to get worried. Then as I was about to leave I saw an osprey on a water tower nearby…..I scope it and it was that handsome new male, eating a fish. Suddenly he chirps and flies towards the nest….but another osprey was flying towards the nest too and they both had a fish. They both landed…..it was Mom and the new male. But no chick. They stood there next to each other….no aggression….and then the male went off to a light pole nearby. Mom waited, looked in all directions…..she did not eat her fish. She kept looking for her daughter. After a few minutes she flew off with the fish towards the lake across the street. She flew a loop and then headed back to the nest, followed be her screaming offspring! She rounded up the kid. Then she started feeding the chick….but before long the chick said, I can do it myself and grabbed the fish from mom. Mom said OK. The chick ate. Mom watched. Then the male came to the nest with his fish! He dropped it and left. The chick looked at it and thought it was a better fish, or at least a bigger fish, and dropped the one she was eating and grabbed the one the male dropped. Then mom took the remains of the chicks fish and they both ate. Wow. So this wonderful new male is still around. He is bringing the fish to the Mom as a courtship offering. But the chick is benefiting. This is only the second time I have seen him, but that means he wasn t just passing thru….he is hanging around. He is a good hunter and always has a large fish. There is no aggression between him and the female. I am feeling kind of hopeful…..that they may be establishing the beginning of some sort of bond, and that if they both survive migration, maybe next year she will have a real mate. If this new male begins to think of this as his territory, he may be willing to fight off the polygynous male down the road. It’s still tenuous….but seeing him bring a fish for the second time certainly is a good sign. And little miss muffet is also doing well. Boy that was fun to watch

Parental care….

 I have been SO busy that I have been saving up a bunch of posts that I wanted to share with you all. These days, when chicks are fledging, are among the most important and I have to devote myself to watching them and gathering the data before we run out of time. So answering emails and writing posts have sort of taken a back seat….and I am working long hours during super hot weather….and well, one person can only do so much. So my focus has been on fieldwork, collecting the data.

Anyway….as chicks fledge I keep observing these behaviors from the adults that really touch my heart and show how deeply they care about the welfare of their offspring. A recent newspaper article here in MN claimed that osprey adults swoop down on the chicks and try to get them to fledge, to leave the nest. This is completely untrue. Osprey chicks fledge when they are physiologically able to. It is related to when the blood recedes in the feather shaft, causing the feathers to stiffen and become capable of sustaining flight. Osprey parents would never try to force their chicks to fledge before they are ready. They fly, with no encouragement or stimulation from the parents, when they are ready. One of the endearing things I have seen at many nests recently is how, when the chicks first fledge, and often land awkwardly somewhere, I see an adult go and perch very near them. There is nothing they can do to help the youngsters, but they can offer some protection from a predator….and it seems like moral support! I was at one nest, over a week ago now, where there had been two chicks on the nest and when I stopped to check….nest was totally empty. This is a nest on ballfield lights. No adults were seen and no chicks were perching on other lightpoles. I was concerned, so I drove all around the area….went down a road that goes behind this ballfield…..looking on the ground, and in the trees…..no chicks seen. I got to the end of this road and turned around….and quickly spotted two ospreys sitting side by side on a fence. I put up the scope on the car window….mom and chick. Side by side. So sweet. Then I thought, I drove right past them coming in but now they know I am looking at them…..how do I get out without disturbing them? Hmmm. Well, I will drive as far to the other side as I can and go quickly without looking at them. It didn’t work….mom flew. But chick stayed put. There was another chick missing too, so I thought I will go check some other nests….but as I drove away I thought….nope can’t do it. Gotta go back. So I watched that chick on the fence from a distance. Then I looked up and saw that dad was perched on a lightpole directly above the chick. Suddenly a lot of commotion, food begging, erupted and I saw the other missing chick return to the nest and mom met him there. When the fence sitter heard all this, she started to think she was missing something….and she walked back and forth on the fence and then finally jumped off and started circling to gain the altitude needed to get back to the nest….it was a bit windy that day and when she finally got up higher she decided to just land on the lightpole next to the one where the nest was. And within a minute, the male came over and perched right next to the chick! This is what they do! They stay close. After the chicks have been successful, this kind of care and attention will lessen. But I have seen it so much this year. At the nest with our two oldest parents, both 19 years old….when their chicks first fledged, and landed in some odd spots…..the tippy top of a pine tree….an adult would show up on the next pine tree over. Staying close. And today I was watching a nest in a gravel pit. They had one chick and the nest had no chick in it….but an adult was on the nest edge. So I closely studied the whole area, looking for the chick, and spotted him on some equipment on the far side of the quarry….and dad was perched right near him. I see this so often, and see the deep concern and support they show to these newly fledged chicks. This is a side of osprey behavior, that many may not be aware of, just warms my heart so much and makes me love them even more. What spectacular parents they are.

Fledge at the Arb!

 The first Arb chick fledged today! At a little after 8 am she took off….first photo….and she returned at about 10:47….i think at first she tried to land on the camera cause mom and the remaining chick were looking up and the whole camera shook. But then she tried again and landed in the middle of the nest between the other chick and mom. Boom! Successful fledge! Thanks to Meg for alerting me as I was out in the field….but I had been seeing the signs of imminent fledging for a few days so had her alerted. I cant sit in front of a screen that much…and I watched all morning before I had to hit to road to check many other nests….so there ya go folks…..one more to go! Any day now! But now we have to tell them apart…..

It’s quite a milestone from those early days when we were worried about whether Mom would even feed them….but she grew into a terrific parent and now she is a successful parent!

All present and accounted for!

 I was out the door again before 6 am….and checked some different nests on my way back to the one where two chicks fledged and disappeared yesterday. When I first arrived

I saw two chicks and felt dismayed that the third one had not returned. One chick was on the perch, the other was laying down. When the one laying down got up to stretch his wings….up popped a third head! All three chicks were there, so the third one who had not returned when I left at 5 pm yesterday, had found his way back home! I was so relieved! Mom was there too and I noticed that all had very empty crops. It was early….7:30 ish….so I stayed to see them all get fed. The two flighted chicks each did short loops and back to the nest. The third chick has not fledged yet. The hours went by and there was no sign of Dad. Mom was perched on the upper perch and the chicks were looking up at her and food begging. Finally after hours of this, she took off to get food…and my anxiety increased. But finally the male arrived with a fish, which caused a bit of a fight. These chicks are all self feeding now so he needs to get THREE fish! Mom was still gone and I decided to move on….this weather wears me out and I had many other nests to check. But all is well there. Whew! We are seeing many adults that are gone a lot, and I believe it’s a result of difficult fishing. The heat increases algae and lily pads making it hard to see fish, and fish go deeper. Anyway I visited many other nests that had fledged….and I was able to locate all chicks on those nests. Then I did stop at the single females nest….boy that chick is a real beauty. And mom and daughter had full crops….tho I did not see that new male, so we don’t think he is around. But it still knocks my sox off to see what this single parent has achieved, again.

I made it home early, for me….2:30 and laid down and fell asleep for several hours.

Today’s photos show all three chicks at the nest with all the misadventures yesterday….shooting into the sun is difficult, but those are all chicks….

And then just a portrait of the single mom’s chick….

Trials and tribulations….

 Another 12 hour day in the field. I left home at 5:45 to check a bunch of nests for fledging before it got too hot. That was the plan anyway. I had heard from one of the monitors that her nest had a chick doing a lot of flapping and getting some loft. I know that usually means they might fledge in a day or two. She was unable to revisit today, so I went to check on those chicks. I stopped at a few other nests along the way.

When I got there, three chicks were still there….two in the nest and one on the horizontal perch. I wondered if he flew out there or inched his way out. After watching for a while he started inching his way back towards the nest, so that answered that! while I was watching him tho, another chick jumped up and flew off! It was 8:15. I watched him carefully as he flew loops around the area….flapping too much as they often do at first. He gained a lot of altitude and it seemed like he could not figure out how to lower himself to land on the nest…..so he flew higher and higher and further off until I lost him behind some trees…..and then suddenly another chick jumped and started flying loops. This one seemed headed towards the dead branch in some trees where Dad likes to perch. But he could not stick his landing on the dead branch so he landed right in a bunch of leafed out branches…sort of spread eagle. He flapped a lot to stabilize himself and he looked awkward there….and he finally got going again and flew back around those trees and I lost him. I kept waiting for him to reappear. In fact I waited, watched, listened for three hours and neither of the fledglings reappeared. The single remaining chick and mom were on the nest.

I had a bunch of other nests to check so I decided to swing past a lot of them and then return….hoping they would find their way back home by then. So I did that….discovered other nests fledged and a chick missing at one of them. I searched for a while there….and finally decided after a few hours to head back to the nest with two missing chicks. I drove back and as I came around the corner was dismayed that the nest still was occupied by one chick and mom.

I watched some more….and as they hollered for food, I kept thinking that I could hear an occasional peep from an osprey that was coming from a different direction. After all these years, I am very attuned to the sound of ospreys and their voices rise above all other noise. I walked around looking and listening….occasionally hearing the definite sound of an osprey. I am pretty good at triangulating on where it’s coming from and it didn’t sound like it was on the ground….it sounded high. Some hikers walked past and I asked if they heard that peeping and they said no. Really? You cant hear that? I walked towards a pine tree and heard the sound of flapping wings. Oh dear he is here somewhere but I couldn’t see him in this dense tree.

I went to the park office and explained the issue and asked if I could park on that service road while I searched, and asked if they had anyone to help me. They did send one of the park managers to meet me. I finally walked right in under the pine tree and looked straight up and there he was….laying so still, we wondered if he was still alive. But he did move. We took photos…it was still hard to decipher how he was stuck in there all day.

So they called The Raptor Center to see if they had a climber. While we were waiting for TRC to consult with their staff, they others went back to their business and I waited near the nest and the tree….watching listening. Then I got a text that TRC needed more info…..and as I was answering that I heard a commotion of whining, desperate juvenile food begging and a chick came flying towards the nest! I watched it try to land near mom but ended up sort of on her back so she started chasing him…it was seen as an aggressive behavior instead of a chick that could not control his landings.

I ran back to the tree to see if it was that chick….and there was no longer a chick in the pine tree. So he had finally rescued himself. He got back to the nest and kept hollering desperately for food….so hunger was probably the motivating factor that allowed him to get himself out of that mess. And Dad heard the orders and took off for some dinner.

The other chick did not return.

But the chick that stayed home all day was doing a fair amount of flapping, cause it looked like fun to her! So I guess I have to go back tomorrow and check on them and see if the third chick found his way home. It’s beastly hot here this weekend and I was hoping to take a day or two off….but I guess not during fledging season!

I will recheck them and look for the other missing chick down the road, and then return to another nest quite a ways away that had two hopping and flapping chicks yesterday….I know they will fly soon.

None of these nests are anywhere near where I live….so a lot of miles and a lot of time. But I care about each of these beautiful chicks, and if I can be there to help if it’s needed, I will. And if I can’t help, I can learn and I can document . I have seen so many ways they get in trouble. But at least today we had one happy ending….and I am hoping the other chick may be allright too. Photos below of some of today’s misadventures.

An important fledge!

 So much has happened this week….I think I will start with today tho…..SO much fledging going on. I went to check on the single mom and her chick yesterday. It’s a female chick and she has been laying low a lot , but yesterday while I was talking to someone she got up and hovered above the nest!!!! Mom came flying back to the nest and the chick settled down. So I headed straight over there this morning and yes our little darling fledged…..flying some beautiful loops, solid landings, always returning to the nest. Mom was perched outside the nest to give her plenty of room for takes offs and landings. So once again this amazing female has pulled off fledging a chick all alone. The sad part is that that magnificent male that I watched bring a huge fish, and hang out on the nest the entire time mom was feeding the chick….has not returned. I have been there several times and so has the monitor, Vicky, and we have not seen him. I will keep hoping for her to attract a great mate who will take good care of her in the future. Maybe that gentleman has his foot in the door….

Meanwhile, this chick has made it to an important milestone and I am gonna celebrate tonight!

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!