Northwest winds…..

Feeling wistful these past few days. I am finally able to slow down a bit and spend time at a few nests where I still had questions, or just where one of my many favorite ospreys live. The weather has been perfect, finally cooler, drier, and that September light is drenching everything in golden light. The trees are already starting to change color. I am finding some of those lingering chicks, usually females, hollering for food. I also find some adult males, chicks gone, but they remain in their territory with a fish, waiting to see if someone shows up hungry. I am visiting some of my favorite ospreys…..was so happy to find one today, all alone, snoozing in the warm, late afternoon sun, a fish in his talons. I started this year talking about him, the male who had sustained a fractured keel many years ago and who I released back at his nest after a month in rehab. I was happy to see him and to say my goodbyes today, wishing him a safe journey.

Believe it or not, we still have one chick that has not fledged! Eggs were not laid in this nest until late May or early June which is so late. I also believe this nest is now a single parent situation…..just a female bringing fish and still feeding the chick. I hope this chick will fledge this week, but this one still has a ways to go to be able to care for itself. Will this female stay long enough for that to happen? We had a nest a few years ago where the chicks did not fledge until the end of August and that male stayed until the first week of October caring for them.

I visited another nest yesterday, where I was able to see all three chicks with their Dad. All hanging around together, all perching in a dead tree, like a Christmas tree all decorated with Ospreys! Lots of vocalizing, flying to the nest, practicing some water starts. It brings such joy to spend time with them.

I also stopped at a nest where one chick was food begging , her siblings all gone. Her Dad showed up with a fish, landed on a nearby perch and began eating the head off the bullhead. I was engrossed in watching everything he did….ripping the fish lips off, tearing apart the boney head, discarding the guts….my senses were heightened…..I marinated in the sounds, the feel of the breeze, the warm sun on my face, the stunning beauty of his clear bright yellow eyes. I wondered at what point he would stop eating and deliver the fish to his offspring ( when he got to the soft belly). I feel so lucky to be a part of their lives, to be able to watch them and learn from them. I treasure these experiences.

It’s been a long challenging summer….I have put over 9,000 miles on my car. We have been thru some very sad experiences with injured birds, and I have had a lot of personal struggles. It’s been a taxing year….and yet, when I am watching some of these ospreys that I have observed for so many years, I know what THEIR individual struggles have been like as well. It often takes my breath away.

The winds changed the past few days, bringing strong, gusty winds from the NW….and I know this will carry away many of our friends. I will keep searching until I can find no ospreys, and I will enjoy each and every encounter fully. Life is much less interesting without the ospreys. I ponder what is ahead for each one of them, and for all of us.

Osprey eyes....

 Yesterday there was a post on another facebook page about an ospreys eyes. The osprey actually had its eyes closed, so it looked totally white. The post was closed to comments but I thought I could do a little educating here because there was some incorrect info there. Its common for ospreys to close their eyes, often one and a time, which rests the opposite side of the brain. They also snooze for short periods, both eyes closed. An ospreys eyes close from the bottom up, and the eyelid is white. Many people suggested that what was being seen was the nictitating membrane.....but it was not. The nictitating membrane is milky clear......they can see thru it. It is closed from the side, when diving, to protect the eye surface while still allowing them see. We can still see their eye when the membrane closes. Depending on the light, it can look more milky and reflects light. Here is a photo of an osprey with its nictitating membrane covering the eye. Next image is a photo of a osprey with its regular eyelid closed. Hope this clarifies some things about osprey eyes!

Rich rewards....

 As I mentioned in the last post, the past month has been a challenge for me....first several weeks of running myself ragged trying to get data collected before my surgery. Then spending the last ten days trying to recover from that surgery, and then a few days ago I started to revisit some nests, trying to take it slow, but finding that difficult when I would run into a nest where I felt something might be wrong....a chick alone for long periods with a very empty crop, or a nest where there was an adult with a silver band on that needed to be read ( a very challenging task as those bands are meant to identify a dead bird, not a live one on a nest. Nine little digits all around the band). I guess I pushed too hard and woke up today feeling like I had been hit by a truck. I had to abandon my plan for the day, to check many nests, and decided to visit just two and then come home and rest. 

I started early at the nest where that chick was alone and hungry....and before 8 this morning I had confirmed he was ok.....eating a big fish in his own while the adult perched very close. Whew. 

Then I proceeded to visit a nest that is sort of far from other nests, by itself, so often gets neglected during my usual rounds. When I arrived I found one chick on the nest. There should be two. They had not fledged before my surgery but I expected that they would have by now. I watched this chick food begging loudly which meant he could see an adult, tho I couldn’t see it. After a while this chick quieted down, which meant that parent had departed to get some food. I decided to drive around a little lake nearby and look for the other chick. I couldnt see or hear anything for the first 10-15 minutes.....then I saw an osprey flying low over the water....I got out of the car and grabbed my binoculars. As he turned I could see the juvenile plummage! He was dragging his feet  thru the the water, dipping his toes, but not plunging in. I watched him for a while, and then he disappeared behind some trees. When he came back out he was followed by another Osprey. I tried to identify that one too....both looked like juveniles, but I wasnt totally sure I was zeroing in on different birds as they looped around. Then there  was just one again. At this point I sat on a bench and just watched the amazing show this young male was putting on, practicing his water starts over and over....with such enthusiasm! Plunging into the water, practicing putting his feet out in front, even tho he never came up with anything. In these early days, they often are not actually trying to catch a fish, but just developing the skills that will be needed to catch a fish! Diving in, getting lift off out of the water. I found myself talking to him, out loud, “ good job!” , “looking good”, “oh ya gonna take a little bath?” as he splashed his wings in the water. Then I looked around....it was early Saturday morning, not many people were out, it was so peaceful and quiet, and yet the few people I saw had no idea what was happening and what they were missing!

I think about how often we all walk around lost in our own heads, or in a conversation with another person, lacking any awareness about what is going on around us. I was totally enjoying this amazing developmental stage of this young Osprey that I don’t get to see all the time. And to just sit there on this beautiful morning felt like such a healing gift from the universe. It filled me with joy. After many, many water starts, this juvenile must have seen Dad with a fish and he went screaming to the nest. I jumped in the car and returned to a spot where I could see the nest just as Dad dropped a big fish for this chick. Then I had to laugh as he continued  to food beg as he looked at this big fish in his talons. It always cracks me up how they keep crying long after they have a fish and Dad has departed. Then I was going to leave, but thought, no I need to find that other chick. So I started driving down some residential streets, looking between the houses....this is usually when the police are called! Eventually I spotted the top of a dead tree and thought, THATS where an osprey would perch....and I finally found a spot where I could see the tree and sure enough, there was that missing chick. This one a girl! She jumped out of the tree and plunged into the water, came up empty, and did that a few more times before she started flying towards the nest....so I zoomed back there....nope she’s not there. As I headed back to the lake, I spotted her, sitting on a dead snag near the road, on the edge of the lake. She did another plunge into the water and then headed back towards that dead tree. What a delightful morning it was......to just relax and enjoy watching these

magnificent young birds that I love so much, on a perfect August day....knowing our days with these birds are numbered. I am so glad I got to fully enjoy some time with that family. Sometimes all the hard work is rewarded in the most amazing ways! 

I’m back!

 Wow the last month has been a whirlwind and a challenge. I learned in July that I would need to have some surgery, so spent the two weeks prior frantically checking all nests. I was working 11 hour days, every day to confirm fledging and get as much info as I could. Then had to take about ten days off to recover, and am just weaning myself off the pain pills and starting to check some nests again. Of course a lot of birds fledged in those ten days and some disappeared.....but I am trying to locate as many as possible and confirm at least one chick has fledged successfully on each nest. There are always so many lose ends to tie up. I also learned of many injured ospreys and at least one found dead, tangled in baling twine.  Sadly most of the birds that were rescued had to be euthanized. 

For those that are watching the Arboretum nest cam.....the window for possible fledging has opened for that chick. Most chicks fledge at around day 55 of their life, but some fly earlier and some later so I consider the window to be from day 50 to day 60. So pay attention in the next ten days as that youngster exercises his wings and prepares for his maiden voyage!!!

I also want to send out a huge thanks to Bernice Caruth and Rick Endo for their generous donations! It’s been an especially difficult year with  many, many miles driven so the financial support from so many people has been deeply appreciated! 

The adult male that we rescued, and was mentioned in one of the previous posts, sadly had to be euthanized after developing neurological symptoms. But the single Dad that was at the nearby nest has done well and successfully fledged his two chicks. I thought you would enjoy this photo from Lisa Jude who helped keep such a good eye on that nest! A special thanks to all the volunteers who have worked so hard this year watching 

over all these nests and and especially during my down time. It takes a village! 

Fledging!

 I forgot to mention that we are offlcially into fledging season.....with some chicks beginning to fly as of last week! Many more are displaying pre fledge behaviors.....self feeding, flapping, hopping, hovering. I watched one chick yesterday hovering up 2-3 feet above the nest......ready to fledge any minute! This year the nesting dates are so spread out that we will be watching for fledging until late August! Its one if the most treacherous times for these young birds....not all first flights go well, and as they disperse a bit from their nest they can get into all kinds of trouble. On the other hand, they are also able to fly away from some predators. Its a time of high anxiety for those of us watching over these young birds. Monitoring gets harder as we have to search for the fledglings. I kind of enjoy the searching tho....”where’s waldo“! You have to use all your senses, and listen, look, watch for clues from the parents about where these young ones may be hiding. They land in such weird places sometimes!

I also need to send out a huge thanks to Ken Fisher and Tamalyn Page for their donations! Its been a tough year with gas prices so high, and I remain furloughed from my job. I have driven 6,000 miles in the past three months! So I am deeply grateful for the support! A million thanks!

Single Dads

 It’s been over a week since we rescued that adult male that was on the ground, unable to fly. He has a puncture wound that had necrotic tissue around it, so it was an older wound. At the time of the rescue we pondered who he was and what was going on at that nest that he was near. We had seen no female there. Was he the dad? With some great help from Lisa Jude and a return visit on my part we have determined that the female is gone and there is a single Dad taking care of two chicks. The injured male must have been an intruder. We actually have two nests with single dads now. As some of my long time readers may remember I discovered a nest many years ago where there was no female tending to chicks. I watched for hours and my mind spun a million miles an hour about what to do. I didnt think a single male could successfully care for the three very young chicks on that nest. As always I spent a great deal of time just watching.....my stomach flipping. That male was leaving chicks alone for long periods at first....and I watched him bring a fish, drop it in the nest and start to leave. Then he perched on the outer part of the cell tower that held his nest, and looked back at the small chicks, unable to rip and tear fish on their own. He looked around, as if he was wondering “where is she?” It’s not in his job description to feed the chicks. But he went back into the nest and began feeding them. To make a long story short, he slowly figured out that he was a single parent and had to fulfill the role of both mother and father. He balanced it perfectly, leaving when necessary to get food, but also shading and feeding the chicks, watching over them, and chasing away intruders. He successfully fledged all three chicks on his own and he taught me some very important things about male ospreys. So after watching the Dad at this new nest without a female, we have determined that those chicks will probably be fine. The male is often perched near the nest, and he delivers fish to the chicks who are able to self feed. Sometimes he is gone, as he has to be to provide for them and yet they are healthy, often seen with full crops, and they are displaying pre fledge behaviors .....hopping and flapping, getting some loft. It won’t be too long before they are flying. Whew. Of course they are vulnerable to predation when he is gone, but with a little luck, this will have a happy ending.

We have another situation where both the female and a chick disappeared, leaving two chicks and a single dad. He too is managing to care for those two chicks alone.

I recently read about a nest in another state where they learned that a female was missing and they believed that a male could not care for the chicks alone so they took them and renested them elsewhere. Based upon my observations, a male can indeed care for chicks alone. I do think there is a period of time when that male has to come to grips with what the situation is, and what he needs to do. But I think male ospreys are not given enough credit for the strength of their parental instincts.

Here is a photo from Lisa Jude of the male bringing in a fish for the two chicks on the nest. It takes a village to watch over all these ospreys and I can’t do it alone....special thanks to Lisa for her devotion to watching over this nest, and to Alice Stoddard for her visits to that and another nest where the behaviors are weird and baffling. But that’s another story......

Fingers crossed for our single dads and their offspring this year....

Rescue...

 This is the time of year that shit happens. We have a few adults that seem to be missing from nests.....and a few chicks that have disappeared. It’s always hard to figure out what exactly  has happened but it often comes down to Great Horned Owls. So it’s very important to watch nests closely and be sure to count the chicks carefully and try to locate both adults. That’s not always easy because the males are pretty busy fishing. Today I went to check nests in one of our far western counties. At least one nest has failed that had two chicks previously. I found the male but could not locate the female. Then I was watching another nest where I saw no female, but there was a male and he did bring a partially eaten fish to the two chicks. He did not feed them, but dropped the fish and the chicks were very aggressive about fighting for that fish.....one of them tried to push the other chick off the nest. That tells me they may not be getting enough food, but they are able to self feed when fish are delivered. I watched and waited for the female. I finally decided to go check some other nests and then return. When I returned I saw a male perched near the nest....and another Osprey circling. The male took off after the visitor to defend the nest and the chicks. As I got closer to the nest I saw a car and a woman taking photos of the flying ospreys. When she saw me she said....” are you my help?” . Huh? She explained that there was an osprey on the ground tangled in something. What are the chances that Twin Cities Metro Osprey Watch would show up right then? I put on my wellies, got my gloves,  the police arrived  also and we went out to get the Osprey. Turns out it was not tangled in anything, but it couldnt fly. So I picked it up, put it in the box that  I always have in my car and drove it to The Raptor Center. We will see what it’s injuries are and hope for the best. I am still trying to figure out what the dynamics are at that nest tho.....this injured bird seemed too small, thin, light, to be a female. Could this have been a visitor who got attacked? Perhaps. I will return to this nest soon to observe behaviors and see what is happening. It appears that there is one parent defending the chicks and the territory and a single parent can care for chicks. It’s not easy but it can be done successfully. The women who originally spotted the injured osprey, Lise will recheck the nest to see if the chicks are being fed. Hopefully we will have a good outcome for all and I will be able to figure it all out. Thanks to Lise for caring and leading me to the injured bird. There are other stories to tell also....so much going on this time of year!