support Twin Cities Metro Osprey Watch....

Cathy Gagliardi has started a Go Fund Me campaign to help defray the costs of a new eyepiece for the scope or a new scope, as needed.....if you wish to support this effort, here is the link....

https://www.gofundme.com/ospreywatch

Egg # 3

We have a third egg at the Arb...laid sometime overnight....right on the predicted schedule of three days apart! And it was Mr Z3 incubating when I checked in!

Updates....

The big news is that the second egg was laid in the Arb nest in the wee hours of April 30! Right on schedule! We have been enjoying watching Mr Z3, who seems to relish the chance to incubate!

My goodness this scope issue has been stressful. Nikon promised to call me a week ago and didn't. They did not reply to my email on Friday about what was up. Today they said, they would be sending a replacement scope.....but what they were offering was not a scope with the same capabilities, and they would not have that replacement scope in stock for a couple weeks. AHHHHHH. I requested they just send my scope and damaged eyepiece back. She said she would forward my request to see if they could do that. IF??????

I asked when she would know? She would not say. She said she would call me back when she knew. Then a few minutes ago I got a message from UPS saying a package was coming from Nikon, next day air, arriving tomorrow. Nikon couldn't be bothered calling or emailing me. Their customer service leaves a great deal to be desired. Anyway, I found a supposedly new eyepiece in Miami, on amazon....so I ordered it. Expedited shipping said it would be here by May 9. Fingers crossed that this is the correct eyepiece.

And then, I received a generous check today from the Raptor Resource Project, a part of the money raised at the fundraiser I spoke at last February. Profound gratitude to John Howe and John Dingley for all their support. This will help me pay for the new eyepiece and begin moving forward again.

What a long frustrating period these past three weeks have been. Hoping that future posts will be about the birds rather than the scope! But so many people are asking....

Thanks for all the support.

First egg at the Arb...

We have the first egg laid at the Arboretum nest! Around 9 a.m. And she started incubating immediately! Watch for subsequent eggs, usually laid 2-3 days apart. Ospreys typically lay 2-3 eggs, and occasionally four!

Spotting scope disaster....

The bad news came yesterday that my scope cannot be repaired because they no longer have the parts. After 7 years they discontinue parts. They asked me to send the scope body in and they will give me a coupon towards another Nikon scope of similar value.....but there is no similar scope. Mine had an eyepiece that zoomed to 75....which made all the difference in the world for band reading. A replacement will only zoom to 60, as most 80mm scopes do. I am devastated. 
With so many bands to read, that extra reach made many bands readable that would not be otherwise. Does anyone have a Nikon ED 82mm fieldscope with the 25-75 zoom eyepiece they would be willing to sell??????? Anyone know of someone who has the eyepiece for that scope they might sell? Please share this post around to see if we can scare up a replacement so I can get back to work. Otherwise, this may be the proverbial straw that broke the camels back. No sleep last night.

EGGS!

Just some short updates....first of all we have our first eggs laid, so chicks are officially on the way! We also have the first woodticks, dang it. I am still trying to get around to first visits at some nests and still working hard on band reading, but still don't have my scope back yet. sigh. I am glad to see the the male at the Arb has been staying home and working hard on the nest....it's looking so cushy now. 
We are seeing extra Ospreys at so many nests these days, the population is growing and competition for good nest sites is increasing. I witnessed a pretty aggressive fight between two males trying to establish their place on a nest on a transmission tower...and they footed each other, locked together tumbling thru the tower. I gasped and said "oh god" out loud....thinking a rescue might be needed but they broke apart and both flew off alright. Hope they were really both OK.
But the more typical interloper just flies around, buzzing the nest without contact or serious aggression. I guess we need more nestpoles....so if any Boy Scouts want to get their Eagle Scout badge by putting up an osprey nesting platform, have them contact me!
Also a thanks to the person who sent the kind card and generous donation today....she indicated that no acknowledgement was necessary, but I must....because I am so grateful to those who show their support for what I am trying to do. I cannot tell you how much it means to me. a million thanks to my osprey loving friend and supporter!

Happy Easter...

Today's update on the osprey drama is that an unbanded male is at Z3s "other" nest. We hope this settles things and Z3 can now focus his attention on his mate at the Arboretum.
I also stopped at another nest on my way home from work today and watched a long sky dance....a courtship ritual. The male was so high up in the sky that I could not locate him at first, but I know the vocalization that goes with a sky dance. I finally spotted him doing the dipsy doodle dance with a bright goldfish. This courtship dance went on for a long time as the female was food begging....get that fish to her! Seal the deal! When he finally did that, they struggled over the fish....he was not too keen on letting it go. But he did and she left with the fish. This is not the same male who was her mate last year but that banded male has not shown up, so I hope they work it out. I have been witnessing a lot of sky dances this week...always so fun to observe. I wonder how many people don't notice this interesting behavior, because it usually occurs so high up in the sky. If you are not listening for the sometimes subtle vocalization that goes with the behavior, you might miss it. Happy Easter....new life is beginning.