This nest is on the communication tower in residential area. One of the resident lives close to the tower notice osprey fledgling in her back yard. We looked at the nest and saw adult osprey flew to the nest. I am wildlife transporter and capture via The Wildlife Center of Virginia, went there to pick up the fledgling. It was very light weight when I captured it. I brought it to Wildbunch Wildlife Refuge in Warsaw, VA. Diana did the evaluation and found out that this bird is very thin due to lack of food and water. It probably fell down from the nest for days. She will nourish this fledgling until it gets healthy again. She will release this bird along with other osprey fledgling in the future. I notice that this nest is not in the Osprey Watch. I will do the best to watch this nest the best I can. Location of this nest I get from Google cam. Picture from Google did not show the nest.
Look for 2 adults on the nest. The adult pair will show pair bonding behaviors such as vocalizations, aerial sky dances, and the male feeding the female fish. You may see the pair copulating, which typically begins 14 days before laying eggs.
b
Incubation Initiation
Females will lay 1 - 4 eggs at a rate of one egg every 1 - 2 days. After laying, incubation starts. Look for adults taking turns sitting low in the nest incubating eggs. The incubation period can last 35 - 43 days.
c
Clutch Hatching
Chicks hatch ~39 days after incubation begins. Look for adults bringing food to the nest and making "head bows" into the center. Chicks typically can't be seen until they are 2 - 3 weeks old, so feeding behavior is the only way to know chicks are there.
d
Nestling Count
Around 4 weeks after hatching, look for the heads of chicks to show over the rim of the nest, particularly when adults bring food to the nest. Other times they lie flat and are harder to see. Count the number of chicks in the nest before they learn to fly
e
Fledgling Count
Chicks begin flying around 7 - 8 weeks old, and are still fed by the adults. Count the number of chicks who have successfully fledged the nest and are observed flying.
f
Chick Last Observed
4 - 10 weeks after fledging, chicks begin leaving the nest area to migrate south, once they have learned to fly and feed themselves. Record the date that the last chick left the nest.
x
Nest Failure
Look for signs of nest failure like adult abandonment, adults no longer incubating eggs or feeding young.