Nickname
Dockstader Island
Coordinates
(48.0532, -114.095)
Substrate
Dead Tree
Description
i could tell this nest was used last year by the whitewash around the tree, and i saw an eagle in it this spring, so i assumed it was an eagle's nest. wrong!! it's an osprey nest, and m/d are hard at work...
Followers
None
What to look for
Review All Observations
2014 - spartanmt2013 - spartanmt2012 - spartanmt
aAdult Arrival4/22/134/20/12
aOccupiedNoYesNo
aActive
bEgg Laying
bIncubation Initiation5/7/135/11/12
cClutch Hatching6/21/12
dNestlings03
eFledglings02
eFirst Chick Fledging8/15/12
fChicks Last Observed9/21/12
xNest Failure5/31/13
xReason For Nest Failureunknown reason

Select Seasons

Show reports, diaries, and photos from:Current 2014 2013 2012

Activity reports

2012 Nest Activity Report by spartanmt
Adult arrival04/20/2012Nestlings3
Nest OccupiedNoFledglings2
Nest Active First chick fledging08/15/2012
Egg layingChicks last observed09/21/2012
Incubation initiation05/11/2012Nest failure
Clutch hatching06/21/2012Reason for nest failure
2013 Nest Activity Report by spartanmt
Adult arrival04/22/2013Nestlings0
Nest OccupiedYesFledglings0
Nest Active First chick fledging
Egg layingChicks last observed
Incubation initiation05/07/2013Nest failure05/31/2013
Clutch hatchingReason for nest failureunknown reason
2014 Nest Activity Report by spartanmt
Adult arrivalNestlings
Nest OccupiedNoFledglings
Nest Active First chick fledging
Egg layingChicks last observed
Incubation initiationNest failure
Clutch hatchingReason for nest failure

Photos of this nest

Nesting Diaries

05/03/2014 by spartanmt
this is the 2nd nest i believe has been abandoned this year. there is zero osprey activity on the island at this point, and it's getting too late to rebuild an entire nest...

04/25/2014 by spartanmt
no sign of any activity other than human. i think this pair has decided to find a new home, wherever that may be. perhaps it's the one on mcdowell, which is about one miles away as the osprey flies...

04/21/2014 by spartanmt
looks very vacant today, no osprey in sight

04/19/2014 by spartanmt
no sign of osprey life on the island

04/11/2014 by spartanmt
i'm not holding out much hope for a successful nest here this year. last year something disturbed the pair prior to hatch, and over the winter the top of the tree broke off, so there is no nest at this point. plus the property owner is doing a lot of development nearby and i believe disturbed the pair last summer...

07/29/2013 by spartanmt
saw an osprey w/freshly caught fish fly to the nest and proceed to eat his catch on a nearby limb.

06/22/2013 by spartanmt
deja vu 6/17. this nest is empty and probably has been for over 2 weeks. i have no idea what happened, although it seems that many nests were bothered by intruders this spring, more so than last year. 3rd failed nest this season.

06/17/2013 by spartanmt
today i saw dad perched on branch directly above nest and thought i saw movement in the nest bowl, but it was probably just wishful thinking. i'm not going to write off this nest just yet, still a glimmer of hope

06/15/2013 by spartanmt
i'm starting to think this is my 3rd failed nest of the season - either that or the nest bowl is even deeper than i thought. did not see head peeking over the rim at all today

06/06/2013 by spartanmt
darn mom is hiding from me again! did see 3 osprey fishing nearby...

06/02/2013 by spartanmt
finally! i observed mom standing on side of nest, and two osprey fishing nearby. one of them (male) entered the water for what i thought was a fish, but it was to take a bath! i got a video of him bathing, he was near the shoreline, not in deep water, but still seemed to be floating when he wasn't dunking himself. don't know how long he would have stayed like that, but i had to move, which made him fly away. never did see him or the other fisherbird catch anything...

05/31/2013 by spartanmt
took 6 attempts to maybe see mom's head in this nest. the 1st time i looked there was a magpie perched on the dead branch to the right of the nest, but it never went in the nest. this nest is DEEP, so i'm hoping mom was just hunkered down. i really can't tell for sure right now...

05/27/2013 by spartanmt
took forever to find mom in the nest today, it's so deep! finally saw the top of her head pop up on my way back from checking eagle nests.

05/21/2013 by spartanmt
mom incubating, dad fighting off thieving eagles!!

05/14/2013 by spartanmt
big wind & hail storm last night, which always makes me worry about this nest in particular. once again, the osprey know more than i do - nest is totally intact, saw one osprey standing on nest tree branch, and i'm betting mom is hunkered down as usual.

05/12/2013 by spartanmt
couldn't see mom in the nest at all, as i got nearer, i saw an osprey fly away from the nest tree, but i don't know if it was mom or dad. never did see a head pop up in the nest nor did the fleeing osprey return while i was there.

05/10/2013 by spartanmt
can barely see mom in the nest, it's so deep!

05/07/2013 by spartanmt
mom deep down in the nest, so i'm guessing she has an egg. when i got too close, the male started flying overhead, scolding.

05/05/2013 by spartanmt
saw an osprey fishing nearby, but none in nest. too many people out on beach today!

05/03/2013 by spartanmt
one osprey perched high in nest tree, lots of people out on beach, no sign of its mate

04/28/2013 by spartanmt
looks like things have settled down; two osprey in nest tree, perched close to each other, very relaxed

04/26/2013 by spartanmt
today the goose was gone, and 3 osprey were fighting over the nest! appeared to be 2 males and 1 female, but really couldn't tell for sure. at one point there was a break in the aerial dueling; shortly thereafter, one osprey brought a big stick into the nest, and the other 2 also showed up, and all 3 resumed their flying around the nest site.

04/22/2013 by spartanmt
the photo of the nest does contain a mother goose, although it's almost impossible to see her.

04/22/2013 by spartanmt
dad is back! took photos of him patiently waiting in a snag on the island that has a clear view of the goose in his nest. didn't realize until i got home that he had a fish w/him! didn't see any divebombing or other indication that dad osprey was upset, but maybe he was busy eating. shouldn't be much longer and the goose will be gone...

04/09/2013 by spartanmt
canada mother goose took over this nest 2 weeks ago; this is first year w/goose in the nest, will be interesting to see what happens when osprey pair arrive home.

09/21/2012 by spartanmt
saw one chick leave the nest, fly around shoreline, heading south soon, i hope! i suspect this is the last chick i will see this year - all other nests empty. i'm posting last observed date and will change if necessary (but i'm guessing not) i feel bereft.

09/17/2012 by spartanmt
no chicks hanging around nest, but one was fishing along the shoreline (flew right over me - lovely!)

09/13/2012 by spartanmt
one chick in nest, no one else around - i THOUGHT! i headed up the lakeshore towards the eagle nests, came around the bend, there's my other juvie osprey, sitting at the top of baldie's favorite snag! i was practically under the tree before i saw him; he obviously saw me way before then but apparently wasn't startled enough to leave. we watched each other for about 5 minutes, then he took off - to catch his own fish, i'm sure!!

09/13/2012 by spartanmt
one chick in nest, no one else around - i THOUGHT! i headed up the lakeshore towards the eagle nests, came around the bend, there's my other juvie osprey, sitting at the top of baldie's favorite snag! i was practically under the tree before i saw him; he obviously saw me way before then but apparently wasn't startled enough to leave. we watched each other for about 5 minutes, then he took off - to catch his own fish, i'm sure!!

09/10/2012 by spartanmt
one chick in nest, no other osprey within sight or sound

09/08/2012 by spartanmt
one chick in nest, a couple flying along the lakeshore and over a small pond but couldn't ID them

08/31/2012 by spartanmt
watched one chick fly into nest; about 15 minutes later, parent arrives w/fish. other chick did not show up, parent and chick still in nest when i left

08/27/2012 by spartanmt
one fledgling laying in nest, no other birds around (except the deceased chick)

08/25/2012 by spartanmt
one chick in nest when i arrived; by the time i made my loop around the lake, the nest was empty, and i observed one osprey (not sure if adult or fledgling) fishing along the shoreline...

08/18/2012 by spartanmt
both chicks standing in nest eating, mom perched on favorite branch. i still haven't seen both chicks out of the nest at the same time, so leaving it at "1" fledgling until i do. this nest is hard to visit :(

08/16/2012 by spartanmt
confirmed dead osprey chick in branches of nest tree; one wing detached from rest of body. beautiful feathers moving with the lake breeze; my heart hurts. one of the remaining chicks observed flying around island and then landed on branch right below where dead osprey is hung up. other chick actively wingercizing in nest; may have already fledged, too - but didn't actually observe it yet...

08/12/2012 by spartanmt
2 chicks standing in nest and what appeared to be mom flew in and perched on a tree limb directly above them. still looks like feathers in the branches under the nest tree but need a boat to get any closer to verify. am hoping the bird who flew in is a fledger, but it acted too "adult" from my vantage point...

08/10/2012 by spartanmt
very sad day. it appears that there is a dead osprey in the nest tree, about 1/3 of the way down from the nest itself. i did not notice this on the 4th, but then i didn't have time to really observe. i will have to go back in a few days to see if i can get a better look, hoping it's bark or something, but it definitely looked like feathers. don't know what happened, i.e., intruder, failed fledge attempt, etc. observed the other two chicks in the nest, one standing, one laying. no parents around during the 20 minutes i was there.

08/04/2012 by spartanmt
saw two chicks standing in nest, never saw a 3rd head but only watched for about 5 minutes - will check back later this week. one parent was perched on nest tree branch standing guard

07/28/2012 by spartanmt
lots of boaters around the island today. definitely saw two chicks laying in nest, then pretty sure i saw a third head pop up briefly.

07/21/2012 by spartanmt
watched 3 chicks being fed; one appears bigger than mom!

07/16/2012 by spartanmt
3 healthy chicks, dad delivered fish while i was watching. fingers crossed for my 2nd set of triplets!

07/07/2012 by spartanmt
still have 3 chicks, all getting fed!

06/28/2012 by spartanmt
observed 3 chicks being fed - 2 pretty big, 1 not so big (fingers crossed for the runt, of course). no fighting for food, so i take that as a good sign.

06/24/2012 by spartanmt
trudged through a swamp to get a scope on this nest, saw 3 chicks, one about twice the size of the other two. mom was feeding, and the big guy wasn't beak bonking the two littler guys at all, so it appears dad is providing very well! this is the 2nd nest today where i finally saw babies that appear to be much older than 3 days old, so my "clutch hatching" date is probably earlier than i observed.

06/22/2012 by spartanmt
female restless on nest, dad fishing nearby, along with 3 other osprey. this is the first time i saw an osprey catch a fish and another one chase it! what an aerial display!! i don't think it was bf dad that got the fish, since i never saw him bring it back to the nest. i believe we have a hatch due to mom's behavior; this one is going to be hard to watch for a few weeks...

06/11/2012 by spartanmt
great location for nest, water level means it's now totally cut off from bothersome people. mom low in nest, no sign of dad

06/07/2012 by spartanmt
pedestrian walkway to island is now closed - flathead lake at full pool. boo-hoo for me, but good for osprey privacy. saw one flying around trying to catch a fish, didn't see mom in nest but couldn't get too close and didn't have scope

06/01/2012 by spartanmt
didn't see either in nest, went onto island and was beneath nest tree, looked up and saw dad staring down at me - he could have easily pooped on me! fumbled for camera, got a couple shots but it was too late to catch his glare. dad on branch and mom incubating upon my return walk past the island

05/20/2012 by spartanmt
mom incubating, saw dad circling the lake looking for dinner!

05/11/2012 by spartanmt
flat back, tail in air - i think incubation has begun! this is the nest that has finally forced me to buy a good camera - stay tuned for some better photos!

05/06/2012 by spartanmt
larrypearson/kevin: both m/d observed around nest, mom not laying down yet