Nesting Diaries
moving out of area next month, will be unable to complete my osprey nest monitoring :-(
one osprey standing in nest
pair back on nest this morning. looks like the same female (larger than dad, lighter brown) hanging with the male as seen last month - let's hope so!
one osprey standing in nest. i suspect the day i saw two might have been a hostile takeover bid from another male
no one home today, but the farmer is baling hay in the adjacent field, so that's a good reason to stay away
a ray of sunshine here this morning - two ospreys on the nest! the female appears darker and much larger than the male. watched for about five minutes, they basically had their backs to each other, but male did not seem upset, so i'm guessing it's a possible new mate - fingers crossed!
no one at nest, but lone osprey is on power pole just a few yards away, watching the property
lonely osprey protecting his nest for next season
well, pops is back standing in the nest, alone. i'm almost certain it's the male; hard to believe there aren't any unattached females around to grab this most ideal location
out of town for last 10 days. today, the nest appears to have been abandoned. no osprey around, although the lone male (i believe it was dad) may be out fishing. very sad, such an ideal nest location to go to waste.
one lonely osprey back standing in nest. can't believe he/she hasn't found a new mate, it's such a perfect location
i think this nest - which has one of the finest locations in the valley - might go without chicks this year. two geese were standing in the nest today, no osprey around.
this nest makes me sad. there is at least one nearby intruder (three active nests being harassed close by), but not this one. guess the intruder and this lonely osprey are same sex. wish it would find a new mate; it is always standing patiently in the nest bowl when i do my rounds :-(
where oh where is my mate...still only one osprey standing in nest
one lonely osprey standing in nest
still only one at the nest
goose gone but no osprey around
darn goose still standing in nest, no sign of upset ospreys nearby
this nest and the oldenburg nest still have a mother goose in them. no sign of any osprey around the area or harassing the goose.
nest empty at first drive-by, but chick was back on nest about 1/2 hour later
fledger in nest eating a fish
empty nest at first, then on return trip, one osprey in nest, assuming it's the fledger
walked up the hill, could see feathers of dead chick being lifted by the wind, no one else home. Lots of baling twine picked up along the way.
one chick standing in nest, 2 ospreys flying around the nest, but i couldn't tell if one was possibly a fledgling from this nest - oh, i hope so!
Only one chick being fed by mom. went up the hill to look down into nest bowl, still didn't see a 2nd chick :-(
could make out one lump in the nest this morning. it's cold and rainy, mom flew in just as i was leaving
chicks home alone, both sleepyheads
both chicks moving around the nest bowl this morning, appear to have nice, full crops. mom and dad both out fishing
mom standing in nest, saw one head laying in the nest
mom standing in nest, saw one lazy nestling raise its head briefly
no parents home when i arrived, but mom showed up shortly thereafter with a big crib rail. one chick preening, didn't see the other one
mom and dad standing in nest. both chicks bouncing around, looking great!
mom preening in nest, chicks not visible today
mom and dad both at nest this morning, the little rascals must be sleeping
was able to climb up a nearby hill and look down into the nest for the first time. no wonder it's hard to see bobbleheads - mom and dad have a nice big berm on the side of the nest facing the road, where two chicks are finally seen clearly. also, we had a brief intruder fly-by at this nest, dad came in quickly from the river and stood on guard from nearby tree, calling the whole time. mom was strangely silent; must not have taken the threat too seriously this time.
mom in nest, see movement in nest bowl, dad flies in with stick, mom leaves to stretch her wings, more movement in nest bowl but still can't make out individual bobbleheads...
finally see a baby, mom standing on side on nest bowl
got back from 2-week vacation to find mom blissfully incubating today.
mom was incubating, dad brought in fish!
female up in nest, likely due to the fox walking up the road directly under her nest. fox disappeared into the tall grass by barn, but female remained standing.
female incubating, no sign of male. met the property caretaker, shannon, who gave me permission to enter the property and use it to gain better observation spot - up the hill by the barn, i should be able to see into nest, maybe count eggs?
female standing in nest watching the osprey battle in the sky above. never saw her relax and lay down. it's time for eggs, but haven't seen any confirmation of this.
copulation observed in nest today. curiously enough, i thought this nest would have eggs by now. when we first arrived, female was standing up in nest, then about 5 minutes later, the male arrived and copulation. i never observed the female lay down but am going to look again tomorrow when i have more time.
one standing in nest today
ok, now there is one osprey back at the nest. i didn't think those geese had any eggs in there, and this sort of kind of confirms it. problem is i thought this pair might have given up fighting the geese and moved across the road to the riverbank nest; however, the riverbank pair is on their nest at the same time we have a returnee to the sliter nest. so lord only knows what's going on and where the new riverbank pair came from. i am watching the gho nest to see if possibly that pair relocated to this lakeshore property or if this is a totally new pair.
yep, unbelievable - now there are two geese standing on this nest, and i believe it's this nest pair that is currently directly across the road, working on the riverbank platform nest just recently vacated by another goose! dad was eating a fish on the telephone pole, mom appeared to be cleaning out the riverbank nest. the sliter pair was definitely on the nest 4/10, how the heck did a goose evict them??? it will be interesting to see if they return to their normal spot this season, or if they've decided to move permanently - both nest platforms are in prime locations
accident on the bridge so i was unable to stop and get a better look, but i think there was a goose standing on this nest today...what the heck??????
one in nest. while i observed, two ospreys flew over this nest, one in pursuit of the other. the lead osprey took a dive at the nest, the nest osprey protected, then all 3 ospreys took flight heading north.
both mom and pops have returned to this nest
one on the nest today! couldn't tell if it's the male or female, looks like the male, but traffic was too heavy to stop for a better look.
another very empty nest, a real sense that they are all gone now. :-(
empty nest, but there is a chick on the empty osprey platform directly across the road. no way to know if this chick is from the sliter nest, but i have seen them use this perch to fish from in the past.
one chick in nest, flew off when i approached, showing that all 3 chicks have now fledged. adult was in nearby tree, looked like dad. another chick was on the river platform across the road; i'm pretty sure it's a fledgling from this nest
one in nest, didn't see anyone else around
one in nest, unable to locate the other fledglings
two fledglings in nest, one eating fish
all 3 chicks in the nest today - one busy self-feeding, the other two pouting
two fledgers, one laying in nest. could tell clearly through my scope that the birds in the pic
are both chicks, not adults - yay!!
all 3 chicks present and looking fit. could hear one of the adults alarm calling nearby but never spotted it. all 3 chicks up and curious instead of laying low...
one chick preening, one chick laying down, mom was at nest but took off after an intruder. as i was leaving, dad flew in with a fish drop and immediately left to go get another. too far away at this point to see if the 3rd chick popped up to be fed.
i love this nest, it's so calm and productive. today i observed dad bring in a very big fish to 3 very big chicks and a happy mom. so different from the steel bridge nest, which stresses me out
mom feeding one chick, who is impatient and trying to self-feed between bites from mom. saw one chick laying in nest, no sign of 3rd chick today
mom standing on side of nest, all three heads bobbing around in the bowl
my first - and i'm expecting my only - three chick nest! all look about the same size, none significantly smaller than the others, keep it up, dad!!
mom brooding, observed one, little head pop up briefly
after a full week of heavy rain, winds, and just-above freezing temps, i ventured out to check my nests. lo and behold, finally a nest with a chick!!! watched mom feeding someone deep in the bowl while dad snoozed on the platform perch - lovely, lovely sight!
both standing in nest, then one flew off and the other resumed incubation
female incubating, male flew in a few minutes later and landed in nearby tree to stand guard
one standing in nest bowl - must be the female
well hopefully the goose and her goslings went of their own accord - both ospreys in the nest today!
another of my nests with a goose mama in it right now....
empty nest. i think they are all gone.
one fledgling in nest, which appears fairly intact after severe wind storm last night.
the nest is empty! i located one of the fledglings perched in a nearby pine tree, no sign of the rest of the family.
again only one chick in nest, eating a fish
only one chick in the nest this morning! scanned the nearby area, of course could not find either of the fledglings or parents.
saw all 3 chicks today, home alone, mom and dad out fishing
could only make out two chicks today
mom in nest with her 3 chicks, mom calling for food, i think
all 3 chicks standing in nest, showing off full crops, while mom is busy nestorating
observed mom and 2 chicks w/the skunk stripe down their backs; never saw the 3rd chick
mom feeding chicks, which were hidden today. dad taking a quick cat nap on nest bar while the family eats
3 chicks!!!!! #1 chick looks significantly larger than #3, like maybe a whole week. sure hope the fish are plentiful!
mom shading her chick or chicks, still can't tell how many are in this nest!
mom standing up, shading "something" or "somethings", i have yet to observe a chick!
mom sleeping in nest, never budged
talked to farmer who plants this field, he hasn't seen any chicks yet but mom sure does fuss at him when he's nearby
saw the top of one little head today!
mom standing in nest but did not observe any feeding. i still think she's hiding a chick or two but can't confirm yet
mom brooding or incubating, can't tell which. watched for 15 minutes, hoping for a fish delivery, no luck. i'm thinking she's got a chick in there but have yet to confirm that.
mom appeared to be standing in nest, then next drive by she was down. i will check this nest again tomorrow
no drama here - mom still incubating
such a calm nest, way off the busy road, near the river - mom incubating contentedly
big wind & hail storm last night, this nest appears untouched. mom in nest incubating, with dad flying in as i was leaving.
one in nest (i'm assuming mom), one flying in as i passed...
both standing in nest, then one (i'm assuming female) crouched down, with her tail way up in the air for about 10 seconds, then she got down into an incubating position on the nest. i will check again tomorrow, but i think we have an egg!
observed one fly into nest, another soaring in sky nearby
mom standing in nest, dad perched on bar!
osprey laying in nest, didn't appear to be incubating, but couldn't really tell
appeared to be an osprey in nest, but couldn't get a closer look today (farming going on)
saw neither hide nor hair of osprey or goose! did see some agricultural activity in the nearby field, so hopefully the osprey i thought i saw i really did see, and he's just off fishing somewhere...
saw what appears to be an osprey at the nest today, but i didn't have my bino's w/me, so might have to modify my nest activity if this turns out to be the mother goose.
either the goose is gone or she's really down low in the nest. no activity in over 5 minutes, and no osprey hanging around, either.
no chick in nest. i'm going to enter a last observed date now, will change later if need be. very few osprey to be seen anywhere
fledger in nest, no one else around. on way back about an hour later, witnessed a parent drop off a fish and fly away fast - couldn't tell if mom or pop, but assuming it was dad!
chick in nest eating a fish that i hope he/she caught but i doubt it :-)
saw fledgling perched in nearby tree, then it flew into nest. no parent in sight
chick in nest, appears to be eating, no one else around
v-e-r-y interesting observation today. fledgling was in nest, working away on a very large fish, with what i thought was mom or dad yakking on a nearby tree. when i put the scope on the yakker, i realized it was another fledgling, not an adult! i'd heard that fledglings will sometimes go a'beggin at other nests, which this one was definitely doing (albeit from a distance). no adult in sight...
fledge happened sometime between 8/18 and 8/25, probably closer to 8/18 based on what i saw that day. empty nest today, pretty sure it was the fledgling on that tree to the left of the nest in my picture :-)
chick standing in nest and wingercizing - didn't see m/d nearby
finally observed some wingercizing tonight!
chick standing in nest and preening, no parent around. have yet to see any wingercizing.
one baby laying in nest, didn't seem interested in wingercizing or catching air today - but it's gotta be soon!
one baby being fed by momma
chick laying in nest, mom perched on bar
one nestling head visible, mom on perch bar. another one i worry about re: twine (it's in the middle of farmland)
still only see one chick!
can still only confirm one baby, although i thought i saw another head pop up briefly. will keep checking, of course!
still only see one bobblehead; nest intact after wicked wind storm on monday
ps: have to say, this nest is in the best shape of any i'm monitoring - it must be in a protected area to stay this pristine after all the wind/hail storms we've had this past month
dad "on guard" at nest but falling asleep; mom standing on side of nest but falling asleep; no bobbleheads in sight - must be asleep. finally, a sunny, warm day in montana!!
finally saw a bobblehead - just one - but it looked older than 3 days!
one, maybe 2 bobbleheads observed!!
saw dad perched on a nearby pole today! mom still incubating
i never see dad at this nest, but mom is happily incubating
i assume it's mom incubating, dad out fishing. lots of rain the past few weeks, water is muddy, hope everyone's getting enough to eat!
mom incubating, dad fishing
one is incubating, the other is out fishing
hard to tell for sure but think incubation has begun; will have to check again in a few days.
arrival date on this particular nest is approximately 5/5/12; if this is the pair i think it is, they actually arrived back in the area on 4/16/12 (only to find their nest being occupied by a goose).