Nest #192

Adult Arrival

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

Nest Failure

Look for signs of nest failure like adult abandonment, adults no longer incubating eggs or feeding young.

Previous Next

Adult arrival	03/05/2012	Nestlings
Nest Occupied	No	Fledglings
Nest Active		First chick fledging
Egg laying		Chicks last observed
Incubation initiation		Nest failure
Clutch hatching		Reason for nest failure

Adult arrival		Nestlings	2
Nest Occupied	No	Fledglings	1
Nest Active		First chick fledging
Egg laying		Chicks last observed
Incubation initiation		Nest failure
Clutch hatching		Reason for nest failure

Photos of this nest

Nesting Diaries

07/02/2012 by LibbyM

2 chicks, near fledge, 1 adult

03/29/2012 by wuzupdoc

went to see how the nest was going. There were 3 birds building the nest. Not sure what that was about. Since the last time I looked out at the marker, the nest has grown imensely.

03/06/2012 by wuzupdoc

03/06/12 Just as the sun broke out of the clouds as I was leaving work around 515 tonight, i decided to drive down the sea wall to see if the Osprey was back yet and sure enough it flew out of nowhere to land on Marker 14.

03/01/2012 by wuzupdoc

Feb 29th 2012: Checked the Bouy marker in the Channel of the James and Hampton Rivers: no Adult Osprey yet. I am not sure of the history of this nest, but I joined the VA in the Summer of 2005 and was greeted by the calls of the Osprey family at that time (2 adults and a couple of kids). I will post some of those photos if I can find them.

	2012 - LibbyM	2012 - wuzupdoc
aAdult Arrival		3/5/12
aOccupied	No	No
aActive
bEgg Laying
bIncubation Initiation
cClutch Hatching
dNestlings	2
eFledglings	1
eFirst Chick Fledging
fChicks Last Observed
xNest Failure
xReason For Nest Failure