Nest #488

Nickname

175-A-018

Coordinates

(39.1032, -74.7888)

Substrate

Osprey Nest Platform

Description

175-A-018. Cape May Tech- nest erected and monitored by Natural Sciences Class students as part of our Osprey Project (monitoring, maintaining nests and banding) in partnership with NJ Fish & Wildlife and Conserve Wildlife Foundation of NJ.

Followers

None

Monitoring groups

New Jersey Osprey Project

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.

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Activity reports

	2012 - Osprey
aAdult Arrival	3/30/12
aOccupied	No
aActive
bEgg Laying
bIncubation Initiation	4/29/12
cClutch Hatching	6/5/12
dNestlings	1
eFledglings	1
eFirst Chick Fledging
fChicks Last Observed	9/11/12
xNest Failure
xReason For Nest Failure

Adult arrival	03/30/2012	Nestlings	1
Nest Occupied	No	Fledglings	1
Nest Active		First chick fledging
Egg laying		Chicks last observed	09/11/2012
Incubation initiation	04/29/2012	Nest failure
Clutch hatching	06/05/2012	Reason for nest failure

Photos of this nest

Nesting Diaries

07/09/2012 by Osprey

7/05/12 Banded one healthy chick on this nest with my students!!

06/05/2012 by Osprey

Today we observed the female probably feeding chick- she was reaching down into the nest. YAY!

05/02/2012 by Osprey

On 4/30/12 the female osprey was seen sitting in the nest. We believe incubation of eggs has begun. We also observed the pair transfer incubation duty.

04/05/2012 by Osprey

The second osprey finally arrived much to the joy of our students! The birds are catching menhaden in great sound and both birds were on nest while we pulled up to the dock. They sayed on the nest while we pulled the boat in.

03/14/2012 by Osprey

This nest is on our school property and is monitored by our Natural Sciences Class nearly every day. We are awaiting the arrival of osprey to our marsh-they are in the area but none at our nest yet.

03/14/2012 by Osprey

Today our class observed our first adult osprey on the nest. When we first arrived, it left the nest but later came back with an unknown species of salt water fish.