Nesting Diaries
cabin visitors only see one chick, that must be all we had this year. moving out of area next month, will be unable to complete my osprey nest monitoring :-(
tried to sneak a peek from way down the driveway this morning, visitors still at the cabin, mom raised the alarm, but i never saw a chick
cabin will be vacant later this week, will do nest check then
got a great look at one big healthy chick, but never did see a 2nd bobblehead
renters still at cabin, will check nest during my rounds next week
mom and dad both at nest, both left scolding me, dad only went to nearby tree, mom flew circles and then relaxed...not as upset as usual today. when she finally returned to nest, she immediately mombrella'd, i could see some movement in the nest bowl but still not able to count heads
mom performed her usual routine, chick/s are still out of sight
mom and dad both home, saw me approach, scolded me in unison, chick/s were obedient and stayed low in nest bowl, no glimpse of one yet
mom on nest, dad in tree, squawked at me and flew her usual circle, then back to nest, standing over her hatchling/s.
mom definitely sitting higher in the nest bowl, got a good look at her before she caught sight of me for a change...i'd say we have a hatch
mom incubating, then scolding
mom was incubating until i approached; both her and dad flew around scolding me
mom incubating, sowerwines at cabin this week and saw dad today, too
dad incubating, scolded me only mildly compared to mom. mom in tree by slough eating a fish, she started alarm calling when she heard dad.
mom incubating, in fine form scolding me as i approached
mom incubating. still nervous and flies away when i approach, but came back to the nest quicker this time
hallelujah, mom incubating, and DAD resting in tree above the nest - whew!!!!!!
mom standing on nest alone when i arrived, squawked a bit, flew off to tree by river. never returned to nest while i was there. there is a male osprey fishing directly across the slough from the nest, but i don't know if this is her mate. it's been a long time since i've seen both of them at nest
spent 30 minutes at this nest site today, female standing in nest or perched on nearby tree the entire time, no sign of a mate. i think we might have lost him.
mom at nest, mom left nest complaining when i approached, mom came back, calling, osprey in nearby tree eating fish, didn't respond to her, don't know if this is her mate or not...it's been awhile since i've seen two in the nest :-(
one in nest, one in tree eating a fish, hope it's the mate and doing well
one standing in nest, one osprey in nearby tree w/filament line tangled in its foot. going back out in the morning to check on it, very worried
things much quieter here today, no intruder around causing grief. both in nest, then pops left, circled around, mating occurred.
both back! also being harassed by another male osprey, i believe the one from fennon2 nest, which still has a mother goose on it
she had that faraway look in her eyes on friday, she is gone today. my last fledgling is on her maiden flight south and takes a piece of my heart with her...
this is the only chick i saw on my rounds today - in nest, then flew a couple circles around me, then back to nest
one of 4 nests with a chick. this fledger was in nest when i approached, flew off and came back a few minutes later.
chick in nest when i arrived, flew into nearby tree and began preening a few minutes later
yesterday the sowerwines were fairly certain the youngest chick was flying; today, they witnessed her leave the nest and fly to nearby hay bales. so, yep, we have two fledges at this nest, although the exact date of chick #2's maiden flight will have to remain a mystery...
update: haydi reports chick we saw flying yesterday was the fledger, and the other chick was laying down the entire time we were outside. i'm pretty sure that nest was empty while i was there, but it is a deep one, although laying down behavior is not normal at this age. the nice 'first' flight i thought we were witnessing could very well have been the more experienced chick #1, and #2 was in a tree somewhere. i did watch the younger sib helicoptering in the nest today, hard to believe she hasn't taken off yet, getting gray hairs here.
one chick complained like crazy when i approached with my dog, then flew off the nest, circled around a few times, finally landed in some trees near river. saw her do another circle about 10 minutes later and land in a snag. she did good! dave/haydi will let me know when she makes it back to the nest safely, hopefully later today.
one chick home alone, some wingercizing going on. sibling flew in after putting on a show practicing his fishing technique in the nearby lake.
haydi sowerwine reported that one of the chicks has fledged, the other not yet. will try to get a more specific fledge date, if possible. UPDATE: haydi believes fledge occurred around 8/17.
first-hand observation today - both chicks in nest, one self-feeding, the other squawking for his share
pete called to report there are definitely two chicks still in the nest - both squawking when a fish was delivered :0)
vacationers in cabin again this week, not able to go down and check on nest
only saw one chick standing in the nest, one parent nearby, calling. never saw the 2nd chick, not ready to give up on it yet.
craig hohenberger observed 2 chicks and both parents at the nest yesterday
2 healthy looking chicks home alone. cold and rainy, they both stayed pretty hunkered down the entire time, mom and dad both out fishing
no news is good news. plan on visiting the nest in person on the 26th or 27th.
sowerwine family still here, didn't check the nest, figure they will let me know if something is amiss while they're here.
didn't check this nest today as the sowerwine family is at the cabin this week and i didn't want to disturb them at 7:00 a.m.
didn't bring scope so of course didn't see chicks, but mom was on nest when i arrived and dad arrived for reinforcements almost immediately. this nest is going to have neighbors for the next week, sowerwine family arriving for a summer vacation, i hope i got the parents somewhat prepared for this human activity...
tired of messing around, got serious this morning and brought scope w/me. mom did her thing as usual, dad flew in to lend assistance, i set up scope at a distance, FINALLY one brave chick popped up, then another showed itself briefly before hunkering back down. we have at least 2 nestlings in this deep, deep nest bowl!
mom has her chick so well-trained, i have yet to actually see it. and i spend a good 1/2 hour at this nest every time i visit. mom did her scolding routine but returned to the nest a little quicker this time, remained standing on side of nest, mombrella-style. she also keeps peering into the nest. her behavior is the only thing that tells me there's a nestling at this point; hope i'm not misinterpreting it.
finally, after mom and dad voice their displeasure with me in the usual way, mom returns to nest, peers into bowl, chirping, then becomes a mombrella for the remainder of the 1/2 hour i observed. kept waiting for dad to bring a fish so i could observe a feeding to confirm, but i'm almost 100% sure a chick has been born.
repeat of last visit! only difference is when mom finally settled back on the nest, she was peering into nest bowl and chirping softly and never did lay back down. i'm 76% sure we have a hatch here, but can't yet confirm
mom laying in nest when i approached, left when she saw me, flew circles around me as usual, dad came from somewhere to join in. mom finally returned to nest but didn't lay down again for a good 15 minutes, while dad remained on guard from nearby tree. no movement in nest bowl that i could see during about 1/2 hour of observation. we are definitely on hatch watch though, will return again tomorrow
mom was laying in nest, annoyed at my approach once again, left nest to fly circles around me, dad joined in, mom returned to nest, dad watching me from nearby tree. pretty sure no hatch here yet...
got back from 2-week vacation to find mom incubating; that is, until she caught sight of me coming around the corner, at which time she left the nest and flew around me, scolding. she returned to her eggs after i retreated a good distance.
mom incubating until she saw me, then she flew off scolding. at least she didn't quack-quack at me, so that's progress. she is perfectly tolerant of caretaker pete, however, which confirms to me that this female has been w/this nest for awhile.
yes, mom is definitely incubating. all other nests status quo.
i'm 80% sure mom was incubating when i rounded the corner into sight, at which time she called an alarm and flew off the nest. i decided to turn around and go back rather than continue under the nest today; will be back on wednesday to confirm, fingers crossed.
female flew into nest with stick right as i was approaching. she scolded for a bit, but not as bad as usual. dad in favorite tree by river eating fish.
male and female both on nest when i approached, both flew off scolding. female not laying in nest for 10 minutes i watched
female in nest, scolding me as i walked on the path under her, then she flew off. male is in tree eating a fish. female came back to nest about 5 minutes later with a new stick while male continued eating.
female standing in nest when i arrived, scolded me, flew around, came back to nest, continued to scold. no sign of male
hallelujah, the female has arrived! observed both working feverishly to build up their nest - they must have brought in 10 sticks apiece in the 20 minutes i watched. plus they got a mating episode in during one brief rest! they must know they are running a bit behind, the nest is getting lots of work!
one goose standing on the nest this morning. no osprey in sight. big sigh...
today no osprey in the immediate vicinity of this nest. if i hadn't seen a chick in this nest last september (and confirmed by the sowerwines), i'd never believe this nest was used. i can't see that any new sticks or other nest material has been added. such a great location, it would be sad to see it go unused.
still only one osprey in the immediate vicinity of this nest. he was eating a fish with someone sitting nearby - and i mean really nearby! - waiting for a morsel to drop.
male osprey fishing on the channel in the back yard of the cabin, but he never caught a fish or took sticks to the nest. i'm hoping this is the dad, but not able to verify today
i've been waiting for an osprey to arrive at this nest, so far it's empty. this nest successfully fledged at least one chick last year, got permission to monitor it this year. have no idea what date this pair normally arrives, although every other nest i'm monitoring along the flathead river has at least one, most have two, ospreys back by now. (posted photo of last year's chick, taken in september)