Nesting Diaries
nice to see both a nest this season and hoping they do better than past few years
2 pairs fighting for control of nest today as i passed on my boat
2 pairs fighting for control of nest today as i passed on my boat
pretty sure nest has failed
10 am, 63, NNE 5 mph, 2 on nest fixing
one sometimes 2 ospreys at nest but they don't stay, I suspect visiting pairs from up the creek
pair still at nest area, often on nest
appears the adults have abandoned the egg, but still at nest
one continuing to incubate
one still deep in nest, one on dining perch this evening, way over the 43 day inc range...
nest checked with mirror today for purpose of possible foster nest this season, one egg in nest, and assumed to be not viable, incubation is past 43 days.
still incubating. either my incubation date is way off or these eggs are not viable.!
not seeing any feeding behavior and one deep in nest, possibly eggs not viable
cant see any feeding behavior, will need to check by boat, chicks are due
everything looks good so far, one deep in nest whenever i take boat by or observe from my home with spotting scope. the male likes the new guard perch we placed along the marsh line
pair was disturbed a few times by a new pair that has settled onto BM#3 channel marker nest.
confirmed incubation behavior this evening
definitely not on eggs this evening
appears the ospreys are not on eggs this morning following the storm yesterday
one adult still at nest territory
both stay at the nest most of the time, watching the activity on the creek and holding their territory
both finally off the nest today and then standing on the nest rim, or on the 2 perches nearby, nest empty finally, i believe like the others nearby the storms are to blame, soggy eggs no doubt but this pair sure tried.
i really think this nesting has failed but both adults continue to switch incubating duties
watching closely for signs of hatchlings, so far one deep in the nest with no shading or feeding behaviors seen
one deep in nest, mate not seen this morning
observed copulation this morning
they seem to be settled, much more than in past seasons so hope they do well this year
one on guard post and one in nest today
finally can confirm the second bird at nest site. sure hope this pair can have young this season, they have had a tough time past few years. they seem to be harassed by other osprey, most likely sub adults that arrive in April and hang in the nearby tree line
one osprey on the nest for a long time today.
one adult still spending time on the nest
at least one adult still at the nest daily, I believe both are here as the female would be the one on the nest every morning and the male likes the satellite perch, they watch all the other pairs in the colony and usually stay pretty late in the season.
adult female still enjoying her nest and the adult male loves his satellite perch in the marsh.
both adults very much present at the nest
adult pair still at the nest off and on each day, today the female sat on the nest most of the day, i assume watching all the newly fledged babies from the many nests nearby. its getting very busy in the sky over White Creek and there is a chorus of ospreys singing.But good to see these 2 adults still in attendance at this easily accessible nest just in case USFW needs a foster nest and parents.
This pair incubated eggs for 2 months and finally yesterday they got off the eggs. They have been standing on the nest and then flying over to the trees where they always spend their late season free time. At dusk one adult returned to the nest rim and was standing there watching some interlopers make their rounds before night time. I can not prove the eggs were not viable but I can see this nest from my house and have watched them numerous times every day for 2 months. They were incubating and switching duties up until yesterday!
today the male was on the nearby pole eating a fish and the female was standing in the nest, possible nest fail....should US F&W need a foster nest I think this may be a good candidate.
I believe the eggs at this nest are not viable. The female continues to incubate way past 43 days and in fact she rarely gets off the eggs. I have not seen adults switch duties but they must. One is always very deep in the nest. This pair would make good foster parents if we need them.
seeing more activity between the 2 adults at the nest today, may have a hatchling
still appear to be incubating
one clearly incubating with one on the pole today as i passed in my boat.
continuing to incubate in days of heavy rain
incubating seems to be uninterrupted from the increasing number of late arriving osprey along this area of the creek, there is a treeline behind this colony and it attracts interlopers that do cause some trouble
confirmed incubation behavior today from boat
I was certain the pair was incubating but as usual the past few days they have been off and on the nest, sometimes one is very deep in the nest for hours but then they are copulating...so I will observe for a few more days. There are still interlopers causing trouble too, sometimes landing on the nest.
both at nest at 8:00, 12:15and at 5:30 today with one appearing to be very deep in the nest and the second standing on rim of nest. But at 6:30 pm it didnt appear either was on the nest. it may be one is very deep and the perch on the side of the platform is obscuring my view. i will be patient and hope to confirm incubation soon.. I do not like to see one nesting pair far behind the others in the colony as it can put stress on the younger chicks should an older chick from another nest decide to nest hop here and never return "home"..
no signs of settling on eggs. the pair sits together on the nest often and i see copulating.
just like in past seasons this nest pair gets many interlopers and today was no exception. I hope they can settle in soon. Both were on the nest often but no incubation thus far.
both up on the nest often today
lots of fussing deep in the nest this morning with both on the nest. i expect incubation very soon.
saw copulating just before sunset
possibly this pair is incubating, I can not see with the slant of the nest, Will be able to see better in few days with my boat in the water, however I do see some interlopers harassing this pair just as in years past.
A rogue osprey was trying to land on the females back today with her mate right next to her but the rogue flew off without causing too much fuss.
both of the adults on nest at 7:30 ths morning along with all pairs on nearby platforms of this osprey colony. 41, sunny crisp day, Winds N 16mph
Still just one at this platform as confirmed at sunset today when all other pairs in this area were on their nests.
one osprey on this nesting platform off and on today.
end of season: as in years past other juveniles visited this nest but the 2 native youngsters seemed to do very well and rarely did I see them crying for fish. the adult female was last seen on 8-20-17 and the adult male was not seen after 9-8-17, guess his babes were gone and he wasn't needed any longer. adult male osprey are truly amazing in the care they provide for the juveniles once the mother is gone. they watch over them they don't coddle but they remain just in case a fish is needed!
I have been seeing 2 chicks but I reserve the right to change this number, there certainly could be a 3rd in that super dense nest.
My first glimpse of a chicks was 6/18/17. This nest is hard to count chicks unless I maneuver my boat of kayak close to the nest. I will wait until I can see heads from my house using my scope before I get closer. For now I see normal behavior with the male bringing plenty of fish and the female on the nest feeding.
probable hatchling by behavior observed
incubating activity continues, male spends most of his time on the nearby 2X4. hatchlings due soon
except for no osprey at BM3 platform we now have a full house of incubating pairs in the "colony" - took them a little while to settle down. this is why platforms placed too close can be a hazard to the osprey. people want their own personal nest in their eye line to watch the birds no matter if it hurts the ospreys nesting.
I thought I saw incubating this morning but later both were up high in the nest. maybe tomorrow?
this pair seems to be hopping from this nest to 662 just next door. there are 3 nest sites very close to one another and I see much territorial disputes.
Strong south winds brought in a high number of osprey the past 2 days. this nest had an osprey off and on but today I can confirm 2 osprey at this nest.
Brief visitor on this nest today, same bird visited 2 nearby nests also.I believe the osprey actually belongs to CM9, (#6232) or 121IB
This sad day...9-11. Last day I see the adult male enjoying his satellite perch. Last day I saw a female at the nest was 8-27-16 when the fledgling was eating on the nest as the adult female sat on the satellite perch and dried her wings. At least one fledgling remained until 9-1-16.
One chick has fledged and most likely second has as well since today just one was on nest and that one was up on perch. Usually they will sit on the high nest perch at or just after fledging time.This nest site is part of the pair of nests we call "the Sixes".Sadly just this pair has been productive the past 2 seasons. The next door nest gets more harassment from sub adult osprey that hang in the nearby tree line. Its simply fate. One platform seems the same as the other....
Ok, finally I saw one osprey bring a fish and the second was eating and feeding chicks! I have been waiting because this pair is one I can watch from my home and over the years they have always done well with 3 chicks the norm. They seemed to take longer to settle this year due to the extra ospreys in such close proximity. I hope they thrive!
I do watch this pair daily and nothing remarkable happens-thus far- and they continue to switch incubating duties and spend time eating fish on their new satellite.
While this pairs next door neighbors have been flushed off their eggs, this pair continues to quietly incubate, just like last year. Nothing seems to bother them. During the winter I placed a 2x4 perch pole in the marsh about 15 ft from the platform and the male loves it. He spends many hours each day eating his fish on the new pole.
Oh boy, this is a tough time for this pair. They were incubating all day yesterday and this morning both were off the nest and sitting on their perches for over 10 minutes. I saw another osprey harassing all 3 platforms in this marsh area. I hope the eggs are viable with their continued disturbance.
As of 4-21-16 I believe this pair is no longer incubating as they are both spending time once again perched off nest material. There seems to be continued scuffling amongst the ospreys in this platform grouping along the marsh, with in coming sub adults hanging out in the nearby tree line making things very unsettled for all the osprey in this colony.
I have patiently waited to see signs of incubating and finally this morning I saw the white head just above the nest material and it has remained for a few hours! Mate has been on the platform perch guarding as this platform is amongst a group of close nest sites with some interlopers harassing regularly.
Osprey pair has been building up nest material, copulating and fishing. occasional visitors from nearby nests cause some chasing but in general this pair seems very settled and especially enjoying a 2x4 perch that was placed about 15 ft away from platform. one bird now uses new pole as a guard perch.
There are 3 platforms in close proximity. #6009 is the northern most marsh platform close to the creek. It has one T perch. Behind #6009 further back (west) in the marsh and along the gut is a V shaped platform #6033. South of #6009 is a 2nd platform also along the creek but it has 2 T perches=#6001. These platforms along with channel marker 9 and BM3 platforms make up an osprey community of somewhat sociable birds.