Nesting Diaries
following the storm I observed the female on nest calling for fish and both chicks were visible draped on nest, both dead and wet
was called and told that the banded bird from Tristate had been found under nest dead
chick returned from Tristate bird rescue, I placed it back in nest, it was deemed healthy after numerous tests and looked healthy back in the nest
was called about one chick flapping in marsh under nest, retrieved chick and sent it up to TriState Bird Rescue as it seemed very docile and approached me in the marsh, crying, other 2 chicks were flying but landed back on nest quickly calling for fish
excited to see 3 same size chicks in nest!
one incubating one arrived to nest
one appears to be incubating
one on nest, no mate in sight
finally can confirm a pair at nest, both were chasing and immature bald eagle,61, overcast, N 8 mph
one on nest today , very hot and windy, 80, S 20 mph
empty nest this evening with fledgling in far trees calling for fish
observed feeding but still no chick count both adults on nest today at 5 pm
finally one deep in the nest
one up on nest, no incubating
one on nest today, no signs of incubating
one in tree calling for fish
both adults on nest, one feeding
observed chick feeding today
one deep in nest today, did not see mate
incubating and second on guard tree
finally see one in nest, other in dining tree with fish
still cant confirm both at nest but i think so....
female on V perch of nest today, i think the mate may be at nest also past few days but cant yet confirm as there has been some scuffling
juvenile in far fave tree line calling for fish, another juvenile from the nature center passed by and SPV juvenile gave chase then returned and settled in the tree directly over kayak launch and softy cried for a fish. no adults seen or heard today
lots of osprey chatter along this channel and marsh today so it was easy to spot the adult female on a pine branch and her juvenile nearby on another shady branch calling for fish
have not seen this juvenile but a couple times from a vantage point on the other side of the pond. it flew on the 24th and then spent most of its time in the treeline. today i saw just the adult male in same tree area.
one large chick alone on the nest, eating a fish. no adults seen or heard. i am guessing this baby is flying today or next day or so.
chick laying in the nest around 6 pm this evening with one adult flying around the treeline at the waters edge to the north and the second on a tree at that area that has a great vantage point of the water. i believe it was the female and she was peering into the water from a high branch.this is the same area the adult pair enjoyed later in last seasons nesting.
lone chick self feeding of course because it is spoiled rotten with no competition! adult male on V of platform and female on the nest
one growing chick on the nest with one adult calling for a fish
both adults on nest today. I was viewing from a distance and saw just one active chick with one adult on nest and one adult perched on platform V perch.
female feed one chick vis, male on nest pole
one feeding and second adult on nest rim today, not close enough to see chicks but they should be visible soon
probably off a few days on the hatch date but just wasnt seeing any activity till the 31st of May
waiting for chick feeding behavior, so far just one deep in the nest dealing with days of heavy rain.
one deep in the nest today with the mate on the V perch of the platform.
Pair is spending time building up the nest with what appears to be little harassment from any other nearby osprey. I have not seen the bald eagle that likes to sit deep in the pines near this nest site.
1 female on the nest alone again today. high winds out of the N at 23 mph and temps dropping again at around 40 but feeling like the 20's with the wind. Female is very quiet and just bracing into the wind.
1 female osprey on the nest today
end of season: I lost track of this juvenile very quickly and have to wonder if it survived. the last day I saw it on a branch in the pine trees near its nest I also saw the resident mature bald eagle sitting within about 300 feet of it. a few other juveniles went missing from the other nearby nest to where that eagle always perches during fledge time at the salt pond. adult male and female were last seen on 8-31-17 when the female was on the nest calling to her mate who had a fish on his old favorite tree from the days when their platform was out on the little island. seemed strange she was at the nest like that without her juvenile of just 13 days flying... but what do I really know about the mysterious osprey:)
Got a report that the chick fledged today around 2 pm. I went to check the nest about 4:30 and the nest was empty. in 15 minutes I went back and the fledgling was up on the V perch. no adults seen. fledgling appeared very content, not crying for fish. very alert.
around 3 pm the chick was on the nest jumping and flapping from one side to the other while the adult female sat perched on the nest V perch, keeping way out of the way. the chick should fledge very soon, I sure hope!
this morning following heavy storm the entire family was on the nest. one adult was eating and feeding the chick who appears big enough and active enough to be flying soon!
chick looks very healthy and adult female on nest shading today. nest material looks built up.
Called by TriState Bird Rescue to try to rescue a chick reported fallen from this nest. we used row boat to retrieve the approximate 4 week old chick from the marsh grass directly under the nesting platform. TriState accessed the chick and it was healthy and on 7-5-17 they asked me to place it back in the nest. We walked in the long way and used extension ladder to place the chick in the high nest. there were 2 un-hatched eggs in the nest and the nest material appeared to have collapsed on one side of the NJ designed nesting platform. Adult female was back on the nest tending the chick in about a NY minute. since then the homeowner that saw the fallen chick has monitored and it is doing great.
don't know how many chicks but I am occasionally seeing one and so far few crab pots or disturbance when I visit the kayak trail. at sunset the female was calling for fish but her mate was sitting still on his favorite pine tree
one chick visible with the adult female on the nest, only a few crab pots in the area
Adult female on the nest today with one chick visible
the pair is still incubating as I saw them switch duties when the male brought a fish and he rocked down onto the eggs. unfortunately there was a small boat right at the platform, literally bumped up into the marsh, and 2 men were fishing and crabbing and ignoring the warning calls from the ospreys. I asked if they saw the nest and they said "oh yea' and I asked if they could help the ospreys out since they are due to hatch chicks and this might be their first productive year at the new location...They were kind and moved their boat. I have seen these 2 men many times very close to the platform so hmmm, maybe they might know why the sprey abandoned the chicks in 2015 and 2016, maybe? there should be hatchlings any day now!
one deep in nest today presumably incubating. still very quiet at the kayak launch area but this weekend will be very busy with vacationers. fingers crossed this osprey pair can handle the stress so close to their nest.
so far so good, still incubating and quiet along the waterway
Female incubating, no male seen today. she repositioned herself on the eggs as I was monitoring
both on platform today, female on nest and calling for fish but her mate was sitting on the platform V perch beside her and he didn't seem to care, he was not getting any fish:)
just before sunset I saw just one osprey on the V perch, haven't seen the mate in a few days
this day I saw the female on the nest calling for a fish, and she meant business. 2 people kayaked by and she didn't seem to mind. I hope she can handle the crowds this season and finally produce a chick or 2.
I have seen one osprey on the nest past few days and it sounded as though it was calling for its mate. the calls are different when the ospreys call for a bird that is nearby instead of calling for a mate that hasn't arrived from migration..I could tell a bird was nearby but did not see it until today both birds on nest together.
6-20-16 the ospreys began re-nesting and were incubating on this date. 6-30-16 still incubating. On 7-9-16 both adults were spending their time in nearby trees and numerous people were very close to platform, 3 crab pots about 10 ft from platform, 3 people on kayaks next to platforms marsh area with others fishing on canoes nearby and dogs and children playing along the waters edge at kayak launch area near platform. This platform is simply too close to kayak launch and beach area. Sad that it was moved from its former location for living shoreline restoration because it would have been safe to just have the adult pair wait out the restoration project (2015) for one season then resume nesting in 2016.This is now 2 nesting seasons I witnessed the pair abandon their young due to human disturbance. sad.People who are involved in osprey nest site decisions sometimes have no understanding or interest in the birds well being.
I believe 5/20/16 was the last day I saw nesting activity. I also recorded incubating on 5/18/16. On 5/20/16 the pair could have had hatchlings as one was deep in the nest. After that they abandoned the site. I have not seen any birds at the nest but today did see one on the tree in the woods where the male usually guarded. It appeared to be the male. I will hope to see the female. In years past I have reason to believe an owl took an adult female and chicks from a snag nest on the Indian River. If the female is missing at this nest then it is possible a similar fate took her. Other wise I point to the high amount of human disturbance at this site. The kayak launch and small beach directly within 100 feet of this platform is just way to much for this osprey pair to deal with. 5/29/16 there were 7 kayaks, 1 boat, 1 canoe with 4 crab traps just pulled from the water near the nest, and 5 people including children on the beach. No osprey pair would handle that amount of stress. People must learn that osprey platform placement is critical for the birds survival. I pleaded with the group that moved this platform to not place it where it now stands. Next time a platform is proposed near human activities I will refuse to assist with the construction. Lessons learned every season!
Sadly I believe this nest has failed, once again, as it did last season. This evening I did not see any birds near the nest but an osprey was perched in the tree where the old platform was located before this nesting pair was moved due to a living shoreline project by Center for the Inland Bays. I will check the nest again before I list it as failed.
One incubating. I see an osprey nearby but not on the usual tree perch. This one is over on a tree where the original platform once was and I believe that second bird is nesting on a chimney east of this nest, also along the Salt Pond. That homeowner placed red cones up as this is the second year the pair nested on the chimney but the cones did not deter them. No one clears the nest material.The Salt Pond is very popular with osprey and I believe it could benefit from a few more platforms since the snag and snag nests are rapidly dwindling.
One incubating, one eat fish on nearby guard tree perch.
One bird incubating, one on guard perch along nearby tree line.
One incubating. No other birds nearby today.
This is the second nesting season for this platform that had a new design and a new location after Center for the Inland Bays created a shore line restoration project along the nests original tiny island location approximately 500 ft away. Unfortunately the new location placed the platform directly across from the beach and kayak launch area for the Salt Pond community and although the pair had chicks for the 2015 season they abandoned the nest early on. Perhaps the nest failed due to human disturbance or perhaps due to the various eagles that often spend time around the pond. This year I hope they can raise a few chicks. It may be challenging with the high number of sub adult osprey and misplaced osprey that are hanging out in the general area. Salt Pond lost 3 snag nests over the past winter.