Nesting Diaries
platform scheduled for repair in fall 2023,
one on nest T perch at 6 pm this evening
56 degrees, sunny W winds at 11 mph, these 2 lovelys are on their nest.
observed both adults on nest, female feeding
some activity at nest but cant confirm is chicks
report of both adults at nest feeding one hatchling today,, if so the data is far off.. I will need to confirm this report
62, winds s 13 mph, overcast, female arrived to join the male this afternoon
windy hot day, one on nest eating at 1:45 pm, 80, S 20 mph, sun
no ospreys on nest since 3-12-21
62, light drizzle in the morning, WSW 8 mph, 1 adult female on nest at 10 am.
both fledglings on nest with one adult, one eating, second adult on nearby tiny snag
both chicks on nest, ready to fledge soon, one chick is a bit smaller
2 chicks clearly visible today at 3:30 pm, female on platform T perch, no photographers in sight, yay!
photographer set up with large camera on side of road this evening just before sunset, both adults at nest sounding warning calls, no chicks visible once again and so i still can not confirm chicks, i stopped and explained to the man that he was stressing the birds and keeping them from going about their business, which might be last feeding of the night, he didnt care.
both adults on nest off and on past few days, and this morning both again on nest but at 4:45 this afternoon no adults on nest then male arrived. female was perched on the south tiny snag this pair likes away from traffic, i think this nesting may have failed but will keep the faith until next driveby
its time for chicks but I could not confirm hatchlings today, male was on snag and female was deep in nest. should be chicks now.
one appears deep in nest with mate on nearby twig/snag
female incubating, male on tiny snag nearby
one incubating, no mate seen
one deep in the nest as i passed today
2 diggin in the nest today
saw only one osprey this evening,eating a fish on tiny snag south of the nest
one juv on nest alone today
all 3 juveniles on nest today, i am not certain the adult female is still at nest but i see the adult male bringing in fish. i think the runt is barely flying, seems to lay in the nest alot, most likely not getting much fish. hoping the other 2 juvies start spending more time away so the little one can get stronger.
the runt may not have fledged, it is hard to tell at this point because I often see one juvenile laying in the nest with one or 2 perched on the nest. somedays it appears no birds are in the nest but one may just be laying very low, at any rate the runt is somehow getting by and I am very surprised and happy it made it.
7pm today i was able to get a good view of the chicks and adult female on nest. she was feeding, runt was on her left, 2 much larger chicks on her right. the runt is still alive! i cant believe it. and it is a scrappy little thing. as mom tore a bit of fish the runt grabbed it as fast as i have ever seen a chick go for food. it was protected from the older 2 by the parents body and it grabbed bite after bite after bite in split second speed as she tore the fish. amazing. it looks very roughed up, feathers sticking up on its back, nape of the neck ragged looking but it is still trying to thrive. this is not a failure to thrive runt. I hope it is a male with less weight to gain so it can catch up and fledge not too long after the siblings. people must stay away from the roadway so that the adults can feed their young. any human disturbance can mean the difference between life and death for the runt of a litter!
see 3 chicks, one is a true runt, i watched the middle sized chick beat down the runt when it tried to get to the adult female to eat. the runt retreated to the far corner of the nest. this may be a young adult pair or the location of the platform makes it attractive to photographers to stop on the road way illegally to take photos.when cars stop the female leaves the nest. it was so upsetting to see the one chick peck at the runt i don't know if I can watch this nest regularly. very sad to see that
still too early to count heads but for sure there is one chick considering moms feeding behavior!
one deep in nest since 5-7-19, second likes to perch on a stake in the marsh nearby
both on nest today at 4:00 and 6:00 pm. At 4 pm a car was parked on side of road with a man photographing the pair using a telephoto lens and both osprey were stressed with the female taking off and landing onto a short snag much farther from the car. the male osprey stayed on the nest. I wonder if this is a daily stresser for this pair....they have not settled in on the nest and there may be too many looky lou's..?
one hunched over nest rim today, could not confirm incubation or second osprey at nest area
no incubation obserrved, female stays at nest, male prefers tiny snag in marsh south of platform
both at nest this morning
have not seen any spreys for past 2 days
both osprey on the nest this morning
one osprey on the nest on occasion
adult male on nearby snag today
seeing a pair on the nest regularly now with a much larger nest. hoping to see them back here in 2019.
noon today, one on nest perch and one on nearby low scrub snag
both adults on nest today, one on the platforms T perch and one in nest, nest is much fuller
a pair is now hanging out regularly on the platform but so far little new nest material is visible on the platform
one osprey standing in the small nest today around 4:00 pm. it was "talking" to the other osprey flying past with dinner to go.
5-9-18 same truck was parked near nest dumping storm water. the landowner contacted DNREC to complain that the company did not have permission to dump on her property.most days there is one osprey, appears to be female, on the nest with reports of a second early mornings. I have seen just the one.
4:20 today no osprey on platform but a large white liquid transport style truck parked on the side of southbound RT 1 directly in front of the platform draining liquid into the marsh, hoping it was just water... no osprey on platform
one osprey on the nest today at 5 pm. appears to be a female, but the necklace is not pronounced so could be a male! but there is a bit of added nest material. still no mate for this osprey, if it is the same each time I pass by.
one osprey in the nest again today but no obvious change to the nest itself, it is still just the starter nest we placed on this new platform in the spring.
one osprey sitting in the nest about 3:30 today, appeared to be a female
one osprey on the nest at 1:30 today with both ospreys at the Dewey town proper nest too. so we have some interest in the new real estate.
One osprey in this nesting platform today, appeared to be eating. I was driving north to check Dewey town proper nest (6814) and when I arrived there just the female was on that nest and when I went back south a few minutes later and checked this nest again it was empty. I will make a guess the male from #6814 was visiting this site. Darn, I wish he would convince his female to abandon their awful in town platform and take up residence here. I continue to dream.
no ospreys...but the sub adults are coming soon..we hope!
Today we placed a nest platform in the privately owned bay side marsh south of downtown Dewey Beach. Weather was beautiful-46, sunshine, winds W 10 mph. The reason we placed this new platform: 4 blocks north of this new location The Lighthouse restaurant osprey nested on top of the lighthouse for years until spring 2017 when the mgmt received permission from F&W to place an excluder on top of the lighthouse. It was recommended that they place a nesting platform in the vicinity but the Lighthouse Cove manager decided he did not want to help the well loved osprey pair get a new home close to the old nest. I began a search for private land to place a new nesting structure. Unfortunately it took too long and I watched the birds arrive in late March and they continued to try to take nest material to the excluder/top of the lighthouse for a day or 2. The male was flying south to look for nest material or to search out a new nest but the female eventually made her way 3 blocks north and landed on a previously unused leaning NJ design nesting platform at a tiny marshy area owned by the Dewey Beach Lions Club. The marshy area is about 50 feet from a busy outside bar with a stand up paddle board concession directly under the platform pole.Fireworks and live bands literally assaulted the nesting birds..but they were deep in incubation mode and remained.The marshy area is also used as a dog run.There are no stay back signs or fencing to protect the osprey.We have talked to the Lions Club but they refuse to protect the birds. They even wish to place a webcam at the nest to attract more people.The platform just might be the worst location I have seen except for a platform (currently not used) placed in the middle of a busy golf course on a sand trap....but I digress...The Dewey Beach town proper osprey set up 2017 housekeeping during the quiet spring and then the resort season began and the rest is chronicled in the nest report for 2017. It was not pretty but 2 chicks did fledge to the safety of the town water tower. This season we are praying the pair arrives safely from their wintering grounds, flies over the new platform near their old lighthouse nest site and claims it for a safe nesting season. I can dream. If they end up choosing their terrible "party"platform then perhaps another young pair may claim this beautiful location in the future.