Nickname
South Dewey Beach #1
Coordinates
(38.6849, -75.0741)
Substrate
Osprey Nest Platform
Description
New 8 ft DE design osprey nesting platform placed in the privately owned marsh bayside on RT.1- just south of Dewey town proper
Followers
None
What to look for
Review All Observations
2023 - baygirl2022 - baygirl2021 - baygirl2020 - baygirl2019 - baygirl2018 - baygirl
aAdult Arrival3/23/233/21/223/28/213/27/203/26/195/20/18
aOccupiedYesYesYesYesYesYes
aActive
bEgg Laying
bIncubation Initiation5/5/235/1/214/28/205/7/19
cClutch Hatching6/4/216/8/206/15/19
dNestlings123
eFledglings23
eFirst Chick Fledging7/31/208/14/19
fChicks Last Observed8/21/209/9/19
xNest Failure6/21/237/9/21
xReason For Nest Failureadult abandonmentunknown reason

Select Seasons

Show reports, diaries, and photos from:Current 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018

Activity reports

2018 Nest Activity Report by baygirl
Adult arrival05/20/2018Nestlings
Nest OccupiedYesFledglings
Nest Active First chick fledging
Egg layingChicks last observed
Incubation initiationNest failure
Clutch hatchingReason for nest failure
2019 Nest Activity Report by baygirl
Adult arrival03/26/2019Nestlings3
Nest OccupiedYesFledglings3
Nest Active First chick fledging08/14/2019
Egg layingChicks last observed09/09/2019
Incubation initiation05/07/2019Nest failure
Clutch hatching06/15/2019Reason for nest failure
2020 Nest Activity Report by baygirl
Adult arrival03/27/2020Nestlings2
Nest OccupiedYesFledglings2
Nest Active First chick fledging07/31/2020
Egg layingChicks last observed08/21/2020
Incubation initiation04/28/2020Nest failure
Clutch hatching06/08/2020Reason for nest failure
2021 Nest Activity Report by baygirl
Adult arrival03/28/2021Nestlings1
Nest OccupiedYesFledglings
Nest Active First chick fledging
Egg layingChicks last observed
Incubation initiation05/01/2021Nest failure07/09/2021
Clutch hatching06/04/2021Reason for nest failureunknown reason
2022 Nest Activity Report by baygirl
Adult arrival03/21/2022Nestlings
Nest OccupiedYesFledglings
Nest Active First chick fledging
Egg layingChicks last observed
Incubation initiationNest failure
Clutch hatchingReason for nest failure
2023 Nest Activity Report by baygirl
Adult arrival03/23/0023Nestlings
Nest OccupiedYesFledglings
Nest Active First chick fledging
Egg layingChicks last observed
Incubation initiation05/05/0023Nest failure06/21/0023
Clutch hatchingReason for nest failurepossibly cold wet weather, storm was 2-3 days and prior to storm male was not seen bringing in adequate amounts of fish

Photos of this nest

Nesting Diaries

09/20/2023 by baygirl
platform scheduled for repair in fall 2023,

04/06/2022 by baygirl
one on nest T perch at 6 pm this evening

03/21/2022 by baygirl
56 degrees, sunny W winds at 11 mph, these 2 lovelys are on their nest.

06/14/2021 by baygirl
female feeding today

06/04/2021 by baygirl
observed both adults on nest, female feeding

05/24/2021 by baygirl
some activity at nest but cant confirm is chicks

05/15/2021 by baygirl
report of both adults at nest feeding one hatchling today,, if so the data is far off.. I will need to confirm this report

03/28/2021 by baygirl
62, winds s 13 mph, overcast, female arrived to join the male this afternoon

03/26/2021 by baygirl
windy hot day, one on nest eating at 1:45 pm, 80, S 20 mph, sun

03/19/2021 by baygirl
no ospreys on nest since 3-12-21

03/12/2021 by baygirl
62, light drizzle in the morning, WSW 8 mph, 1 adult female on nest at 10 am.

08/02/2020 by baygirl
both fledglings on nest with one adult, one eating, second adult on nearby tiny snag

07/28/2020 by baygirl
both chicks on nest, ready to fledge soon, one chick is a bit smaller

07/01/2020 by baygirl
2 chicks clearly visible today at 3:30 pm, female on platform T perch, no photographers in sight, yay!

06/24/2020 by baygirl
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.

06/20/2020 by baygirl
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

06/08/2020 by baygirl
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.

06/04/2020 by baygirl
one appears deep in nest with mate on nearby twig/snag

05/08/2020 by baygirl
female incubating, male on tiny snag nearby

05/01/2020 by baygirl
one incubating, no mate seen

04/30/2020 by baygirl
one deep in the nest as i passed today

04/20/2020 by baygirl
2 diggin in the nest today

04/15/2020 by baygirl
2 on nest today, no eggs

04/11/2020 by baygirl
saw only one osprey this evening,eating a fish on tiny snag south of the nest

09/09/2019 by baygirl
one juv on nest alone today

08/29/2019 by baygirl
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.

08/22/2019 by baygirl
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.

07/30/2019 by baygirl
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!

07/11/2019 by baygirl
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

06/26/2019 by baygirl
still too early to count heads but for sure there is one chick considering moms feeding behavior!

06/04/2019 by baygirl
one deep in nest

05/29/2019 by baygirl
incubating

05/23/2019 by baygirl
continuing to incubate

05/11/2019 by baygirl
one deep in nest since 5-7-19, second likes to perch on a stake in the marsh nearby

05/04/2019 by baygirl
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..?

04/26/2019 by baygirl
one hunched over nest rim today, could not confirm incubation or second osprey at nest area

04/13/2019 by baygirl
no incubation obserrved, female stays at nest, male prefers tiny snag in marsh south of platform

04/02/2019 by baygirl
both at nest this morning

03/31/2019 by baygirl
have not seen any spreys for past 2 days

03/26/2019 by baygirl
both osprey on the nest this morning

03/25/2019 by baygirl
one osprey on the nest on occasion

08/20/2018 by baygirl
adult male on nearby snag today

08/17/2018 by baygirl
seeing a pair on the nest regularly now with a much larger nest. hoping to see them back here in 2019.

07/23/2018 by baygirl
noon today, one on nest perch and one on nearby low scrub snag

07/17/2018 by baygirl
both adults on nest today, one on the platforms T perch and one in nest, nest is much fuller

06/03/2018 by baygirl
a pair is now hanging out regularly on the platform but so far little new nest material is visible on the platform

05/20/2018 by baygirl
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.

05/19/2018 by baygirl
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.

05/08/2018 by baygirl
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

05/04/2018 by baygirl
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.

04/29/2018 by baygirl
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.

04/22/2018 by baygirl
one osprey sitting in the nest about 3:30 today, appeared to be a female

04/10/2018 by baygirl
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.

04/06/2018 by baygirl
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.

04/02/2018 by baygirl
no ospreys...but the sub adults are coming soon..we hope!

03/10/2018 by baygirl
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.