Nesting Diaries
8:15 a.m. The two chicks were on the nest with the female. It does not appear that either has fledged yet but this should occur soon since most of the other osprey chicks in this region have fledged.
7:30 a.m. From the driveway of Red Cliff Village I could see the female and two big chicks sitting up tall in the nest. This is the first time I could really get good photos of the chicks. The light was perfect and they are now large enough to show up above the nest rails on this tall tower. It is difficult to find a place to stop along route 32 from where to watch, so when they are small, one is too close for viewing from Red Cliff Village. These two appear to be ready to fledge at any time.
10:10 a.m. I saw both adults on the nest, and from the view to the north, I saw the female high on the edge of the nest and thought I saw the head of one chick.
9:30 a.m. The female was sitting up on the edge of the nest. I did not stay long enough to determine if chicks were present.
11:20 a.m. One adult was standing on the nest. I saw a head but could not tell if it was the other adult or a chick. Setting up my scope and watching from the driveway of the Red Cliff Village, I could then see the tail and better saw the head of the adult which appeared to be incubating while its mate stood.
8:30 a.m. After seeing chicks here the first year and then nesting but no sign of chicks in the next couple years, I haven't paid as much attention since this is a PA not a NJ nest. However, when I arrived today there was an adult perched on top and a lot of nesting material piled up. This adult soon flew off and flew back in with sticks and from a different view I saw that his mate was probably incubating as she was sitting low on the nest. I will have to keep an eye on this pair to see if they have chicks. This pair probably was the same pair that was nesting across the river on the NJ side, but haven't been there for at least 5 years.
2:30 p.m. After seeing little activity and no chicks here last year, and given that I have to go out of my way to observe this nest, I hadn't checked it much. Parking is a problem here also. A nearby resident who was cutting trees at our house mentioned that the adults were back. On this day, I didn't see any adults or chicks, but there is, in fact, a lot more nesting material here. I might try to come once more early morning to see if there is activity.
11:45 a.m. I drove by the tower en route to The Narrows nest and I saw an adult perched on the corner of the tower! It also looks like a LOT more nesting material has been deposited at/in the tower, but has also fallen through rather than sitting on top like last year's nest. It is too far into the season for any egg laying, and I haven't seen two adults here this year. I wonder if something happened to the mate and this poor osprey is bringing sticks in a vane attempt to fulfill the call of nature.
No change in this nest. The nest itself is still falling down through the tower and there is no sign of any reconstruction. The last two times I drove by (and did not report), I saw no adults any where in the area.
7:40 a.m. As I approach on PA route 32 I can see an adult perched on the top of the tower. The first time I observed (4/12/20), I thought I saw a bird flying off but couldn't confirm that it was an osprey. This morning there is no traffic and I am able to stop in the roadway and take photos. There is no shoulder so if there is traffic, you have to park at Red Cliff Village and observe on foot. No work appears to have taken place on the nest. I wonder if the mate has gone missing, and this bird is waiting in vain for it to show up.
Nothing appears to have changed at this nest; no sign of any nest-building. The eagles' nest across the river, which was not active last season, has a nesting pair and chicks this season. Perhaps that has influenced the osprey pair?
Last season's nesting material had collapsed down a level. The top level nesting sticks were quite sparse. I did not observe any osprey at or near this nest and no sign of any nest building.
12:03 p.m. Two chicks were perched on the edge of the nest. The light was not so good. It is difficult to park along route 32 near the nest. There is a lane leading to a mobile home park just to the south that has room to pull off and park. I found a place to pull in, got out of the car, and got several photos from different angles. I did not see an adult, just the two siblings. They were calling and moving around. One moved out of the nest and perched on an adjacent wire. The other stayed down in the nest and was less visible, but can be seen in the photos if you look carefully.
11:51 a.m. Two chicks on the nest. Saw neither adult.
I monitor a NJ osprey nest from the PA side and see this PA nest driving north on route 32 en route to my observation post. This nest is right across the river from a NJ bald eagle nest which was on a NJ tower of the same power lines, but the pair has moved to a sycamore slightly upstream. This year, the eagles did not incubate but were in the territory.
I saw one bird on this osprey nest while driving north at 3:48 p.m. It appears to be an adult (1st photo). It is possible that a chick is mostly hidden behind the adult in the 1st photo. I did not stay long enough to know for sure. Parking is difficult.
At 5:43 p.m. there were three on the nest (2nd photo). They appeared to be feeding. It appears to be an adult (which was offering food) standing between its two nestlings. They were not vocalizing. I did not observe either chick fly off the nest, but it is probable that these two are close to fledging. Three have fledged from the nearby NJ nest #7407.