Nickname
083-B-056
Coordinates
(40.2792, -74.0048)
Substrate
Light Tower
Description
Lighting tower for Monmouth soccer field.
Followers
None
Monitoring groups
What to look for
a
Adult Arrival
Look for 2 adults on the nest. The adult pair will show pair bonding behaviors such as vocalizations, aerial sky dances, and the male feeding the female fish. You may see the pair copulating, which typically begins 14 days before laying eggs.b
Incubation Initiation
Females will lay 1 - 4 eggs at a rate of one egg every 1 - 2 days. After laying, incubation starts. Look for adults taking turns sitting low in the nest incubating eggs. The incubation period can last 35 - 43 days.c
Clutch Hatching
Chicks hatch ~39 days after incubation begins. Look for adults bringing food to the nest and making "head bows" into the center. Chicks typically can't be seen until they are 2 - 3 weeks old, so feeding behavior is the only way to know chicks are there.d
Nestling Count
Around 4 weeks after hatching, look for the heads of chicks to show over the rim of the nest, particularly when adults bring food to the nest. Other times they lie flat and are harder to see. Count the number of chicks in the nest before they learn to flye
Fledgling Count
Chicks begin flying around 7 - 8 weeks old, and are still fed by the adults. Count the number of chicks who have successfully fledged the nest and are observed flying.f
Chick Last Observed
4 - 10 weeks after fledging, chicks begin leaving the nest area to migrate south, once they have learned to fly and feed themselves. Record the date that the last chick left the nest.x
Nest Failure
Look for signs of nest failure like adult abandonment, adults no longer incubating eggs or feeding young.Review All Observations
| 2022 - LNR | 2021 - LNR | 2020 - mjs | 2019 - LNR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| aAdult Arrival | 3/25/22 | 3/28/21 | ||
| aOccupied | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| aActive | ||||
| bEgg Laying | ||||
| bIncubation Initiation | 4/25/22 | 4/12/21 | ||
| cClutch Hatching | 5/27/22 | |||
| dNestlings | 1 | 2 | ||
| eFledglings | 1 | 2 | ||
| eFirst Chick Fledging | 7/26/22 | |||
| fChicks Last Observed | 8/28/22 | |||
| xNest Failure | 6/14/21 | |||
| xReason For Nest Failure | unknown reason |
Select Seasons
Show reports, diaries, and photos from:Current 2022 2021 2020 2019
Activity reports
2019 Nest Activity Report by LNR
| Adult arrival | Nestlings | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nest Occupied | No | Fledglings | |
| Nest Active | First chick fledging | ||
| Egg laying | Chicks last observed | ||
| Incubation initiation | Nest failure | ||
| Clutch hatching | Reason for nest failure |
2020 Nest Activity Report by mjs
| Adult arrival | Nestlings | 2 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nest Occupied | Yes | Fledglings | 2 |
| Nest Active | First chick fledging | ||
| Egg laying | Chicks last observed | ||
| Incubation initiation | Nest failure | ||
| Clutch hatching | Reason for nest failure |
2021 Nest Activity Report by LNR
| Adult arrival | 03/28/2021 | Nestlings | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nest Occupied | Yes | Fledglings | |
| Nest Active | First chick fledging | ||
| Egg laying | Chicks last observed | ||
| Incubation initiation | 04/12/2021 | Nest failure | 06/14/2021 |
| Clutch hatching | Reason for nest failure | unknown reason |
2022 Nest Activity Report by LNR
| Adult arrival | 03/25/2022 | Nestlings | 1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nest Occupied | Yes | Fledglings | 1 |
| Nest Active | First chick fledging | 07/26/2022 | |
| Egg laying | Chicks last observed | 08/28/2022 | |
| Incubation initiation | 04/25/2022 | Nest failure | |
| Clutch hatching | 05/27/2022 | Reason for nest failure |
Photos of this nest
Nesting Diaries
08/23/2022 by LNR
8:15 am the juvenile was in the nest, occasionally calling. No other osprey were seen at this time. Last night around 5:15 the juvenile was in the nest begging. An adult was sitting across the field on another tower.
08/16/2022 by LNR
Around 5:15 there were two adults on a tower opposite the nest. One was eating a fish. The fledge was diagonally across the field begging. After about 5 minutes the fledge flew to the nest and continued begging. After a couple of minutes the adult with the fish took the remainder and deposited it in the nest. The fledge ate a little and then flew back to the tower it was on previously with the remains of the fish.
07/26/2022 by LNR
7:20 am. Juvenile was on the nest one of the adults sitting off to the side. The juvenile did some flapping, jumped across the nest, flapped a little more and then flew off around the field for maybe a minute before returning to the nest. The other adult arrived back at the nest about the same time as the fledge. It seems likely this was not the fledge's first flight since it had no trouble returning to the nest, but it was the first one observed.
07/20/2022 by LNR
5PM. The adult sitting with the juvenile flew off the nest to a different post. Shortly afterwards the juvenile managed to get airborne for a few seconds a foot or so above the nest (distance is impossible to judge given the height of the light fixture).
07/20/2022 by LNR
Chick was doing some wing exercises around noon today. That or trying to fan itself on a very hot day. It's growing well.
07/13/2022 by LNR
The chick is more often perching higher and visible in the nest than in past weeks. This noon it was preening sitting next to one of the adults.
07/04/2022 by LNR
Happily the chick was observed this morning so it survive the storm on 7/2/22. Around 8 am both adults were perched at the nest, mostly preening. The male flew off briefly and clearly had remnants of fish or something in it's talons. After less than a minute it returned. The chick then got high enough to be visible.
06/28/2022 by LNR
Both adults present at nest at 8:15 AM. One flew off and came back with a stick and did some rearranging of the furniture. One chick visible and flapped its wings briefly. The other adult flew off to chase a random osprey that approached the nest.
06/22/2022 by LNR
A guess at hatch time was around May 27. On that date the female was observed leaving the nest and circling the tower and environs a couple of times. Previous to that she was mainly so low in the nest it was hard to see her. The nest is still occupied and active as of June 22 though it is too high to tell how many chicks there might be.
04/26/2022 by LNR
On 3/25/2022 there was one osprey at Monmouth University's nest. On 4/1/2022 both osprey were present. On 4/4/2022 they were observed copulating. Through out early April they came and went and were often together at the nest. 4/25 it looked like the female was incubating--staying low and horizontal in the nest. They were extremely vocal on 4/25 as other osprey flew through the area. 4/26 the male was next to the nest working on a fish while the female incubated.
04/14/2022 by Kat C.
This nest is active as of 4/14/2022. An adult osprey was observed sitting on one of the lights next to the nest. It took off when approached, flew off towards Whalepond Brook, and returned with a large fish in its talons. It flew past the nest to another location on campus to eat.
06/14/2021 by LNR
Actual date of failure approximate. Adult osprey was observed at nest around 8:30 AM, flapping and moving branches, but most of day osprey pair were building nest on a light fixture diagonally across the field. The new site already had a layer of branches at 8 am.
Everything was normal for an active nest with chicks as of 6/9/2021. Because of the height, no information was collected as to number of chicks. An inspection around the base of the light tower offered no information as to what might have happened, but Monmouth University groundskeepers are very active in grooming the area.
05/26/2021 by LNR
Nest is active as of this morning. Chicks should have hatched sometime last week. Nest is too high to see into.
04/17/2021 by LNR
To update the nest history, the osprey first arrived late summer 2018 and laid down some nesting materials on the light tower. They returned in 2019, but the nest failed. Probably due to crows--a half dozen or more were seen in and around the nest, the adults were not at the nest. 2020 they fledged 2 offspring.
04/17/2021 by LNR
Date of incubation beginning is approximate. Osprey has been sitting low in the nest bowl 4/12-4/14 at various times observed. It is impossible to see into the nest as to whether there are eggs.
03/30/2021 by LNR
Hard day for the osprey pair. They had to fend off other osprey (observed twice today) and experienced their first soccer game complete with music and lights on.
07/21/2020 by mjs
Today one fledgling was in the nest and one was perched beside his parent beside the nest
05/21/2019 by Ben Wurst
Nest point was WAY off, so relocated to east of NJ. Will hopefully pinpoint this summer.