Nest #5967

Nickname

Little Torch Key Nest

Coordinates

(24.6681, -81.3941)

Substrate

Osprey Nest Platform

Description

Nest is located on State Road 4A, Little Torch Key, FL, 0.2 miles north of U. S. Hwy 1 (Overseas Highway). Nest sits atop a nest platform on the west side of the road at 24.40.061 N, 81.23.637W.

Followers

None

Monitoring groups

Florida Osprey Watchers

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.

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.

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.

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 fly

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.

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.

Nest Failure

Look for signs of nest failure like adult abandonment, adults no longer incubating eggs or feeding young.

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Activity reports

	2016 - mudskipper
aAdult Arrival	1/7/16
aOccupied	Yes
aActive
bEgg Laying
bIncubation Initiation
cClutch Hatching
dNestlings
eFledglings
eFirst Chick Fledging
fChicks Last Observed
xNest Failure
xReason For Nest Failure

Adult arrival	01/07/2016	Nestlings
Nest Occupied	Yes	Fledglings
Nest Active		First chick fledging
Egg laying		Chicks last observed
Incubation initiation		Nest failure
Clutch hatching		Reason for nest failure

Photos of this nest

Nesting Diaries

01/10/2016 by mudskipper

Three birds are associated with this nest. I watched the nest beginning Jan 7. On that day, one bird spent only 5 minutes on the nest during an hour’s observation but 3 birds were in the area. Today, Jan. 10th, the nest was occupied by at least one bird for all but 5 minutes over a 45 minute period. Food was delivered to the nest 3 times and nesting material once. One bird remained on the nest while two soared nearby; no obvious interaction was seen between the non-nest sitting individuals.