Nesting Diaries
adult male at nest area into mid September
pair may have been on nest a few days earlier
2nd chick has fledged and is on near by tree branch, 1st chick remains at nearby nest 81 IB
first chick of 2 remaining at nest fledged today and landed at nest 81 IB where there is a much younger single chick, I expect it will not return to its natal nest this season. past few years this nest has had numerous fledglings fly to the other nest and not return, I just hope the younger chick at 81 can thrive
I only observed 2 chicks being fed today during 2 hrs at the beach area
feeding behavior observed this morning by the James Farm Osprey Talk group, approx 9am both adults on nest, sunshine, ESE8 mph, 66degrees
on hatchling watch this coming week, both at nest today during my docent duties, no one bothering the ospreys today, yay
pair incubating in very deep nest, man walking right up to nest site with binoculars today, ospre stayed deep in nest and i suppose that why the man was there, trying to see a hidden bird...people need to practice ethical wildlife viewing and use the binoculars!
pair has the nest built up very deep, excellent to give them privacy, maybe people wont know a bird is in the nest
trying to stay away because its so hard to watch the people walking too close to this nest, both on nest today 57, clouds, E 10 mph
heard joyful noise at the beach area today and observed both osprey at the nest, some bonding touch and go's but they were flushed off nest by people walking the marsh very close to the nest and they perched on the back tree line.
adult male in snag for short time this afternoon
adult male near nest today
after all 3 chicks had fledged at least 2 were on the nearby McLaughlin nest, with 2 coming and going to this natal nest and one remaining at the McLaughlin nest # 7061. watched both remaining fledglings trying to catch fish in the cove hallows, amazing how they plop down onto the surface, spread their wings and float bit then power up out of the water at such a young age-fearless!
2 large chicks visible today, did not see a third, female on nest, calling for fish, male in tree not moving
feeding observed at 7:45 pm
3 chicks visible around 4 pm today
2 chicks visible at feeding 4pm today
female incubating today but flushed off nest when woman and 2 small children got too close. signs are useless
new platform moved approx 75 ' inland to protect from human disturbance, still seeing people walk into the marsh to get too close to the nest causing the incubating osprey to flush off nest. nest is very high with incubating bird exposed at top of nest material.
started seeing just one chick on 6-16 and continuing to see just the one, it is not surprising with so much rain and human and dog disturbance near this nest
some disturbance at this nest, people and dogs but so far adults continue to shade and feed, no chick count as of today
first day i was able to confirm feeding behavior, amazed this nest is still going with so many dog and human disturbance issues at the cove. i think the female is getting a bit tougher each season.
one deep in nest, one on guard tree
Native plant sale day at the farm, i monitored the cove from 9-2 pm and while some people got close to this nesting pair they remained deep in the nest incubating
same story, different year, people clamming very close to nest, female stayed put on the eggs for the hour i was there, i did attempt to educate the people but they would not leave the marsh area
pair is not on the nest regularly, as in seasons past, there is quite a bit of human disturbance so they are not yet settled, mostly on a nearby snag
2 in tree, good to confirm all pairs accounted for at the preserve today but many people walking close to nest sites
2 osprey on nest copulating around 3 pm today
one osprey in guard snag past few days, lots of human disturbance tho right near the platform, fishing etc,the signs to stay back say april thru august so lets see if people follow that.
one osprey on favorite guard snag today
adult male on his fave snag at 5:30 pm today
adult male perched in the favorite snag near the nest
one juvenile perched quietly in the favorite snag near nest
seeing just one juvenile consistently past few days, and one adult
5:30 today just one fledgling on the nest, did not see any others from this family
empty nest for the first time today at 7:30 pm
one fledgling on the nearby tree branch being fed by adult female and adult male in pine tree. they were flushed away from the nest by 2 clammers way too close to the platform, the other 2 chicks hunkered down deep
3 chicks on the nest alone today, one adult came briefly during the hour i was there doing docent work. chicks are rowdy and ready to fly especially in the high winds, SSW 18 mph with gusts today
3 chicks on the nest alone today, one adult came briefly during the hour i was there doing docent work. chicks are rowdy and ready to fly especially in the high winds, SSW 18 mph with gusts today
around 4 pm today all 3 chicks visible on the nest with one adult coming and going as the chicks were very active, lots of wingercising and calling for fish. these 3 beauties should be in the air very soon if one hasn't taken a test flight already.
3 chicks visible today while i was "docenting" at the preserve beach, momma spending more time in the tree and calling for fish from there, some disturbance from people approaching to take pictures of the chicks.momma lets out a warning call and the chicks go flat so the people dont actually see anything by getting too close. silly people.
female on nest with chicks but could not get clear head count
photographers f;ushed the female off the nest during the heat of the day today as i was volunteering, docent work. there are still 3 chicks in the nest being shaded unless people or dogs encroach
one chick visible with adult female on nest tonight just before dusk. have not seen all 3 chicks in quite some time.
spent a few hours observing all the cove nests at the farm today- as i was a docent-and not seeing 3 chicks at this nest, recently only 2. i did think one was a runt, or at least smaller so hoping its just deep in the nest being shaded by mom.
docent duties give me 2 hours to observe the nests along Pasture Cove. Saw female feeding 3 chicks today with one a possible runt.
one chick visible at feeding time, about 3 pm, both adults at nest
fingers crossed for this family of ospr, i docent at this location and its a real challenge to keep people and dogs away from the marsh at this nest. but so far this season the female is a bit less reactionary altho now with chicks she is getting more stressed.
sunny breezy day with a few people and dogs on the beach near the platform but one was deep in the nest and the other was up in the tree eating fish.
this pair continues to incubate inspite of the week of heavy rain. at least it has kept the people and dogs away....
busy day with many people on the beach, visiting during the native plant sale, but this pair stayed on the eggs with the male making an appearance off and on and chased an eagle away from the treeline- giving the beach visitors quite a thrill. 2 dogs were allowed off leash and they did run over to the marsh nest but the owner did get them when I asked him to leash them.
one osprey barely visible, very deep in the nest for over an hour today around 9 am.
just one osprey picking around in the nest today around 1:00 pm
Finally I see both osprey together at the nest. I would bet money they were here earlier than today but I wont create and activity report until I am certain. They were busy in the nest and then up and soaring with the numerous other osprey enjoying the NNW 6 mph and up wind gusts out over Pasture Point Cove. We walked out close (100 ft) to the platform to place the repaired stay back sign once they lifted off the nest and we were amazed to count 8 osprey above us. All 7 James Farm osprey pairs are now officially at home for the 2018 season.
1 female osprey on the nest today.
1 osprey on the nearby tree today, first osprey I have seen at James Farm this season.
the diary entry from 2016 just appeared amongst my 2017 entries, not sure how to fix that.....but I did see the adults off and on during the summer and last adult male sighting was today. he was perched in his favorite dying tree near the nest.
the pair is still off and on nest depending on human activity at James Farm
ospreys from this nest are now spending time on a downed snag neat the bayshore mobile home park. I have not seen them at their nest site past few days
both osprey were stiing on the nest today, no incubating and the nest has failed. they were attempting to copulate and may try to renest but it will be very difficult moving deep into the summer months at this very busy beach area.
at 11:00 today the female was off her eggs for over 2.5 hours and no male was seen. obviously the nesting has failed. I did watch a number of people approach the nest to photograph and they spent long periods of time at the new sign that is posted only 100 ft from the nest. at 100 feet the osprey are off the nest. I have asked the preserve management to place realistic signs but they feel that since the osprey population is doing well nothing needs to be done to protect them at this ecological preserve. very sad.
incubating osprey was calling for fish for about 30 minutes and the a photographer got within about 125 feet of the platform even though there are signs to stay back, and of course the osprey was up off the eggs immediately and the man stayed there for about 15 minutes. and this is a slow time of the nesting season.
nest looks nice and fat! the female was on new platform t perch calling for food
this pair is using the snag nearby for relief from people and dogs. there are new signs up to keep people away but the signs are too close to the nest and tell people to stay 100' away. by the time they are at the sign the osprey are off the nest. and of course they go closer anyway. loosing battle at James Farm.
this pair was spending lots of time fighting off another osprey pair, and not the pairs from the other platforms at James Farm as they were all present on those nests.
today was first day I could confirm a pair on this nesting platform. all 6 nest platforms at James Farm are now occupied.
At sunset this evening the pair of chicks was very visible in the nest along with the adult female. The male was guarding from his usual nearby tree perch. I would guess these 2 babies have about another week or 2 till fledge and I can hardly wait for that day as it is still touch and go with people disturbing them. Somehow the adults have perservered thru the stress and continue to fish and feed them.
Hard to believe but this pair continues to incubate. I placed "stay back" signs along the marsh near the platform and so far it must be working! The second osprey usually sits in the nearby tree line and sounds warning calls as people or dogs make their way towards the platform. CIB also posted a video about osprey etiquette requesting people stay away from the osprey platforms around the inland bays. Maybe Facebook is the answer:) But..it is still early in the season.
Well this pair is still on their eggs. But I know it is going to be a tough time coming up. Memorial Day is around the corner and that means a crowd of people and dogs along James Farm beach and in the water right next to this pairs platform. We placed more stay back signs along the marsh and even with our brief visit the pair was off the nest sounding loud warning calls albeit just for less than a minute. We are unable to place signs in the water area that is so very close to the platform and that is exactly where the disturbance was 2015 season-people clamming for hours causing the pair to abandon their chicks. Its possible that since they are incubating later their chicks will not hatch. Maybe that would be a blessing. But I am always hopeful that people will understand that ospreys ARE vulnerable to human presence and stay back from nesting sites.
One incubating one nearby
Checked on this pair today and so far they are still incubating even with the increasing human presence on the nearby beach. Perhaps the stay back signs are helping! The mate was eating a fish on its nearby guard tree perch.
All 4 platforms along James Farm beach and marsh area have pairs. They are slowly settling down but there is human disturbance frequently, especially on nice days. Dogs are allowed to roam close to nests. Today I monitored the nests for 3 hours during the James Farm Native Plant sale and in spite of the stay back signs posted close to nest areas people continued to flush all the birds off nests. This platform is the first to begin incubating eggs. They had young in 2015 but abandoned the nest early during chick rearing. Hoping for a better outcome this 2016 season.
This middle platform along the James Farm Ecological Preserve marsh on Pasture point is under pressure from human and canine activity. So far they are bringing nest material and eating fish in the nearby treeline but they do leave the nest often when people and dogs walk within a few feet of their platform. 2015 season they had chicks but appeared to have abandoned the nest and chicks.
The last day I saw a fledgling was 8/21/16 and that day it was perched on a tree deep in the marsh but 4 dogs were allowed to run into the marsh so the young osprey flew away. Happily it doesn't have to be subjected to the continuous disturbance any longer. A few days later I still saw the 2 adults up in the trees but since there is another nest site with fledglings nearby it became hard to tell who was who. I am glad this season is over at James Farm because it is getting worse each year as the dog owners believe the ecological preserve is a dog park. No enforcement and fewer ospreys each nesting season.