Osprey Cam

Nice day today, the sun is shining!

We have an osprey nest right across from our dock, that we put in many years ago with a local conservation group. There is a whole colony of them along our rivers but ours takes the prize for junk! There was an old tire in there for awhile.

Wow, greenhouse_gal, I thought I had a good view of an osprey nest, but yours is astounding.

No, that's not really my view! The president of the conservation group is licensed to band the chicks, and she and her husband go up there with a ladder to do that and to check things out and to take photos. We get a great view of the nest and the osprey across our little river, and the other day my granddaughter was sitting at the diningroom table, which faces the river, doing her homework and she was all excited because she could watch an osprey dive down, pick up a fish that was still wriggling, and bring it off to its nest.

The president put up a wonderful slideshow called "Eggs to Flight," from photos she took of the nest close to her house. It's here:
http://www.cumauriceriver.org/pages/ef-slide/slide-ef.html

Hi green, Thats great you live so close to see them getting their food!

Pelletory, we put the nest up on purpose so that we could watch them. Citizens United to Protect the Maurice River and Its Tributaries has an osprey platform project that we took advantage of to have the nest erected. I did drown a new Nikon camera in the process, and we almost lost a small boat when it went down in the chop. We all had to swim for it! And it was in early March, to boot. But it's been up for many years now and we enjoy it tremendously! We also see eagles and herons and egrets all the time around here.

That's wonderful! Those were some wild early experiences.

Quite a story to tell, for sure!

I am wonderign if she may just lay one egg at her age?

Not so easy to see if there's a second egg or not, now she's sitting tight! Time will tell.

Resin

Hopefully they'll keep that blog up to day.

I got an exciting report that there is a locally a couple pairs of eagles nesting here. I had no idea! I thought they all went north in March.

Raining again! Drats!

greenhouse_gal, thanks for the link. Really interesting.

Margaret, I'm so glad you liked it! There's a lot of great information there.

Two of the shorebird scientists who come here each spring to track red knots and other migratory birds are from Australia - Melbourne and Yarram.

She has laid her second egg!

Male and female together.

The old gall did it!!

Very good!

Third egg was laid by the female today.

Be sure to read the update....lots of info and funny too!

They do make reading more fun then the American sites!

Just checked in and the male was on the nest. The female returned from her break and kept yelling until the male took off and she got back on the eggs.

Boy, that sounds familiar, GP

I wanted to boost this back up. Be sure to read the diary on the happenings at the nest sight.

First egg should hatch this Thursday!

Today is the possible hatching day for the first egg. Those able to check in on the Osprey may catch it.

They need to back the camera up a bit. Don't get nothing but momma's head!! LOL

Yes that is way too close up. All I'm seeing is the top of her back. :-)

Just been a changeover on incubating, still only eggs visible, no chicks yet.

Resin

First egg hatched today, according to the weblog

I keep forgetting this one...watching so many cams!!

Just saw TWO chicks during the changeover!

Think one may have just hatched !!! Looked like the parent just moved some eggshell out from under its' self!!!!

One chick is visible here, though hard to see.

That's really wonderful GP. I've not been fortunate enough to see any action whenever I view. Thanks for this great site.

Mrs_Ed actually found this one, I just gave it its' own thread. I think you will be seeing a LOT more action soon, when they begin caring for the babies.

I just saw the 2 chicks!

I was beginning to think I was seeing things, since they still say one chick! Glad you saw them too!

Yep, 2 chicks; the 2nd has still got its head half in the eggshell!

Resin

Edit: 2nd chick's head is clear now


This message was edited May 16, 2009 6:28 PM

The kids are hungry, and mum's shrieking out for food!