Another egg….

 A third egg at the Arb cam nest….only two at 7:23 but three by 8:30….

Arb update

 Well the Arboretum ospreys are finally bringing more nest material but sadly, the female covered the egg with a clump of grass….she seems to have finally uncovered it….but she is not incubating full time and with so little nest underneath the egg for insulation we will see if it survives…..sigh.

First egg at the Arboretum cam nest

 The first egg was laid at the Arb Nest today….sometime between 3:30-4 I think. But they have not built much of a nest, you can see thru it in spots….its mostly a thin layer of grasses that will not provide much insulation for the eggs. Sigh. We will see …

Oh my…..

 OMG!!!!!! MS is back at the Arb cam nest!!!! A bit late, but better late than never! I hope anyway. There are a lot of other males to deal with! But here’s hoping things work out for them and that he will feed the female and BUILD A NEST! Whew!

Chicks are on the way!

 The first eggs have been laid! Incubation has begun…..so other nests will follow soon. Chicks are on the way!

It’s complicated…

 The plot thickens at the Arb cam nest. This morning there have been three ospreys on the nest….two unbanded males at once. One of them did leave a fish for the female. But in all the commotion, it’s difficult to always discern which male is which….head markings vary a bit, and the light and chaos keeps even me confused. The female has been bringing nest material. Interesting. As I said, things are unsettled, to say the least.

Mid April already….

 I have been out to the Arboretum again and have been watching the cam. The banded male we saw earlier, PZ, is now back on his nest with a female….so he seems settled at another site. The unbanded male continues to hang out on the cam nest, but he is not really feeding the female, tho I have seen her grab a fish from him. She is also clearly feeding herself. Very little nest building going on, tho some grasses and other small pieces have been added….no real sticks for a solid base. At the moment it doesn’t look like a match made in heaven. I sure wish MS had returned to the territory. With an unbanded male there, we have no history, no age to help us understand some of the behaviors. He may be quite young and not quite clicking with how to be a good mate. Time will tell. 

I am also surprised by how many empty nests I am seeing elsewhere. It’s mid April….most established pairs are back by this time. We are still missing a few beloved banded males and females. Maybe they will still show up. 

I still have many many nests to visit for the first time….so many miles, so much time. Hoping for some cloudy days for better band reading conditions….we have some tough ones to read yet. 

And after a long weekend of driving, I am going to turn the iPad off and go for a walk and have some wine. Thanks to all the volunteer monitors who have also spent the weekend “working”. I am so grateful to them all.