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An Intro to OspreyZone

The Story of DDT

Osprey Rescue

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Bald Eagles Visit Nest

Ospreyzone Highlights: May 21-29, 2020

OspreyZone Highlights: May 15-20, 2020 - The Intruder

OspreyZone Highlights: May 7th-14th, 2020

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Osprey Rescue Extended - July 30, 2015

Osprey Zone Highlights - June 28, 2015

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First Sighting

George and Gracie's First Baby

Eggs Over Easy

Changing of the Guard

Breakfast is Served

Upgrading

Feeding Time

First Love

Let's Hang Out

Hard to Get

Little Brother

Intruder

Dinner is Served

OspreyZone Montage

OspreyZone Highlights: George Returns

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Belle’s Journey

Written by Dr. Rob Bierregaard & Illustrated by Kate Garchinsky

Take flight with Belle, an osprey born on Martha’s Vineyard as she learns to fly and migrates for the first time to Brazil and back–a journey of more than 8,000 miles.

Click HERE for more information!

IMPORTANT: Messages from osprey experts

Rob Bierregaard July 1, 2015 at 7:24 am
I haven’t seen the little guy yet this morning, but I would be very surprised if he survived the night. That sure was tough to watch yesterday, but that whole process is as much a part of the essence of being an Osprey as is eating a fish. It’s part of the life of Ospreys that was rarely seen before we started putting cameras in nests. As hard as it is, we should not label the behavior as mean or cruel. Being mean or cruel implies that there is intent to do harm just for harm’s sake. Those young were responding to a set of stimuli (very little food being delivered to the nest and the presence of a very small young) in a way that evolution has hard-wired into them. It helps ensure their survival. Nature is not cruel. It is harsh, unforgiving, and often random (had the little guy been born 1st, he would have been just as aggressive as was his sibling), but not cruel or mean.

4818eecc88292926c58414a82c884c71Paul Henry ospreyzone July 1, 2015 at 8:17 am
Thanks Rob for bringing your knowledge and experience to help us all gain perspective here. We are all saddened by the events that unfolded before our eyes and it’s only natural for all of us to feel and express our emotions appropriately. There have been many issues pertaining to intervention which have been discussed amongst us all. There is no doubt in my mind that the right decision was made, to let nature take it’s course. By the way, that doesn’t equate to heartless, on the contrary, nobody feels worse about this then the apparent decision makers. I say apparent, because when all was said and done, and all the issues were properly weighed, there really weren’t any other options. It was clearly pointed out, by experts, that intervening at this stage could have spooked the whole nest to the point of losing all the young. If the little one was saved, and nursed back to health, what kind of a life would it have had, perhaps caged up in a zoo. I remember when I was younger I saw a golden eagle in captivity, caged behind a wire mesh. I could practically see it’s tears. As far as placing the little one in another nest, such a low probability of success would never have justified the possibility of spooking the nest. There’s a piece of me, however heavy hearted, that believes that perhaps it is better to be born free and die free. We mourn for the little one as we marvel at the wonders of nature.

Reprinted with the permission of John W. Fitzpatrick, Executive Director of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

Hello Paul,

Thanks for your query, and you have my admiration for persevering. We know very well how tough your job is, including dealing with an anxious public.

Our policy with our Bird Cams project is essentially “just say no” to pleas for interference. The behavior you are witnessing – while seemingly cruel and heartless to us – is natural for many kinds of birds, especially those that feed on variable, unpredictable food supplies. The little nestling does have a chance to survive, but if it does not then that result was “meant to be” by the nature of Osprey breeding strategy. The wonderful things about these nest cameras also sometimes yield the difficult things for us to watch. As you might know, we actually post a “siblicide alert” on some of our cams where we suspect the possibility exists.

I’m copying your note to Charles Eldermire, project leader for our Bird Cams. He may have some additional comments, and he would be the one to ask if we might be able to use your stored files for biological analysis.

Best wishes, and good luck,

John W. Fitzpatrick

Director, Cornell Lab of Ornithology

In addition, Charles Eldermire, Bird Cams Project Leader, Cornell Lab of Ornithology Writes:

It’s also important to acknowledge that intervening can also cause problems of its own—depending on the ages of the birds in the nest, disturbing them can trigger an early fledge. We have restricted the scenarios in which we would even consider intervening to injuries or dangers that are explicitly human-derived. For example, 3 or 4 years ago we were alerted by viewers that one of the osprey chicks at the Hellgate Osprey nest was entangled in monofilament line. We consulted with our partners there (wildlife biologists, raptor researchers, raptor rehabbers) to determine if the monofilament was an issue, and if intervening was both likely to solve the issue AND not have bad effects on the other nestlings. In the end, a quick trip to the nest was scheduled via a bucket truck, the monofilament was removed, and the nestlings all eventually fledged. In that case, all of the permits were already in hand to be studying the ospreys, and we had already discussed how to approach issues in the nest.

Good luck to the young one—hope it all turns out well.

charles.

*******************
Charles Eldermire
Bird Cams Project Leader
Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Paul,

I’ve been to your site—great cam! And I noticed the runt in the nest. This is just normal Osprey reproduction. It happens all the time and you should not intervene. It’s tough to watch, but it’s how nature works. Ospreys almost always lay 3 eggs and on average fledge between 1 and 1.5 young each year. They stagger the hatch so there is a spread of ages in the young. That way, if food is short, the first-hatched (and therefore largest) will get enough food to survive while the smaller nest mates do not. If all three young were the same size and there was only enough food for 1 young, none of the young would get enough food and they would all die. If there’s lots of food, the smallest will eventually get fed and can survive. These nest cams can show some gut-wrenching scenes. The most infamous perhaps was one of the very first Osprey cams (on Long Island somewhere), where the smallest young died. One of the adults carried it out of the nest and after several minutes flew back into the nest and fed it to the other young. Waste-not-want-not at its goriest. At Hog Island up in Maine just last week a Bald Eagle came in and took the young out of the nest. Last year at another nest, cameras documented a Great-horned Owl taking young Ospreys out of a nest in NJ or MD. All of these things have been going on for millions of years and Ospreys are doing fine.

Rob Bierregaard
Academy of Natural Sciences
Drexel University
http://www.ospreytrax.com

“Interesting. They don’t often take over osprey poles—probably too small for them. They will coopt tree nests, which they can expand. We had a pair of eagles do this on the Vineyard. They built up the Osprey nest a lot and then the Ospreys came home and drove the eagles away, in a David v. Goliath story. The Ospreys successfully bred. They looked tiny in the nest, which sadly blew down this winter.”

    Leave A Comment

    52,587 Comments

    1. Trinity July 28, 2015 at 6:12 pm - Reply

      @ 6:11pm George delivers a small sized headless fish

    2. Rose Petejan July 28, 2015 at 4:45 pm - Reply

      4:15 You go girl!!!!! Gracie brings in a nice sized, live, fish for the kids. She’s tired of waiting for George’s mood swings.
      Girl Power!!!!

      • Leanne July 28, 2015 at 5:40 pm - Reply

        She certainly does it all. So proud of that bird!

        • Rose Petejan July 28, 2015 at 6:50 pm - Reply

          How so very true!

      • Eleanore July 28, 2015 at 7:07 pm - Reply

        Guess we have to pray for a heavy downpour or we are not going to see the chicks take their first flights.. What a mess on the cam! Who did it? It probably was the bigger one who, by the way, was sitting ON his smaller sibling this afternoon. What a bully. Guess you can tell I don’t like that larger bird. Especially after what he did to the smallest bird.

      • Carol July 28, 2015 at 9:32 pm - Reply

        Just when I questioned her one-a-day fish catch, Gracie upped the game! Always a constant surprise with these birds! That’s what makes watching so much fun….when we can see them!

    3. Dom July 28, 2015 at 2:48 pm - Reply

      It looks like the babies will be taking flight soon. I hope I’m watching when they do!

    4. Leanne July 28, 2015 at 2:39 pm - Reply

      Approximately 1:30 CST George makes a delivery and immediately takes his place on the perch. Gracie is busy feeding the babes. 🙂

    5. Mitchell July 28, 2015 at 2:08 pm - Reply

      There has not been a good fight in a while.

    6. Leanne July 28, 2015 at 12:12 pm - Reply

      11:06 CST and George delivers an ugly fish. So far, 6 minutes later, there hasnt been any feeding going on. Gracie is just standing on the side of the nest, with the fish, and the chicks are watching the scenery. They look hot so you’d think they’d be eating but so far, not a bite.

      • Leanne July 28, 2015 at 12:20 pm - Reply

        11:20 CST and babies still show no interest in the fish. Gracie has taken a few bites but thats about it.

    7. Rose Petejan July 28, 2015 at 10:47 am - Reply

      10:45 Young chick is putting on quite the show. It won’t be long now before they fledge.

      My only question is shouldn’t they already be self feeding? Does anyone know?

      • Karen July 28, 2015 at 3:06 pm - Reply

        No, they’re about at the point that they will start trying but they’ll still be happy to be fed until they leave.

    8. Leanne July 28, 2015 at 10:44 am - Reply

      Gracie delivered a fish and fed the chicks. Babies doing a little wing dancing and Gracie is able to eat a little bit too. 🙂

      • Leanne July 28, 2015 at 10:48 am - Reply

        9:46CST Number 1 is busy practicing to fly and number 2 has secured her spot, between Gracie’s legs, to get a second turn at eating. I love watching these birds so much. It’s amazing the differences you can spot between the two chicks.

    9. Rose Petejan July 28, 2015 at 10:41 am - Reply

      10:25 Now we’re talking, Gracie flies in with a large fish. Should be enough to hold them for a while.

    10. maryjo July 28, 2015 at 10:26 am - Reply

      7/28 10:26am Gracie just brought in a large fish.

    11. cheryl July 28, 2015 at 9:30 am - Reply

      A very small fish delivered. Tough to share. Really just an appetizer.

    12. rodee hansen - Ronkonkoma - NY July 28, 2015 at 9:29 am - Reply

      After ripping the fish from George, Gracie goes into her huge “Umbrella stance” (I just love that stance) -screeching, until the Mr. leaves. Instantly she calms down and the feeding-machine goes to work.
      Such protection and total commitment is heart-warming….. a lesson for all of us.
      Paul, to you and your other partner A LASTING THANK YOU. RH

      • Karen July 28, 2015 at 3:04 pm - Reply

        “Umbrella stance” is much more descriptive but the actual term is mantling.

    13. Rose Petejan July 28, 2015 at 9:22 am - Reply

      9:15 George flies in with a small fish. Gracie takes the fish and waves him off. Come on George, I need more.
      George is so inconsistent with his deliveries. Poor Gracie never knows if they’ll be fed.

    14. Cindy July 28, 2015 at 9:22 am - Reply

      Why does Audrey act like she only has one baby, when it comes time to feed them?

    15. Lavern July 28, 2015 at 9:19 am - Reply

      Within the concepts of preservation and environmental stewardship, our quest
      is grounded as leaders while in the care sector.

    16. Rose Petejan July 28, 2015 at 7:20 am - Reply

      7:50 George realizes that the small, small fish he delivered this morning was just not enough. He comes in with a, very much alive, medium sized fish for Gracie and the kids.

      • Tucker July 28, 2015 at 11:18 am - Reply

        These remarkable birds are a joy to watch, Kudos Tom & Henry-“Two Thumbs Up”! I’m a North Forker like yourselves, and have watched over the years the increasing number of these majestic animals, we are very fortunate to live in such a beautiful area.The Osprey helped give us the scoop on DDT, and it’s harmful effects on our Mother Earth, for this I’m indebted to them. Tom & Paul you deserve another attaboy. In reading the comments, I have seen how your endeavor is perhaps paying an unintended dividend, causing some to consider their trash (plastic). Let’s think twice about what we purchase and how it impacts our planet. George & Gracie your the Best!!!

      • Lyn July 28, 2015 at 2:41 pm - Reply

        2:38 p.m. EDT – George flies in with a change of culinary menu – A small king fish. Nice : )

    17. Lucie Pecor July 28, 2015 at 7:11 am - Reply

      whew I only saw one babe as the other was directly in front of the other. scared me. 🙂

    18. Carol July 28, 2015 at 6:47 am - Reply

      about 5:15amEDT…. Gracie dropped into the nest and you can see George flying away in the background. She gives him a chirpy send off. Gracie went out about 6:25. She dropped back in about 6:30, right on a chick, to do her dance. George brought something small, couldn’t see what, so at least they have something to start the day.
      It was gone in 10 mins. I think both kids got some but the schmutz on the lens was glistening in the rising sun, making viewing difficult.

      • Carol July 28, 2015 at 6:53 am - Reply

        George back at 6:50 with whole fish, medium. Happy dance, happy dance!

        • Carol July 28, 2015 at 6:57 am - Reply

          I just scrolled back to watch again and realized one chick was trying to take the fish or at least get a bite! Too funny, him hanging on as Gracie tried to walk!

    19. Rose Petejan July 28, 2015 at 6:36 am - Reply

      6:30 George flies in with the tail end of a fish. It is so frustrating to watch Gracie calling and calling for food while George feeds himself to his heart’s content while his family is starving.

    20. Rose Petejan July 27, 2015 at 8:31 pm - Reply

      8:30 I just scanned back 4 hours and I didn’t see any fish deliveries. Am I wrong? Did I miss something?

      • Carol July 28, 2015 at 7:00 am - Reply

        Thank you, Rose. I was asking the same. Guess George took a daddy-day-out. I was surprised Gracie didn’t fish. She only seems to do that once a day as far as I’ve seen.

    21. cheryl July 27, 2015 at 8:27 pm - Reply

      This is the first I’ve seen the wing flapping tap dance! How great, Any day now….

    22. Elaine July 27, 2015 at 8:27 pm - Reply

      It looks like one of the kids took another direct hit at the camera lens. Now one of them is practicing helicoptering within the nest. I hope Gracie is nearby.

    23. Pudgy July 27, 2015 at 8:02 pm - Reply

      I love watching these birds. They are trying to fly so bad.. I hope I don’t miss their first flight..

    24. GinaM July 27, 2015 at 7:11 pm - Reply

      The main wingflapper got airborne a couple of times- just an inch or so off the nest, but I bet it was fun!

    25. Leanne July 27, 2015 at 6:54 pm - Reply

      Does anyone have any guesses as to the sex of these 2 chicks?

    26. Carol July 27, 2015 at 6:41 pm - Reply

      Got home and scrolled back to see Gracie bring in a medium sized fish about 2:20pm. Almost bopped one kid in the head! Good ducker…It’s cute that they are greeting her as she comes in with lunch.

      • Carol July 27, 2015 at 9:51 pm - Reply

        I saw George drop off some seaweed just after 2pmEDT. Then I don’t remember seeing him again. Gracie brought in that fish and that was it for the day to the best of my recollection. I hope when everyone’s comments fill in that I’m wrong.

    27. Jo-Ann July 27, 2015 at 6:11 pm - Reply

      Someone wished baby#1 a Happy Birthday (one month old) on June 24th so I think baby #2 was old month old on the 26th.So Happy Birthday Baby #2 (belated but sincere). I also glad that that large piece of plastic blew away. I was not aware that osprey have determined it to be beneficial(as stated by the experts) which I find so strange that they figured out a good use for plastic bags when plastic bags are harmful to wildlife. Nature is so amazing. I just hope next year if plastic if brought up to the nest it is better secured under branches. I don’t think the babies likes it they never laid on it and seemed to tear at it as thought they were trying to dislodge it. It was blowing in the wind and they seemed to dislike it and they won the battle. It rained today but very gently and not for long so the lens is still cloudy. We are going to have a heat wave the next few days so they will be very hot. They are now too big to be shielded by Gracie so we will have to watch them endure the sunny days ahead.

    28. will July 27, 2015 at 5:58 pm - Reply

      I was in Patchogue today getting my car inspected and I noticed two different towers with nest on top of them. I think they might be ospreys nests. Can anyone confirm this. I believe they are ospreys because of the screeching noise they make. Thank you in advance

      • Trinity July 27, 2015 at 11:09 pm - Reply

        I’m a resident on the South Shore near Patchogue, on the canal behind my house there are definitely Ospreys flying around. This website has been very informative in regards to their vocal sounds. Grab a pair of binoculars and try to get a glimpse of your birds and/ or nest. Good luck !

        • will July 28, 2015 at 5:03 pm - Reply

          Trinity I saw birds at both nests, just could not positively identify the species because of the distance.

    29. Leanne July 27, 2015 at 5:50 pm - Reply

      Those babies want to fly so badly and in this wind I was actually afraid a few times that they might. Love watching them doing their exercising. They really do seem to be happy birds. 🙂

      • Leanne July 27, 2015 at 7:14 pm - Reply

        Check it out at approximately 6 cst. So funny to watch. 🙂

    30. Leanne July 27, 2015 at 3:24 pm - Reply

      2:22 CST Gracie just flew in with a small fish and is currently feeding the chicks. 🙂

    31. Cindy July 27, 2015 at 3:01 pm - Reply

      Did George bring a fish, then take it with him when he left? 2:01 cst

    32. Sandy July 27, 2015 at 2:22 pm - Reply

      Enjoyed watching one stretch those beautiful wings and beat the other one with them. Also got to see one doing some rearranging in the nest. That’s either a piece of red rope or red wire in the nest. I have become very conscience about what I have been putting in my trash since I began this journey with George and Gracie.

    33. emilie July 27, 2015 at 2:21 pm - Reply

      WOW!! I am cracking up at the young ones exercising their wings. One guy is flapping them so much and bouncing around in the nest. Reminds me of the jolly jumper we used to put my young nephew in and watch him bounce in the doorway. And the flapping wing is hitting everyone on the face and head! These babies…errrr teenagers…have just grown soo much. How exciting! And they are soo beautiful with their feathers coming in still.

    34. JB July 27, 2015 at 2:00 pm - Reply

      Sadly, it’s become clear that Osprey poop doesn’t dissolve in the rain. Need to raise that camera a couple of feet higher next year and point downward upon the nest, keeping it out of the line of poop-fire.

      Thanks for all your hard work Paul. I’m sure you’ve found keeping up with all the posts more work than you bargained for.

      🙂

      • ospreyzone July 27, 2015 at 2:29 pm - Reply

        Actually, I believe that a little wind driven rain would do the trick, we had a lot of rain this morning but no wind, very little water found our lens. In the past the rain has cleared the lens very well.

        • Bonnie July 29, 2015 at 5:29 am - Reply

          PAUL, I was thinking last night that maybe there is a type of pulley system that could carry just big enough pieces of thin clear plexiglas to cover lens and then manually change/pull on pulley when soiled, somehow attached to stand for security. Maybe someone else can think of a better solution, come on, put your thinking caps on .

          Also is anything set up outside of nest to catch those extra special moments of flight?

    35. Rjoneal July 27, 2015 at 9:28 am - Reply

      Monday 7/27/15 9:23am well it is raining let’s hope it cleans the camera off. I saw two fish brought in today so far. Off to a really good start and just hope the rain doesn’t prevent George from catching any fish later on today.

      • JB July 27, 2015 at 9:47 am - Reply

        Yes, nice to see the rain. There is a lot of hard poop to wash off the camera so hopefully it can have at least a little effect upon it.

        • JB July 27, 2015 at 10:52 am - Reply

          Chemical analysis of Osprey bird poop is complete after the recent rain-shower. It’s now confirmed that Osprey poop does not melt like butter in the rain.

          😉

    36. Leanne July 27, 2015 at 9:14 am - Reply

      I’m getting a late start this morning so I scrolled back and I believe, so far, there have been 2 1/2 small fish. So far, so good.
      I’m very disappointed that I was unable to visit the site at all yesterday. Looks like I missed one of the best days ever. I hope George continues bringing in fish and that there will be a possible shower to clear lens. That would be perfect 🙂

    37. Helen July 27, 2015 at 9:08 am - Reply

      Birds definitely have a language. The number of tweets are always the same when mama bird sees the fish coming in with hubby. It’s four repetitions. Sounds like “feed my babies”, “feed my babies”. She will continue like that until she settles down and has the fish under control in her talons.

    38. Rjoneal July 27, 2015 at 7:55 am - Reply

      Suzanne in response-no she is not hurt she does this often when she’s resting she perches on 1 foot which is normal.
      Gracie is standing on one foot (holding her left up) and her left wing feathers look askew…i worry is she hurt?

    39. Rose Petejan July 27, 2015 at 7:50 am - Reply

      7:44 George brings in the tail end of another fish. Gracie waves him off. I think what she’s saying is that she needs more fish.
      Well at least George is eating well.

    40. Rjoneal July 27, 2015 at 7:45 am - Reply

      Response to Mitchell July 24, 2015 at 2:16 pm – Reply
      Why does she wait for George to get out of the nest before she starts feeding?
      Well at the beginning George being a young fishermen and a beginner he would bring a whole fish and when the babies were little Gracie would feed George along with the babies as he’s gotten older and wiser and more experience he’s learned to eat the head off before he brings a fish to the nest some of the times that way he’s sure he’ll get his share plus Gracie stop feeding him when there wasn’t enough fish so she started letting George no he was not getting any and he needed to go fish some more. At first he seemed a little confused stuck around the nest until finally he got the hint she was not going to feed him and he wasn’t getting any of that fish he needed to go get more .

      • Mitchell July 27, 2015 at 10:36 am - Reply

        Oh okay yea that sounds about right. Thanks for your response. That is very interesting.

    41. Diane S July 27, 2015 at 7:38 am - Reply

      We had some big storms come through last night and this morning. Still, shmutz on the lens, I guess either the storms missed the East Marion area, or the shmutz is baked on the lens. I live near the Port Jefferson area, north shore.

      • ospreyzone July 27, 2015 at 9:28 am - Reply

        We need rain and wind to wash the lens. It’s raining now but very little wind.

      • HollyW July 27, 2015 at 11:02 am - Reply

        We got rain during the night and it has rained here most of the day..I’m afraid it’s so baked on that only a good hand cleaning will clear the lens. Camera faces south so it gets a lot of sun during the day. Most of our storms come from north or west so camera doesn’t get too wet! I think the damp humid weather actually cleans it more than the rain…it’s coming straight down today.

    42. Rose Petejan July 27, 2015 at 6:55 am - Reply

      5:52 Good start to the day. George brings in a whole fish for Gracie and the kids. I can’t believe how big they’ve gotten and they are trying to self feed, they keep trying to steal the fish away from Gracie.

    43. barbara July 27, 2015 at 6:20 am - Reply

      It sure is getting crowded in that nest.

    44. Carol July 27, 2015 at 5:51 am - Reply

      Gorgeous George brings in fluke at 5:43amEDT… The day is off and running.

      • Carol July 27, 2015 at 6:20 am - Reply

        Second bigger fish @ 6:08Am. Looked headless so George found time to have breakfast somehow!

      • Carol July 27, 2015 at 6:27 am - Reply

        The news tells me it’s raining somewhere on LI but not at my house! (east end, South Fork)

    45. Rjoneal July 26, 2015 at 9:58 pm - Reply

      Paul I I just went to post a comment to Suzanne today Sunday, June 26 10:00 pm and noticed I have about four messages still waiting to be moderated from several days ago can you please check on this. I did see two messages posted yesterday but all these other ones are still pending
      One message was to Mitchell And one to Jan and I can’t remember the other ones . This is never happened to me before so I would appreciate if you would take a look at it thanks . Glad it was a good fishing day for osprey family everyone is happy and full

    46. Rose Petejan July 26, 2015 at 8:47 pm - Reply

      7:45 Est time ( George didn’t disappoint me tonight he brought in the tail end of a large fish he had eaten. Not enough, but it’s something. George has picked up the pace. Maybe Gracie going out and fishing on her own has spurred George on. Whatever it is I hope he keeps it up.

    47. Ron DeRosa July 26, 2015 at 8:15 pm - Reply

      When will the female lay some more eggs?

    48. Carol July 26, 2015 at 7:57 pm - Reply

      7:50 pmEDT George brings in a med./small fish. I always feel sorry for him because it seems like he would like to hang around but he’s not welcome. At least chick 2 always says hi now.

      • Carol July 26, 2015 at 8:18 pm - Reply

        I DON’T MISS THAT PLASTIC!!!!!!! Good work, wind!

    49. Carol July 26, 2015 at 5:38 pm - Reply

      Just scrolled back about an hour(maybe 5:40EDT) tosee chick#1 working on the fishtail, as usual. #2 was watching him like a hawk(chuckle)! But as he always manages, he worked until he choked that tail down! I don’t know how he does it!

    50. Trinity July 26, 2015 at 5:36 pm - Reply

      5:30 EST the chicks are stretching out those wings and taking up the entire nest ! Gracie is probably counting down the days until they take flight ?

    51. GinaM July 26, 2015 at 5:31 pm - Reply

      From the looks of it, I think the babies are getting sick of sushi! They had a LOT to eat today!

      • GinaM July 26, 2015 at 5:32 pm - Reply

        the best sight I saw today was then Gracie brought in a fish and was eating it and feeding it to Baby 1 and then George brought in another one and fed it to baby 2.

    52. Rose Petejan July 26, 2015 at 4:08 pm - Reply

      4:07 There is actually a fish on the nest and no one’s making a move for it. They’ve had quite a bit to eat today. What a positive change for this nest.
      Keep it up George.

      • Lyn July 26, 2015 at 4:46 pm - Reply

        5:45 p.m. EDT – Been peeking into the nest all day and WOW, George really DEEEEE-LIVERED today. Gracie, and the chicks are stuffed with the bounty today. Hope fishing continues
        this way. What does everyone think, are we are FLEDGE WATCH this week? #1 really wants to jet.

    53. Carol July 26, 2015 at 3:12 pm - Reply

      3:10pmEDT George brings in headless fish, good sized

      • Carol July 26, 2015 at 3:22 pm - Reply

        I think that’s fluke. They aren’t hungry, I’ll take it!

        • Carol July 26, 2015 at 4:14 pm - Reply

          4:07pm Kids woke up, pooped, ready to sleep again. Gracie looked at fish under her foot as if wondering why it’s still there. Few minutes later they all woke up and feeding began.

    54. Rose Petejan July 26, 2015 at 2:18 pm - Reply

      1:30 George brings in what looks like a whole fish. Gracie was thrilled as were the children.

    55. Bob July 26, 2015 at 1:55 pm - Reply

      1:53 est. With all the fish this morning, Gracie is standing on a fish and no one wants any.

    56. Patty July 26, 2015 at 1:50 pm - Reply

      Around 1:30 edt, Gracie is screaming, then George brings in a whole fish, Gracie grabs and hovers over it,spreading her wings and yelling at George to leave the nest. She is still standing on the fish and the kiddies don’t seem interested ! 1:50pm

    57. Marlene July 26, 2015 at 1:37 pm - Reply

      I think everyone is full. Seems to be no interest in the fish!! Just Gracie’s talon on it, the chicks resting, and George flew the coop. I wonder why the fishing is so good today, but yesterday was a disaster.

    58. Karen July 26, 2015 at 1:36 pm - Reply

      Another fish from George at 1:35! Hope this keeps up! The young ones aren’t even interested and Gracie is just holding onto it without eating. Nice to have a spare fish for later.

    59. Marlene July 26, 2015 at 1:35 pm - Reply

      Another nice-sized fish at 1:30 p.m. EST, courtesy of George. And I forgot to mention previously that, when Gracie went fishing around noon, a big piece of the beige-tan plastic became dislodged and blew away. Good riddance! I wonder where it will end up.

    60. Carol July 26, 2015 at 1:35 pm - Reply

      1:30pmEDT George brings in another one! Good sized…feeding will take awhile

      • Carol July 26, 2015 at 1:38 pm - Reply

        Nobody’s interested! Kids are just lying down and Gracie’ standing on it gazing off over the bay

        • Carol July 26, 2015 at 2:58 pm - Reply

          That’s the longest a fish has remained intact in that nest. 2:08 before Gracie started on that fish! The kids woke up and everyone well fed.

    61. Karen July 26, 2015 at 1:21 pm - Reply

      Are there nearby trees or anything else to land on when the fledglings start their practice fights?

      • Carol July 26, 2015 at 8:14 pm - Reply

        Hi..if you go to “Highlights” you can scroll through pictures of the tower. You can see at least a couple of trees with good clear limbs to land on. Hopefully there are others. There’s also that house to the left under the nest.

        • Karen July 26, 2015 at 10:30 pm - Reply

          Yes, I’m sure those will be enough. They’re just sooo high up! Too bad the camera is stationary and we won’t be able to see where they go.

    62. Marlene July 26, 2015 at 12:56 pm - Reply

      George delivered a nice size fish around 10:10 a.m. and both chicks ate. Lo and behold, Gracie decided to go catch a fish and came back in a few minutes (around 11:50 a.m. EST) with another HUGE fish. She sure is a great fisherwoman! Not to be outdone, George brought them another fish about 20 minutes later.
      It was so cute, because one chick ate with Mommy and the other ate with Daddy. Even the parents ate alot. Good Sunday fishing! Let’s hope it continues.

    63. Carol July 26, 2015 at 12:40 pm - Reply

      Around 11:55amEDT Gracie brought in a nice sized fish, but it was trailing seaweed on fishingline. It got hung up on a branch on the left side of nest and she had a struggle, but it suddenly released. Maybe she bit the line? Hope it doesn’t cause complications.

      • Carol July 26, 2015 at 12:48 pm - Reply

        One chick was getting fed. The other tried pecking at end of fish between Gracie’s legs but wasn’t getting anywhere. Then George to the rescue! He came in about 12:05 with another fish. Chick 2 buddied up with Dad and everyone is eating.Good to see happy family!

    64. Karen July 26, 2015 at 12:38 pm - Reply

      About noon Gracie came in with a lively medium size fish and began feeding. About 10 minutes later George arrived with another fish! That’s the way to do it! Gracie is feeding one of the kids and George the other. That’s the first time I’ve ever seen George feed one of them and was worried he wouldn’t know what to do when Gracie leaves.
      Funny coincidence because earlier today on the CC nest, Tom and Audrey both brought in fish at the same time to feed their group of 3. That was the first time they’ve done that this year.

    65. Rose Petejan July 26, 2015 at 12:33 pm - Reply

      12:00 p.m. It looks like Gracie got tired of waiting for George to bring lunch. Came back with a live, good sized fish. Not a minute later George also comes in with a fish. He looks over in awe. Each parent is feeding one chick. Now that’s a site.

    66. Karin July 26, 2015 at 12:26 pm - Reply

      12:20 PM mom is struggling with a whole fish trying to feed one kid and dad showed up with another fish and is feeding the other kid….. dad’s kid is getting fed faster needless to say….

    67. GinaM July 26, 2015 at 12:00 pm - Reply

      The fish brought in at noon looks like a baby shark

      • GinaM July 26, 2015 at 12:17 pm - Reply

        TWO FISH at the same time!!

    68. suzanne July 26, 2015 at 11:27 am - Reply

      Gracie is standing on one foot (holding her left up) and her left wing feathers look askew…i worry is she hurt?

    69. rodee hansen - Ronkonkoma - NY July 26, 2015 at 11:26 am - Reply

      To Cloudymoor :
      Sunday 11:20 am

      With great interest and much appreciation for your answer to my question about male/female ID – timing, yes, this lengthy article did shed much light – very educational and oh, all those clear photos. So comprehensive!!!! My knowledge of ospreys has been greatly enhanced by this article. YOUR CARING WILL BENEFIT MANY – – – – – – – THANK YOU. R.H.

    70. Carol July 26, 2015 at 10:29 am - Reply

      Just watched wingercize action. Looks like one got some air in those wings and was on tiptoe! When I’ve watched the Verizon nest in previous years, chicks would practice till they would actually hover over the nest. They wouldn’t take off till they had learned basic control. Then they had various perches to fly to…lamp posts, a railing around the Verizon building, even the top of King Kullen. It was always interesting to watch them learning how to gain altitude to get back into the nest.

      • Tucker July 26, 2015 at 11:30 am - Reply

        Guesstimation – about 6″ below normal rainfall so far, not good for the farmers or camera lenses. Looks like flight school is about to begin. Off topic- The North Fork Ospreys of the Hamptons Collegiate Baseball League made the playoffs, bring home the trophy for our buddies!

    71. Karin July 26, 2015 at 10:28 am - Reply

      10:22 ish AM mom was feeding babies…. baby #2 got tired of not getting many mouthfuls and snagged the fish from mom and ate all the rest of it himself…..Mom just looked over to see how he was doing a few times then started calling dad to bring more…

    72. Carol July 26, 2015 at 10:20 am - Reply

      Nice breeze blowing and ruffling feathers. George just made a delivery-10:14amEDT-looked mid sized. One chick always seems to take time to greet Dad. Cute.
      They’re predicting rain here today. Promises, promises! If we had 1/2 the rain predicted, we’d be in good shape! And the lens might be clear.

    73. Mitchell July 26, 2015 at 10:11 am - Reply

      Why is Gracie so quiet this morning?

    74. Carol July 26, 2015 at 9:07 am - Reply

      Just before 9:00 Gracie flew in. You could see her in the background as she flew over the bay. One of the chicks spotted her and watched as she flew in and chirped in recognition as she came. It’s funny that he knew her in flight from a distance and we have a hard time recognizing them after staring at them! Nature is amazing!

    75. Carol July 26, 2015 at 8:14 am - Reply

      Breakfast arrived early. George popped in about 5:30amEDT but it was hard to tell size of fish. Both chicks stepped in to feed and there wasn’t any fighting so each got some. It was gone in about 15 mins.
      This was followed by preening and, later, some wingercize. Add in some stick moving and it’s been a busy morning!

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