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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
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OspreyZone Yankee
March 18, 2016 Timelapse
The Summer of 2015 by GinaM
Osprey Rescue Extended - July 30, 2015
Osprey Zone Highlights - June 28, 2015
Osprey Zone Highlights - June 19, 2015
osprey 07/11/15 squirt
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.
IMPORTANT: Messages from osprey experts
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.
Paul 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.
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
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
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
Sunday morning 4-17-16 Gracie and George play tug-of-war with half of fish I hope everyone saw it went on for quite a while. It doesn’t appear that they post any comments over the weekend so by the time you get this it’ll be too late to scroll back.
Does everyone remember how last year Gracies feed George the fish when she had the babies and he brought in the whole fish? I thought maybe she was going to do that when George brought a whole fish yesterday instead she just took off with the whole thing Lots of people said George was not an experience provider since it was the first time he mated and had babies with Gracie, so he didn’t know to eat the head off first before bringing the fish to the nest.
But he’s been eating the head off and brings in the half fish to Gracie except for twice now 2 days in a row I’ve seen him bring her a whole fish then he waits around to see if she is going to give him some but she doesn’t she takes off with the whole thing.
Sunday around 11:00 am 4-17-16 This is hilarious the little birds that always make a nest under the osprey nest one of the birds keeps taking George’s straw,seaweed and hay or dry grass and taking it down and making the nest underneath big Osprey nest it’s so funny keeps coming up and getting pieces that he can carry off and then he comes back hilarious. George is going to have to get more soft cushiony material the little birds are stealing all of it for their nest only thing they can lift up he’s going to come back and say what happened I just clean this nest where did all my bedding material go George has been working on the nest all day. He might just think Gracie did some re-organizing.
April 17- At 9:40 an intruder brings moss to nest but Gracie chases him away. He flies around the nest but eventually leaves.
It may have been George who landed but flew after another Osprey.
It was George — George landed on nest, then someone flew overhead too close for comfort and just after George took off after him, Gracie landed on nest to offer support, “Go get him, honey”.
I see that George has brought in the most-favored windshield wiper blade!
Nagging Gracie says get more nesting materials and stop arranging it I will do that. Do all female osprey localized has much as Gracie?
Yes, alot of them do, but she is just VERY LOUD !
April 17- A couple of long black pieces of plastic have been added to the nest.
April-17- At approximately 6:55 am. Gracie brings in a fish to the nest while George is on perch. George jumps down to get the fish from Gracie and they had quite a tug of war going on. George eventually got the fish and flew back up to the perch with it.
George brought a full fish to Gracie around 6:20 AM..she brought was left of the fish back to nest, and did not want to give it up…was a good tug of war..George won..
Gave me a good chuckle. Maybe that should be in the highlights of 2016, along with, as Eva suggested, when George kept tipping Gracie over with the stick!
4/16/16 6:26pmEDT Looks like nestorations going full tilt…on scroll back, saw Geo bringing in a stick in each foot….The boy is working HARD!!!!!!!!!!
Love it – “nestorations”!
It’s now 2:00pm & what I thought was fishing line is gone. The white sticks are either gone or moved. Yeah.
I noticed the comment about the sparrows- I saw them also. I take my boat out of the Mattituck inlet and noticed that the nests there have MULTIPLE sparrows nesting in each one. ALSO- Just watched Gina M’s compilation of last year. GREAT JOB!!!!!!!!!!!! Those of you who haven’t seen it, go look! And make sure your sound is on- ESPECIALLY if you love Janis Joplin!!!! http://ospreyzone.com/summer-2015-gina-m/
It is 10:30 a.m. (EST) After hours of both George and Gracie moving a clump of twigs around the nest but they were not happy with it in any part of the nest. They moved it around for hours and just when it looked like it was in place the wind blew it out of the nest about 10 a.m. It was very funny to watch them keep moving it around. It was in the nest when I scrolled back 4 hours (6:30 a.m.) So that clump was moved around for at least 4 hours. A lot of time ,energy and determination went into positioning that clump of twigs and the wind blew it away!!!
That had to be the stalky bunch I saw come in early..would love to have seen that part..it didn’t look like it belonged anywhere in the nest and I noticed it was gone….
Yeah, George was moving it from here to there to there and back again, then it blew right out of the nest!
THIS IS FOR CarolV – Please
Good morning CarolV. Its Saturday 10 am.
I have been thinking. ……..Nothing ever happened about our grandiose idea of getting together. Most of our Osprey “family” are too far away. I understand that.
You and I live close. I am in Ronkonkoma. I would love to see you …. maybe lunch on a Sat or Sun. I could meet you in Riverhead ??????
My only problem is how to make contact with you. I am not too keen on broadcasting phone numbers or e-mail addresses via this “Post Comment” system.
Any ideas? Have a relaxing week-end. Rodee H.
Rodee…appreciate idea but I’m still working and days off are full with chores…retirement plans are in the works….
OH No! Think there’s a bit of fishing line near the middle of the nest, near those whitish sticks!
7:10amEDT 4/16/16 Activity started early..saw the arrival of that wad of stalks about 6:15ish..that spot was carefully chosen, not an accident to put it square in the middle..hope that is reconsidered…Fis arrival about 6:50..you an see Geo coming in with Gra hotfooting in after him…Geo managed a few mins. rest in the nest without being screamed at..Gra must have gotten up on the right side of her bed (limb)…….
Big THANK YOU to whoever set this site up….it’s VERY NICE to hear the bird chatter and be able to comment on all that we see. Wish the other birdcams I watch were done this well !! Thank You !!
Did the camera get knocked over to the left ? I think the nest was centered more before the George & Gracie came back ? I know I’m nit picking but I love watching these two ! So happy they are back. Is it really George and Gracie from last year ? Keep up the good work to the great people that make this happen…..OUR FAMILY WATCHES EVERYDAY !!!!!
Elizabeth Raftery, I knew some where I had posted a discription of what I was seeing in 2 different males. As I was looking back to find it I saw your reply . It may be the light or the wind messing with the darker feathers on his forehead. Do you think there is only one male now ? I never get notifications so sometimes I am missing posts and the moderator does not reply.
Yes, I know there is only one male now — although it appears, at times, that someone is still trying!
4/15/16 3:00pmEDT ish Sparrow exploring among the nest stick..cute…
About 3:01 came up over left side and was scooting in and out under the sticks..still loose enough to get all around the within nest..may have grabbed some grass…The neighbors are home…
Just another tee hee moment…2:57pm, Gracie chirping her lungs out, George shows up with a nice whole fish, Gracie grabs and takes off, just Love watching a kind of expression on George’s face, like, Oh, well, might as well keep working on this place”, which he is doing! LOL and hugs to all
Disregard former comment about Gracie entanglement — after closer inspection, looks more like she got tangled up in branches! Sorry, didn’t mean to alarm people!!
2:30 PM Major uh-oh – Just scrolling back tape to view ospreys. At about 10 minutes before 1 PM, George brought Gracie a fish. When she went to fly away with it, it looks like she got tangled in some type of cord. I hope we don’t eventually have a tragedy like the pictures shown in environment section!! Very concerned.
Love to read all the comments, thanks to all for the wonderful observations. I am not very good at identifying George, Gracie and the intruder. I read a comment a while back stating that George has a wound is on his right and the Intruder’s wound is on his left. I have noticed that the Osprey that is tending to the nest, always alone, has the wound on the left. I also noticed that when there are two Ospreys in the nest, probably G & G, one Osprey has a wound on the right. Are they apartment sharing?
NJD , That is exactly what I have been seeing also along with another identifying mark that tells me who is who. It has not always been George in the nest or mating with Gracie. She seems to except them both. I guess if one provider is good then two is better :)))) I may be totally off but for now that is what I see.
George had a wound a week ago on the right side of his breast and the other male had one on his left. But those healed rather quickly. Now George has one under his left wing that is still visible. I haven’t seen the intruder male actually in the nest for several days. I’ve seen a third osprey fly by when G and G were both in the nest, and have felt like there is one close by sometimes due to the actions of our two. Hope this helped a bit.
I just started watching this nest again. I was sorry to hear about injuries. Was there a territorial dispute?
I never thought the nest would be done in time for this years brood. Again these magnificent creatures have educated me.
Students in our Special Ed class enjoy watching the progress of the nest building process
I saw it, too, rjoneal. They are too funny. Sometimes Gracie is squawking so much that I wonder if George feels like flying away. I wonder if all the females do that.
Special shout out to the stick person or persons. The nest building went into high gear- Thanks! BTW Long John Silver wants his crutch back!
11:30am 15th Sounds like the Sparrows have taken the basement apartment- Affordable Housing?
4?15?16 7:50amEDT Checked in to see how great the nest looks(more grasses) and all the new comments..good to see how many people are checking in..but can’t go thru all, as today is TAXDAY…and I procrastinate…will have to catch up later…wrong season but I still say Bah Humbug !!!!!!
OOPS…meant date as 4/15/16
9:27amEDT OK Realized priorities and put this ahead of taxes…enjoyed all the posts and getting caught up..seems like TOM is gone? and G&G are getting their priorities in order..
now what else can I do to” drag my feet “? I know, print coupons! or something……………
(Booming): This is the IRS. Give Uncle Sam your money now! Just kidding! Hope you got them done … as long as it’s postmarked by midnight!!
Hi to all, just checking in and thanking for all the comments and updates. So grateful for another Simply Smazing Season !!
April 15- About 7 am- Gracie is in nest squawking and George arrives. Both George and Gracie are silent yet you can clearly hear another osprey and both George and Gracie look up towards the perch. I think there was another bird on that perch!!
Check out the Osprey nest on the campus of Smithtown HS West!
https://twitter.com/SCSD_AMS/status/720924966963818497
Hi Paul. Nice to see the osprey are back. at Accompsett..
April 15- George did a little nest building before returning with a whole fish for Gracie’s breakfast.
Approximately 6:15 am
around 6:15 AM George brought in a nice size fish for Gracie…also he has been softening the center nest for her this morning..good to see
I’m very impressed by the nest building. It’s amazing how much they can accomplish in a day.
I especially like the hole in the center which will be very cozy for the eggs. They did good today 🙂
George dug out a small bowl size hole so when Gracy can drop her eggs in when ready..to sit on top of them and keep them warm and covered. How fasinating 😉
I scrolled back, and around 12:45 p.m. George was really busy working on the nest. He brought up a lot of twigs and also straw, to make the nest soft. After doing all that, he actually laid down on it, pushing with his legs extended backward, to make a nice, soft area. I guess for the eggs and babies. Nature is just amazing. Then, they mated one more time for good luck.
Does anyone know how long it will be until Gracie lays the eggs? How about how long it takes to hatch? I believe the hatching is staggered, so that they are not all born at the same time. Thanks in advance for our answers.
I also checked out that ERaftery posted that showed ospreys fishing. Thanks for the info. They are just unbelievable fishers! I’m glad I’m not a fish in Ospreyland, ha-ha.
9:22amEDT Hi! Previous posters had kindly informed me that it’s 19-22 days..that means to the truly optimistic, egg watch starts next week for Earth Day weekend..I’ll be watching…and as someone else pointed out..G&G have been SOOOO busy, there should be about 600 eggs….
This was too funny, not sure of the time but it is 4-14-16 Thursday. George was of course doing maintenance to the nest and he kept hitting poor Gracie with this stick and it kept making her whole behind go up in the air.. wonder if she thought Geo was trying a new mating position. Did anyone else get a chance to see this I do have a pic if anyone wants to see.
I saw it as well rjoneal- very funny
It would be a great addition to highlights for 2016…maybe in the “that did not just happen” category! Hint for our hosts : )
2:26 ET – They’ve done a good job with the nest. But there’s that one spot in the front right corner that has to be filled in. Just right for a bobble head to fall out or over.
yeah!!! It isf finally starting to look like a nest!
Totally cracks me up that George is doing all the work and Gracie is just waiting on the next fish…. Priceless
I’m so glad to see George really utilizing the sticks! Kudos to those guys who put them there!
11:15…amazing how Gracie is working on the nest!!!!!
Does anyone know who removed the big branch?
No one – it’s covered now that George can build the nest without being antagonized by the weather and the other osprey!!
BIG STICK IS JUST COVERED UP BY SMALLER ONES. I AM NO NEST EXPERT BUT THINK THERE WILL BE SEVERAL LAYERS AND THE BIG STICK ON THE BOTTON IS NOT A PROBLEM.
It’s probably covered.
The big stick was put there as an anchor and it has been used as one. We had a nest near us several years ago with no anchor &the nest blew away at every big wind storm. I notified someone and now that nest has big anchoring sticks & does not fly away anymore.
Happy to be back watching my favorite website. Thank you for putting this wonder of nature out there for us.
Today, as in quite a few past days, I am reminded of the Bob Dylan song “Blowin’ in the Wind”.
Thank you sooo much for all the info. Have Ben watching since last year the good and the bad
So happy they have returned and finally there is a small soft spot for the eggs
I am so looking forward to the next generation and keep coming with the comments, thank you again
To everybody
The nest is looking so much better!!!!
8:11 A.M. Thursday – Gracie on the nest squawking, George flew in with half a fish, Gracie took the fish and flew off.
April 14, 8:10 am, Breakfast is served.
April 14, As of 8:05 am Not much has happened. George has done a little nest building and currently Gracie is sitting in nest squawking a little bit. I think she’s hungry. Also, large piece of plastic flew out of nest and landed on the beach. I hope George doesn’t find it again and bring it back.
I think Gracie found IT and ANOTHER one and brought them to the nest on the 16th!
Awww. Sorry to see black plastic got brought up to the nest. What were they thinking ?
10:08pmEDT( Way past my bedtime!) Just took a look at Sand Point cam and the difference is startling,,backgrounds< I mean! Our sea view is constantly changing while the ballfield looks like a painted backdrop…it will be amusing if I manage to tune in when a game is on the field! It's amazing that the birds are unfazed by that kind of activity, but I can't tell how high that platform is….
There was a baseball game at Sandpoint last Friday evening. The temperature was in the 70’s. Tlhe two ospreys sat in nest and looked as if they were watching the game. It was an awesome site.
That’s funny. BTW, site states platform is 90 feet up!
Regretfully I didn’t note the time, but seems like it was around noon, George and Gracie are both in the nest, watching something very intensely, and loud chirping is constant. Then the “other” male does a fly over and flies away. He is truly persistent! Just happy that George and Gracie are so well bonded and working together to protect their nest. I did notice what looks like a wound under George’s left wing. Seems to be healing, though, and hopefully if it is a wound it will be the last one. It may have been something else, but I noticed it several times, and it seemed to have a pink color to it.
I saw that too and got a video of that fly by. I also noticed the apparent wound on George, which made me question whether it was really him. I am assuming it was and hope that this wound clears up as quickly as the last one. George and Gracie are a very interesting pair to watch and I basically have them on my computer all day long. My cat enjoys them too. 🙂
4/13/16 7:53pmEDT Haven’t had the chance to log in much..missing all the drama!! I didn’t watch last year at this bonding. building period and wonder if anyone remembers any rivalry at that time…..
At the Cutchogue Verizon nest, a friend watches thru his camera lens and says there is a rival male hanging around there too. Wonder whether this is all standard or if there is just a shortage of platforms and empty towers…..
And thank you, Jim B., for posting the eagle videos. Breathtaking to see them in flight!!!!.
Hopefully that rival male will find North Fork Bob’s mate. She must be lonely and hopefully has found a new mate by now..
April 13- At around 7:25 pm George brings in yet another piece of fish.
April 13- At about 5:05 pm George brings in another fish. Gracie sure is eating well today.
I also like the way the nest is starting to look.
Do all female osprey squawk as much as Gracie or is that just something she does?
When females are hungry, have chicks to feed and expecting food to be delivered they squawk.
Gamma Carolyn I don’t know about being censored but I do know we have moderators to make sure nothing inappropriate gets put out there.
Ever sense Osprey zone started I always use the two buttons under post comments notified me by email and notify me by email for follow up
And I do get notified by email. If somebody replies to you and your message gets mixed up at least you will have a separate email that comes to you showing the reply so you won’t miss the reply usually.
At least that’s how it works with my email. I have found it’s just better to post a comment and put a person’s name you want to address rather then reply so the message stays in order.
This is just how it’s worked for me I don’t know about others.
4:31p Screaming Gracie receives a whole fish from George(?) and proceeds to fly off with her gift when much wing flapping fails to shoo George off the nest….
April 13- 4:30 pm Large fish delivery from George. Gracie seemed very happy as she flew off with her dinner 🙂
The babies will be very modern….they can say: “I have two fathers.”
My Two Dads…..and Gracie 🙂
Just a comment regarding the SANDPOINT nest as opposed to the EAST MARION nest – the weather on the north fork hasn’t been really conducive to nest building. East Marion has had high winds, cold, rain, very cold temperatures, and even some snow. It looks like we may be in for a nice stretch of temps for the next three or four days, and I think we will see nest orations pick up in intensity. Trust the birds. They know a lot more than we do about what they need to do and when to do it.
Haha! 2:45 EST; George lands *on* Gracie with a stick for the nest. She just stands and demands food! Her behavior is so much different than Iris from the Hellgate nest, who is feeding/working on the nest all by herself. Granted, her mate has not yet shown up…
April 13 Just before 1:30 Gracie? flew in with more plastic which was caught on her talon. She did end up flying off but unfortunately left the plastic in nest.
Yes, I agree it was Gracie.
Does anyone know is comments get censored or they don’t allow them through ? And do others use the notify boxes found right under the Post Comment and do they work ?
I too keep thinking about poor PeeWee and kept hoping that the male would bring more food to the nest during that horrible time period. Hopefully, this year with two guys having mated her, they both will stick around and provide a lot of fish to her and the kids so all can have more than enough to eat and thrive and survive.
Dear Sylvia, Although I realize you are sincerely involved in the well being of the ospreys you need to keep in mind that they are one of the least adept nest builders of all raptor birds and often build very dangerous nests to raise young (I’m sure you remember last year’s rescue). Don’t take it all to heart as osprey are generally doing well throughout their habitats. Where I live many do a good job while others attempt to build nests in the weirdest place i.e. on top of a drawbridge on the traffic light with cars constantly speeding by below them. This year they had to dissuade the same osprey from attempting to build in the same dangerous and incompatible place. They tore down the nest and placed noxious but not harmful chemicals on the traffic light so the birds would find a safer place (of which there are many). Please forget peewee who was unlucky enough to be born during a food shortage and suffered siblicide which is a common occurrence. As with all living things including humans, all don’t make it. Yours truly, Bob
Regarding the third Osprey…. whoever he is, I hope that he is ultimately successful in finding a mate and a place to call his own. We can’t fault him for having great taste in nests and partners.
April 13 at approximately 11:36 George went down and grabbed a stick from the pile that were left for him a few days ago. Its nice to see him putting them to good use.
It’s Wednesday 4/13/16 at 11:04 am I haven’t been on the site for 4 days and they certainly have filled that nest. Hope there is room for everyone.
So everyone, we are sure these are the same pair as last year? You all watch and take note of the Osprey much more than I do so I am counting on your identification skills to tell me that this is the same pair as a year ago. Seems like they might have returned a little early but they hopefully recoup as the weather improves. Of course, the fishing needs to remain good for them to succeed.Thanks for your help.
Absolutely, positively, 100%-without-a-doubt, down to just about every last mark and feather, George and Gracie of 2016 is George and Gracie of 2015!
ERaftery, thank you for your words from the other day regarding the female Osprey from the first year the nest was up to last year. I had started to look for the sam post you found but was way off in my dates as far as where to look. I don’t think you were investigating it as much as wanting to know the facts and not let another missunderstanding get started. So I think we are better off dropping the subject for now ( unless it pops back up again :)) ).
This is a great sight with a beautiful view , but it could be so much batter as others have pointed out. I hope you don’t find this down in the cellar burried under dirty old rags :)))
Yes, I wanted to know the facts. I came to this site late last year (about 1 week before the babies fledged) and didn’t know anything about ospreys in general or this site – or who George, Gracie, Sandy, or Ronnie (or Pee Wee) or Paul and Tommy were!! I watched a little of the highlights and had quickly skimmed over the comments for a couple of pages (there was something like (only) 11/12 pages of comments at the time) and totally didn’t know what people were referring to! But over the winter, I read up on ospreys online and watched the highlights videos in full. And, I started watching this site in earnest on March 24 and am trying to read the comments religiously. So, when I read THAT… well, I was like WHAT??
I also think a little confusion can arise from the “The Summer of 2015 by Gina M.” video (which, BTW, I think is very thoughtful and wonderful) because there are a couple of pictures from “Highlights – 2014).
Gracie is on the nest this morning about 6;30, and doing a lot of chirping. It still looks like the other male to me that joined her, attempted to mate, unsuccessfully I think, and also he brought her half a fish and has brought several talons full of seaweed. I hope I’m wrong, but it just doesn’t look like George to me. And I’m worried about him! Gracie defended the nest by flying up and flapping her wings at one point, but couldn’t see what was happening above. What are others thoughts on the male? Am I just being paranoid that it isn’t our George?
OK. Already changing my own mind. After I rewound and watched it again I think that it was George. I sure hope so. Any help on this will be appreciated.
To all the doubting-Thomases: IT IS GEORGE.!!!!!!!! Will you please all relax and enjoy. YES, IT IS GEORGE AND GRACIE.
And the nest will be ready, upholstered and they will have a great nursery ready.
I love all the long sticks on the left….. great for perching and in full sight. Rodee
Yes It’s George the OM has a black spot on his right side chest under the wing
I think it is George. I don’t know if a second male hanging around is the usual – I know that they mate for life so I don’t know how receptive Gracie would be to a strange male. Also they seem so compatible with each other. Maybe one of the experts like Rob could give you his input. Please pass it along to us if you can reach him.
8:20 am PDT Leesa, I think you have seen both George and ” The Other Man ” ( as Gina has named him ). The first one I saw at the time you mentioned that brought the fish was ‘TOM’. He also arranged a few sticks. I always identify him by the white rectangular feathers above his beak and then above that is a thick patch of dark feathers. If Gracie didn’t screech even when George brought a fish we could say she was defending her nest , but with her its hard to say.
After “TOM ” left George showed up. I identify him by the darker feathers that go down the center of his head all the way to the beak.
It would be wonderful if we had an experts thoughts on the behavior at this nest, not only with the two males both mating with her , but also the lack of nest building skills or interest in one.
Take a look at the SANDPOINT Osprey nest. This is a returning pair who had to start from scratch and they have done all this just since April 2.
I saw only George on the nest throughout the day. Depending on the way he’s holding his head, the sunlight, and/or the wind, the thin strip of dark feathers that runs down to his beak is not always visible.
Thank you for your input. I feel that most of the time I can quickly identify George. However when Tom mated with Gracie and she took the fish from him too I got really confused. And I will definitely check out the other nest. It will be interesting to see the difference!
I still think about Peewee! I know it’s nature but that was hard to watch! 🙁 btw….do the siblings come back o the nest r do they find their own????
They wont be back until next year and then they will find their own nests but normally somewhere in the area.
They’ll probably come back in 2018, usually when they are 2 or 3 years old.
I see the female keeps one of her legs up. Hope nothing is the matter with it. 🙁
She is just resting it/keeping warm. Birds do this often when perching/sleeping. It is totally natural and a sign that she is relaxed! 🙂
http://birdnote.org/show/why-birds-stand-one-leg
Wish I could answer your question but I don’t know the answer. My guess would be that they return to the same general area but that is only a guess. Hope someone who really knows gets back to you.
Ah, Gamma Carolyn and jon Powers seem to know what they are talking about.
Long live peewee! I know it’s nature but that was hard to watch! 🙁 btw….do the siblings come back o the nest r do they find their own????
Looks like no real nest building is going on and eggs come in 12 days or so.
5:44 pm 4/12/16 Gracie was just given a small fish by a male. The male stayed and watched her eat it. In between mouthfuls she was screeching. She also was hooding over the fish. (wings slightly open covering what she wants to protect) After about 4 minutes, She left with her fish.
She ate that fast and is now back yapping for more. A fast weather ob. The wind is gone. This should make for better fishing.
At about 5:45 Gracie was brought a fish by George, I think. Markings looked right.
It was George that brought the small fish. Later she stood on one leg for the longest time, then they both flew off. Getting dark now won’t see much else tonight.
Has Gracie & George moved on? It appears that the Intruder has been sitting in the nest all day, Hope George is Ok,
2 questions- Why does the camera hum so loudly? Why is this comment box WAAAYYYYYY down here at the bottom? Just curious.
There appears to be rope with some sort of metal snap device on end in the nest. Do hope the plastic stays out this year.