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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
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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
George magically appeared on the nest at 4:40 am (video jumpy again!!), staying for 6 minutes before flying away. Then he was back just before 5:03 am, flying in this time like a normal osprey, and staying for a few minutes before flying off. Gracie would get up, but only squatting over the nest bowl to periodically vigorously poking around the nest bowl … I was on the edge of my seat thinking “C’mon Gracie get up”!! George came at 5:41 am and, finally, Gracie got up to get the (whole) fish George had brought … sigh, 2 chicks and an egg!! But, George wasn’t readily handing the fish over to Gracie … oh, no, he had to try to bite off a chunk first but then the fished flapped wildly and Gracie was getting closer … and eventually Gracie pried the fish away from George. Couldn’t see what Gracie did to the fish once she wrested it from George, because her back was to the camera, but then she started feeding the chicks. And, George flew away.
At 5:54 am Gracie was done feeding the chicks, made her way back to the nest bowl to clean it up before sitting again. And, George, who had flown up to the perch after the fish delivery, hopped down at 5:56 am to retrieve the fish and then flew away.
5:42amEDT 6/7 George delivers..Looks like another whole sea bass. The kids are starting the chirps at the sight of him.”.GM, Dad ! You’re the man!” Gracie is dismantling it while the chicks bob and weave in anticipation. George is alarm calling while Gracie is busily feeding the kids. Good view with Gracie standing left and the 2 (still 2) chicks are close up front
3:56am George is bac to take away the fish. Gracie fed the kids well and is settling in to squish them to sleep…I know, they’re fine……..they just look like they’re pressed…
George stopped in at 4:46 and 5:04…They had to warn someone away at this visit. George is such a good guardian !
June 07- 4:48- Today’s weather forecast: Sun and clouds mixed. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High near 75F. Winds SSW at 10 to 15 mph.
Good day for an egg to hatch, if it hasn’t already. 🙂
June 07- 1:28 am- I missed any activity last night because I went to take a quick hours nap at about 6 and well, I didnt wake up until just about 10 minutes ago. So, did egg 3 hatch? I have OZ on my computer 24 hrs a day so when I woke up the first thing I saw was that Gracie was awake too. I scrolled back the 4 hrs and she has had a restless night. Sitting on chicks/egg but awake and looking around. Makes me wonder… if chick 3 didnt make an appearance last night during my “nap” maybe we’ll see him/her at first light?? Let’s hope so because I’m starting to wonder if it will ever hatch. By the way, morning all 🙂
The eggs are taking about 39 days to hatch. That would make Thursday for egg 3 to hatch. I hate to be a “Debbie downer ” but if the egg doesn’t hatch till later this week, the chick will not stand a chance in competing with the other two. But that’s nature and I am so enjoying watching this family. It makes my day!!
7:24pm Is that some of the mono-filament line now draped over the new sticks sticking out at far side of nest? Wishbone shape with a cross piece
7:30pm Gracie 1/2 rose to check under her, but resettled. George came in with a big wad of assorted seaweed,etc. He’s just standing, looking handsome, surveying his domain.
7:09pmEDT George drops in with his fish stub..Gracie steps aside and waits, as if to give Geo a chance to feed chicks, but the big guy cleans his beak and sticks it to ward chicks as if smelling them or just saying hi! Gracie steps in, collects stub and feeds chicks.
Geo was partly in the way, but it looked like both chicks were well fed. Egg is still egg
June 06- 5:23 pm- George brought in another whole fish, looked a little smaller than the previous ones. Gracie and chicks had a nice snack. George came down from the perch and took the remaining half of the fish and I think he went back to the perch. Last part was a little hard to see as the video was jumpy. 🙂
WHen will Pee Wee hatch?
June 06- 4:30 pm- This is for the little eggie: HATCH ALREADY! That is all.
I’m hoping it hatches tomorrow, for its’ sake before the other two become too big. I don’t want a repeat of last year. I don’t know if my heart can take it.
June 07- I agree. We can’t have another Pee-Wee disaster. Poor dude 🙁
Gracie had gotten up just before 4 pm to do a bend over hammy-and-wing stretch. At 16:00:33 the one chick, resting on the egg, is peeping for food, its body moving with every peep and it looks as if it’s shaking the upper half of the egg shell where it’s cracked over the lower half!!
Poor Gracie, at 3:27 pm, just after her and George’s long alarm session had ended and things had quieted down, whatever machine that was being used (it sounded like a compressed air gun wrench tightening lug nuts) in the immediate neighborhood (mechanic or marine repair shop?) suddenly started, startling Gracie and making her jump!!
At 3:02 pm (15:02), George was standing next to Gracie, who was lying on the nest bowl, both with their back to the camera, looking out at toward the water. George, who’s always so neat and sleek-looking, was so windblown, with feathers sticking up all over!! I thought that there was something wrong with the video stream again, somehow making two images of Gracie … until I realized that it was George standing there!!
June 06- 2:24 pm- At about 1:40 George delivered another lively fish which Gracie took from him and almost immediately started to feed to chicks, who both ate very well. After chicks were done, Gracie cleaned up any left over bits while George got in a few bites. Gracie settled down next to George and he fed her. That fish is gone 🙂
June 6 @ 2:13 p.m (EST) I am really praying that baby #3 is born today so the birth between them is only 3 days for baby #1 and 2 days for baby #2. That would put them on a more even playing field. George is still feeding Gracie the babies are asleep they were fed..
Agreed. I’m not sure I could watch a repeat of last year with two large chicks who have a head start in feeding crowding out a runt with little intervention from the parents. It’s nature in the raw but didn’t make for comfortable viewing.
George came back at 8:52 am, ate a little more of the fish, left on the nest, as Gracie settled herself on the nest bowl. Then George spread his wings at 8:53 am and whooshed away, taking the leftover fish, coming back at 9:10 am to stand in silence at the front of the nest, holding the fish, while Gracie was sitting on the nest bowl, he looking around and she looking down or preening herself. At 9:19 am, George began feeding Gracie. By 9:26 am Gracie was done and got up to stand as George was alarming. Still could only see 2C+1E. It was the chick’s turn, then, to be fed, until they were sated and fell asleep at 9:36 am, Gracie leaving the fish on the nest when they were done. George had already flown off and while the chicks slept, Gracie did some general housekeeping before making her way to the nest bowl to clean there, at which time George came back to stand frozen after bringing in a stick … oh, no, that was the video stream … George came back with a stick and then ate more of the fish … Gracie took off at 9:40 am, or somewhere there about (the video was really jumpy), leaving the 2C+1E alone with George, who stood on the side of the nest, looking around at first with some trepidation, before going back to eating – making at least one attempt to feed the chicks, but looking as if he did not know exactly how to bend forward to reach the chicks without toppling over. Gracie was back just before 9:53 am. She settled herself on the 2C+1E while George continued eating and then, once she was settled, he fed her. Off he went at 9:58 am, leaving the fish on the nest. Gracie stayed on the chicks and egg, lifting herself up slightly off the nest bowl to look under herself or getting up periodically to check on them. George was back at 10:27 am with a clump of something (hard to tell with the video and his shadow). He ate some of the fish and then he fed Gracie, interrupted with at least one period of alarming, finishing off the fish. At 10:48 am, Gracie got up to stand on the left side of the nest, next to George, and standing together, side by side, looking around and, occasionally, down they looked as if they could have been discussing the chicks and when the third egg would hatch. Gracie flew off at 10:49 am and looking around – “No, don’t leave me alone with them” – George made his way to the nest bowl, doing a little tidying and procrastinating – and the video freezing for a minute – before making his way to the nest bowl to sit, lifting himself up to check on the chicks and egg periodically. He stood up and then flew off at 11:16 am. Gracie was back at 11:20 am, hopping down from the perch, and after checking on the 2C+1E and doing some nest bowl fluffing, she sat. George literally popped in at 11:27 am thanks to technical issues and he almost left the same way, the video freezing then unfreezing as he flew off. George was back at 11:34 pm, popping in the same way as earlier, then picking up a stick that may or may not have already been there!! Then he left, popping out this time … he apparently flew up before flying down toward the water but with the video jumping, it looked as though an osprey was falling out of the sky!! And, with the wind really blowing, he was rocking and swaying and losing his balance, and at 11:35 am, when he bent over to move something and the wind caught his tail and wings, almost flipping him over!! (Poor Gorge!!) … Scrolling ahead, because I was getting dizzy, I see that at 1:44 pm, George brought another whole fish (GinaM ?), and Gracie ate some before feeding the chicks. Hard to really tell, because the video is a little fuzzy (at least it’s not jumping!!) but I think there is a really big crack on the egg (which I had seen at around 11:19 am – but I can’t bear the thought of going back to look at the jumpy video!)
PS – This is the third time I am attempting to post this … the first 2 times I got a message saying “the message is blocked … it is spam”!!
Rather it said “THIS message is blocked … it is spam” and then “go back”
I should also add, although I don’t know if it makes a difference, I had 2 tabs open on OZ.com (1 that I could catch up on comments and the 2nd that I had left open after I clicked to go to YouTube, because the OZ.com site was constantly buffering, taking forever to load) and OZ on YouTube. After the second time I received the message “this message is blocked … it is spam”, I closed all of the tabs and then tried again. 🙂
1:45pmEDT George brings in a whole fish and Gracie jumps up to take it,,she takes a few bites to open the fish and starts feeding the chicks. Looks like smaller pieces and both are getting some. George is standing by, grooming himself. Thank you, George, for staying on the far side of the nest !
Gracie fed the chicks till about 2:00pm One kept falling asleep and waking up with a start “I’m still ready to eat, snore, I’m up. I’m up, snore ” Adorable…….
As Gracie cleaned around the chicks, George took over the fish…He’s feeding her now…she is up off the chicks but right next to them…I always enjoy their “love talk” as they quietly chirp to each other
TO our talented video makers..any way to get that in close-up? I could watch it over and over……
11:33 George (Criss Angel) magically appears…as he stumbled around(video jerky), he must have found leftover fish, as he jumped out, flew around in view and came around and in the nest with a fish chunk…Do they stash fish in nearby trees ? anyhow, he ate a little, alarmed a little and flew out with fish..Gracie didn’t seem interested…
Around 10:49 a.m., Gracie decides to get some exercise and leaves George in charge of the brood. He seems a little unsure at first, but then settles into the nest bowl with his chicks. Just love this family! CarolV, you are right about the name, “Bobbleheads.” So funny!
Can’t take credit for it. I think it’s a great description someone else used and it fit perfectly.!
9:24am George surfed in on a pine branch….he’s popped in a couple of times..staying available…
Around 9:30, George came in..George ate, Gracie ate, Gracie fed chicks, George fed Gracie…and Gracie stepped out for a 10 min.exercise session..
Gracie was doing nestorations around 10:25 and there was time to study the egg..cross-eyed…and between the straw sticking up and the tiny feathers laying around, moving in the breeze, the verdict is…..inconclusive…
Around 10:46. George was feeding Gracie…around 10:48…Gracie flewout again,,,George looked around, walked over to inspect chicks and decided it was ok to sit over them…
She was out about 1/2 hr. Time enough for a quick jog on the beach
Awww…..so are all the ‘babies’ hatched yet? I need to catch up on the comments and viewing!!
Monica: No, not yet — we’re still waiting on the egg #3. The first chick hatched on June 3rd, and was first viewed by all, including George, at 5:23 pm. The 2nd chick hatched sometime very early on June 5th, first viewed at 4:58 am (well, by me, anyway) and by George at 5:16 am 😀
Betsy:– I hope its not too much longer for baby #3 to hatch so its not far behind the first two
Gracie had been doing her begging calls for a minute while looking up at the perch and at 8:34 am, George was back on the nest with the fish, smaller than when he left. Gracie continued her begging calls while George worked on making the fish even smaller, then he started feeding Gracie. At 8:39 am, Gracie stood up, showing … 2C+1E … and George continued feeding Gracie. At 8:42 am, Gracie started making her way over to George to get the fish, then jumping there courtesy of the choppy video. She fed herself, and then she gave George a long hanging piece of fish, after which he … oh, watch the video:
https://youtu.be/zLtjmfbhOYI
After George flew off to the perch at 8:47 am, Gracie continued feeding the chicks. The feeding session was over at 8:50 am, and Gracie cleaned up.
June 06- 9:45 am- At around 9:15 or so George fed Gracie a nice snack as she sat over the chicks/egg. After she had her fill, she got up and fed the chicks, which makes their 4th feeding so far today. The chicks decided their bellies were full and fell asleep. Gracie removed the claw and George came in with a stick. Last I looked, he was eating some fish and Gracie was on perch.
6-6-16 ok I dont know why but Geo has attempted to feed babies he just wont go down in the bowl area close enough to get food to them. Gracie finally started to feed babies for the 3x today and Geo was watching her. He did so good with babies last year I think he is scared to go down the hill that he will loose his balance and hurt or step on one of the babies cause he reached as far as he could he wanted to help just didnt want to go downward. He will feed them if he can get in right spot to do it. Right now I think he is playing the sorry honey you just do it better card. Still doing good Gracie back to normal I am so happy to see her looking and acting better was so worried never say her look that bad in the 2 seasons.
6-6-16 Monday morning off to good start Gracie started off feeding babies both left over fish from last night then Geo brought in a whole fish and ran quickly took that fish head on. She feed both babies again. She did a pretty good job of getting fish in their mouth today and smaller pieces also. Best news is Gracie stood up did some grooming and the sun is out to dry her feathers off, she is looking much better. Gracie seems to be acting like the Gracie we know. She begged for Geo to feed her and he did but then she got inpatient got up and took the fish from Geo. I think Gracie is just wanting to do the feeding of the babies just for the first couple of days and then she will get Geo to help but right now she doesnt want him too.
2x times babies feed plenty, lets see if she continues like this the rest of the day and Geo continues to check in and bring fish. Hopefully no Mr Intruder will come to visit today.
Happy Monday everyone!!!!
June 06- 10 am- Poor George. I cant seem to figure out what his deal is with feeding these chicks. It seems like he really wants to but is very hesitant. Maybe he’s afraid because they’re so small? Who knows. Gracie’s doing a great job though. 🙂
6/6/16b @ 8:46 Mom and Dad feeding chicks, Mom was giving pieces of fish to Dad, who in turn fed the babies, Then mom said “that’s enough, I’ll feed them myself.” Dad flew off.
8:35am George was back with the fish..Gracie asked to be fed, so he obliged. Gracie took over fish and, after gobbling some long, stringy guts herself, she fed the babies, cleaned. and settled in.
8:53..George came back for the fish.
9:10am George back with his new buddy, the fish..BIG fish, so it’s gonna last a while, if he doesn’t lose it.. Wind is still pretty strong; Gracie’s feathers are rippling.
June 06- 8:53 am- A third feeding was just completed for the chicks. I think chick 1 may have gotten a little more than chick 2 but they both did seem to eat well. Nice job, George and Gracie 🙂
Still no third chick. Hope there isn’t a runt like last year. That was so heart breaking.
I was thinking the same thing. I hope we don’t get a repeat of last year’s little runt. Is it just me? One chick seems to get a lot more food than the other one. Was that the first one to be hatched; is that why he gets more food?
Around 7:35- 7:45 George brought in a nice big Black Sea Bass for the family breakfast. Everyone ate and the chicks had nice full crops before Gracie settled down on them. I did notice a crack in the third egg too!
Thank you ! I guessed flounder, but it was too ugly for that !
GinaM: Thanks for ID’ing the fish. I went to the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission website after reading your comment and the drawing looked exactly like what George brought 😀 I don’t fish – I only went once and the only thing I caught was my boyfriend’s, at the time, scalp (and, boy, did he give me an earful!!) – so I know nothing about them. I just think it fun to know what fish they’re having for breakfast, lunch and dinner 😀
GinaM Good Call on the Black Sea Bass. I have not seen George bring one before have you? I know they are abundant this year and the season has been closed on the commercial fisherman before many of them have reached their quotas. That is just plain dumb, it’s hard enough for these guys to make a living. Why wouldn’t the DEC extend the season for a longer period so they could continue to bring us wild caught fish? Do we really want to eat farm raised fish. I get the idea of preventing overfishing, have read several books on the subject. But this befuddles me, the scales no pun intended are not properly balanced on this one. Are we going to continue to let bycatch be tossed overboard when we have people starving all over the world? If I’m misinformed on this topic I hope an expert would let me know- by expert I mean a scientist not a politician who has an agenda.I am in no way connected to commercial fishing. Think twice before you fertilize and waste water on your lawns if you have one, and remember what you put down your drains eventually makes it in some form into our creeks, bays and oceans there would be more fish and healthier oceans if we use our heads!
fishing and sustainability
8:06am George came for the fish,,,Gracie was cleaning up around chicks..their crops were still bulging from earlier, so I think they dropped more than they ate….she settles in again
8:29am George keeping watch..the pest must be nearby..lots of calling..I thought I heard another osprey answer, then, Gracie chimed in..
George flew to the nest with a whole fish at 7:50 am … a real spit fire it was, flapping madly as George landed on the nest. After finally managing to take possession of it, Gracie started tearing into it. Meanwhile, George alarmed at something and then flew away. After taking a bunch of bites of the fish herself, she started to feed the 2 chicks – well at least the older chick, because by that time, the younger chick had fallen asleep. Then the younger chick woke up and it got fed too – one piece, at first, because then Gracie stepped back to eat a little more herself, before moving closer to the chicks to feed them again. So, they were both fed, with Gracie stepping back occasionally to eat and then moving closer to the chicks to feed them, saying “here” with almost every piece. At 8:04 am, mealtime was over and Gracie cleaned up the errant pieces of fish in the nest bowl. George hopped down from the perch at 8:06 am, took the rest of the fish and flew off. Meanwhile, Gracie finished cleaning the nest bowl and then sat back on the 2C+1E, where she is at present.
Okay, I have to go clean my laptop now, because it is so, so, so, so sluggish. Don’t let anything happen without me 😀
June 6 at 8:00 am, Gracie is doing a great job feeding both chicks. Both chicks appear strong and vibrant! As for the third egg, I believe that there was too much of a difference in time (about a week apart from the first egg being laid) that even if it hatches, the little chick won’t stand a chance to the older two.
The first chick hatched afternoon of the 3rd, second morning of the 5th..today only 6th
I get what you mean about lay dates, but we can hope the idea of them possibly developing at different rates hold true and #3 comes very soon or the food supply holds up
June 06- 8:07 am- Tried to post a few minutes ago but wasnt able to. Got a message about a proxy and said that this site couldnt be found. Weird. So I will try again.
At about 7:50 George delivered a very lively fish which Gracie managed to wrangle over to chicks. She fed them both a very good second breakfast and George ended up flying off with what was left over. 🙂
7:50am 6/6 George brings in a whole fish,,Maybe a flounder? Gracie takes charge
5:07amEDT 6/6 George comes in and finds leftover fish. Gracie stands and we see 2 chicks and an egg…
Gracie sidled over and took the fish..she started with a piece for George,who didn’t know whether to eat it or feed it to someone, anyone…he swallowed it then went upstairs..
Gracie did a great job feeding the pippers till they were well fed..then cleaned up around them..they managed to swallow quite a bit..pieces seemed to be smaller today
After Gracie settled back in, George came to finish the finny tail delicacy, then went out.
6:28am Gracie got up to stretch..the kids were having a head butting battle..they became aware of George on the perch and watched him as he dropped back in…who knew they could see so far already?
Gracie settled back on the nest..George popped in and out, rearranging and chirping to Gracie…
Do the neighbors have a new brood? Sounds like baby chicks again…
At 6:27 am Gracie stood up, walked around to stretch her legs and flapped her wings and a couple of minutes later, George hopped down from the perch. As he stood on the nest, looking around, he periodically looked at the nest bowl, studying the chicks and the remaining egg and looking as if he was still unsure about things. The chicks both had their heads up, beaks open; he walked over to one and stuck the tip of his beak into the chick’s, as if testing out how it’s done. A minute later he flew back up to the perch, while Gracie remained standing at the front of the nest. Then, after another minute or so, while flapping her wings like mad to try to dry them off, she walked back to the nest bowl and sat. George, who by this time had flown from the perch, came back at 6:36 am with a long thin twig, practically landing on Gracie, then he stood, at the front of the nest, looking around for several minutes, flying off at 6:42 am.
5:08 Gracie feed little ones leftover fish from last night..She is doing that wing flapping like she has in the past when egg ready to crack..think will be today
wishing sunshine for them today
Just before 4:53 am, George flew from the perch out over the water. He was back at just before 5:07 am. He picked up a little stub of fish that was on the nest (I really thought I saw him fly away with it last night, although I did hear clunking on the camera last night at 11:47 pm). Gracie got up off the eggs and there were two chicks and an egg!! (Dang, I really was hoping there would be three chicks – plus it’s much easier to write that than two chicks an and egg!! 😀 ) She walked over to George and took the fish, which he had started eating. She took a bite or two, and then they did their comedy routine – while he had a piece of fish in his beak and she had a piece in hers, they each tried to feed the other, then reaching toward the chicks and then back to each other. Finally Gracie said “Hold on, hold on, we’re supposed to feed the babies” and so she did – feeding them small pieces this morning – while George, after holding his piece of fish in his beak for a bit, ate his piece. After standing next to Gracie for another couple of minutes and cleaning his beak off, George flew up to the perch. By 5:16 am, the chicks had fallen into a food coma, and Gracie, leaving the tail of the fish with just a few bites of flesh still on it on the nest, made her way back around to the 2C+1E, cleaned the nest bowl up a bit and then sat. George returned at 5:18 am to finish off the fish and flew back up to the perch, at 5:25 am. Gracie remains on the nest bowl, and right now, at 5:47 am, first Gracie and then George and then together are alarming.
June 06- 5:32 am- This particular feeding went on for about 8 to 10 minutes and both chicks ate very well. Video isnt of the entire breakfast.
https://youtu.be/aADhMvSG-7s
Thank you Leanne, for the videos I don’t get to go on often and appreciate the daily updates!
Well I too am wondering if Gracie is actually going to have the third baby on Monday so far the babies are one day apart each. Once again Gracie only took a couple breaks today I know it was raining but she didn’t leave the nest but a couple times.
She di not stand up or move around too much today at all. I think it was Carol IV who said hopefully baby three will be born on Monday it is possible. I guessed the right day for baby one and I guessed baby 2 was on its way and would be born just not sure if three is actually coming on Monday or not Gracie’s behavior seems to be that egg is ready to hatch though. Someone mentioned about markings on the babies I too saw one baby has one black dot and the other baby has two black dots if it stays like that it will be easy to identify. Here’s hoping on Monday baby three will be born and Gracy can get back to normal
Also I know it was a long post but I mentioned last year Geo and Gracie tend to put their backside to the camera a lot while feeding babies last year when they were young and a lot of times Geo would drop the fish on the right side facing the camera where is hard to get a view.
But hey did anyone else notice Gracie was actually laying down trying to eat and nibble on the fish that was in front of her I’ve never seen her eat laying down before.
It was before Geo came in and started feeding her. And yes I agree with other post Gracie called at least two times for Geo to feed her but he didn’t know what she wanted and he just left the fish. If she would’ve stood up he would’ve fed the babies but she didn’t want him to feed the babies obviously
At 6:40 pm, George flew to the nest with a huge headless silvery fish, landing on the left outer edge of the rim of the nest bowl. Unbalanced where he was, he took a couple of steps closer to the center of the nest, then stood for a minute as Gracie did her begging calls, alternately looking around and peering at her. He released the fish and took a step sideways, as Gracie remained where she was on the nest bowl, quiet now. He took another couple of sideways steps, cleaned his beak, and then, after taking a few more looks around, he spread his wings and was lifted up and away by the wind. Gracie stayed quietly where she was, holding herself up ever so slightly over the nest bowl, occasionally putting her head down as if checking on the chicks and egg. At 6:55 pm, she started making begging calls and looking up toward the perch, where George must have been. Her calls became louder, longer and more insistent and George would occasionally quietly give her a chirp. At 6:59 pm, Gracie got up from sitting, flapped her wings, and took a few steps back toward the front of the nest and lo and behold there were … 2 chicks and an egg!! As Gracie got up, George flew down to the nest, landing with his feet straddling the fish. Gracie walked around the nest bowl over to the fish, practically pushing George out of the way to get to it. As she started eating the fish, George stood for a bit near her before making his way over to the right back side of the nest, standing so his lower back and tail feathers were in front of the camera, blocking the view of the chicks, but not of Gracie eating the fish. After feeding herself for 2 or 3 minutes, Gracie, after first trying to feed the chicks from where she was standing, moved a step closer to them and began feeding them … with George’s lower back and tail feathers continuing to mostly block the view of the chicks, except for the rarest peek, but not of Gracie as she ripped off pieces of fish and leaned in toward the chicks to feed them, as he rocked and swayed, doing whatever it was that he was doing that couldn’t be seen in that corner. Eventually, George moved out of the way, still on the nest, but closer to the right edge and then we had an almost unobstructed view of Gracie feeding the chicks for a minute or so. George then flew away and Gracie ate more of the fish. When she was done, she cleaned up the bits and pieces of fish that had fallen in the nest bowl, mostly eating them herself, only occasionally giving a piece to the chicks, and then she settled herself on the nest bowl, where she mostly slept. At 7:52 pm, George came back to collect the fish and flew away, coming back a couple of minutes later with it. After standing for about 5 minutes, rocking and swaying in the wind, and Gracie lying quietly over the chicks and egg, he began to feed her (tiny pieces, too, not like the big chunks Gracie tries to feed the chicks!). But, before he started feeding her, he had stepped back so they had to really crane their necks! Except for accepting an occasional piece, by 8:12 pm, Gracie was done. George hurriedly ate a little more before flying away with the little bit of fish that remained at 8:14 pm. Shortly after George left, it started raining, making Gracie look even more woebegone, if that were at all possible, with sporadic flashes of lightning brightening the darkening sky (I sure hope there is a lightning rod on the nest platform setup!!). By 9 pm, it was too dark to see anything other than the white of Gracie’s feathers. Hopefully, the last chick will hatch overnight and we can have another sweet morning.
I, too, have noticed that Gracie is a not herself. But I think she is being protective of the new babies because the weather here is awful. There are high winds, hard rains and we have been having thunderstorms. Maybe, she doesn’t want to get off the babies to eat as usual out of protectiveness. I am hoping that is all it is.
Sorry, it might have been earlier, just got home from work.Don’t remember if I back tracked to an earlier time.
Around 8:11 pm OMG! Are the little ones already fighting or is it just because their little heads bob so much? I hope the third egg hatches soon so all three have a chance, unlike last year.
I saw it too. Subtle, but they start early.
7:51pm George floated off with the fish…@ 7:54, he’s back with a noticeably smaller chunk…Gracie isn’t interested.
The wind is really whipping George’s gorgeous feathers…It’s raining over here on the South Fork right now…It’s supposed to go off and on till at least midnight…with a beautiful day, hopefully, tomorrow….
Good to see, George got Gracie interested by feeding her..he’s been at it for almost 20 mins. now…Gracie keeping a tight lid on the nestbowl…8:14, he’s up, up and awwaayyyyy !
It’s so windy, the tower is swaying (nest,too, of course)…haven’t noticed that much…
@8:18. you can see the rain advancing across the water from the south…it starts about 8:20..Gracie’s hunkered down, keeping the lid tight over her brood..
Just heard thunder here……bah….
that would probably southwest I guess
Gracie is molting but this normally occurs in summer months..she is starting early
Close times. 6:41 George brings in fish….leaves at 6:43..comes back 6:59.. Gracie wasn’t going to let this one go..got up and ate..pieces she gave chicks very big and most dropped. I thought the newborn was going to choke on one of the pieces..going to be a rough nite for family
Correction. 18:41. And so on..19:52 comes back and takes what was left..
Thank you all for the comments, videos, to keep us up to date! Just witnessing this wonderful family again, seeing nature in the raw, is amazing!It sometimes is such a “tee hee””because WE cannot, we can’t stop ourselves trying to hope they will do the right thing,humanely,and they just keep doing what Nature has had them to do.. Applauding OZ and all, xoxoxoPattyK & Grandies!
As observed by many that Gracie is giving the babies very big pieces of food, She was giving tiny pieces last year. The poor babies are having trouble with these large pieces .They seem to be having trouble swallowing these pieces .. Wonder why she is doing this.Baby#2 is only maybe 12 hours old and really struggling. Also George and Gracie for some reason seem to be standing directly in front of the camera blocking the view of the nest.
Lets not start with the speculation now.
Good advise…these Ospreys know what they are doing. You might not like what you see and want to help but nature has its own plan.
Congratulations Gracie and George on the second hatchling. One more to go!
6/5/16 6$5 pm. George arrives with a headless fish. He stayed till 6:47 and flew away. Leaving the fish. Gracie has showed zero interest in the fish and its now 6:58. At 7:01 Ghracie got up and started to feed herself. George just stepped away with his tail feathers blocking the cam from seeing the chicks. At 7:04 she started to feed the 2 chicks. The 3rd egg was visable. At 7:16 I`d say both chicks got fed. But 1 chick got more then the other.
6:59pm George came back in and Gracie jumped up to eat,,,ravenous ! She’s tearin’ it up!!!! George is getting good at hiding the bobbleheads from prying eyes..getting glimpses of them under his tail…A few minutes of gobbling, then Gracie starts reaching out to the pippers….Move your tail, George ! Can’t SEE !!!!! THANK YOU !!!! 2 pips and an egg……
@7:12…looks like a little dominance aggression…Gracie does a good job cleaning up around the chick…seemed like she spent several minutes feeding them; just don’t knowhow much made it in…
7:39pm It just occurred to me…Gracie was eating for FOUR…took a lot of fuel to grow those eggs…No wonder we see such a reduction in fish consumption….
@ 6:41pmEDT George brings in a fish..guess it’s a new one…Gracie’s not interested…..She’s checking underneath herself again…looking down towards her chest….
George left the fish…think he’s upstairs, cause she’s talking to him and looking upward….
June 5th 6:40 p.m. George just arrived with another huge headless fish. Is he trying to empty the bay of fish today?. Gracie had no interest I guess she isn’t hungry He stayed a few minutes and left leaving the fish behind.
@3:36pmEDT See George was right back to fish delivery after that rain. Gracie didn’t eat much again, so George came thru about 4:09 to take the fish away….
@4:40 he brought in a lovely pop of color with some green seaweed…he always checks on Gracie and says hello….Gracie was up a few minutes later, stretching her legs and wings…the bobble heads were waving waiting for her to come back…
6:01pm Can I suggest. Aidan or Paul, that an instructive paragraph be installed near top pointing out the COMMENT box at the bottom of page? Love the new comers…not the confusion of replies to your permanent paragraphs…..
This is the only site I’ve been on that had easy accessibility to past conversation as well as the scrollback feature…….I usually can’t figure out how to join in on other sites, or have a hard time following the conversations….Whatever you decide going forward, as to how the comments are handled, I hope this friendly atmosphere remains.
CarolV: That’s a good idea, but I don’t know if people would go to the top to read that (I know I’m not very good about reading instructions 😀 ). Maybe another idea would be to disable the reply button under Paul and Aidan’s comments. It does get a little confusing with all the replies after them!!
Someone mentioned an Osprey Zone Facebook site- is there one? How can one be invited to join?
george came at 4:40 pm: with green stuff he stood for a few minutes on the edge of the nest he flew away gracie then stood up on the left front corner of the nest after she flapped her wings to try to dry them out she then flapped her wings a little and flew straight up coming right back down like the chicks do when they’re learning to fly she folded her wings and stood for a about a half minute before stretching them out again and whooshing straight up one of the chicks was watching it is never too early to start teaching them to fly she landed back on the nest about a minute later made her way over to the nest bowl and sat where shes stayed since looking around at times and scratching herself
A small white feather fell off Gracie at 2:03 pm. George flew down from the perch at 3:09 pm. George picked up the fish. George flew away. Gracie shifted her position on the nest bowl. Gracie still looks wet. Gracie has her eyes closed.
Gracie picked up her head at 4:12 pm. Gracie looked around. Something must be flying around nearby. Gracie’s head is moving as she’s watching whatever must be flying around. Gracie eventually put her head down and closed her eyes. Then a little later Gracie picked up her head. Gracie then put her head down and closed her eyes. Gracie then picked up her head. Gracie then put her head down and closed her eyes. She still has her head down now and her eyes closed.
June 5 @ 3;45 p.m. George brought in another huge fish about 10 min ago. Gracie has her back to the camera but I think she is feeding the babies. I wish she would move around to the sides of the nest. It’s become an obstruction with the way they are positioning themselves with their backs toward the camera . She is now on top of them so I guess they have had enough to eat. There is still a large piece in the nest so I will assume George will be by soon to take it-them bring it back again as he has been doing. Maybe we (humans) are thinking that the babies have to be fed more than they really need. But rjoneal(I think) mentioned that he too was concerned because last year the babies were fed about 10 times a day but that is not happening now.
George came at 3:35 pm with a headless fish. Gracie had her back to the camera but it looked as if she fed the chicks the fish. George flew away a few minutes after his delivery.Gracie settled herself back on the nest bowl. The sun is out. There is alarming going on now.
Gracie is still laying over the nest bowl. Boy, does she look wet.
At least the camera lens is clear now.
Gracie just picked up her head for a few seconds. The fish is still in the nest.
There was a white seagull that could be seen — it flew up, then it flew down.
June 5 3:09(EST)
CarolV I scrolled back to the time you posted that George returned and Gracie was eating that fish in lower right side. She actually kept moving it further and further away from them. . George was obstructing the view of the babies but I think she only once went over to them with one piece of food. Other than that she didn’t feed them.. It then started to rain and she went to cover them up. . So again I wonder why she didn’t feed them or are my eyes deceiving me and I missed her feeding it. I watched it a few times and can’t believe I missed the feeding. Unless the rain made it more important to shelter them than feed them.
It has stopped raining here so maybe the storm has passed.
George came with a headless fish at 12:05 pm … landing right in front of the camera, so we had a great view of his back, but not what he was doing with the fish as Gracie was hollering, until she got up off the chicks and egg (I almost put just eggs!!) to stand at the left front corner of the nest and eventually come around to George and he moved over – and SHE was then giving us a great view of her back!! She tried to give a piece of fish to George, but he didn’t take it (he looked a little confused). And then, with her back to us, we couldn’t see what SHE was doing with the fish … and, in addition to her back, we got a great view of her backside and a real good close-up of her wing and tail feathers!! Eventually, she moved over to the left side of the nest to clean the nest bowl of food, feeding some of it to the dolly little bobble heads. Oh, my gosh, they are just too cute for words!! When lunch was over, she sat again on the nest bowl, adjusting her position a few minutes later, and she could nibble on the leftover fish that was now within beak’s reach. George returned at 12:43 pm with fresh nest supplies of dried grasses and stuff, which he ended up putting on the fish when he started to disperse it and Gracie helped to cover it up more as she was breaking up George’s nest materials. But George decided that wasn’t a good idea, so he took the fish and left. George was back again at 1:31 pm with the same (I think) fish, which Gracie grabbed, moving to the right back corner with it so you couldn’t see diddly. George, who had been blocking the view, flew off and there was a clear unobstructed view of the two little chicks, wobbly heads up, and beaks open. And then, just a minute after George left, it started to rain – hard – and Gracie dropped the fish to run (and she really did run) to cover her chicks and poor Gracie looked so pitiful, sopping wet. At least the downpour was relatively brief, tapering off to just rain and then stopping after about 10 minutes. She had a brief respite until it started raining again at around 2:13 pm and it looks as if the rain has been off and on since … making it very hard with the drops on the camera to see the last egg – that is, when Gracie stands up high enough to get a peek (although I think I saw a crack on it yesterday afternoon).
June 05- 3:52 pm- I saw her run too and she REALLY did run. Was so funny to see. Love that bird 🙂
The two of them, G&G, are major characters … doing something almost every day to make me laugh!!
Does anybody think there is something wrong with Gracie?? She doesn’t seem to be like the Gracie we all know and love.
There was a giant fish in the nest and the babies were begging for food and she just sat on them.?? What’s going on?
June 05- 5:37- I’ve been worried too but she’s probably just anxious and all nerved up between the 2 chicks the egg and the weather, she’s most likely at her wits end. I think she’ll pop back as soon as the egg hatches and she can get herself into a some what regular routine. The chicks did have a good breakfast and I think they even had a few bites for lunch. There was also a time when she was eating and possibly feeding the chicks but she had her back to the camera so I couldnt really tell. Hopefully, within a few days she’ll be back to being herself….as best as she can be with 3 (hopefully) chicks to tend to. 🙂 🙂 🙂
1:18pm Leanne..don’t apologize ! I’m sure I’m not the only one who loves them ! I kind of feel the same way @ OZ Facebook..just joined and sending pictures everyday…Just can’t figure out how to get them on here….Besides, still having insomnia? The G’s keep you company…
At 9:41..George brought in a stick which he placed on Gracie’s tail..as she tried to shake it off, it became entangled till she looked like there was something growing from her tail…She finally stood and re-positioned, flinging the branch aside with a wing…..
@12:05..Gracie greeted the fish and George…looked like chick feeding happening, but they took turns standing in the way…@12:10, it was full-on tail on your face from Gracie…darkness fell over the world…
12:43..weed and stick and unknown delivered. Took left-over fish as he went.
1:32..Geo back with fish (hope fish has frequent flier miles) puts in the l.rt,corner; Gra goes over and gobbles some, then brings some to babies…Geo takes off and it starts to rain…Gracie HUSTLED over to the chicks to get them covered….
As to Gracie’s appearance…she has barely been out of the house for days, if at all…no time for personal grooming…and she’s been molting…Be honest..aren’t we all a little disheveled in times like that? Well, except the molting part…..
Just rewound and noticed Gra stepped on one chick in her haste…seemed to rebound quite well…..pretty resilient…
Raindrops keep falling on my lens (as Paul Newman rides around the nest on a bicycle)——————
June 05- 3:53- I wish I knew how to post screenshots too. I have dozens of them on my fb page (its the only way I know to save them) As for posting video’s, that was just dumb luck… with the emphasis on dumb. The insomnia kind of comes and goes. Now I’m on the other side of it and been going to sleep around 9 each night. I probably shouldnt have said anything cuz with my luck, I’ll now be up for days. At least I’ll have the Osprey Zone 🙂
June 05- 1:51 pm- Approximately 15 mins ago or so poor Gracie was trying to get a quick snack in before the rain but just couldnt manage it. She scurried over to cover the chicks just as the rain started. She couldnt get to them fast enough!! Good Gracie 🙂
Hi, everyone, I haven’t had a chance to read at all of the comments … been trying to make my video of chick #1 hatching – but I had too many things open (MS word, My Movie, a whole bunch of tabs open in different websites [watching G&G and another couple of osprey webcams {sorry 😀 } and trying to find info on osprey chicks]) – and my laptop crashed and I lost what I had edited for chick #1 hatch!! 🙁 😀 I haven’t had a chance to read everyone’s comments, yet (including the ones from June 4th!!), only a few. As far as Gracie not really feeding the chick yesterday (I did read your comment, Leanne, I was really upset, too – I even thought about not watching OZ until next week, when the chicks are older 😀 ), here’s what I’ve been thinking (I saw a few of your long 🙂 posts, rjoneal – haven’t read them yet, so maybe this was addressed already): maybe, just my theory, since there is still a lot unknown about ospreys, Gracie held off, just like she did when incubating the first egg, in order for the second chick to “catch up” (although the literature states that the chicks don’t need to be fed right away after hatching, I couldn’t find anything about how long they can really go without “enough” food). I don’t know … it’s just a theory … because today, she seems to be feeding them!
George is funny with the chicks (yesterday, too, with the one chick) … he “pinches” them with his beak!! (Kind of reminds me of the opening scene in “Terms of Endearment” when Shirley MacLaine, as the mother to a new baby, pinches the baby to make sure the baby is alive!! 😀
At about 12:40 George came back with a talon full of twigs and he and Gracie seemed to be covering the remaining fish which was directly in front of her with those twigs, seaweed and other stuff in the nest then George uncovered it and flew off with it. So much for reserve food in the nest.
June 5 1p.m.(EST) At about 12 p.m. George brought in a Moby Dick size headless fish. Gracie took it but her back was at first in the way of the camera so I wasn’t sure if she was feeding the babies.. George left and she moved to the side and I saw she was feeding them. It didn’t seem like she fed them very much and then got on top of them and the egg. The fish is so big it should feed her and babies for the rest of the day. It has begun to rain here and the forecast is for heavy rain, high wins, thunderstorms and possibility of hail. HAIL- it’s June for crying out loud. I just looked and the bay looks pretty calm so I guess the storm hasn’t gotten there yet. At least she has that huge piece of fish to eat and feed the babies in case fishing becomes difficult for George today.
Glad that baby #2 came so close to baby #1 that may keep the feeding dynamic better and hopefully baby #3 will be born tomorrow and that we keep them sort of on the same level even thought as we learned last year that it is the responsibility of the parents to give the first born and then in birth order the food if it gets scarce
It is now pouring rain here and it is moving east. So in a little while it will be raining on Gracie..
Thanks to everyone who allayed my fears about the chick(s) not eating. I’m so glad they are both being fed, but I, too, worry about Gracie. Before it looked like she really wanted to sleep, but because of his OCD George keeps bringing in seaweed, twigs, etc. It is good that the wad is practically gone. Just wish he would stop putting branches on top of Gracie. Hope the babies thrive. Now we have to see about #3. At 12:10 p.m., they are sounding the alarm again. That intruder will not go away. Also, thanks to everyone for putting osprey tips/hints on the website. Some of you are so knowledgeable. I have learned a lot since first starting to watch last July, but some ospreyites know so much more. Thanks for sharing. Let’s hope the weather is not too bad. Poor Gracie and family. I wonder where George goes when he’s not at the nest. Does he go in a tree??
June 05- 11:52- I think chick #2 has a small black dot on the back of his head. Also, one of the chicks had it’s first squirt right out from under either George or Gracie at just about 11 am 🙂
Happy Birthday chick #2 !!!!!!!!!!! Congratulations G+G.
OK George get busy fishing – lots of hungry mouths to feed.
9:13am, spotted #2 chick! Yippee!!
We now have our second hatching! Can’t wait for the last to arrive.
Gracie seems to be feeling better, although she is preening the underside of the front of that left wing, something definitely happened to her, but what?