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Osprey Zone Highlights - June 28, 2015
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osprey 07/11/15 squirt
First Sighting
George and Gracie's First Baby
Eggs Over Easy
Changing of the Guard
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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
6-23-16 Attention -OZ Followers it appears we might have some trolls back on site again, be careful to what you respond to. Read carefully they are not very smart and get names mixed up and make up things along with wrong spellings. I have a lot of misspelled words from using IPhone but you all should know that about me already. HAAAA
Anyways anything addressed to you if it negative or sounds harsh just ignore reach out to the people you know are legit.
My heart is in my throat. They’re too close for comfort!!
Thanks for the quick response, have a good day!
I’m so happy everyone seems well. Especially Lil Bit!! I love you all have a nice day 🙂
Reply-Aidan Mancini
Since this year we are allowed to post videos is there a way to post pictures as well? I know as of now we are unable to. I thought I would just check to see if this is gonna be possible this year.
That’s definitely something we want to be possible. I don’t have a date when it could be implemented, but we’ll try to make it happen soon.
Gracie’s beak must sure get tired! Seems like she spends half her waking life tearing fish to feed babies. Gracie fed 1 & 2, then included George. Baby was still sleeping off
the last feeding. When he awoke, George started sharing his cut with the little guy. No fighting, because they all seem to trust the parents to get around to everybody.
It is so heartwarming to see the attention the parents pay to the baby.
Part of this (I think…..) is that Daddy is doing a much, much better job of bringing in the goodies…….. More often than not………..
Reply -Carol & Betsy
You’re too funny CarolIV I think Betsy beat me to it so Mike probably has more than enough information by now. And yes I do use Microsoft office to make notes on. I Usually have at least three or four windows open at one time while watching ospreys zone.
Betsy- Now you see why I keep notes Ha lol ! I say that with love. You need to make notes and keep website links comes in handy.
That’s why my laptop is constantly freezing and crashing … I have too much open!! Yes, 2 or 3 tabs open for OZ and sometimes also on YouTube when there’s too much buffering and freezing on OZ.com (but, ahem, not on other webcams at the same time, because then I go to others and check) and MS Word docs, and email, and movie maker, and looking up stuff in other tabs or windows!!! And, then boom, everything’s frozen!! I love my notes, though!!
Reply-Kathleen yes it is very hot high 90s here in Florida.
But last week was 107 so I’ll take 90s any day. I enjoy your comments also Kathleen . We all love our birds ,and our family this year is just thriving so wonderful to watch in so many different opinions and views it’s great to learn and enjoy the scenery.
Reply rjoneal Thank you for the voting information. I enjoy your comments and others too. It’s as hot a fla. in the ny area. Have a nice day!
Thanks for the info on the voting procedure. I cannot believe how good I feel when the little one gets his fill. I guess that feeling is JOY.
Wow…. This is just AMAZING to watch the family this year. So much different than last year. (I know I mentioned something earlier in a post) Watching ALL of the babies getting fed to the point of food comas is just astounding.
Some osprey news and info from our neighbors in New Jersey, thought some here might be interested. Some nests did not fare well in recent storms…
http://www.conservewildlifenj.org/blog/2016/06/22/emergency-osprey-nest-surveys-in-cape-may-wildwood-and-stone-harbor/
JP(K): I read the article after I saw your post. That’s really sad that nests were destroyed and chicks died but I’m glad the group went to assess and do what they could to help.
Hopefully the platforms that were lost will be rebuilt to the standards set by Ben Wurst and his volunteers, the boy scouts (and maybe girl scouts, too?) can help in the effort. At least they were able to return one little guy to the nest who was foundl alive on the ground.
My students and I are worried that the babies are so close to the edge… does anyone agree? Should we be worried?
Gracie will try her best to keep them from the edge and may re-arrange and build the edge up with branches and sticks. It can be worrisome to watch.
I don’t know if Osprey steal from fishermen directly. Maybe if a fish head was floating as part of a chum line, they may grab it. But last year, I remember when we suggested putting fish out for George when the supply was low, one of the osprey experts told us that they are not “carrion eating” birds, but birds of prey who catch and kill their food. (As opposed to a vulture or a crow that will eat roadkill in the middle of a busy highway.)
The new stick makes me think that George is reinforcing the sides of the nest- thank heavens!
Actually, Gina, in 2012, a satellite tracked osprey named Ceulan from Wales was killed in a similar situation that happens to a lot of osprey. No, ospreys aren’t “carrion eating” birds, but fish in nets don’t. As it happens, some places around the world – after heavy rains – place static nets out to collect the fish which are attempting to return to a main river. These nets are often set at or near the many sluice gates which control local water levels. Unfortunately, fish struggling in or behind a net would be a tempting target for a young osprey, and it’s not difficult to imagine what would have happened next. This is what happened to Ceulan. He, as other ospreys have done, got tangled in the fish net & died. :o(
For some reason this cut off the finish to my sentences “No, ospreys aren’t “carrion eating” birds, but fish in nets don’t exactly die immediately. I know you weren’t asking about ospreys being killed here, but just getting food from fishermen, I was just pointing out how dangerous it can be for them if they see they can easily get a fish somewhere, they might get used to the idea & that can get them into trouble.”
How horrible! The poor Osprey! What I meant by my post was, they don’t eat dead fish. But ones moving around in a net, well, I can certainly see that happening!
Thank you for your great info.
Jillian: How awful. So many ways that they can get injured or killed that we don’t even realize.
Jack: The three chicks were all eating. The little guy was between the two bigger chicks, but the stick standing up right in front of the camera was in the way!! 😀
Oh, Tommy, what can be done about the stick?? 😀
Dorothy: In osprey chick growth timeline 3 days is HUGE. “By the age of 30 days, the chicks have already gained 75% of their adult body weight; the growth of the body slows down at this stage, while the feathers are growing rapidly”. (http://individual.utoronto.ca/ali_naqvi/osprey.htm) and “they are almost adult size by 5 weeks and ready to fly by 7-8 weeks. It is a very fast track growth spurt fuelled by their very high protein diet of fish brought in by dad”. (http://blogs.scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/osprey/osprey-faqs/).
Plus, chick #3 had a double whammy of getting overlooked and not really getting fed in the first 3 days since it was usually stuck behind the 2 bigger chicks and food is what they need to grow. But, on June 11th, the little munchkin showed its true spunk when it maneuvered its way around from behind the 2 bigger chicks and then used all of its willpower to make its way up the nest bowl slope to stand directly in front of Gracie and say “See me. I am here. Feed me!!” And that’s what chick #3 has been pretty much doing ever since, getting front and center and not letting anyone forget s/he’s here!! 😀
Good site to see osprey chicks’ growth: https://www.cumauriceriver.org/pages/ef-slide/ef-01.html
Has Gracie been rearranging the furniture in the dark? I didn’t see that upright stick last night. When I first saw it, I wasn’t sure what I was looking at.
@5:19amEDT George brings in a fish, still wriggling.Gracie had a lot to say about it. “Georgie, Sweetie, the kids are getting bigger. This fish is small.”
Just before 6, seaweed appeared. Camera wasjumping.I think Gracie brought it in.She also went out for a stick.The timeline jumped about 9-10 mins. to 6:20.And again, a few minutes later, to about 6:30. George disappeared in mid-air as the video jumped again.He landed about 6:33 with grasses.@6:41. the clock seems current.
Glad Im still here for the arrival of fish#2. George playng hide and seek, but chicks found him and he seems to be feeding them. Just saw a neighbor popin to the nest. Has anyone noticed if chicks have spotted a sparrow yet?
It is 5:30 in the morning. Why do I see only two babies eating?
I saw 3. Trey(little guy) was at far side of line-up, but I could see him getting fed.
Chickpea (#3) ate at 7:50 am. Other 2 in food coma. He had mom all to himself !
To the Group
I’m doing a Project about our Osprey Family. Over the next few days I’m going to be asking the Group several questions about our family and I’m depending on the Brain Power of the combined OspreyZone fans
First off I know the nest is in East Marion, but I don’t know if the nest is on the Sound or Bay side of East Marion. And without giving away the exact location can anyone give me an approximation of the location. And does anyone know the height of the platform both this year and last year, I believe it changed.
And, when the eggs were laid in 2015 & 2016 were all the Eggs (3) laid at once or at different intervals for both years. And possibly does anyone know how how long the eggs took to hatch
I’ll let everyone know what I’m working on when I get all the Data.
Mike
Hi, Mike. The nest is on the bay, Gardiner’s Bay, because that is Bug Light just left of center in the distance. I believe the tower was lowered from 80′ to 60′. And those egg dates were listed recently.
Mike,I went looking for those dates, but of course I can’t find them right now. Betsy and Rjoneal are much more organized than I so I’m sure they will hve those for you. I see comments are popping in really fast this a.m.Good morning to our speedymoderator and HAGD to everyone. HiHOHiHO for me.9 (;={
CarolV: Want to know my secret? 😀 I keep 2 running MSWord docs open … one for OZ video that I put the date & then my observations w/ time noted and which is also where I mostly compose my observations and replies (not all, though, some I do put right in the comment box!!). It’s usually strong for the morning hours and maybe early afternoon as far as observations go, but then kind of fizzles out for the rest of the day!! 😀 And, the 2nd doc is where I keep my links and stats!! 😀 I use “find” to search the documents using a key word. That reminds me, I need to clear a lot from the OZ video doc … I’m up to 101 pages (it goes back to May 24th)!! 😀 😀
Mike: Project?? That’s exciting!!
I can’t help you out with last year since I wasn’t watching early in season, but for 2016:
Egg #1 laid on April 25th @ 8:51 am
Egg #2 laid on April 28th @ 7:11 am
Egg #3 laid on May 1st @ 7:46 am
1st chick hatched: 6/3/2016 between 2:42 pm and 5:23 pm, when first seen (39 days incubation)
2nd chick hatched: 6/5/2016 somewhere before 4:58 am, when first seen (38 days incubation)
3rd chick hatched: 6/8/2016 at 6:17 am (38 days incubation)
The chicks hatched in the order in which the eggs were laid.
I believe the radio tower the nest platform is built on was lowered to 60 feet.
Without giving too much away, the nest is on the Peconic River near the end where it meets Gardiners Bay.
The nest happens to be next door to my sister’s home in East Marion, It is on the bay. Shelter Island is in the distance.
Jessica V.: If I was envious of Redkayak before, I’m super envious of your sister (and you, when you visit her!) 😀 Psst — Do you think she (or you) could get some footage of (just) the nest looking up from below, especially when George or Gracie are taking off or landing??!! 😀 (Or, better yet, when Gracie is coming in with one of her special finds!! 😀 )
Reply-GinaM- date night I like that they definitely needed that they’ve taken very good care of their babies this year and have spent a lot of time together on the nest with the kids but haven’t been alone.
GinaM
They had a date night! I wish I saw that. Thanks for posting that.
Reply-Kathleen – this is Paul and Tommy and Christinas the landlords website: Paul will announce when the official baby naming contest will start and we will get to vote majority votes will be picked and Paul will make the announcement. This is how it was done last year anyways. From Paul’s previous message he is out of town so I’m sure when he’s able to he will inform us. For now you can call them whatever you want there are a lot more names people are calling the babies and that’s just fine.
Kathleen-
I’ve read Chick #3, Trey
Lil Bit. Can we come together for an official name? Since this is an election year, how about voting? I vote for Lil Bit.
Reply rjoneal Thank you for the voting information. I enjoy your comments and others too. It’s as hot a fla. in the ny area. Have a nice day!
6-22-16 everyone -haven’t been able to watch too much today been out most the day. Of course I did check in using my iPhone thank goodness we can get OZ on iPhone. Lots of fish our handsome George brought into the nest today.
I notice he did his share of feeding the babies and Gracie which is his routine. I did see baby one fall over just like baby three does at one point because his crop was so bulging he couldn’t keep his balance. I love seeing the bulging crops Sandy and Ronnie never really had crops that you could see even when they were eaten enough fish.
Thank goodness for Betsy, I missed baby three starting a ruckus in the nest and once again baby 2 always seems to get the brunt of it. Her video explained and showed it well. The title well that’s questionable.lol
I noticed there were comments and I saw where the fish was missing part body and the tail also Geo brought in pieces of fish with head on. Well last year at some point someone suspected when this happened that he was getting it from one of the fisherman’s bait pale or just plain stealing it from the fisherman.
Don’t know if it’s true but it was a suspicion. I know tonight when he brought in that piece with the head on some body and Gracie took it and then he brought in another piece of fish he seemed pretty hungry for someone who would have already eaten the tail end and body, so I’m thinking he didn’t eat it. He either caught that way or found it that way. It’s very possible they have been photographed to still from fisherman.
Earlier on someone mentioned about insects in the nest and I told them just wait till July you’ll see Bees swarming everywhere it’s about to get really yucky soon .
The bugs were seeing now is nothing compared to what we will be seeing mid July. When I would watch it would make me itch.
I got lots of beautiful pictures again today like always and enjoyed everyone’s comments thank goodness to you all.
June C sent me pics I didn’t have.
I forgot to mention Leeanns video of the lightning storm couple nights ago was awesome.
So good night to all, and be safe.
Oh yes I remember last July and the bees the gnats the flies but the crawling things are new to me.
6-22-16 pm Reply Micheal Martin aka Our Mike-
I had a feeling they would hopefully by now most of us know who is legit and especially know what we would say Or wouldn’t say. I had a feeling they would leave. Those trolls are mean and use nasty words and negative comments about our birds and family. We don’t talk like that to each other.
Mike-
It’s ashame that on a site like ours that we would attract “Trolls”.
We are all good Friends here as well as Ospreyphiles..As Friends we are going to disagree at times but we work together to get through our differences. But has anyone noticed that when we don’t
“Feed the Trolls ” they go away.
And lastly all we care about is the well being of our Osprey Family. And I thoroughly enjoy reading all of the funny comments and the information everyone contributes to the Group.
10:05pmEDT Going back thru all my photos and all the videos. I’ve decided these are not osprey; these are lovebirds! There are so many photos of G&G “kissing” and the kids do a lot of powerful “hugging”…it’s a love fest!
Betsy..am I getting paranoid to think some postings not ringing true?
CarolV: I don’t understand! Whose postings??
P.S. I LOVE reading your funny descriptive posts!!!
Just thinking about maybe what you mean … “thoes” postings??
Looking at Trey in the power-wash video, just a day and 1/2 ago…it looks like we have a different bird!
And Correction..that was on the 19th…not 1 1/2 days ago..Still, he’s really spurting (and squirting) like the Biggies.
9:12pm… just a tee hee…kind of looks like twinkle lites on the edge of nest twigs caused by squirts!! xoxo
9:06pm BETSY..I was just wondering on the logistics of pumping water 60′ up that tower.Since Tommy is obviously a mechanical genius, I’m sure he had it figured out. I just weirdly imagined a tiny water tower by the perch so the pressure would push the water strongly enough to pressurewash the lens. I’m sure it’s more complicated than that. Just speculating.
I also imagine the anticipation of those in the know, waiting for that first squirt and the ta-da moment to surprise us all. Or did they really “forget”???
8:57pm, isn’t it lovely…Gracie at her best, hovering over her chicks,all their crops full,Doing her Momma thing,Ahhh, will keep this moment…Thank you again…
4:17omEDT 6/22 The fish George brings is head portion; someone started @back end agin. Gracie was having a tough time, as she went along, holding on to this piece. Without the body to hold on to, the face was really difficult to dismantle. Plus, there was a stick that kept getting in her way. Everyone ate. Trey took a swipe at sib next to him so he didn’t learn a lesson. Feisty little chickie….
Is that a new “wiper” or just resurfaced from elsewhere? I don’t remember seeing it lately…
@5:46pm..George is in with a new fish. It’s his turn to feed Biggies.
George was out and came back at 8:00pm with the fishtail. He REALLY wanted to keep it, but Gracie won the tug of war. The biggies had a bit, but Trey is getting stuffed again..He may catch up from the sheer volume of food!
AND ANOTHER fish. with head, @8:23pm . This could be getting boring, but it just makes me happy!!!!!
Feeding at about 8:05 pm. Lil one right up front getting his/her fair share. Nice to see.
7:04pm Trey is suddenly darker, so feathers must be poppin’. Once again, hungry cats demanding attention…love ,em, but wish they had thumbs and could open their own cans! Did get to see the MMA match. Will check thru later.
He’s been stuffing himself so full he’s probably pushing those feathers out from the inside!
After seeing so much heartache elsewhere this nesting season, it is so refreshing to see three healthy siblings getting along, all hopefully healthy and happy! After last year this cam is so wonderful to watch!
I am amazed that all the fish bones are consumed. Nothing is leftover.
4;:26pm Watching a great feed, and Dad overlooking it all! Sweet!! This wonderful site makes my day, watching this super family, even catching the sparrows stealing stuff for their nests, which leads me to ask, because I am always learning something new everyday; does anyone know how many times these little sparrows have chicks??Seems that this is at least the third time we have watched some nest making..xoxo
I read that sparrows can have up to 4 clutches per breeding season. Eggs incubate in 10 days; chicks fledge in 10 days. I think the chicks hang around as the parents teach them to forage for food. Whether they stay close when the next batch is brewing, I’m not sure. It’s the second batch for the sparrows by my patio, so I imagine these guys are also on brood two.
HI, new to the nest. I’ve been watching the DC eaglecam. So, Chick#1 is 2 days older than chick#2 which is 3 days older than chick#3. I and 2 are about the same size so why is Max such a runt?
Based on approx birth times, #1 is about 18hrs. older than #2 who is about 72-73 hrs older than #3. That’s a lot of eating time as a head start. And in conjunction with this, stronger necks and co-ordination came earlier for those two, at a time when #3 couldn’t compete. Now that he has perservered and is strong on his own, he can compete and get full and do his growing.
16:25 36 First time I saw one of the kids eat on it’s own. Picked it right up and then…food coma. Learning new things is exhausting.
Our lil’ guy is first at the ‘table’. I so admire his/her tenancity. Now that I’m confident this lil guy is going to survive, what about calling him an official name? I’ve read Chick #3, Trey
Lil Bit. Can we come together for an official name? Since this is an election year, how about voting? I vote for Lil Bit.
Weebles
Hi Kathleen. A while back a bunch of us decided on Lil Bit. However there were a few people up in arms about this. They were saying things like its Tommy’s job. etc. So as not to offend these folks people are free to call them whatever they want. It seems majority do support Lil Bit. though. Have a nice day 🙂
Wow, this is the second time I’ve seen George come in with a TAILLESS fish!! (At 16:17). This time it wasn’t even just tailless … it looked like just the head!! Of course, that didn’t stop the chicks from coming over. And now, as Gracie pulls off pieces, I’m getting a real good view of the inside of a fish’s head!! 😀 Definitely isn’t very meaty!! Fascinating!!
Our lil’ guy is first at the ‘table’. I so admire his/her tenancity.
Hi fellow nature lovers, Here is some timeline (sort of) facts
2015
Chick 1: 6/12/2015
Chick 2: 6/13/2015
Chick 3: 6/15/2015
July 1, 2015 peewee RIP lived 16 days and June 18, 2015 was the first pecking of little one. (I believe this continued from then)
2016
Chick 1: 6/3/2016
Chick 2: 6/5/2016
Chick 3: 6/8/2016
June 16 I think is when I started to see some pecking of the littlest one. The littlest one is now 14 days old.
I think I got the calculations near correct. I hope this is helpful.
You are right on target….did not keep notes as I am doing from the start this year..Big difference our little one at times are causing the pecks..with all my heart I want to see all of them grow..I think in a week or two we will be able to hold the name contest for THREE
Yes I agree.. things are looking up for them… it seems like it could be a kinder world this year
ô JuneC
My offense taken, it was nice seeing Ithat you cared about my feelings.
But it is good to see that we are Policing ourselves. Also before anything balloons out of proportion and feelings get hurt we should all stop and look at the source.. It’s ashame that on a site like ours that we would attract “Trolls”.
We are all good Friends here as well as Ospreyphiles..As Friends we are going to disagree at times but we work together to get through our differences. But has anyone noticed that when we don’t
“Feed the Trolls ” they go away.
And lastly all we care about is the well being of our Osprey Family. And I thoroughly enjoy reading all of the funny comments and the information everyone contributes to the Group.
Mike
Sorry 14:38
ewe the nest is crawling with bugs and not gnats 14:38 40
It might explain why they keep hanging out on the edge of the nest. Look closely in the light at the center of the nest CRAWLING!
Redkayak: Thank you for sharing!! 😀 I just went back to see … I think that needs a double eww and an ick and a yuck!! I am SO not a bug person — I’d be hanging OFF the nest, not just on the edge!! 😀
I wonder what kind of insect it is.
Too bad they’re not bug eaters, they’d have their own farm!
I’m the youngest chick was given the name Maximus )) In honor of the Gladiator Maximus. He is a fighter for life as the hero of the film. I hope that he will grow up and be strong ,healthy and beautiful.
I was already working on this when I saw Kathleen’s post. I didn’t know what I was going to call it — You’re Not BMOC or Look Who’s Getting Too Big for Their Britches. But, I’m now going with “All Hell Broke Loose” Thanks, Kathleen.
Dang, I forgot to put the link:
https://youtu.be/SZxA7JCntbw
Yikes! The little one started pecking the bigger one, who gave it right back, then the 2 older ones went at it. Thanks for posting that Betsy. I don’t like watching all the pecking especially since last years problems, but that was kind of funny in a way?
HAHAHA! I’m so glad someone caught that… I’m dying laughing…. The way peanut looks at the other one… what a little trouble maker. I like in the end how the other sibling looks at the camera almost to say “did you see that? i’m a victim here!”
This crew is really feisty!! GRacie is like “what am I raising here, a bunch of juvenile delinquents??” I don’t remember last years chicks fighting like this. #3 sure can hold his own, no doubt he’s going to make it!!!
Yep, I’ve said it before, that baby is an instigator! Sort of like a small dog…doesn’t know he’s small! At least he’s learned when to duck ! Poor other Biggie was minding his own business !!!!
Thanks so much for quoting me… I hesitated saying that because it’s technically strong language… but “all heck broke loose” sounded silly.
(BTW – I should probably distinguish myself from the more regular Kathleen poster, so I’ll put Kathleen S.)
CarolV: I see another thing to add to the nest package — a safety net. But at least we don’t need to worry any more about the lens cleaner!! 😀
6-22-16 Around the second or third fish I must say I saw pretty sight.
Geo and Gracie and of course the three babies were all on the nest. Gracie flys off the nest, I think towards the water and then all of the sudden George picks up the piece of fish and flys off towards the water as well. The three babies sit there in amazement watching mom and dad both leave and with the fish. They have been fed their bellies were full but as we all know they are little piglets they could shove a couple more bites down them. The look and the way the little bobbing heads followed mom and dad as they left them was priceless. They were all three in a row at the edge of the nest facing the water of course the very edge. And with nothing else to do they all decided to go to sleep.
They had a date night! I wish I saw that. Thanks for posting that.
6-22-16 Reply – Nancy
There is nothing left over they eat everything if you watch carefully during feedings Gracie and George swallow that tail whole, it’s pretty remarkable of the see.
Nancy-
What happens to all the fish carcasses ?
Is that an empty tube of toothpaste in the nest?
A little early for beak cleaning, isn’t it??
GinaM: If I’m looking at what I think you’re looking at, I think its a squashed water bottle … it was there since early yesterday morning, but I don’t know when it was brought in (or if it was an unearthed thing) … it wasn’t there right after the lens cleaning … but it was there early Tuesday morning!! 😀 Maybe they were thirsty!! 😀
Betsy, maybe it’s shampoo and they washed their feathers in the shower! 🙂
GinaM: Gracie’s feathers DO look good again!! 😀
Plus what looks like a windshield wiper again….we had a few last year. What these birds don’t find.
What happens to all the fish carcasses ?
Nancy: As Rjoneal says, nothing left over — they eat everything … including the eyeballs!! 😉
I’m with the baby chicks on this one. Fish Eyeballs are GROSS. Reminds me of when our mom used to try to make us eat “exotic” things!
Nancy,
They usually eat everything or George carries the last little bit off.
I didn’t need to speed up the video this time!! 😀
https://youtu.be/_gzG354f_gM
Hi Michael Martin..did not mean to offend you in any shape, way or form. If I did I am terribly sorry…
Man, these kids just love to live on the edge! Too close for comfort for me!
Our little one is growing by leaps and bounds! YES! ?
Is there anything below the nest that will protect the babies if they fall? I get so nervous seeing them so close to the edge.
Little one is quite a fighter. He woke up, looked at the middle sibling, minding his own business, and just started in on him… little beak poking at older siblings strong neck. I’m thinking “what is to be gained from that, peanut?” Then predictably all hell broke lose, and all three were brawling. Later, the fish comes, and Little One is first to the fish. Looking up at Gracie with this defiant stare… “Come on, give me fish, lady!” That’s one heck of an “insurance policy” this year. Tough little guy.
At 10:19am today, a little feisty-ness from Chick 3 then a short squabble between 1 and 2.
Since I don’t watch all the time I was just wondering if the runt of the litter (the little one) was getting enough food to grow enough to fight off his nest mates if they become aggressive. Since he (or she) hatched late it is hard for me to know if the youngest one is getting fed much. Obviously I hope so as it otherwise would be a repeat of last year.Thanks for any reply from one who is following closely.
The baby is eating like a little pig this year. ☺
😀
HI All… I love this site… they seem to all get along, unless I have missed somethings, which I only pop in a couple times a week. I think if the chat were easier I’d spend A LOT more time here. However, I know you are working on this, so I will wait patiently! Beautiful day… 🙂
Gracie seems more nurturing and maternal this year. She has been shading the chicks from the sun, as well as other maternal behaviors.
It must be warm this morning. It looks like Gracie is using her mombrella to protect chick #3.
Sorry it should have read
Hi fellow nature lovers, Here is some timeline (sort of) facts
2015
Chick 1: 6/12/2015
Chick 2: 6/13/2015
Chick 3: 6/15/2015
July 1, 2015 peewee RIP lived 16 days and June 18, 2015 was the first pecking of little one. (I believe this continued from then)
2016
Chick 1: 6/3/2016
Chick 2: 6/5/2016
Chick 3: 6/8/2016
June 16 I think is when I started to see some pecking of the littlest one. The littlest one is now 14 days old.
I think I got the calculations near correct. I hope this is helpful.
Could heat be causing the stream to lag and freeze? Its pretty bad right now.
CarolV and steve w.: From Sunday, June 19th, when the little one rolled down the nest bowl slope ending up on its back. Poor Gracie didn’t know what to do, so eventually she sat on #3 and when she got up later, s/he was right-side up. Osprey version of “The Little Engine That Could.” 😀 The whole episode was a little over 25 minutes, so the middle section I sped up to 4x speed. I believe if you set the speed on YouTube to 0.25, it will play at regular speed.
I want to give a shout out to rjoneal who usually alerts me to when something interesting happened or is happening! 😀
https://youtu.be/oOf2yQ5gZ2A
After I posted it on YouTube, I tried the speed thing … it seems to work, but there is no volume!!
I mean sound!! 😀
she seems to have better maternal instincts this year. Also look at the difference in size from that video on Sunday to how #3 looks now. WOW
I think I was holding my breath the entire 25 minutes… it reminded me of Randy, Ralphie’s brother in A Christmas Story when he falls down in his snow suit and can’t get up. 🙂
😀 😀
around 6:20 George stays and eats 2nd fish at nest..every bite he takes looks to see if chicks heads are up for feeding before he swallows What a great Dad..
MARYANN…Young osprey generally spend about 1 and 1/2 years in South America or Caribbean Islands before they return north. So Sandy and Ronnie are prob still hanging out down south, not in this area. Intruders could be unattached birds that are just checking out nests to see if any are available. Although they might not set up a nest this year, they visit around prospecting for future seasons. Or if something happens to one of an adult pair, there may be an unattached bird with a nest. Although pairs generally seem to bond to each other, the attachment to a nest is also strong.
June C: I believe this is the site you mean
https://www.cumauriceriver.org/pages/ef-slide/ef-01.html
Thank you Betsy.
Please OZ fans go to this web site..it really shows how the osprey grow
You’re welcome, June.
And “our” chicks look as if they’re reaching all of the milestones on time!!
Beautiful but chilly morning. It will warm up to the high 80s later. At about 5:15AM, Baby #3 took food from the beak of its big brother. He’s getting bolder and stronger every day!
.4:59am & 5:35am. TWO fish morning……Chicks slow to go this a.m.They all ate but were quick to go back to sleep. G&G had some sharing time, with Geo feeding Gra.The bay is like glass
Hi, everyone. I’ve been lurking a lot and just wanted to thank everyone for their civility….this is such a great privilege.
4:59am Whole fish been delivered. Babies all eager for early breakfast.
To the Group
I read a comment concerning a person on the site named “Mike” who has been posting negative comments.
I want to assure everyone that I am not this “Mike ” person
Thanks All
Michael G. Martin
Knew that already, Mike. You have too much integrity.
Mike: We know it’s not you!! rjoneal posted information alerting everyone earlier yesterdayand I tried twice (well, the first time was before “Mike” posted — regarding the other “Betsy”) but they did not go through!! It seems they’re targeting the two who called them out!! Made a video, Mike — go to my YouTube channel eraftery!!
Dear Betsy, Thanks for posting the lens cleaning video with comments last night. You are amazing! It really was so funny, that look on Gracie’s face: “Now how do I explain to George what happened? I just don’t know what that was!” Also, thanks for all of your knowledge. Although you were not on OZ last year, you have brought a lot of knowledge.
Also, that eye episode was just so sad! That poor fish! When we had boats, we never fished because I felt bad for them, although I like to eat fish. I just don’t want to catch it. Last year someone said that he wouldn’t want to be a fish in an osprey nest. I couldn’t agree more! At least Little Bit can be a little picky about what he eats, since fish are plentiful this year! Guess those eyeballs didn’t taste good. Have a good night, everyone. Same to our feathered family.
Marlene: Thank you! The eyes looked rubbery to me — maybe it was a texture thing for the little guy!! 😀 (My niece, when she was little, wouldn’t eat certain foods because of the texture!!)
8:11pmEDT…Just rewatched the window washing video ,,,I think George may have been on the perch..funny if he got sprayed! And Gracie sort of took off and plopped back, like maybe she remembered she was watching over the chicks….Classic !!
I may have said this before but I just think Trey suffers by comparison. If Trey ever catches up with Uno and Dos, it’s gonna be far down the road! Let the baby be…if misfortune strikes, then we can worry. What next..his feathers aren’t filling in like the Biggies?
CarolV: I’m with you!! I think s/he is doing just fine — s/he’s actually my favorite!! You just have to love her/his spunk!! And, s/he seems to imitate the older chicks!!
6:14pmEDT Trey took a shot towards the camera and it fell short..just like him! Thank heavens! The washer is genius, but I don’t know if it has limited refills.
CarolV: I would imagine that it’s hooked up to a water supply … well, let’s hope so!! 😀
I totally agree that Tommy’s innovation should be patented, produced and sold along with wildlife camera setups. Maybe Shark Tank>?
Its brilliant !
LynD: What a great idea!! Tommy and Paul, are you reading??!!