2012 Osprey Cam Web Log

August 13, 2012

I was at Blackwater Refuge on August 5 and caught some video of our young ospreys flying around the wetlands. If you visit our YouTube channel, you can watch the video. The beginning of the video shows the water nest about halfway along the Wildlife Drive. The chick in the video was flying low over the water and dipping its talons, then it came in for a delicate landing. And then in the second half of the video you see one of our Osprey Cam chicks (either Ron or Tilly) taking a short flight to the brush near the cam nest where the family likes to perch.

We're not completely sure if our mother osprey has left on migration, but if she hasn't, her time is likely close. First the mother will leave, and then the chicks will hang around until some time in September when they feel comfortable enough to begin migration on their own. Once the chicks have left the area, the father will then leave as well. Normally all family members will migrate on their own, although if the chicks leave together, they might start out migration following a similar path, but then separate later.

Mid-Atlantic ospreys often migrate to South America, although some will stop in Cuba or even drift over to the Bahamas or the Dominican Republic. Some areas -- like the Dominican Republic -- have a reputation for shooting ospreys, which the locals see as a threat to domestic animals and fish farms, so some locations are safer for ospreys than others. One area that ospreys frequent is the Orinoco River, which is in Venezuela and Colombia. The ospreys will spend their winter in places like these, fishing and hanging out with other ospreys. At some point they might venture away from their wintering spot and explore nearby areas and then settle down again.

Our osprey parents will winter down south until around March, when they will begin their return trip back to Blackwater and the Osprey Cam nest, but Ron and Tilly will stay down south for an extra year, and then return back to the Blackwater area when they're mature and ready to begin looking for a mate and a nest of their own. Due to intense competition for mates and nests, some young ospreys might not begin breeding right away but wait a couple years after they return. Several cam watchers have asked if the young chicks will return to the cam nest. They might visit the cam nest when they return, but since the parents will be preparing for another breeding season, the parents will likely chase them away once it's time to get down to mating.

In other osprey news, recently we became aware of an interesting new osprey documentary project that is being run by filmmaker Jacob Steinberg. His production staff for this film includes many of the osprey experts we've followed over the years, like Alan Poole, David Gessner, and Rob Bierregaard. You can visit the film website to see the amazing trailer, which is filled with fantastic osprey footage. And if you're interested in supporting the making of this film, you can also visit the Kickstarter fundraising page, where there are three days left to contribute to the film project. Once the film is made, it will be used to educate people about the wonder of ospreys and help to raise funds for conservation efforts.

Until next time,
Lisa - webmaster

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July 28, 2012

We now have names for our two osprey chicks -- Ron and Tilly -- a tribute to our former president and cam supporter Ron Tillier, who died at the beginning of this year. Our winner was Joyce Dworacek from New Jersey, and you can find out more about Ron on our contest page. Congratulations to Joyce, and thanks to all our participants for their wonderful entries.

In addition to our contest news, we also have a new video up on YouTube that shows chicks from a nest along the Wildlife Drive testing out their wings before they fly. And at the end of the video, you can see Ron and Tilly eating on the Osprey Cam Nest.

We also just updated the Osprey Cam Gallery, so be sure to check out the great photos showing when Ron and Tilly started to fly. A big thanks to all our cam watchers who sent in their wonderful photos.

Folks have asked about what our chicks will do now that they're flying. They'll be spending the upcoming weeks improving their flying and landing skills -- often landing is hard to master -- and they'll also start learning to fish. They'll likely observe their parents fishing in the Blackwater River, which is in front of the cam nest, but they'll remain dependent on their parents for food for the time being.

It's important that the chicks get good at fishing because in September they'll start their migration to South America, and they'll be responsible for feeding themselves when they migrate. We'll talk more about migration in the coming weeks, but right now we expect our family to stay together for another couple weeks, then the mother will leave for migration first (in August) and the father will stay around and watch over the youngsters until they're ready to migrate. Dad will likely leave when the last chick goes in September.

Thanks again to all who entered our contest and sent in photos for the gallery.

Until next time,
Lisa - webmaster

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July 16, 2012

We're happy to report that our Osprey Cam chicks are progressing nicely at this stage. They're almost 8 weeks old and getting very close to a first flight. As we mentioned on our cam page, we have seen a few sequences where it was clear that a chick was taking fish in the nest and feeding itself, which is a sign that our chicks are maturing and getting close to being more independent.

We also just posted a new video on YouTube that shows a mealtime with the two chicks. In the video you can see the father osprey bringing in a fish and the mother feeding the youngsters. At the end of the video, you also see one chick going through a little flapping practice session. And if you pay close attention, in the middle of the video (at about 50 seconds) you'll see deer walking in the field behind the Osprey Cam. We have two kinds of deer at Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge -- white-tailed deer and sika deer. The sika deer is actually a species of elk that originates in Japan, Taiwan and eastern Asia, and was introduced onto James Island in the Chesapeake Bay about 1916. Sika deer prefer the more secluded areas of the Refuge, but they are quite common in southern Dorchester County. Sika are smaller and darker than the white-tailed deer, often retaining their spots as an adult. We're not sure which kind of deer is in the video -- because we have seen sika deer in the field behind the cam before -- but it was neat seeing the deer walking along in the background, and you can see that at one point the mother osprey also notices them.

I was at the Refuge not long ago to take inventory of the osprey nests near our Wildlife Drive, and it's been a rough year. The first nest along the Drive did not appear to produce any chicks and the parents seemed to give up rather early. The nest in the middle of the Drive is the one that had four chicks early on, but they're down to two now. The nest at the end of the Drive had an incubating adult on it for quite a while, but now the parents are off the nest, so it looks like no chicks hatched there. And our Osprey Cam started out with three chicks, and now we're holding at two. So all in all, our Osprey Cam nest did the best of the nests most visible along the Wildlife Drive. Due to the heat and strong storms this summer, we hear that it's been a rough year at other popular osprey locations in the Mid-Atlantic.

As a reminder, we have about five days left in our Osprey Chick-Naming Contest, so be sure to enter your names and help us name our chicks. You might win a nice raptor prize from our wonderful Eagle's Nest Gift Shop at the Refuge.

Until next time,
Lisa - webmaster

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July 4, 2012

We feel very fortunate that our osprey family made it safely through the big storm on Friday. Although the southern Eastern Shore saw a less severe version of the storm than the mid Eastern Shore, the weather was still bad, and we have heard stories of osprey chicks dying at nests in other areas along the Chesapeake Bay, with chicks being blown from their nests.

Our two chicks -- which are about six weeks old -- have also weathered the record heat, and the parents seem to be doing a good job of shading them and providing adequate food. Several cam watchers have asked how the chicks get water -- they actually get their water from the fish that the parents feed them.

Over the last few days, we've seen our chicks beginning to flap and exercise their wings, which is the lead up to them eventually flying in a few weeks. We've noticed that once one chick begins flapping, it often encourages its sibling to stand up and flap as well.

As for our Osprey Chick-Naming Contest, we had planned to start it around Monday, but we know some of our cam watchers may still be without power, so we'll delay the start until around Friday of this week.

If you haven't been checking out our Facebook page, I encourage you to do so. We've posted some interesting osprey news from other nests around the world. And just a reminder that you don't need a Facebook account to view our page -- it's visible to everyone.

Speaking of other osprey nests, we have seen a couple trends this season -- one being extreme weather and the other being Great horned owls taking osprey chicks. The osprey cam at Lake Barkley in Kentucky lost all three chicks to a Great horned owl. We also heard recently that the Chestertown cam in Maryland may have lost a chick to an owl. And on our Facebook page we highlighted a YouTube video showing a nest in Scotland where a "buzzard" (hawk in the UK) snatches an osprey chick from a nest. The bird swoops in so fast, you can barely see it. Unfortunately, even though osprey adults are pretty large, there are some raptors that are just fiercer than the fish hawks.

With all this drama going on, it makes us feel more fortunate that are two osprey chicks seem to be doing well. I'm heading to the Refuge this weekend, and I hope to pick up some videotapes from the cam, so we'll hopefully have a video or two for you in the near future.

Until next time,
Lisa - webmaster

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June 19, 2012

As we mentioned on the cam page, we now have two chicks. Our third and youngest chick seemed to be doing well, and we clearly saw him on June 10 and possibly June 13, but then by June 16, we only saw two chicks. In our recent Gallery update, we did see a photo on June 11 showing what looked like the mother osprey covering the nest -- almost like she was protecting the chicks -- but we're not aware of any attacks on the nest. We did have a big rain storm on June 1, and our mother struggled to keep the chicks dry and warm after a cold front moved in following the storm. Our youngest chick was very small at that point, so there is a chance that its health was affected by that heavy rain and the cool weather that followed.

We feel like the food quantity has been good at the nest. We did see some bullying earlier, but that's very common, and we're not seeing much now between the oldest and middle chick. Our chicks are currently about a month old, and they're certainly growing fast, so food does not seem to be an issue.

So at this point, it seems that our chick died of natural causes, and we know it can be hard for the youngest to make it when it's born so much later than the oldest chick (about four days after the oldest this year). We'll keep an eye on our two remaining chicks and hopefully they'll remain healthy and continue developing at a quick rate.

Some cam watchers have asked what the parents do with a chick that doesn't make it. Sometimes it gets buried in the nest and sometimes the parent will carry it away from the nest.

You can see the most recent chick photos in our Gallery update. And thanks to those who sent in their shots.

Until next time,
Lisa - webmaster

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June 9, 2012

Our chicks are now about three weeks old, and they've moved from their light-colored down to their darker, woolier down -- a time in their development referred to as the reptilian stage because they look like little dinosaurs. After this stage, their first set of feathers will start to come in. Once their feathers are fully developed, the feathers will have a tan edge on them that will make it clear to other ospreys that the chicks are still immature. Eventually their feathers will come to look just like their parents' feathers with a solid brown color.

We've been seeing some large fish in the nest, and as a result of the food quantity, our youngest chick seems to be doing well at this point. We have seen the oldest chick laying down the law on the other two chicks. For example, in this shot we see the oldest chick standing over the middle chick, making him keep his head down, while the youngest is over by mom. But this bullying is typical behavior in an osprey nest that has more than one chick.

We did see something a bit odd back on June 3, when we saw a male on top of the female. Photographer Bob Quinn had told us he had occasionally seen an intruder osprey around the nest, but the bird didn't seem to be making much of a bother of itself; however, it did make us wonder if the bird in this photo was the intruder trying to mate with the female, since it would be odd for our resident male to be engaging in this behavior so late in the season.

We do have a video clip to share of our three chicks enjoying a meal. We've posted the video on YouTube, so be sure to check it out. If anyone has trouble viewing videos on YouTube, just drop us an email and we can post another version of the video.

And speaking of photographer Bob Quinn, he recently posted some amazing new photos from Blackwater Refuge, including panoramic photos of the area around the Osprey Cam and also some photos of our Osprey Cam family. Be sure to visit his gallery site to check them out.

Other Osprey Cams

The Natureit Osprey Cam in Finland has two chicks, which you can see here. Beautiful view from this cam.

Also, we have some great photos from the Washington state Osprey Cam. Here's a photo of the chicks getting fed a flounder. And here's a photo of the chicks asleep. And finally, this is a photo that shows what the water in the background looks like when the tide comes in -- amazing difference.

Thanks to those who have been sending in photos from our Osprey Cam. We'll update the gallery next week. And if anyone was wondering, we do plan to hold our annual Chick-Naming Contest later this summer, so start thinking up your names.

Until next time,
Lisa - webmaster

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May 31, 2012

As we mentioned on the cam page, we just updated the Osprey Cam Gallery with interesting photos of our three youngsters hatching. Thanks very much to those who sent in their shots.

Today on the cam, we saw a good bit of the three chicks, and they all looked strong and active. We know that the youngest can sometimes struggle to get enough food, but it appears that all three chicks are getting in on mealtime.

We also saw this shot where it looked like there was some competition between the oldest and middle chick -- the oldest chick is likely teaching the two younger chicks about who is boss in the nest. Raptor chicks are very competitive with each other, and establishing the pecking order is top priority.

I'm heading to the Refuge this weekend to pick up some videotapes our ranger made from the Osprey Cam feed, so we hope to have some video clips for you soon.

Speaking of chicks, the Osprey Cam in Washington state is close to having a hatching. They have a great view on this cam, so be sure to check it out.

Until next time,
Lisa - webmaster

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May 27, 2012

We have a three-chick brood, and we hear they look good on the TV monitor at the Refuge. It's still early, and we know sometimes the youngest doesn't always make it, but we had three make it last year, so we're really hoping that all the chicks will continue to do well over the coming weeks. For those keeping track, here's the scorecard:

1st egg
Date Laid: 04/13
Hatched: 05/21

2nd egg
Date Laid: 04/16
Hatched: 05/23

3rd egg
Date Laid: 04/19 or 20
Hatched: 05/25

All of the chicks were a little early this year, so we're off to a fast start. The parents have been bringing in a good bit of food, and we even saw what looked like an eel in the nest a few days ago, so the food quantity looks promising.

If you're planning a trip to Blackwater NWR soon, we should have some good osprey action for you. We know our Osprey Cam parents were a bit ahead of the other nests along the Wildlife Drive when it comes to egg laying, so in the coming weeks, more of the chicks along the Drive should be hatching, and you might get some good views of parents fishing for and feeding their growing young.

As for our Osprey Cam chicks, they are well camouflaged in the nest. Each chick has a stripe down its back that allows it to blend into the nest when it lays down flat. In fact, to a predator flying above the nest, the chick would probably look like a stick, so this is a clever way for nature to offer added protection to the chicks.

At this stage, our chicks will hopefully continue to grow quickly, and in the coming weeks they'll lose their soft downy coat and grow a second heavier gray coat, which will then be followed by their first set of feathers. So we'll be keeping an eye on the chicks, and especially the third -- hoping that he gets his share of the meals.

On a separate note, several photographers have been sending us some great photos from Blackwater NWR, and we've been posting them on our Facebook page. Be sure to check them out, and remember that you don't need a Facebook account to see our public page. If you'd like to ask questions or comment there, you need an account, but you don't need one to just read our postings or view the photos.

Thanks so much to the cam watchers who have been sending in photos of the chicks. We'll update the gallery over the next few days. And we've been taping video of the Osprey Cam feed at the Refuge. I just need to get out there next weekend and pick up the tapes so I can edit the footage and get it on our YouTube channel.

Until next time,
Lisa - webmaster

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May 10, 2012

We're about 11 days away from what we hope will be the hatching of our first egg. If everything goes well, we hope the other eggs will hatch about 2-3 days after the first, although sometimes the last two can come even faster.

Our cam technician removed some fast-growing plants that were causing interference with our image signal, and it looks like the static on the Osprey Cam has diminished. We're still not completely happy with the color on the cam, and we might swap out our video capture cards now that the Eagle Cam is offline for the season, to see if we can improve the color on the Osprey Cam. Thanks for your patience while we tweak the image.

Our osprey parents have been doing a great job of keeping the eggs safe. We heard from Bob Quinn, who just posted new Blackwater Refuge photos, that an intruder briefly landed on the Osprey Cam last Friday, and was chased off by one of our parents. Here is the intruder. We haven't seen any disturbances at the nest, so it seems that the intruder hasn't been causing too much trouble.

Over the last few weeks, our chicks have been slowly developing inside the eggs, as the heat from the parents' bodies provides the right temperature for development. Earlier this year, we posted this graphic of a chick developing inside an egg, so you can see the various parts of the egg.

Once hatching nears, we'll be watching the parents for new behaviors, such as the parent on the egg rising a lot and checking the eggs. The parent will hear the chick starting to chip away at the eggshell from the inside, and this noise could possibly cause our father to bring a fish to the nest in anticipation of a new mouth to feed, although the chick won't have to be fed right away.

Hatching can take a long time -- sometimes over 24 hours -- since it's very taxing on the chick, so even after the chick begins to hatch, the bird might take long periods to rest before it completes the process and pushes out of the eggshell.

Other Osprey Nests

Lots of osprey action going on at nests around the world. If you're looking for a helpful list of the cams to watch (with info on who has an egg or chick), be sure to check out the Beakspeak Birdcam list. I just checked it out, and found this cool Osprey Cam near Tacoma, Washington that has a beautiful estuary in the background.

Until next time,
Lisa - webmaster

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April 25, 2012

We want to welcome everyone to a new season with the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge Osprey Cam. You might notice we're still not using our old blog format. For those who don't know, during the winter, our WordPress software got hacked and we had some downtime with the site. Until we can guarantee our ISP's WordPress software is 100% safe (next season) we're going to use this web page format for the blog. So thanks for putting up with the slightly different look for one more cam season.

On another technical note, we're having some issues with our PC capture cards. Our volunteer cam technician -- Tom Hook -- was working on the PC today, but he didn't have time to replace the cards before he starts one week of vacation. So we made some tweaks to the image, and as soon as Tom returns, he'll make the formal swap of the cards to new ones. We hope this will improve the image on both cams. And we do believe it's the capture cards, because the live feed at the Refuge from both cams is good.

We have three eggs in our 2012 Osprey Cam nest, and this appears to be the final number. For those who were with us last year, you might remember we had three successful chicks, so we're hoping all three will hatch this year. For those keeping score, here are the dates to remember:

1st egg
Date Laid: 04/13
Possible Hatch: 05/21-23

2nd egg
Date Laid: 04/16
Possible Hatch: 05/24-26

3rd egg
Date Laid: 04/19 or 20
Possible Hatch: 05/27-29

The first egg this year was about five days earlier than last year. Quite a few ospreys -- including our cam ospreys -- returned a bit early this year with some folks speculating it was because of the milder winter.

If you're new to our Osprey Cam, I urge you to check out our osprey fact page, our Osprey Cam Q&A, and our Project Osprey Curriculum if you're a teacher.

I also urge you to check out our Facebook page (which you can read even if you don't have a Facebook account) because sometimes we post interesting osprey news there. For example, today we posted a link to the Pohtiolampi Osprey Center in Finland, which has set up web cams at a fishing pond where ospreys dive for prey. You can watch the video feed to see the ospreys occasionally dive or you can watch this video by a photographer who caught images and movies of the ospreys hitting the water and catching fish. Really amazing footage.

In addition to emailing us, you can also post questions on Facebook if you have a Facebook account and want to ask us about something you saw on the cams. Folks have wondered about the eagles. If you didn't hear, we did lose both chicks this year (you can read more here), but we do occasionally see an adult pair on the nest, although since the adults are not banded, we can't be 100% sure both birds are our original parents.

We thank you for joining us this season, and we also thank those who sent in photos from the Osprey Cam during the egg laying. We'll get the Gallery updated soon.

Until next time,
Lisa - webmaster

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