Osprey Cam Web Log

Gender, Migration, and Nests

First, I wanted to send a big thank you to all who have sent in photos, questions, and kind comments. It's difficult to respond to all submitters individually, but we greatly appreciate everyone's correspondence and pics -- all of which help to make the Osprey Cam site a better experience.

Nest update: We expect the ospreys to lay their eggs around mid to late April. Since these ospreys migrated a little early (most likely from South America -- Venezuela, Columbia, or maybe Brazil), they might be slightly ahead of schedule. A sign that the eggs have been laid is if the female is sitting in the middle of the nest and not budging.

Pic of the Week: We have two submitters to honor this week -- Virginia Bell and Kyle Barnell -- who both sent in almost matching photos that clearly identify the female and the male. Female ospreys are often identified by a speckled necklace, although this isn't always a sure sign of gender as some males have coloring on their breasts. However, with the cam ospreys, it appears that this visual clue holds up. If you look at one of the mating photos, it's the white-chested bird mounting the necklace bird, so we can safely say the necklace bird is the female. The 2004 Gallery has been updated -- and be sure to visit all the pages as some older pics were added along with the new.

And now to answer a couple questions:

First, a cam watcher wanted to know if the young ospreys from last year have been seen at Blackwater. Osprey young need about two or three years to mature before they are ready to return from southern migration grounds; but when they return for their first breeding attempt, most ospreys will come back to the place where they were born. Something interesting we did see on March 20 was a shot of three ospreys sitting on the cam nest. It's certainly possible one of these ospreys was a former fledgling from an earlier nesting season.

Several cam watchers also wanted to know about the wing-like item in the nest. We're not sure what that item was, but it did appear to be the wing of a large bird. Ospreys do not eat carrion (only fresh fish) and are considered amiable toward other birds, so it's not likely the ospreys would kill another bird (unless attacked). Yet interestingly enough, bird expert Arthur Cleveland Bent has reported that ospreys have been known to bring the wings of ducks and gulls to their nests. In addition, he reported of hearing about osprey nests on Natividad Island in California that were made partly from Black-vented Shearwater wings (an ocean bird).

And it doesn't stop with wings. Osprey experts, such as Alan Poole, have noted that ospreys exhibit a fondness for bringing all sorts of odd objects to their nests, such as toy boats, hula hoops, bicycle tires, and fishing nets. In the book, Return of the Osprey, author David Gessner became fascinated with a Cape Cod osprey nest that had a Barbie doll in it -- although he later corrected himself and said it might have been a Spice Girl doll.   :-)

Much thanks to Elaine and Norman Porter for the wing pics.

Until next time,

Lisa - webmaster

Pic of the Week

Submitted by Virginia B. & Kyle B.