May 25, 2004
First Chick and Osprey Crops
Nest Update: At this moment, we can confirm that one chick has hatched. Some details from our cam technician: The first egg was laid sometime on April 16th. It hatched this morning (or overnight); the refuge staff that have the live TV monitor said it was early this morning that they noticed the chick (our first submitted pic of the chick was at 8:03 am). Given those dates, it was a 38-39 day gestation period. The second egg was laid 2 days after the 16th and the third egg was 3 days after the 16th.
Our technician also said he would expect to see a second chick late tomorrow or Thursday and the 3rd chick sometime Friday or Saturday (if the two remaining eggs hatch). Seeing all three hatch would be unusual, but if it occurs the first chick will have a tremendous head start on the other two, judging by our predicted timetable.
Edited on 5/26 and 5/28: The second chick was born on the afternoon of 5/25. The third chick was then born either on the afternoon of 5/27 or the morning of 5/28.
Pic of the Week: Kathy R gets the Pic of the Week for being the first to submit a photo that showed the new chick. Thanks to all those who sent in great shots of the newborn. Be sure to visit the gallery for more excellent photos of the little bird.
Here is a nice portrait shot of the chick
(click on thumbnail for larger version):
Osprey Crops
Ospreys are diurnal raptors (active in the daytime), and all raptors of this type have a special organ called a crop, which is a swelling at the base of the esophagus that forms a storage area where food can be held for later digestion. When the chick's crop develops over the next couple weeks, it will look like a small bulging protrusion on the chick's chest, and its presence will make life easier for the whole family. For the chick, the crop means the little bird can quickly swallow food that its siblings might want, and for the adults it means the chick can go longer between feedings.
Besides storing food for later consumption, the crop also stores indigestible material -- like bones and scales. These unusable fish pieces are captured in the crop and eventually molded into pellets that are later regurgitated. Whenever someone talks of pellets, we often think of owls; however, owls do not have crops -- they eat their prey whole, so all the contents goes to their stomachs and that's where the pellets are formed. Owls regurgitate pellets much more frequently than ospreys do, mainly because of their different eating methods.
If you could see our chick close up, below is what it would look like. This photo shows two newborn osprey chicks (about one and two days old) from Maurice River, New Jersey . The pic was loaned to us by Jane Morton Galetto, the president of Citizens United to Protect the Maurice River and its Tributaries . Be sure to visit her group's website and look at their wonderful online osprey slide shows.
Until next time,
Lisa - webmaster (contact)
Submitted by Kathy R