Look for 2 adults on the nest. The adult pair will show pair bonding behaviors such as vocalizations, aerial sky dances, and the male feeding the female fish. You may see the pair copulating, which typically begins 14 days before laying eggs.
Females will lay 1 - 4 eggs at a rate of one egg every 1 - 2 days. After laying, incubation starts. Look for adults taking turns sitting low in the nest incubating eggs. The incubation period can last 35 - 43 days.
Chicks hatch ~39 days after incubation begins. Look for adults bringing food to the nest and making "head bows" into the center. Chicks typically can't be seen until they are 2 - 3 weeks old, so feeding behavior is the only way to know chicks are there.
Around 4 weeks after hatching, look for the heads of chicks to show over the rim of the nest, particularly when adults bring food to the nest. Other times they lie flat and are harder to see. Count the number of chicks in the nest before they learn to fly
Chicks begin flying around 7 - 8 weeks old, and are still fed by the adults. Count the number of chicks who have successfully fledged the nest and are observed flying.
Chick Last Observed
4 - 10 weeks after fledging, chicks begin leaving the nest area to migrate south, once they have learned to fly and feed themselves. Record the date that the last chick left the nest.
Look for signs of nest failure like adult abandonment, adults no longer incubating eggs or feeding young.
Visited this a.m. for 2 hours. The chick was in the nest, and there were no signs of its parents. My focus was on the Green Heron, but still I watched as the female Osprey came from the river/creek and delivered a fish to the nest. The chick greeted the female with begging calls, which continued for quite a while. The female eventually left, but the chick stayed put in the nest.
Visited this a.m. to check on the Osprey family but also to photograph the Green Heron. The chick was in the nest the whole time. The female showed up a few times and once with a fish. It appeared she fed the fish to the chick while still holding it in her talons. That's something I've never seen before. The female dove on me a few times while I was there. At one point I had to hold up my photo gear to protect myself.
Visited again in early evening. Great golden hour light. The juvenile was alone and feeding in the nest when a close-flying Red-tailed Hawk spooked it, and it bolted. While it was in flight, it carried a good-sized chunk of the fish it was working on in one of its feet. It flew around in a chaotic kind of way before deciding to return. It was soon joined by the female.
When I arrived this a.m., the juvenile was alone in the nest. Its parents weren't around. I left but came back. When I did, it was flying in the area and flew up to the top of a dead limb in a tall tree. I was able to capture it as it started to climb (photo #23). The bird is spending less and less time in the nest, though the nest is still its home base. When I left for good a little later, the bird had returned to it.
I visited this a.m. The juvenile was there alone at first, but then it flew off to the east and disappeared. It soon returned as did the female. They both wound up in the nest where the juvenile proceeded to beg. After a while, the female left. I don't think it had anything to offer. The juvenile left, too, but stuck around. It spent time in one of the trees that the male had perched in early on. It then left and disappeared to the west. I enjoyed watching it fly and also enjoyed watching it explore the broader area. It flew like a pro and as if it owned the skies. At times it even flew in what appeared to be a playful, zig-zag fashion. I saw the male fly that way earlier.
My wife and I drove by the nest around noon. As we did, we saw the juvenile in flight just above the trees. We turned around and headed back. Fortunately, I had my camera. After a few minutes of looking, we found the bird on the tree that had fallen into the pond. The tree is a favorite of many. I wouldn't be surprised if the juvenile has been scouting the pond and making an effort to hunt there. We took a number of photos. As we did, the bird stared at us and gave some soft alarm calls, sounding for the first time like one of its parents. Then the bird took off and headed back to the nest and safety. Because my photos would have been added out of order, I couldn't post any of the ones I took. This photo order thing is an ongoing problem.
The chick has fledged. This morning when I arrived the male and female were around, and the chick was in the nest. At some point as I was doing something else, the chick flew from the nest to a nearby power pole. See photo #22. It stayed there for about 30 minutes before returning to the nest. The female was near the nest, and the chick began to beg for food upon arrival.
Visited the same way I did on 8/14 and saw the same action. The male was also there and because of that the chick vocalized almost nonstop. Its calls are noticeably more high-pitched and excited than those of the adults. This time, I got a photo of the chick in midair above the nest. The male was looking on from the side. Any time now.
Visited this evening and stayed for half an hour. I no sooner arrived and had my gear in place than I looked at the nest and watched as the juvenile started to flap and at one point go airborne. Its parents weren't around. The bird did this for about 5 minutes before it settled back down into the nest and rested. I never saw it flap again. It was thrilling to watch, and I look forward to seeing more of the same. Please see photo #19. Again, the photos are out of order.
I visited before sunset. Both the female and chick were in the nest. There was no sign of the male. I was beginning to see him less and less. It looked like the female was shading the chick even though the sun was behind it. Moments later, the chick went up on the rim (first time I'd seen it there) and vacuated. Then the female, which may have already eaten, fed small pieces of fish to the chick. The fish had probably been delivered earlier by the male. According to my calculations, the chick should fledge within the next week or so. We'll keep our fingers crossed. It'll be exciting to see it fly.
Visited in the a.m. If memory serves me, both adults buzzed me. Though the lighting was tough, I did my best to capture them landing and settling on a power pole close to where I was standing. The chick was in the nest. I wrote in my blog that the presence of open perches near an Osprey nest is a plus. This photo seems to bear that out.
Visited several times this a.m. On the first visit, the female was on the nest and vocalizing, but there was no sign of the chick(s). On the second visit I got great looks at the growing chick. It's clear there's only one. I haven't seen the male since 7/5.
Visited in the evening. The male delivered a headless fish to the nest, and for the first time I observed the female feeding pieces of it to a chick. I could just make out its head and beak. It appears from my photos that there's only 1 chick in the nest. I provided a close-up of the interaction in photo #14.
Visited in the evening. Both male and female were there. The female was on the nest and the male was nearby. The male then left and headed east as he often does. After a while, the female buzzed me and returned to the nest. This has happened several times before. If anyone's concerned, I never approach the nest and always stay on private property some distance away.
Visited this evening and arrived just as the male brought a fish to the nest. Wasn't prepared to shoot but did manage to get a good shot of the pair in the nest. Judging from what I've observed, the way the pair sit in the nest, etc., I think there are chicks there. I looked for feeding behavior tonight (parent feeding chicks) but it wasn't clear if that were happening.
Visited in the early evening. I managed to catch the male as he flew in from the east and delivered a fish to the nest. He'd already eaten its head (photo #10). I then watched as the male headed east again, presumably to get more fish. Then the female flew from the nest and wound up almost above me (photo #9). She then headed back to the nest. It appears the female is spending less time in the nest. That could indicate there are young there.
Visited in the early evening. The female was alone in the nest. Before too long, the male arrived. After a bit, she appeared to hound him to go get food. Several times she actually left the nest and flew to him as he perched nearby. Were there now young in the nest, I thought. Each time, he left his perch only to return. Finally, and after this happened several times, he left altogether, flying off in the direction of the Susquehanna. Fortunately for me, I was able to get a few good flight shots as he flew around. Also fortunately for me, there was great golden hour light when I took them.
Observed nest this a.m. The male was on a tear bringing nesting material to the nest. Back and forth, back and forth. This marks the first time that I've seen an Osprey carry nesting material to a nest in one foot. From what I've observed, Ospreys always use both feet. Then they switch to one foot right before the drop-off. See photo #7. Photos aren't placed in order here sometimes.
Visited early a.m. With sun behind nest, could only get silhouettes of nest and either bird in flight. At one point both adults were on nest. One was on the rim while the other appeared to shade young. Having said that, I don't think there are any young just yet.
Adult arrival on 4/10 is an educated guess. I saw an Osprey in the vicinity on 4/8 (first sighting of the season). The nest is above a farm pond and is close to Yellow Breeches Creek and the Susquehanna River. According to the owners of the property nearby, this is a new nest.