Ospreys require nest sites in open surroundings for easy approach, with a wide, sturdy base and safety from ground predators (such as raccoons).
Our nests are built of sticks and lined with bark, sod, grasses, vines, algae, or any kind of flotsam and jetsam we might fancy.
The male usually fetches most of the nesting material — sometimes breaking dead sticks off nearby trees as he flies past—and the female arranges the nest.
Nests on artificial platforms, especially in a pair’s first season, are relatively small — less than 2.5 feet in diameter and 3–6 inches deep.
After generations of adding to the nest year after year, Ospreys can end up being huge.
This will be Johnathan’s second year. It will be my sixth.
Harriett
Osprey Tales 
Good Morning Harriet,
From this latest picture of you and Jonathan, could you say which one is who?
The iris of adult females are yellow; legs are pale blue-gray. We have a speckled brown necklace on our breast.
Females average about 15–20% larger in body mass than males, and 5–10% longer in wing, tail, claw, and bill length. In addition, females tend to have fuller, darker breast-bands and darker heads than males.
After a while, if you observe us carefully, it will be easy to tell Jonathan from myself.