Osprey Tales

4:38 PM

5 minutes old

Speculation is running high over the next big event in our story.

Expectant parents

Osprey eggs hatch in the same order as they are laid. It takes about 35-37 days for the chicks to emerge, but cases have been recorded of up to 43 days.

How well the parent birds carry out their incubation duties influence hatch dates.

Harriett and Jonathan have been breeding together for years. It shows in their coordinated coverage of the nest.

Does wet rainy weather effect hatch dates? The Doctor does not know.

So, taking all that into account, the Doctor is predicting that the first egg will hatch tomorrow.

After the stormPurple martin house

Harriett’s platform

and

North River double rainbow

“A good day to have a baby.”

Switching off

Bald Eagles and Ospreys never fly together. The male Osprey is defending his nest from the eagle.

Since Eagles share very much the same lifestyle and habitat as the Osprey, these two are often in conflict. They will raid each other’s nest’s, taking the babies of the other. The Eagle often attacks Ospreys in mid-flight to steal his hard-earned fish, so Ospreys take advantage of every opportunity to harass Eagles in return. Neither wants to share prime fishing areas with the other.

This is an Osprey chick “dragging the water”. Osprey do this to clean their talons and to cool down by getting water on their breast feathers. Photo by Kim Taylor

Switching off