The Ospreys and Their Nests
HISTORY ON THE NESTS
The Scoggins pair didn't start out in the nest that they are in now. In 2012 Hog and Dash nested across the road in a large stag. Pic of the old tree here. (and for a broader view, here) There had been a nest in that tree since at least 2005, but I am almost certain that the nest was there much longer, maybe when the tree was still alive.
It was in June or July of 2012 when we began watching the pair a bit. They successfully raised two chicks to fledging, S1 and S2.
After the ospreys left for migration, the nest fell in a windstorm, leaving the skinny pine it was perched atop behind. We tried climbing up the bank to look for remains of the nest, but the blackberry bushes proved a bit too prickly for a thorough search!
In March of 2013(the 24th) the pair returned. We drove out to the lake and saw them perched at the Old Nest Tree. Dash was perched a couple feet from the top of the tree, chirping and chirping, while Hog was balanced on the tip. He came and went a few times, trying to drop sticks onto a nest that was not there. They stayed at the Old Nest Tree at least three days before starting to rebuild in the cottonwood they nest in now.
In 2013 Hog and Dash successfully raised another two chicks to fledging, S3 and S4.
After the ospreys left, their new nest began leaning, but has not yet fallen. In 2014, Hog, sadly, did not return. Dash is back, but as of yet, has not accepted another mate, although at the moment she has two suitors, one that we call Mr. E (because of his skinny build, when we first saw him, he looked like and "E"xclamation point.) and another that has also been hanging about. As of mid-May, Dash has been letting the two males hang around the cottonwood (on the 10th, all three ospreys were in the tree) but still has not let either of them mate with her. We believe it is becoming too late for Dash and one of her suitors to successfully breed this year, but we will of course, keep checking, and hoping.
~How to tell Hog and Dash apart (2013)
The Beal ospreys nest on a platform at the Beal Wetlands. There are neighborhoods on one side of their Summer home, and a busy road on the other. These ospreys, or an osprey pair, have been nesting there for around nine years, since their platform was erected. We watched them a bit in 2012 as well, but not nearly as much as Scoggins.
We began watching this pair again in June 2013. The pair had two chicks that looked a bit younger than the Scoggins chicks. At least one of the chicks made it to migration, but the other disappeared early, around the same time as Star did. (In early July, right after it fledged) It has and will be interesting to study the differences in behavior between a "wild" and "suburban" nest.
In 2014, Sparky arrived on Friday, May 21st, and Star on the 22nd. As this pair is already established, they got right down to business, adding a few sticks and soft nesting material to their thin nest before laying 1-3 eggs (we won't know how many were laid until we see chicks) around April 8. As of Mid-May, we are approaching the time when eggs there are set to hatch.
THE BIRDS
It was pretty obvious right away that the osprey pairs needed names. Even more so now that we are watching two pairs instead of just one!
Dash's name comes from her "dashing around" behavior in April 2013 when the pair was still working on the nest. One day she came and went five or six times back and forth to the nest bringing in sticks in around five minutes! (Quite a feat compared to Hog's one or two per twenty minutes!)
Hog's name is pretty self explanatory. When he and Dash were building the nest, Dash would constantly chirp at Hog, nagging at him to go get a fish. Hog finally would, but when he returned, he ate most of it himself before giving it to his hardworking mate! His "hoggish" behavior continued through the 2013 season; although he always kept his family "full-cropped" and well fed.
It didn't take me nearly as long to come up with names for the Beal Wetland pair. The male would be known as "Sparky" in honor of the Dunedin chick that died in spring 2013.
The female took me a bit longer. I can't remember some of the names that were going through my head then(maybe "Loudmouth" or "Beaky"?), but one day a perfect one popped into my head: Star. It was perfect because of her personality towards humans that made her the center of attention! Her never ceasing chirping.
~The chicks at Scoggins were called S3 and S4 ("S" for Scoggins, and 4 as the known number of chicks this pair has had; although I'm sure they have had many more.) We name them numerically to try and distance ourselves from them and not become emotionally attached. We will continue this system in 2014 (or '15), starting with S5 and so on.
The Beal Wetlands chicks were known as V1 and V2 in 2013, but for the 2014 season we will start with B3 and so on. ("B" for Beal)
The Scoggins pair didn't start out in the nest that they are in now. In 2012 Hog and Dash nested across the road in a large stag. Pic of the old tree here. (and for a broader view, here) There had been a nest in that tree since at least 2005, but I am almost certain that the nest was there much longer, maybe when the tree was still alive.
It was in June or July of 2012 when we began watching the pair a bit. They successfully raised two chicks to fledging, S1 and S2.
After the ospreys left for migration, the nest fell in a windstorm, leaving the skinny pine it was perched atop behind. We tried climbing up the bank to look for remains of the nest, but the blackberry bushes proved a bit too prickly for a thorough search!
In March of 2013(the 24th) the pair returned. We drove out to the lake and saw them perched at the Old Nest Tree. Dash was perched a couple feet from the top of the tree, chirping and chirping, while Hog was balanced on the tip. He came and went a few times, trying to drop sticks onto a nest that was not there. They stayed at the Old Nest Tree at least three days before starting to rebuild in the cottonwood they nest in now.
In 2013 Hog and Dash successfully raised another two chicks to fledging, S3 and S4.
After the ospreys left, their new nest began leaning, but has not yet fallen. In 2014, Hog, sadly, did not return. Dash is back, but as of yet, has not accepted another mate, although at the moment she has two suitors, one that we call Mr. E (because of his skinny build, when we first saw him, he looked like and "E"xclamation point.) and another that has also been hanging about. As of mid-May, Dash has been letting the two males hang around the cottonwood (on the 10th, all three ospreys were in the tree) but still has not let either of them mate with her. We believe it is becoming too late for Dash and one of her suitors to successfully breed this year, but we will of course, keep checking, and hoping.
~How to tell Hog and Dash apart (2013)
The Beal ospreys nest on a platform at the Beal Wetlands. There are neighborhoods on one side of their Summer home, and a busy road on the other. These ospreys, or an osprey pair, have been nesting there for around nine years, since their platform was erected. We watched them a bit in 2012 as well, but not nearly as much as Scoggins.
We began watching this pair again in June 2013. The pair had two chicks that looked a bit younger than the Scoggins chicks. At least one of the chicks made it to migration, but the other disappeared early, around the same time as Star did. (In early July, right after it fledged) It has and will be interesting to study the differences in behavior between a "wild" and "suburban" nest.
In 2014, Sparky arrived on Friday, May 21st, and Star on the 22nd. As this pair is already established, they got right down to business, adding a few sticks and soft nesting material to their thin nest before laying 1-3 eggs (we won't know how many were laid until we see chicks) around April 8. As of Mid-May, we are approaching the time when eggs there are set to hatch.
THE BIRDS
It was pretty obvious right away that the osprey pairs needed names. Even more so now that we are watching two pairs instead of just one!
Dash's name comes from her "dashing around" behavior in April 2013 when the pair was still working on the nest. One day she came and went five or six times back and forth to the nest bringing in sticks in around five minutes! (Quite a feat compared to Hog's one or two per twenty minutes!)
Hog's name is pretty self explanatory. When he and Dash were building the nest, Dash would constantly chirp at Hog, nagging at him to go get a fish. Hog finally would, but when he returned, he ate most of it himself before giving it to his hardworking mate! His "hoggish" behavior continued through the 2013 season; although he always kept his family "full-cropped" and well fed.
It didn't take me nearly as long to come up with names for the Beal Wetland pair. The male would be known as "Sparky" in honor of the Dunedin chick that died in spring 2013.
The female took me a bit longer. I can't remember some of the names that were going through my head then(maybe "Loudmouth" or "Beaky"?), but one day a perfect one popped into my head: Star. It was perfect because of her personality towards humans that made her the center of attention! Her never ceasing chirping.
~The chicks at Scoggins were called S3 and S4 ("S" for Scoggins, and 4 as the known number of chicks this pair has had; although I'm sure they have had many more.) We name them numerically to try and distance ourselves from them and not become emotionally attached. We will continue this system in 2014 (or '15), starting with S5 and so on.
The Beal Wetlands chicks were known as V1 and V2 in 2013, but for the 2014 season we will start with B3 and so on. ("B" for Beal)