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July 24 - One of the
osprey either just taking off or just landing. It's starting to become
less and less clear which birds are the parents and which are the
fledglings.
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July 22 - This nest still appears to be active. There are still at least two sightings of ospreys in the nest every day.
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July 19 - This fledgling
roosted like this in the nest for several minutes, apparently waiting
for its parents to drop a fish as it was observed eating one a little
later on.
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July 18 - One of the juveniles eats a fish that either it or one of its parents caught.
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Jul. 17 - Both juveniles and one of their parents in the nest.
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Jul. 16 - One of the fledglings and possibly one of the adults has reappeared in the nest.
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Jul. 11- An adult appears to have brought one of the young a fish:
Adult & Young w/ fish.
Interestingly, Osprey have spines on the pads of their toes to hang on to those wily fish.
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Jul. 5 - Despite the fuzzy photos, we believe that at least one, if not all three chicks, have taken thier first flights.
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Jul. 4 - By the end of their first winter, the young Osprey will lose the red iris and take on the appearance of adults.
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Jul 3 - Two of the three chicks are visible beside one of their parents. At this age, they have reached their full adult size.
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Jul.
2 - One of the parents returns to the nest with a freshly caught fish.
Even once fledged, the young will rely on their parents for food for
about 2-3 weeks.
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Jun 30 - Although difficult to see, one of the Osprey chicks is spreading its wings. This behavior often precedes first flights.
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Jun. 28 - This is approximately day 51
since hatching. The young fledge at about 8 weeks of age & will
continue to stay in area of nest for two months. Picture shows chicks
gathering for a morning feeding.
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Jun. 25 - The chicks spend time on the
edge of the nest flapping and preening. Due to the spider web we are
not able to find many clear images to post!
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Jun. 14 - The chicks are displaying aggressive behavior towards each other as they compete for food.
Pecking & shoving Chicks - a 10 sec compilation of 45 minutes of stills.
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Jun. 13 - The female has been shading
the chicks and momentarily lifted up her wings showing all three chicks
panting trying to keep cool.
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Jun. 11 - One of the chicks is seen doing stretching and flapping here - even catching a little air!
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Jun. 7 - Our last day of good images before the spider moved in. Parent is shading the young. Click to view video:
Shading Young
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May 30 - The female feeding one of the chicks, bill-to-bill.
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May 29 - After
distributing some fish to the chicks, the female joined her mate on the
other end of the nest with what remained of the meal.
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May 28 - Happy Memorial Day! The parents and chicks are enjoying a relaxing holiday weekend together as a family.
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May 27 - A great shot of the nestlings becoming more independent each day.
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May 26 - The Osprey parents prepare a meal for the hungry chicks!
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May 25 - Temperatures have been high at the Lake Barkley site and the female is seen shading the young from the hot sun.
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May 24 - The male has to forage for an average of 195 minutes per day to feed himself and his family.
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May 23 - The growth rate of the Osprey chicks is amazing!
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May 22 - It seems like the nestlings grow before our very eyes!
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May 21 - The chicks are resting and one of the parents has brought a fish to the nest for a late night snack!
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May 20 - A lovely image of the Osprey family sitting in the morning sun!
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May 18 - One of the parents takes a moment out of a busy day for preening.
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May 17 - Many fish must be caught each day to provide enough food for the growing nestlings.
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May 16 - The young Osprey are looking more like their parents every day!
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May 15 - Osprey chicks are completely
dependent on their parents for feedings until they are about 40 days
old when they will start to feed independently.
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May 14 - The young Osprey are seen in the begging posture waiting for pieces of fish from their parents.
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May 13 - A close-up view of an Osprey on a sunny Mother's Day!
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May 12 - The male brings a meal to the nest while the female is busy brooding the chicks.
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May 11 - A nice shot of both parents tending to the young.
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May 10 - The third egg hatched earlier today and the nestlings will be growing up fast!
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May 9 - It appears that the second egg has hatched and the third egg should hatch very soon!
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May 9 - A great image of the male and female eating their catch and possibly preparing a meal for the young.
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May 7 - The male has been very active at the nest lately and this image shows that at least one of the eggs has hatched!
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May 2 - The female is spending more
time sitting on the eggs as hatching day draws nearer. She can
hear sounds of the young coming from within the eggs!
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Apr. 30 - A nice shot of the male and female watching over the eggs!
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Apr. 29 - Hatching should begin any day soon!
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Apr. 27 - Female Ospreys tend to weigh about 15% to 20% more than their male counterparts.
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Apr. 26 - At 27 days, we are nearing the end of the incubation cycle. The first egg should hatch between day 34-40.
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Apr. 25 - The breeding range of an Osprey includes the United States and Canada as well as Mexico and the West Indies.
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Apr. 24 - Ospreys can travel
incredible distances during migration and have been known to travel in
excess of 125,000 miles over the course of a lifetime.
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Apr. 22 - Incubation continues with about two weeks left before hatching.
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Apr. 21 - A nice image of the wing span of an Osprey. The wings are longer than the width of the nest!
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Apr. 20 - Somewhat surprisingly, the
vocalizations of the female Osprey are louder and deeper than the male
because of the female's larger body size.
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Apr. 19 - Artificial platforms built
for nesting, such as the Lake Barkley site, have helped to provide
suitable nest habitats for breeding populations of Osprey.
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Apr. 18 - An interesting image caught by the infrared camera that operates during the dark hours of the night.
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Apr. 17 - The female sits on the eggs while the male comes in for a landing!
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Apr. 16 - The female has been incubating for about two weeks. Only three more weeks to go before hatching!
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Apr. 14 - Unlike many
other bird species, the male Osprey participates in incubation, usually
while the female is foraging for food.
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Apr. 12 - A big stretch shows the colors and size of an Osprey's wings.
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Apr. 11 - Both parents taking a peek at the incubating eggs.
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Apr. 10 - A rare shot of an Osprey feeding on a just-caught fish!
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Apr. 7 - The egg color of an Osprey varies from white to pink usually marked with reddish-brown speckles.
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Apr. 6 - Our first clear
image of the third egg! A typical clutch size for the Osprey is
three eggs but the range can be one to four eggs per clutch.
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Apr. 6 - Incubation often begins after
the first egg is laid and continues for 35 to 40 days.
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Apr. 4 - Unlike many songbirds, a mature Osprey pair will usually only have one clutch of eggs per breeding season.
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Apr. 3 - The second egg
arrived during mid-morning today. A female Osprey will lay a new
egg every two to three days until the clutch is complete.
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Mar. 31 - The first egg
was laid today sometime late this morning! Most of the time the
egg is hard to see which helps to protect it from potential predators
such as Great Horned Owls.
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Mar. 28 - A nice shot of the very
large wings of an adult Osprey. The wingspan of an Osprey can
range from 5 to 6 feet in length!
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Mar. 27 - The diet of an Osprey
includes almost exclusively live fish from freshwater and saltwater
habitats. Osprey dive into water at a depth of up to 3 feet, so
their prey are likely to be fish that swim at the water surface or in
shallow areas.
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Mar. 24 - Although they resemble
members of the eagle family, Osprey are unique taxonomically. They are
the single species in their subfamily, separate from all other hawks
and falcons.
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Mar. 22 - Osprey average about 160
copulations per clutch, although it is estimated that less than 40% of
these are successful, (i.e., contact between the male and female cloaca
occurs). |
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Mar. 21 - The first full day of spring and these Osprey are wasting
no time in getting the breeding season started. Mating at the nest site
is a good sign they intend to use this site!
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Mar 21 - This site was outfitted with an Infrared camera which can
pick up images even in total darkness. Our first night shots reveal a
Great Horned Owl sitting on the rim of the Osprey nest. Great Horned
Owls are common predators of Osprey young.
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Mar. 20 - Shortly after going live, we were rewarded with this
beautiful image. Based on the pale breast, it appears to be the male,
but it is hard to be certain.
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