It’s been a while since we’ve updated the blog, since the nest has been very quiet. Our pair has been at the nest on and off, as they are still defending it and bringing in new sticks. Some cam watchers might wonder why the ospreys hang around the nest when they have no chicks to raise; the reason they stay is that it’s important that they defend the nest if they hope to come back next year and use the platform for another season. If they abandoned it now, other ospreys (like an unattached male or a pair without a nest) might think it’s available and take it for their own. So our couple stays near the nest and practices their nest building.

Since we don’t have much to say about our nest, I thought I’d use this post to talk about some of the other osprey action that we’ve been monitoring. If you didn’t see my earlier post on the cam page about Bob Quinn’s recent osprey banding trip, then be sure to check out his gallery. Bob went on an osprey banding trip at Patuxent River Park in southern Maryland. The park’s osprey population has had a tough year. First, several big storms caused quite a few nest failures, and then a Great Horned Owl has been not only killing osprey chicks at the park but also killing some of the osprey mothers. In fact, while Bob was on the boat banding ospreys, his group found a dead female osprey in the water under one of the water platforms. Pretty amazing to think of an owl taking out full-grown adult ospreys.

Speaking of Bob’s photos, I did want to point out a few of his shots that were particularly interesting because they show some wonderful close-ups. In this first shot, you can see two chicks hunkered down inside the nest. Osprey young know instinctively to lay low in the nest when they hear their parents call out in alarm; this technique works well since their feathers blend in with the sticks and help camouflage them.

In this second shot, you can see a great close-up of a banded youngster (see the band on its left foot). Notice that the osprey chick has scale-like bumps on its lower legs and feet. These scales are called spicules and they help the osprey hold onto slippery fish. Also, notice that the youngster has orange eyes; the eyes will turn yellow once the bird matures. Finally notice the tan tips on its feathers, which is another sign that the bird is young. The feathers will eventually turn all brown once the bird reaches sexual maturity.

In this third shot, we get a great view of an osprey chick’s blood feathers. When feathers first develop, they are encased in a sheath that is made of keratin (like your fingernails). This sheath protects the feathers and feeds them with blood until the feathers are fully developed — hence the name blood feathers. Once the feather has developed, the sheath falls off (or is pulled off by the bird) and the feather unfurls. In this photo, we can see the blood (the blue color) feeding the developing feathers. Anyone handling a bird with blood feathers must be careful, because if one of them tears, the feather can bleed quite a lot.

In this fourth shot, we see a mother osprey skimming the water with her talons to cool down; this is a behavior that is common during the summer. In fact, on June 11, the Connecticut Audubon Osprey Cam reported similar behavior by their osprey adults. Their website said, “With the intense heat of the last several days, the adults have been using their bodies as an umbrella to shield the four chicks from the sun. We’ve also seen the adults skimming the surface of the water to wet their breast feathers and return to the nest to cool the chicks down.” It’s interesting to see how the adult ospreys use water to help keep themselves and their chicks cool.

And in this final shot, we see a wonderful example of the osprey’s third eyelid — or nictitating membrane. The ospreys use these translucent eyelids to clean their eyes and to protect them from harm — such as while fishing or feeding their young.

In addition to Bob’s incredible osprey shots, I also have a couple osprey tales to share. First, the Marine Study Nature Area in New York has an online Osprey Cam where they have four healthy chicks. Unfortunately, the youngest chick got entangled in a discarded balloon ribbon and a rescue had to be arranged, which you can see on YouTube. The Marine Study Nature Area website also links to a BBC article on the dangers of balloons in the environment. Be sure to read about the need to eliminate discarded balloons for the sake of wildlife.

Another interesting osprey story happened a couple weeks ago at an osprey nest in St. Michael’s Harbor in Maryland, where the nest fell into the water. Fortunately, some of the workers at the nearby Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum saw it happen and managed to get to the chick immediately. They took care of it overnight and then it was transported to Tri-State Bird Rescue by Suzi Feldhuhn, a friend of ours who is a volunteer at Tri-State. On the following Monday, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service decided to renest the single chick in a neighboring nest that already had two chicks. Suzi told us it was a very successful renesting with the chick being accepted by its new family. As for the original pair that lost their nest, they’re in the area and are building a new nest on a nearby platform.

Suzi was kind enough to send us the two photos below showing the chick being placed in its new nest and then sitting with its new siblings. Click on the thumbnails for a larger image.

Many osprey nests around the Net are starting to see young birds fledging. As we mentioned on the cam page, the chicks at the North Carolina Osprey Cam and Kentucky Osprey Cam have begun to fledge, and the four chicks at the Connecticut Osprey Cam are also close to going. Here is a great shot showing one of them hovering above the nest. We wish all these young birds the best of luck as they begin venturing out into the world.

Partial Closure of Wildlife Drive

As a final note, for those cam watchers who might be planning a trip to Blackwater Refuge this summer, I wanted to remind you that a portion of the Wildlife Drive at the Refuge will be closed for about two months while we repair an impoundment that protects the Drive from the Blackwater River. Only the first section of the Drive will be closed, so you will still be able to access the latter section of the road. Also, while we have the road closed, we also plan to repair our Marsh Edge Trail boardwalk, so hopefully by the time all the work is done, we’ll have an improved trail and Wildlife Drive. Read our press release for more information about what services will be available if you come.

Thanks again to all those who are sending in cam images to our galleries. We don’t update the galleries as often these days because the action is slow, but we will update them soon and we appreciate any images of interesting action that you see.

Until next time,
Lisa - webmaster
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wildlife refuge, ospreys, osprey cam, Blackwater Refuge, Maryland