The first egg will be 35 days old on 6/20, that's when we start watching for a hatch. It's very unlikely these eggs are viable. If they do hatch the next issue will be how the chicks are cared for, and that could be a problem. The male has been doing all the incubating, as well as fishing for himself and the female, an unusual situation to say the least!!!
If the eggs hatch the chicks have to be kept warm, fed, sheltered from sun, rain and predators. This takes team work. Maybe, hopefully, if the female sees chicks something will "click in" and she will care for them, that's a big maybe. The male can't fish and care for newly hatched chicks, and the female just standing in the nest, as she has, won't be enough.
Some cam viewers may have observed what appears to be intruders, again. This is not the case. There are Red-winged Blackbirds nesting in the bushes below and around the platform. They now have their fledglings on the ground and are pestering the ospreys, which they consider a threat. For the ospreys this is like having a mosquito buzzing around your room at night, and it should end soon.
There have been two new nesting platforms erected in the area, by the local utility company Nstar. One at the Bike Path near Oyster Pond and one on Mill Road near Salt Pond. Both platforms have been claimed by new males and they are busy adding sticks, this is keeping things peaceful in the area. The male in the Clark building nest has settled down, he may have a female on the nest. So, we now have seven nests in the area, between Fresh River Road and the WHOI cam nest, three more than last season. Cam viewers, not familiar with the area, can Google map it.
Some have been asking about human trash in the nest. Trash in osprey nests is always an issue, but not much can be done about it. Ospreys bring it in, take it out, bury it under sticks and sometimes the weather takes care of it. Sadly sometimes it becomes a danger to both adults and chicks, we can only watch for trouble and try to help when need. I was at the nest yesterday, the blue rope is now in the bushes under the nest, but likely they'll bring more, it's an on going issue. Osprey nests in the Mid-West, North-West and UK have baling twine and mono- filament fishing lines brought into the nests, trapping many ospreys. Trash left in the nest at the end of the season, if not blown out by winter winds, is usually covered by new sticks at the start of the season….then new trash is added!!!
Well, let's see what happens over the next couple of weeks, stay tuned.
JAZZEL
