Nesting Diaries
Mile marker 20 is no longer there. So no place for the birds to build their nest!
One adult present on the no wake sign. She then flew across the water and perched on a limb in the trees there. I stayed for about an hour but no sign of chicks or other adult. Not even a stick is left from the nest.
Both chicks present, one on the no wake sign, the other perched on the channel marker. Only a few sticks remain of the nest. No sign of the adults.
At least half of the nest has been destroyed. Vandalism or nature, who knows. One chick was sitting on the nest, then the second one arrived. I still have not seen this one fly, assume it has fledged.mthe second chick then moved to the no wake sign, and an adult flew in and also perched on the nest. No sign of other adult.
One chick has fledged, but no signs that the second one has. This chick is very small, does not show any wing flapping that I witnessed, think it may not make it. Adults perched in trees across the way.
Adult perched on no wake sign adjacent to the nest. Both chicks were lying in the nest. The adult then flew across the water and perched on a tree limb. The chicks moved around and flapped their wings. The much larger of the two flapped and flew from one edge of the nest to the other, but not out of the nest. Then both chicks were perched on the edge of the nest, seemed to be waiting for someone to bring them breakfast.
Both adults were perched in the trees across the water from the nests. They were calling' and continued to do so for 30 minutes. The chicks weren't paying a lot of attention. The adults then flew away. One of the chicks then moved to the edge of the nest and did a lot of tail shaking and wind flapping, the other chick barely moving. The adults returned , started calling, again without much attention being paid by the chicks, both adults flew away again.
Chicks were flapping their wings. They have really grown in just a week. Neither parent was on the nest when I arrived. Female arrived with breakfast, and both chicks were standing, feeding themselves, and flapping their wings. The male arrived without food, then left again.
Nest survived the brutal storm last evening. Female was rearranging sticks, but it seemed mostly in tact. Finally saw the chicks. Did not observe any wing flapping.
Female was feeding chicks when I arrived. The male was perched on the adjacent no wake sign. I see motion, but am not able to see chicks. I did receive an email from a bird club member who has a scope that there are two chicks. The female continued to feed, then she flew across the water and the male came to the nest. The female , after a few minutes, returned to the nest, joining the male. They both remained on the nest for awhile, then the male flew away.
Female was sitting high on edge of the nest. Eventually the male arrived with a small fish. He ate a little and flew away, and the female was very active feeding chicks. Can not see into the nest, impossible to know how many chicks. Male came back with another small fish. Lots of herons and egrets around, first time I've seen that many this season.
Male flew in with a fish as I arrived around 8am. Female was sitting close to edge. The male then took some fish and flew to tree across the water. He then almost immediately flew to another tree further away, then flew away. The female then left the nest and flew high above the nest, circling around, then came back sitting close to edge, and exhibiting bobbing behavior, as if feeding chicks and herself. She continued with this behavior before spreading her wings and settling down in nest, but sitting higher. Inalso observed a great blue perched on a limb across the water, so I think that is what spooked the male. I'm estimating the time of the eggs hatching, based on my incubation initiation guess. Could not see any chicks.
Female was still low in the nest when I arrived at 8 am. Not sure if she is brooding. It has been at least 5 weeks since I observed her in incubating posture, so chicks should have hatched, but saw no sign. The male was on the adjacent No Wake sign. He then flew over to the nest, poked around in the nest, then retrieved a good part of a fish, and flew across the water to his favorite tree to perch and feed.
Female was perched in tree across the way, while male was incubating the eggs. She was grooming herself. She eventually flew back to the nest, changed places with the male, and he flew. She also rotated the eggs.
Female on nest, male perched in tree across the way. Male eventually flew over to nest, then flew away.
The female was sitting very low in the nest in incubating position. Can't see into the nest to see how many eggs. No sign of the male while I was there.
Both osprey were present for most of the time. They may have been mating. They did fly away and return, adding material to the nest. Did not appear to be damage from last nights storms. The male came back with a fish and was eating it on the adjacent no wake sign.
The nest has grown quite a bit since last week. Both birds were on the nest when I arrived. The male flew to the adjacent no wake sign, and the female yielded and rearranged sticks. She then flew away and came back carrying a stick, arranged that, flew away again, returned again with more material. The male also flew away, but didn't return while I was there.
Both male & female were present when I arrived, and they have begun to construct a nest.
One osprey perched on tree limb across from MM#20. No sign of another bird, no sign of nest building.
One male osprey observed perched on MM#20. No sign of female.
. The nest has been mostly destroyed. The male was on the nest moving sticks, looking as if he was trying to repair it. The female was on the adjacent no wake sign. The male would fly over and join her, then fly away, then back to the nest, then back to join the female. I assume the nest was destroyed during the recent storms.
Female seemed to be perched on nest, no longer in incubating posture. She moved a lot, spreading her wings, but I could not see any chicks. No sign of the male. A large group of turkey vultures were on the trees and limbs across the water.
Female still in incubating posture. There was no sign of the male, who must have been out fishing for breakfast.nest seems to have survived all the recent storms and rain.
Osprey hunkered down in nest, no sign of the mate.
Osprey incubating. Mate flew in with a long stick, and they both placed it in the nest. Female resumed incubating and male flew to the adjoining no wake sign. He remained there until another osprey appeared, at which point he gave chase. They did arial acrobatics, flying higher and higher until they disappeared.
Female in incubating posture. Did not see the male while I was observing.
Osprey in incubating posture. No sign of male.
Female perched on side of the nest, the male on the adjacent no wake sign. The male flew off but later returned with a fish which both birds then ate.
On bird walk the osprey were observed mating by Jan.
One osprey perched on the nest, the other on a tree limb across the water. Nest appears substantial and could be complete.
Jan Lockwood observed both osprey present and a few sticks on the mm and one carrying sticks for nest.
Female Osprey perched on mile marker. No sign of a nest, or nest building. Did not see the male.
Lots of herons, a bald eagle in the trees, but no osprey. Nest has been removed.
Arrived early morning. One osprey perched on sailboat mast. Heron roosting in trees across the way, also a bald eagle eating a fish.
Observed late morning, no sign of any osprey. Blue heron roosting in tree across the way.
Juvenile Osprey was on the no wake sign adjacent to the nest with a very large fish. No other osprey in the area. Bird continued feeding. After a time, picked up the fish and took it to tree branch across the creek from the nest. A gull immediately landed on the no wake sign for the crumbs. The other juvenile arrived and landed on the nest. It was joined by the one perched in the tree, with the remains of the fish. He left the fish and flew back to the tree. The other picked at the remains, then flew over to the trees also. No sign of the adults.
Observed between 4 - 5, no sign of osprey.
One juvenile was perched in a tree across from the nest. A great egret was perched on a lower limb, and a blue heron was on the no wake sign adjacent to the nest. The juvenile then flew to the nest, and started a lot of calling, chatter. The other juvenile arrived, and flew around the heron, then over to the tree limb. There was a lot of conversation back and forth with the two.nthe heron flew away, and the osprey perched on the tree limb flew to the no wake sign, then eventually away. The one on the nest remained, than it too flew away. No sign of the parents.
No osprey around when I arrived, probably out fishing. After around half an hour, an adult osprey arrived with a fish, perched in a tree across from the nest, and proceeded to eat. I believe it was the male. I observed for another 45 minutes, but no other osprey arrived.
No birds in nest nor on the trees to the left of the nest which is their usual spot. I walked to the other side of the dock to look at a heron and noticed that two osprey were in the tree on that side. One was quite large and the other one which was perched on a branch above was smaller. Watched them for a bit but they did not leave the tree.
Both chicks were in the nest feeding when I arrived. The male adult was perched on the adjacent no wake sign. One chick flew around and landed next to the male on the no wake sign, stayed for about 5 minutes, then flew back to the nest. After a short time, he flew across the creek and perched on a limb. 2nd chick seemed to be tidying the nest, moving sticks around. The other chick flew back to the nest, and 2nd chick flew to the limb. The adult then flew to another tree across the creek.
Both chicks were feeding in the nest when I arrived. One then flew across the creek and perched on a tree limb, other chick continued to feed. After a while, adult osprey flew in and perched on the same tree, different limb. The second chick continued to feed. This chick then exercised his wings. I thought he was going to attempt to fly, but after prolonged time of flapping and spreading his wings, he settled back into nest.
Upon arriving at the dock I observed one chick in the nest and an adult perched on a tree beside the creek. It was a surprise and a delight to find another chick perched on the same tree as the adult. While I attempted to photograph the new fledgling, the female flew in with food and both the adult and the fledgling flew to the nest. The male returned to his perch on the tree soon after and both chicks fed from the fish in the nest, while the female watched.
Two chicks were in the nest without an adult. They seemed to be grooming themselves. Female arrived with a fish. She dropped it into nest, stayed a few moments then flew away. She then perched on a nearby tree limb. Chicks were very busy feeding themselves, moving around and occasionally flapping their wings.
Looking at the nest from the path down to the dock there was an adult on the side of the nest with wings outspread obviously sheltering the chicks. When I got down to the dock she had closed her wings and one chick appeared behind her and seemed to be interested in its surroundings. I only saw the one chick and hope the other one was on the other side of its mama.
I have been away so this was the first time I was able to check on the osprey since May 30. I could barely see the nest through the trees on my way down to the dock but there appeared to be two osprey on the side of the nest. When I arrived at the dock only one bird remained and was peering intently into the nest. The bird suddenly flew down to the water to catch a fish (unsuccessfully) but two little heads popped up from the nest while the parent was gone. When mama or papa returned they settles back down into the nest and the parent stood guard on the side of the nest again.
The osprey was inside the nest with its back to me but standing to the side when I arrived and appeared to be eating. There was no mate in sight. When it finished eating it went to the other side and faced the inside of the nest while looking all around and every once in a while would look into the nest. A boat went by which did not seem to disturb it and after the boat was out of sight it bent its head down into the nest a number of times. Unfortunately, I still cannot see inside the nest even from the path above and by next week the leaves will be obscuring the view completely.
When we arrived one bird was sitting high in the nest. A few minutes later the mate flew in and both birds stood on the side of the nest eating. It was very hard to tell if the one bird was feeding herself or a chick although I did not see any visible sign of chick nor did I hear any noises of chicks feeding from inside the nest. Long story short, I have no idea whether eggs have hatched but am hoping I'll be able to tell next week. One bird went back inside the nest while the other perched on the no wake sign a few feet away for a bit and then took off to catch a fish which the osprey whose nest is in front of the boathouse promptly tried to steal but was unsuccessful. The boathouse osprey went back to its nest while the osprey with the fish took off for parts unknown.
Mate had just dropped off a fish as I arrived, which they seemed to be sharing, with one flying to the adjacent no wake sign to eat, and the other staying in the nest. Lots of bobbing up and down, but I could not tell if she was feeding chicks. There were no visible signs of chicks, but they should have hatched by now. After she finished eating she spread her wings out and perched low in the nest.
Bird low in nest while its mate was perched on a dead tree branch to the left. Both were very quiet until I started walking up the path to leave and they decided to call to each other. I imagined they were saying "it's okay now, she's gone!"
Osprey was hunkered down in the nest, no sign of the partner.
As I approached both osprey were standing on the side of the nest but only for a short time as the female flew off to the left and the male promptly got into the brooding position inside the nest. It appeared to be a "changing of the guard" scenario.
Osprey is low on the nest, and partner is perched on high tree branch across water to the left.
Bird sitting low on nest. Stood and looked to be rotating eggs but I was unable to determine whether it was the male or the female.
Osprey is incubating. Can not see how many eggs. Partner perched on tree branch across the water to the left.
Observed osprey in incubating posture on nest. The mate was in a tree on the shore across the channel.
One osprey was in an incubating posture in the nest, the other on the adjacent no wake sign.
Osprey pair have arrived, one on marker 20, resting on a partially built nest, the other on the adjacent no wake sign.
9-1-2014
An adult male osprey was seen perched on the mast of a boat in the marina. No other osprey were seen or heard in the area.
However, two osprey have been seen one-half mile downstream, One dove for fish, unsuccessfully. It appeared to be a juvenile.
8/27/2014
The area near Marker 20 was silent. No osprey were seen or heard.
8/23/2014
Participants on the Bird Club biweekly bird walk observed one juvenile and three adult osprey in the area - one was some distance up the Creek where an unmonitored nest had been noted. There was no contact between the juvenile and any of the adults.
8/17/2014
One juvenile osprey perched alternately on Marker 20 and the adjacent no wake sign. An adult male osprey flew into a nearby tree. When the adult arrived, the juvenile begged for food but was ignored. The adult left 10 minutes later while the juvenile remained. I did not see a second juvenile.
Observed one juvenile perched on the no wake sign. No sign of other juvenile . There was an adult osprey perched atop a sailboat mast behind the nest area in the marina. The juvenile eventually flew away, the adult remained while I was there.
Two chicks perched on the no wake sign near the nest calling. An adult was across the dock on a limb, but flew away shortly afterwards. The chicks stayed on the sign until a boat approached, the they flew off, one flying across and around the dock area, the other retreating to a tree limb. A third osprey appeared, and perched on the nest. This was also a juvenile . At this point, the other two flew back and chased him away. They stayed on the nest for awhile, then flew to the branches.
Two chicks were perched on the no wake sign. They remained there until a canoe approached, and then they flew to a tree limb opposite the nest.,where they remained,until I left. Did not observe any adults.
Williamsburg Bird Club bird walk attendees observed 2 juvenile osprey. One was perched on the No Wake sign close to Marker 20 (former nest). The other caught a fish and returned with it to a tree adjacent to the former nest. An adult osprey was perched nearby. Both juveniles later sat side by side on the No Wake sign, giving us excellent views of their plumage.
7/25/2014. Three Osprey were seen flying. One dove, caught a fish and began to fly up the Creek. As the osprey flew past the boathouse at Queens Creek Marina a mature Bald Eagle began to pursue and strike at it, presumably to force it to drop the fish. The other two osprey flew towards the struggle. One attacked the eagle driving it off. I lost track of the other two osprey at that point, but found them a couple of minutes later perched on the abandoned osprey nest at the Marina. One was eating the fish, but it was impossible to sex or age them with binoculars at that distance.
There were no chicks or adults present , although lots of ospreys flying high above the nest area. On chick eventually flew into the trees and perched on a branch, called for food for a short period before flying away.
7/22/2014 Only one chick was present, flying strongly along the treeline, over the marsh adjacent to the Queens Lake pool and up Queen's Creek past the marina. It returned to the nest and called for food before resuming its flight. Neither adult appeared while I was there.
Chicks have fledged. Observed for about 11/2 hours. Early morning. There were no signs of either adult during time I was there. One chick seems hesitant, mainly flys between the nest and the trees immediately opposite it .the other is more adventuresome, and flys around and over the dock, as well as to trees and wake sign, resting only briefly then taking off again. Neither chick flys higher than tree line. Lots of chatter.
The day following Hurricane Arthur both chicks were seen in the nest, obviously unharmed. One stood branching, stretching its wings and hopping slightly on the nest.
On 6/24/2014 only two large nestlings were visible in the nest. (The third was missing and probably dead.) The female left briefly and returned with a fish which she fed to the two chicks. The male landed on the nest, whereupon the female flew to a tree to eat the remainder of the fish.
The female was on the nest with three nestlings that were clearly seen through the scope. A male sat on an adjacent Marker, with his back to the nest. The female begged continuously for food. He flew off to fish and had not returned when we left 30 minutes later.
The female was on the nest, but was no longer in an incubating or brooding posture. The male brought a fish to the nest. She stood and fed small pieces to a young nestling. Only the bobbing head and shoulders were visible in front of her. She ate some of the fish before settling towards the back of the nest with the nestling close to her. Two white feathers were standing straight up on her back. Perhaps an injury?
4-3-2014
The female was low in the nest incubating. The male returned with a fish, which he ate on the nearby No Wake sign, until another osprey flew towards the nest. Both male and female chased the intruder, the female for only a short distance.
The female was perched on the nest (not in an incubating posture) while the male was perched on a snag overlooking the Creek and nest. Two osprey were also perched on the nest at the Marina. A mature eagle sat high in the trees overlooking the Creek and marsh. It flew across and along the creek, whereupon the male osprey began to chase it with loud alarm calls. The eagle returned to the tree where it had been and settled on a lower branch. The osprey circled several times before settling on a higher branch where it continued to call. The female left the nest and joined the male in harrassing the eagle briefly. An American Crow came to the tree, too. The female returned to the nest, the crow left and the male osprey continued to stand at the top of the tree scolding the eagle for several more minutes. The eagle was not chastened.
Both osprey were perched on the nest which has grown markedly. Grass was added as we watched and the birds copulated. The male left and returned shortly with a fish which he ate while perched on the adjacent No Wake sign.
The osprey are rebuilding the nest. It is now a couple of inches thick.One osprey was perched on the nest but the other was not seen.
An osprey was seen seen flying over Queen's Creek. One stick has been added to Channel Marker 20, the site of nests in 2012 and 2013.
Successful nest for 2013. 2 hatchlings and fledges. The nest had to be completely rebuilt at the beginning of the summer due to storms.
Hatchlings have fledged! No sign of them but father and mother osprey were perched in nearby pine tree and maple about 50 ft apart.
Hatchings continue to grow. Perched on edge of nest looking outward - fledging seems soon!
Definitely 2 hatchlings in the nest. Very healthy and active.
Mother osprey continues to guard what appears to be one hatchling. I it is between 20 days old.
One hatchling peaked over the next regularly and appeared to be active and healthy.
Both osprey again take turns incubating the egg(s) in the nest. The male displayed the "skydance" behavior again. The female adjusted the nest.
6/1 Male and female present in nest, one nestling confirmed. Unknown if more hiding in nest
5/24/2012, The female osprey was seen sitting on the nest. No further activity was noted.
5/29/2012, Both osprey were present at the nest. The male flew to a nearby No Wake Sign and perched. The female remained at the nest. She appeared to be feeding as she changed position around the edge of the nest and raised and lowered her head into the nest, but the presence of chicks could not be verified. She left the nest and returned shortly with green marsh grass which she placed in the nest. She did this a seond time while the male remained perched on the nearby marker. (We didn't see/hear any laughing gulls in the area although they are often present. It is likely to be a hot day in the mid-80's - perhaps the grass will provide shade to eggs/nestlings.) Both osprey then perched on the nest.
5/12/2012, the female was observed incubating on the nest. The male was not present though he had been seen previously perhed on a snag on a wooded area above the nest. After 15 minutes he flew to the snag with a menhaden which he began to eat. 10 minutes later he flew to the nest with the fish, wherupon the female took it from him and flew to the snag to eat it while he replaced her in the nest. The chicks do not appear to have hatched yet.
4/26/12, the female, was alone in the nest. She was not lying as low in the nest as formerly and appeared to be eating. The male was perched on the adjacent No Wake sign.
Osprey returned to the area on February 24. Male was seen bringing sticks to Channel Marker 20 on 3/15/12, 3/20/12 and 3/22/12. This was also the site of a nest in 2011. On 3/22/12 the male flew off the nest to harrass a mature Bald Eagle in the area of the nest until the eagle perched in a tree away from the nest. 3/26/12, two osprey were seen on the nest. A strong north wind was blowing which obscured any sound from the pair. 3/28/12, 2 osprey were present, the female perched on the nest and the male on an adjacent No Wake Sign eating a fish.3/31/12, the female was seen sitting on the nest, while the male perched on a nearby No Wake Sign. The male joined the female in the nest and mated. After a short time together, the male left. 4-4-2012, the female was observed on the nest.
On 4/12/2012 one bird, probably the female, was on the nest. She was positioned low ln the nest, with only her head to be seen when she raised it. Other osprey were calling - one continuously from a nearby nest - and several were flying overhead. During the hour of observation, she did not leave the nest, nor did her mate join her in the nest or bring her food. Her posture was suggestive of incubating, as was the manner in which she was moving something around in the nest - but the interior of the nest was not visible to confirm this.