Osprey, male Bringing a Stick for the Nest
My husband and I observed an Osprey pair for 90 minutes on April 10, 2023, in Cook County, Illinois. During this observation period, we photographed the pair mating twice and the male leaving the nesting area twice to bring sticks back to place into the nest.
Last year, we observed an Osprey pair at the same location from May 4th to June 12th, 2022.
On June 12, 2022, the temperature was 74 F, then came the brutal, record-breaking heatwave with temperatures reaching over 100 F for nearly a week, followed by high 90's! We worried about how the Ospreys would fare. Sadly, we never saw either of the adult Ospreys after June 12, 2022. Osprey nesting failures are attributed to a number of factors, including eggs not being viable, chicks not receiving enough food, which is also how they obtain the required water they must have to avoid dehydration, receiving contaminated food, aerial predation by owls, crows, or hawks, and falling from the nest or being pushed out by a sibling. Additionally, extreme fluctuations in weather conditions certainly play a tremendous role in nest failure. Any of these conditions could have caused them to abandon their nest.
Studies indicate that Ospreys exhibit site fidelity and will try again. Although this pair has not been banded, presumably they are the same pair.
It will be exciting to observe them and see if they have better luck this year.
*In Cook County, Illinois Ospreys are listed as Threatened. "Pandion haliaetus is Listed Threatened; Number of Occurrences (41); Last Observed 2022-06-28."
dnr.illinois.gov/content/dam/soi/en/web/dnr/espb/document...
Osprey, male Bringing a Stick for the Nest
My husband and I observed an Osprey pair for 90 minutes on April 10, 2023, in Cook County, Illinois. During this observation period, we photographed the pair mating twice and the male leaving the nesting area twice to bring sticks back to place into the nest.
Last year, we observed an Osprey pair at the same location from May 4th to June 12th, 2022.
On June 12, 2022, the temperature was 74 F, then came the brutal, record-breaking heatwave with temperatures reaching over 100 F for nearly a week, followed by high 90's! We worried about how the Ospreys would fare. Sadly, we never saw either of the adult Ospreys after June 12, 2022. Osprey nesting failures are attributed to a number of factors, including eggs not being viable, chicks not receiving enough food, which is also how they obtain the required water they must have to avoid dehydration, receiving contaminated food, aerial predation by owls, crows, or hawks, and falling from the nest or being pushed out by a sibling. Additionally, extreme fluctuations in weather conditions certainly play a tremendous role in nest failure. Any of these conditions could have caused them to abandon their nest.
Studies indicate that Ospreys exhibit site fidelity and will try again. Although this pair has not been banded, presumably they are the same pair.
It will be exciting to observe them and see if they have better luck this year.
*In Cook County, Illinois Ospreys are listed as Threatened. "Pandion haliaetus is Listed Threatened; Number of Occurrences (41); Last Observed 2022-06-28."
dnr.illinois.gov/content/dam/soi/en/web/dnr/espb/document...