Lost opportunity

[T and Mary Frances Thomas]

On April 15th we were excited by the change in the behavior of our osprey.  We saw the same change seen in the past two years when eggs were hatched and the pair got serious about nesting.

 

We have no idea how many eggs were laid, but marked our calendar for the expected date of the first hatchling.  Nothing happened and finally on May 29 both ospreys left the nest and the area.

 

Other similar sighting have been observed in our area.  We have watched the building or refurbishing of  nest, a lot of activity, sitting on the nest and then abandoning the nest without any indication of hatchlings.

 

So, that is the sad news from the south coast of South Carolina.  The good news is a visual increase in the number of osprey and nests in the area.

 

T Thomas

[dtjeffress]

We had similar behavior from a pair of ospreys in Mathews Va; what
seemed to be a typical nesting period---early May to mid-June---then
as best we could tell, no hatchlings and now the pair seem to have
abandoned the nest. The male stopped by randomly and for brief
periods last weekend (this is a weekend home for us on the Chesapeake
Bay) but his behavior was so odd compared with what we had been
observing previously. This was our first year "hosting" a pair on a
platform that we had installed out in the water off of our property.
I have tried to research possible problems but haven't read anything
about possible causes except that maybe a predator (gull or ?) could
have attacked the eggs or the babies. Do they ever have eggs that
just don't hatch? We had such extremely hot weather early in June--
could that have been a factor? We are also feeling very sad. If you
learn anything about this or know of a good web site about Osprey
behavior, please pass the information along. Thanks. Dorothy
Jeffress

On Jun 10, 9:57 am, "T and Mary Frances Thomas"