Mama Osprey Feeding Her Babies

beach-mom · ‎03-09-2010

We've been watching this nest for a while. In the past we've seen it, but of course we haven't had a view like this!

This spring there were 3 eggs. The last one hatched sometime after 6 last night. Dad goes out to get a fish and delivers it. Mom shreds it and gives it to her babies, taking a bit for herself once in a while. Dad keeps watch.

Anyway - I could watch them all day!

If you want to see the live webcam, go to Cape Henlopen Osprey Webcam. We watch it on YouTube.

Oznell · ‎11-08-2014

They are just the sweetest, @beach-mom -- no wonder you're enthralled with them!

ECBG · ‎01-08-2011

Thank you! I have never heard of this type of bird.

proudlyfromNJ · ‎05-01-2010

@ECBG wrote:
Thank you! I have never heard of this type of bird.

@ECBG We have them on the beach where I grew up. They come back every year to have and raise their young.

Jaspersmom · ‎06-08-2011

Here's another one from the east end of Long Island. I've been watching them for years.

https://ospreyzone.com/

on the bay · ‎03-09-2010

Thanks for this great picture @beach-mom!

I've grown to love and admire Ospreys. They are such good parents. The ones you have made such a nice nest!

The first time I saw one I didn't know what it was. There were 2 on the bay sitting on top of the posts in the water. They built a nest there. Then I saw the most magnificent wing span ever fly way up into the tallest tree!

I asked our neighbors what they were?! and they told me of the Osprey.

They must have had a nest in the tree also.

Then next time I saw them was on a vacation on the river. A man in the next house fed them every day at 4. He would call to them and throw up the fish and the one would come from the sky and make a perfect catch. What a sight to behold!

"If you walk the footsteps of a stranger, you'll learn things you never knew. Can you sing with all the voices of the mountains? can you paint with all the colors of the wind?"

beach-mom · ‎03-09-2010

Sad update:

Just in case anyone wants to know what happened, I learned a lot about ospreys.

The mother stays with the nest and the father brings the fish. Mom kills it with her talons and feeds herself and her babies. We watched them eat, we watched the eggs hatch, and we watched her protect them during wind and rain.

DH said he hadn't seen the dad bring any fish for a while. The babies were getting feathers and were chirping, and were obviously hungry.

The average life span of an osprey is about 20 years. This male had been at this nest for 20 years. They didn't say how long the female had been there, but the pair had mated successfully every time each spring.

Something happened to the male. He wasn't coming to the nest. They think he died. So the family wasn't eating.

A male "intruder" came into the nest and chased the female out. He refused to feed the babies. One of them tried to peck at his feathers. They all had their beaks open.

The smallest one and the last one to hatch was the first. DH came home and said she wasn't moving (we didn't know the sex; we just called her "she"). He didn't think the others would make it. Of course at the time we didn't know what was going on.

DH was watching when the second fell over. Then the third was gone.

The female returned and sat by her babies squawking. It was so sad. I had stopped watching.

Since the park had the camera on 24 hours, people couldn't understand why these babies couldn't be helped. The experts said they would have had to find another nest and efforts to do this were unsuccessful.

I don't understand it all. I'm just sad. Nature.