Bella & Beau 2019: An Osprey on the Platform
(Osprey nest location: Cambridge, Maryland, USA)
March 15, 2019
A passing glance out my window to the Osprey nest platform just before noon today.
And what did I see?
Osprey (male)
I’m a bit puzzled with the orangey/golden coloring on the back of the head/neck below the normal brown patch. It should be a white patch as was Beau’s.
Osprey (male)
Osprey (male)
Osprey with orangey/golden coloring on back of head/neck
I didn’t see the male Osprey depart but know he didn’t stay very long on the platform. I saw him again, flying over the creek later this afternoon.
When a bonded pair returns from migration, the male Osprey is usually first to arrive, going immediately to the nest location to secure it from another one taking it.
I drove over to look at last year’s other Osprey nest location close-by that was built on a piece of construction equipment, to see if I spotted an Osprey perched on it. The nest and equipment are completely gone. So if that male Osprey is back, he could be checking out this platform since he’s privy to it from last season.
We all know waterfront real estate is prime property!
Of course, it could also be an Osprey just passing through the area on his way home elsewhere.
And so the Osprey saga continues……
Photos by Donna 
A mystery Osprey? Looking forward to the next episode, Donna.
Maybe he’s the realtor! 😂
Thanks, Sylvia!
🤣👏🏻
I just hope Beau and Bella show up now before another couple take over the nest. I don’t know what the osprey’s rules are. 🙂
Me too, HJ! Not sure about Beau, but if Bella makes it back, I don’t see her giving up on her home! 🙂
You have my attention…
Think good vibes with me! 😊
I bet it’s good to have Ospreys back again!
Osprey and life are good! 😊
What a fascinating prelude to the ‘main event’. It will be interesting to see who secures this perfect piece of real estate (and by ‘perfect’, I mean for you and the osprey). It could be Bella and Beau or perhaps new neighbours… It’s so exciting! 🙂
Thank you, Mike! Today is to be quite windy all day, might be a quiet day. Time will tell I know! 😊
As the song goes ” I see trouble ahead” Unless it is just passing through you could be selling ‘ring side’ seats!
Oh boy, that’d be the battle of the season! 😉
There is an Osprey site in middle England and yesterday the first female of this season returned (and managed to get here despite several days of severe gales)
Awesome! We’re going to have steady winds today and tomorrow, so I’m guessing the arriving Osprey here will settle down and rest a bit while the winds blow and gust.
PS…. Just heard another has arrived back in Scotland ….. so the year moves on at a pace 😀
That is double awesome, David. We are very fortunate to have such a turn-around and regrowth of our Osprey population in the U.S. They LOVE the Chesapeake Bay region I’m in, and I am very lucky to have the opportunity to see this here! Always hoping each year gets better for all of you over the pond!
Interesting to see the Osprey back Donna, and more interesting that he has what may be a juvenile marking on the head and not the neck area markings. A curiously interesting bird. I guess we will see what eventuates. Have a wonderful weekend.
Thank you Ashley! I, too, noted it was a juvenile coloring, but can’t figure how that can be since last year’s born chicks don’t return until 2020. I’ve never seen this before in previous years either. This Osprey’s chest appears to be much more white/less speckled too. I only took a few shots and went back inside to watch. I’ll be taking more for sure to try to solve this mystery! Have a wonderful weekend too!
He is handsome!
Very much so!
A lovely saga…hope he will spot his mate!
Thank you, Indira, I hope so too!
I love a good story😊
It’s looking to be a good one 😊
It’s great to see the migrants starting to return. We’re seeing turkey vultures now that the snow is starting to melt. All those buried deer carcasses are coming to light.
It is, Eliza. Thank goodness for Turkey Vultures! They are very important to nature and our land. 🙂
I await developments with keen anticipation.
Wonderful!
…waiting with bated breath, Donna… 😊
News seems to be developing…. 😊
Nice to see Ospreys returning!
A sure sign of Spring! 🙂
Do so hope that Beau and Bell will be back… can hardly wait to find out!
It would be pretty awesome, everyone is rooting for them!
How wonderful and exciting to see an osprey visit. Surely Beau & Bella can’t be far behind. That orange patch is intriguing. We’ll all be waiting for further developments. 🙃
I’m pretty sure now the visitor was just that, a visitor. Probably passing through and needed a rest. That orangey patch looks like juvenile colorings. Hmmm….
He is interesting, and an exciting sighting! Keeping my fingers crossed that Beau and Bella arrive home in due time.
Thank you Deborah! I’m keeping an eye out for them!
Hope all goes well for their return. Have heard some of the UK Ospreys are back on their nest sites. Always good to know.
Things are great, we have a pair that has returned (see latest post). I hope your UK Osprey continue to thrive and populate. In our region, we have 10,000 breeding pairs of Osprey each summer. It proves both how healthy they and the Chesapeake Bay are. Hooray for the success in returning to the world, Osprey!!
Excellent news!
It is! 😊
Great Post, thanks!
Thank you and you’re welcome!