Egg Alert For Oliver & Olivia!
After watching for two days, I’m most positive that Olivia is incubating an egg that was laid on Sunday, April 3! That day I was able to spend a good amount of time watching Oliver continue to feverishly strengthen their nest while Olivia basically stayed perched and watched.
At 1:22 pm Oliver also brought a small headless fish for Olivia to dine on. As usual, she took the fish and left the nest to eat it elsewhere. She returned to the nest in 20 minutes and sat in the middle as shown below.
Here’s another shot of Olivia about 45 minutes later, cocking her head as she watched Oliver returning to the nest with another stick. It’s also a good shot to see the additional decor Oliver has discovered and used. Check out the small cardboard box on Olivia’s left, as well as that darn screen that is still there.
After that last photo, we went out to dinner. When we returned at 6:00 pm, I found Olivia sitting deep in the nest and turning her head keeping constant watch of her surroundings. I watched her for over an hour and saw her get up and put her head down and move it in the nest. She then repositioned to the middle and settled herself gently in the nest. I’m guessing she was rolling the egg around a little, which they do throughout the incubation period.
The next photo was taken at 6:53pm, with Oliver bringing Olivia a nice large fish with it’s head still attached, maybe a wonderful offering to show his support of the birth of their first egg! 🙂 Hey, the fish even has his head still which is unusual for Oliver. He must be making sure Olivia gets all she can to stay nourished.
Both yesterday morning and evening, I found Olivia still settled in the nest, which I was sure confirmed she’d given birth. And fantastic dad, Oliver, continued the nest strengthening. I noticed last night he was concentrating more on grass and clumps to pack and line the nest for Olivia and the egg cup. Oh, and he added more of that lovely clear plastic to the side. LOL
Last year Olivia and Oliver had two chicks hatch, the year before three. It is possible an osprey can lay up to four eggs at 1-3 days apart intervals. So therefore, Olivia could be busy these few days laying one or more additional eggs. The eggs are the size of a large chicken egg and usually hatch in 4-5 weeks in the sequence they were laid.
Yesterday into today, the winds have kicked up to 20-30 mph. This morning Olivia was really deep in the nest, keeping her egg(s) warm and protected. At one point, Oliver returned to the nest and Olivia got up and stood about a minute and then flew off, probably for a break to stretch her wings. Dad Oliver immediately positioned and settled right onto the egg(s) until Olivia returned and took back her place. It is so amazing the instinct they have to support each other and their offspring, isn’t it?
Now we watch and wait for a little chick’s head to pop up to see his new world!
Finally, a quick photo of a blue heron who flew directly and pass me within 30 feet on Sunday. I didn’t even have to crop the photo he was so close!
Til next time, have a super week!
Oliver & Olivia’s Trashy Nest Decor
Please excuse the long absence, my mom didn’t bounce back so quickly from a scheduled surgery; she’s much better now!
Of course, Oliver and Olivia haven’t slowed up one bit in my absence. What a change in the nest! And the trashy decor, lovely! 🙂 Our pair of osprey have proven a love for plastic and continue to use it to secure and tighten their nest. I took a photo of the nest late Saturday night when I returned for a quick refuel, Oliver was checking out his work…
Seeing he needed more, he took off for another stick and head back. I loved the next shot of Oliver coming across our community property, my first with our osprey and daffodils in the same photo!
Early Monday morning, I found Olivia perched and keeping an eye on her surroundings…..and possibly looking for Oliver.
She must have known, as here came Oliver with a small fish that he offered to her to eat. Such a great mate!
By Wednesday, the plastic is starting to disappear within the nest of sticks. Let’s hope it stays deep and doesn’t get entangled with our osprey. This next photo has Olivia on the right and Oliver on the left. Another good shot to see the size difference between the two.
Another shot of the nest and trashy decor…..
Work does not cease for Oliver. This morning in the drizzle, our osprey pair rested on their nest; although Oliver would readjust a stick or clump of grass as he saw fit.
When he departed, I noticed a new addition of trash to the nest behind Olivia. The first photo shows the nest to date. Second photo is a close-up showing a piece of screen. Not a good addition to the nest I would think. Unfortunately, osprey in general will use just about anything to build their nest. It’s been recorded that in addition to plastic and fishing line, they’ve used a hula hoop, toy boat, barbie doll, rag doll, and a wallet. Wonder if that pair got lucky and found any money?? LOL
Finally, I wanted to share a photo of a northern shoveler who flew in with eight mallards to feed at the bottom of the nest. The mallards were quite verbal letting the shoveler know they didn’t like his presence. They left him and he swam off in another direction. First time I’ve seen a northern shoveler around the nest.
That catches us up to date. Last year around April 6, I noted Olivia became a permanent fixture on the nest, only getting up and leaving when Oliver appeared and replaced her, indicating an egg had been laid. In another week or so, we should expect see this occur. And then the excitement begins as we watch for little chicks peaking out to their new big world!
Have a great weekend!
Rebuilding The Nest
In just three days, Oliver and Olivia have made great progress in rebuilding their home. The first photo was taken early Sunday morning of the pair hanging out together before a day of hard work. This is a good shot to show again the size difference between Oliver (left) and Olivia (right) and notice the nest’s condition at that time.
An hour later, the day’s work begins….
Olivia takes a break to stretch….
By late afternoon, the nest was showing improvement.
Oliver brings in a late-afternoon snack for Olivia.
And she decided to take it somewhere else to eat. I guess she didn’t want to share.
The next photo is for fun. With the naked eye, I could tell something looked a little weird on the nest. Oliver looked way out of proportion….or did he grow? 🙂 (Olivia is behind him.)
Back to work, this time Oliver brought in a clump of grassy-like material for the floor of the nest and decides to move a stick.
While Oliver works in that stick, Olivia takes flight to retrieve a stick in the water she had been eyeing from the nest.
It’s now 7:00 pm Sunday and work is still going on. Olivia messed around with this rooted stick for some time.
For some reason, she did not like the root part! She broke it off and took flight I assume to discard it. (She didn’t bring it back!)
As the sun was beginning to set, Oliver brings one more stick before he and Olivia flew down to Lipincott’s channel marker for an evening’s well-deserved rest.
Monday was a stormy dreary day. When I left that morning, it was hailing as a thunderstorm was descending upon us. As I left, I saw one of our pair on the nest hunched over. Not a good day for home rebuilding. But today was! When arriving home tonight, I took the following photo. Olivia is sitting pretty on a much improved nest that has now been adorned with a plastic bag. Hopefully, they can work that bag down tight in the nest so neither of them or any chicks get their talons hooked into it and become entangled.
Plastic and fishing line are very hazardous to the osprey. Last year, the following photo shows Oliver during a scary moment with a plastic bag that had became entangled around his neck!
It could have been deadly for Oliver had he gotten in the water and the bag filled. After 30 minutes of me worrying and looking for Oliver with binoculars, he came cruising back to the nest with no bag. I bet Oliver was relieved, I know I was!
Back to today’s hard work, the next long series of photos show Oliver bringing in another stick in an awkward way. As he tries to make his way down to the nest, Olivia is forced out of the way even though she’s not making eye contact with Oliver or the stick….until those last couple frames. Hmmmmm…..she says a few words, and takes flight. Wonder what she said??!!
As the sun was setting, the pair enjoyed a quiet rest. Oliver has discovered the little piece of wood jetting up from the platform and will perch on it while keeping an eye on the surroundings.
How about that nest??!! Oliver and Olivia have been quite busy. And their activeness makes for great photo shots. I hope I didn’t overload you on photos this time, I had some cool ones I wanted to share. And I love seeing and showing their expressions!
Unfortunately, I will be out of town Thursday through Sunday/Monday and won’t be around to track our osprey. 😦 I’ll be back online as soon as I can to enlighten you a little more with the life of Oliver and Olivia. Have a great weekend!
Gettin’ Down To Business
Not wasting any time, Oliver and Olivia have gotten down to business quickly, with some great bonding and home rebuilding. From yesterday to today, notice between the next two photos taken early yesterday morning to those that follow from today on how much the nest has changed.
In the next series of photos from today, for some reason Olivia did not approve of the long stick hanging on the nest. She flew off to retrieve it and bring it back to the nest to redistribute it to her liking.
When Olivia brought the stick to the top of the nest to drop down on it, she almost impaled herself and fell off to the side of the nest…
She luckily pulled away and off the nest, leaving an entangled section hanging. She came right back to the nest and started to rearrange when the section went crashing into the water below.
Olivia peered over the side at the water below but didn’t attempt to retrieve them. I think she had had enough of that for a while! Oliver showed up shortly thereafter with dinner, which she took quickly and flew off to eat alone. Notice Oliver ate the head of the fish before bringing Olivia her portion.
To help identify Oliver and Olivia, the next photo shows their size and the chest speckling. The female osprey is larger than the male and usually has more chest markings. Our Olivia is on the right, Oliver on the left.
Finally, I wanted to share the next photo to show Oliver and Olivia already have their home tenant for the season. Olivia is giving him a stern look before he flew into the bottom of the nesting material to the nest he is tending to.
Until next post, Happy Spring!
Welcome Back Oliver & Olivia!
As those who live in the community already know from all the kew-kew-kew-kew noise yesterday, Oliver and Olivia are back home from their winter migration! The minute I stepped out of my car, I could hear a loud ruckus. I found Oliver and Olivia dog-fighting with another osprey pair over the nest. The other pair would try to come close to land, but neither Oliver nor Olivia would allow it and chases entailed. The two other osprey gave up and flew together over to CBEC. I wondered if they were the pair that had lost their nest last summer during a violent storm and were looking to relocate.
Although noisy, we are glad to see our pair back. Both look to be in great shape. And by the size of this freshly caught fish Olivia brought to the nest, hungry too!
A little later Oliver brought a tiny fish to the nest, and Olivia must not have been impressed. He landed and then took off with it while she chattered at him. Maybe she was telling him, “Is that what you call dinner?”
Oliver and Olivia also wasted no time in bonding, I saw them mating three times in just a couple of hours!
At the end of the evening, they were both perched on Lipincott’s channel marker, a favorite of theirs……
while they watched the sun set on a gorgeous “Return of the Osprey” day.
A Few More Osprey Sightings….
Things are still somewhat quiet here at the Oyster Cove osprey nest and surrounding area as the spring season descends upon us. Since Tuesday morning’s nest sighting, it wasn’t until this morning at dawn that I saw another osprey on the nest, again a female. It was still a bit dark so the photo is terrible which makes it difficult to confirm if this female is the one I photographed Tuesday.
I’ve been watching our pair’s past season’s favorite perches on the channel markers and the trees over at CBEC and haven’t spotted an osprey; I had wondered that if Olivia was in the area, she might be keeping an eye on the nest from a distance while she waited for Oliver to appear. In the last couple days in the area but away from our nest, I have seen three other osprey sightings, two that had a fish in their grip heading somewhere safe to enjoy. So the osprey are definitely arriving for the season.
Still never a dull moment with our wildlife here, these last two days I did see a bald eagle over at CBEC….
along with a seagull on our nest and coots feeding at the base.
I understand it’s late in the season to see canvasback in our area, but we did have a small raft feeding in Marshy Creek out past our nest Tuesday evening.
Until next time, enjoy the upcoming gorgeous weather!
Another Osprey – Is It Olivia?
I kept an eye out most of the day yesterday and did not see an osprey on our nest, only a large black bird twice and a seagull. Maybe my sighting Saturday was a transient just stopping for a rest.
And then this morning at dawn, we had a female osprey on the nest. You can tell it’s a female by the speckled chest or ‘necklace’ she has. A male is only faintly spotted. Is this Olivia?? I’m not sure as yet, but if she continues to revisit the nest, I will review photograph comparisons between last year’s and more photos I capture. I took most shots through my glass slider so she wouldn’t see me. She stayed for a few minutes, started chirping and then took flight up and over our community.
I can’t wait to get home from work and see if she’s still around. (yes I’m blogging at work to put the word out….ssshhhh don’t tell the boss!) 🙂 Check back and I’ll keep you posted!
Osprey Sighted on Oyster Cove Nest
We had an osprey on our nest today! I spotted one at 6:00 pm when arriving home but only got a visual through the window. When the osprey took flight, I was only able to catch a couple distant photos that are too blurry to show. If this was either Oliver or Olivia, he/she would return tomorrow for more nest roosting to show ownership of the nest while also out and refueling with fish and getting rest from the long journey just completed. The nature of wildlife migration is indeed amazing.
Hopefully, some photos of either Oliver or Olivia tomorrow!
Osprey Sighting in Grasonville, Maryland
Although we haven’t had a sighting yet of our osprey pair, Oliver or Olivia, it’ll be any day now. With all the sightings reported in the lower Chesapeake Bay, this week I kept checking some of the regular osprey perches in our immediate area. Late yesterday afternoon, I saw my first osprey of the season! If you travel the Rt. 50 corridor stretch through Grasonville, you’ve probably noticed the two well-established osprey nests sprawled up over the two three-lane highways on the Exit 44A signs. There patiently sitting on one of the nests was a lone osprey, resting and waiting for his/her mate to return. Spring is Here! 🙂
The next photo shows the above nest’s three fledgings from last year. Unfortunately, one did not survive colliding with a vehicle while in the early stages of learning to fly to and from the nest. 😦 The perils of nature and the human race….
This past winter, our osprey nest took another beating from mother nature. I thought it’d be interesting to compare photos of our nest from the end of last season and it’s condition today.
Oyster Cove Osprey Nest - September 2010
Oyster Cove Osprey Nest - March 2011
As always each spring, our returning osprey pair will have a lot of work ahead of them to rebuild their home. I can just hear Olivia exclaiming when she arrives in the next few days, “Just look at this place!”
With little else to report on our nest, I thought I’d share some shots of Canadian snow geese I took this week on my way to work. They are quite pretty in flight.
I expect to be posting again any day once I or a community neighbor has spotted the return of Oliver or Olivia. Send your sighting date/time to donna@parkwayfloors.com and I’ll post immediately. If you should capture a photo, send and I will post it too. Once our pair is back, I hope to enlighten you a couple times a week with photos and happenings as the season progresses with Oliver and Olivia and their offspring. Happy Osprey Sighting!
Osprey Sightings in Chesapeake Bay Area
I’ve heard through the Univ. of North Carolina osprey migration forum that osprey sightings have occurred around the lower part of the Chesapeake Bay and along the Potomac River this past week. A bit early, but still an exciting sign that our ospreys will be here any time now, so keep your eyes to the sky and nest! Last year, I have photos of our osprey pair back on their nest together on March 18. Our female, Olivia, had been sighted five days earlier. Usually the female returns to her summer nest first, so we shall see if she makes it back first again this year!
This past week has been a windy one. High enough winds to have waves and white-caps at the nest….
We also had an interesting creature swimming quite fast past our nest point late one evening, by the time I spotted it was something quite different and grabbed my camera, he had swiftly passed by and was headed to the Kent Narrows channel. With binoculars, it appeared to be a beaver. Here’s two photos of him, both not the greatest.
Never know what you might see around the Oyster Cove osprey nest!
We’ve also had a small number of coots and scaups actually feeding at the base of the nest. The two groups mingled without any harassment. Keeping on the move, they grouped together as one and headed over to Marshy Creek.
A female scaup stretching her wings….
With spring and our osprey around the corner, all is good! And keep an eye to the sky for Oliver and Olivia. If you’re in our community and see an osprey on our nest, send me an email about the sighting (photos too if you get any) and I’ll post them quickly.
