I’ve read that osprey offspring will return home the following year. The other day my husband asked me, “Do ospreys celebrate when eggs hatch?” (We’re thinking some hatching has been going on in Nest 1.) He explained that there was a lot of commotion near Nest 1, with a number of ospreys flying around and making a lot of noise.
The following day, I was pleasantly surprised to see an osprey perched exactly where one of the babies from 2009 used to perch — a branch that seemed like training wheels to me, a little distance from the nest, but not too far. She had stayed there for a while until near the end of summer, when she left with her siblings. I wondered if this was her, back for a reunion:
There was lots of racket going on while she was perched here. I could hear one osprey (the loudest) off to my left, and another to my right. Then, suddenly, the one from the right swooped down, and these two took off together. Are they the siblings?
Then I saw the three soaring . If these are the same birds — and I think they are — they were soaring just as they did last year shortly after they learned to fly. It brought tears to my eyes this year, too!
Ok, so I need a better lens!
I’m not sure “celebrate” is the appropriate term but I’d guess that they’re ready by the time the eggs hatch for something to happen. Sitting on a nest in the sometimes brutal sun for nearly 6 weeks has to get old after about the 14th day.
Thanks for contacting me and alerting me to the blog. There are some good posts here and I look forward to reading more in the future.