We saw an unusual occurrence this morning—3 adult osprey in the nest at the same time. They seemed fairly peaceable, with no outward signs of aggression. Anyone ever see this before?
Three Ospreys in the Nest
Trio in the Nest
Monthly Archives: March 2012
It’s springtime…
Our male osprey attempts to mount the female.
Our ospreys are exhibiting lots of pre-copulatory behavior today. Here’s a description of what we might expect over the coming days and weeks:
Copulation patterns in the osprey, based on an exceptionally complete data set, are described. Ospreys copulated frequently, on average 160 times per clutch (range: 88–338), but only 39% of copulations resulted in cloacal contact. Pairs averaged 59 successful copulations per clutch, starting 14 days before, and peaking in the few days before the start of egg laying. Copulation occurred most often in the early morning, at the same time as egg laying. Female ospreys spent almost all their time (more than 95%) at the nest and were fed there by the male. There was no association between courtship feeding and copulation, and hence no evidence that females traded copulations for food. Males maximized the time they spent at the nest with the female just prior to and during egg laying. Extra-pair courtship and copulation occurred and the results support the idea that in species with substantial paternal investment males should also invest heavily in paternity assurance. Male ospreys protect their paternity by frequent copulation and by maximizing their time with the female when she is most fertile.
—from Birkhead, T.R. and Lessells, C.M. Copulation behaviour of the osprey Pandion haliaetus. Animal Behaviour. Volume 36, Issue 6, November–December 1988, Pages 1672–1682. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0003-3472(88)80107-6
Our osprey pair are exhibiting the signs of spring.
Spongy Nest
Image
Ospreys aren't picky when it comes to the materials they use to build their nests—including this sponge.
Help Us Name Our Pair!
Help us name our osprey pair!
The pair of osprey featured on the VIMS OspreyCam (www.vims.edu/osprey) has returned from South America for their annual nesting and breeding season on the shores of Chesapeake Bay. You can help VIMS choose a name for each member of the pair by visiting https://forms.wm.edu/4268. You can vote from a list of suggested names that are based on local geographic and cultural features, or suggest some names of your own! The chosen names will be announced on Monday April 2nd.
Male or Female?
A recent comment asked whether our bird is male or female. Determining the sex of an osprey in the field can be difficult. It is easier if both members of a breeding pair are present, as the female tends to be larger than the male. Females also tend to have a more pronounced "necklace" of dark feathers across the chest, and darker feathers on the head. Based on the appearance of this bird and the fact that males tend to be the first to return to the nest, I think this is our male, whom we currently call "York."
Ospreys are more handsome than this! This is the first time we’ve seen a Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura) in the osprey nest.
They’re back!
Congratulate our osprey on their successful return from South America! It’s interesting that their return is more than 2 weeks later than last year, despite our warm winter and early spring. Anyone have any ideas what might cause a later return despite warm weather?
Ospreys reported in area!
We have heard several anecdotal reports of ospreys in Tidewater Virginia, including sightings on the York and James rivers. Keep an eye out for our breeding pair!