Time flies and somehow it has been over 2 weeks since my last blog post. However, there is not much “new news,” meaning all is well with Annie and Squam as they move towards the hatching date for their nest and eggs. They are actively incubating their 3 eggs (see photo).
I am still predicting hatching to start very soon, with a predicted window of June 8-10, which is the end of this week or the start of next week. Some of you may watch the webcam more closely than me, so if you see a hatchling, let me know.
Meanwhile, around the region, we have now received over 1,000 online nesting reports from our intrepid osprey monitors and a few nests are hatching already across a number of different towns. And, unfortunately, there have been scattered reports of nest failures. This is always traumatic but around 25% of active nests fail each year, so as hard as it is, it is typical and not a surprise to me. Primarily our failures are due to great horned owls predating eggs, chicks or even adults. Bald eagles are also Osprey predators.
The next 2 months is when the real heavy lifting happens for the Osprey pairs raising chicks. They have to feed them and protect them from the elements. It is a 24/7 assignment for each pair. So you may see Annie literally dozing off sometimes when things are quiet on the nest and she has a moment to relax. But that is rare.
Hopefully my next blog is announcing a nest full of fluff ball chicks.