Just like clockwork, 2 of the 3 eggs Annie laid starting on April 30, and she and Squam have been incubating for about 40 days, have hatched in the last 24 hours. Fingers and toes are crossed that the 3rd egg will hatch soon as well. This pair of Osprey never cease to amaze me and everyone. They build and maintain a beautiful, functional nest; they produce 2-3 viable eggs a year; and to date they have fledged every chick they have hatched (14 from 2019-2024). I know we are all pulling for them to do it again in 2025! I would expect egg #3 to hatch sometime over the next 1-3 days.
I am please to seed a somewhat stable forecast over the next few days and nothing in the way of severe weather in the extended forecast. No question, this is the most exciting part of the nesting season, as we get to witness up close and personal the skills of Annie and Squam in protecting and nurturing their brood of chicks. If you are new to this webcam, you may wonder why Squam will deliver a partially eaten fish to Annie, who then feeds the chicks. First of all, Squam needs to stay strong since he has been doing and will continue doing all the hunting for the family group. But he also does not want to deliver a live, flopping fish into a nest with young fragile chicks. So he generally eats the fish's head and part of the body before delivering the remainder to Annie. He gets his meal and delivers a safe meal to his family. Annie will do 99% of the chick feeding as well. Squam may do some when the chicks get much larger.
It is teamwork that any parent could be proud of! Enjoy the coming weeks as the chicks grow and become more active.