Osprey do become conspicuous by their absence.

It does seem to be a different osprey season this year- lots of late 
started (or perhaps double clutched), single chick nests and 
unhatched eggs down there (I've gone osprey banding with Greg Kearns 
for the past several years) and more than a few nest failures. I'm 
Annapolis where things have been tough as well, and certainly fish 
supplies should not be an issue here. Of the 5 nests near my 
apartment, there is only one 3-chick nest (the rest appear to be 
singletons with one failed nest). Although the chicks appear 
well-fed, I'm not seeing them up and scouting for fish like I 
normally would at this point. It's time for the Moms to be heading 
south which happens soon after the chicks fledge, but Pops should 
probably still be teaching them to fish for another week or so.

Melanie
Annapolis, MD


>Though there are still a few other Ospreys around Jug Bay (I hear one now),
>the Ospreys that nested on the platform behind our house have left.  They
>arrived at it this year on March 2, which they have always done every year
>that we live here, sometime within about 5 days of March first.  This is the
>first year I am certain of the day they left, which seems to be a 
>harder day to
>know than the day when they arrive, but they were here every day up to and
>including Wednesday eve, and gone on Thursday eve.  It seems quite lonely
>without them here now.
>
>We finally got some rain here this week.  It was the first time here 
>since late
>June, and I almost posted this exciting news but had nothing bird-worthy to
>say at the time!  It was the driest summer I have ever seen, and the insects
>have been noticeably fewer.  I wonder if the birds had a hard time feeding
>young as a result?
>
>Cheers-
>Jeff Shenot
>Croom MD
>


-- 
Melanie