0526 Photos

May 26th - Nest Survey Results and More

While paddling out to the Wildwing Lake nest, none of us even considered that there might be an osprey chick in this nest. When this photograph was taken, we could not see the "just hatched" chick, nor the less mottled egg, but just the dark brown egg in the right foreground. If you look closely at that egg, you can see evidence of pipping; another chick hours away from hatching. One doesn't take many photographs as exciting as this!

Photo copyright - Jim Kortge, 2005

This photo reveals an overall view inside of the Wildwing Lake nest, including the tail section of a fish at the ready to feed the ever hungry chick(s). The osprey chick is obviously strong and very agile, as it is now facing in the opposite direction it was in the prior photo. The time between shots was less than a minute!

Photo copyright - Jim Kortge, 2005

Moving over to the Dawson Road nest platform, we were able to confirm there were 3 eggs in this nest. That bodes well for the two surveyed nests. There is the potential of 6 osprey chicks fledging from these two nests alone. How exciting is that?

The day prior to conducting the Kensington nest survey, OWSEM volunteers Jim and Kathy Kortge journeyed to Sterling State Park in Monroe, MI to check the nest there. Specifically, we wanted to determine if the female at that nest was the same as last summer. Photo documentation by Jim Kortge and Allen Chartier showed last summer's female to have bands on both legs. On the right leg was a black "hacking" band, and on the left, a silver USFWL band. While the USFWL band is hard to see in this photo, visual observation confirmed that presence of that band. The black band on the female's right leg is clearly visible in this photo. No bands were seen on the male, also consistent with last summer's observations.

Another interesting photo was acquired the day prior to the Monroe, MI trip. OWSEM volunteer Barb Jensen had observed another osprey hanging around the Acme cell tower nest. She though it might be a second male tending the female, a situation which is somewhat rare, but not unknown. This photo is of the female from that nest showing her leg bands. In previous years, we could see the silver USFWL band on her right leg, and the red/maroon band on her left leg, but never the white or silver band clearly visible above above the red/maroon band. We're sure this is the same female from previous years, but now have more detail on the bands she wears. The Acme tower osprey pair continue to incubate the egg(s) in that nest.