Upon visiting the Dawson Rd. nest on June 20th, Jim and Kathy Kortge found the three chicks thriving, along with their parents.

Mother osprey was with them for most of the time we were there - about an hour and a half. She left briefly to fly over to the snag where the male was residing. We didn't see him move the whole time we were there.

The chicks are about three and one-half weeks old and growing fast.

Jim Kortge photo; used with permission

While we were watching and photographing, one of the chicks got up high on the edge of the nest to look around. It was then we got to see how large they had grown.

We also observed that none of the chicks had evidence of sibling pecking and were all roughly the same size. That bodes well for all three chicks surviving.

Jim Kortge photo; used with permission

As the female left the nest to fly over to her mate, a good photo opportunity occurred. We got to see the female's leg bands, confirming she is the same osprey who raised three chicks the past two nesting seasons.

Jim Kortge photo; used with permission

Much to our dismay, a pair of kayakers came within a few yards of the nest platform. They seem totally oblivious to the nesting ospreys, even though the female was chirping loudly.

As they passed by, the female flew off, but returned less than a minute later. She must be getting quite used to this kind of event.

Better education of the public to the presence of osprey nests and keeping an appropriate distance away seems in order!

Jim Kortge photo; used with permission

We left the Dawson Rd. nest and journeyed over to Wildwing Lake. When we arrived, we found C09 and mate on the nest feeding at least one chick.

The female was pulling pieces of fish off of what looked like a salmon filet. We surmised she was feeding them Koi, a species of fish that has come into an osprey nest occasionally. Hopefully, they are not being caught from someone's backyard Koi pond.

Jim Kortge photo; used with permission

C09 left the nest shortly after we arrived. We found out later that he had gone off to catch another fish.

After he left, two more chicks popped up to get fed. We were delighted to see triplets in this nest also.

These chicks are probably a week younger than the Dawson chicks, making them about two and one-half weeks old. At this point, they all look about the same size and no visible evidence of sibling pecking.

Jim Kortge photo; used with permission

Shortly after leaving, C09 came back to the nest with another fish, this time a fairly large sunfish.

The female dropped the Koi and immediately took the fresh sunfish from her mate. She continued feeding her chicks from the new arrival!

Jim Kortge photo; used with permission

C09 stayed on the nest while the female kept feeding until the sunfish had been consummed.

Once the last morsel was eaten, he was off again.

We we packing up our gear when he returned a short time later. Yes, he had another fish! No hungry chicks in this nest.

Jim Kortge photo; used with permission