On Osprey Time

Ophelia’s and Orpheus’ first chick of 2021.  Watch out fish—there's a new predator in town, with two more on the way. After 34 days   of incubation in the Salt Point nest, a healthy-looking bobble-headed hatchling was   revealed on May 26 when Ophelia rose early in the morning during a short   Parents with their first offspring. brooding/incubation break. If everything goes right, the new chick will be joined by two  siblings at some point over the next couple days. Ophelia’s eggs hatch asynchronously meaning one egg will hatch every two to three days.   More detail is visible on this hatchling close-up, courtesy of Landings.  Ophelia incubates during the night, but she and Orpheus have been taking turns sitting   on their eggs in the daytime since April 18, when the first egg was laid. Orpheus has   been incubating more and more, building up his time to spend a third of the day on the   eggs, and often refusing to give up his place to ...

Lucky, Ophelia’s second hatchling, was born Monday morning, after 40 days of  incubation. Forty days is usually the limit of gestation of an Osprey egg so it was coming  down to the wire. The third egg has until May 30 to hatch if it is viable. At this rate. It’s  looking good that it will.  The two nestlings are difficult to distinguish as they huddle next to the third egg.  Salt Point Osprey Cam screenshot. The two hatchlings, Hope (6 days old) and Lucky (1 day old). Salt Point Osprey Cam screenshot. Orpheus brings a sucker for the family. Hope, 5-days old, just before Lucky hatched.  Salt Point Osprey Cam screenshot.  My concern about the eggs was that the cold wet weather we had in April and May  could have rotted them, but the eggs seem to be fine. But weather worries continue.  Orpheus brings a large fish to his young family. Salt Point Osprey Cam screenshot. The young hatchlings cannot thermoregulate until they are 2-3 weeks old and mu...

Hope, Ophelia’s first hatchling, was born May 20, 2020, after 38 days of incubation.  Born semi-precocial, Hope was born weak, wet, and relatively helpless, but in a few hours it was able dry off, open its eyes, and hold its head up with a neck made strong from breaking the egg shell (pipping). Ophelia’s second egg has yet to hatch, as they can take up to 42 days to pip. If the second egg laid does not hatch by Wednesday,  May 27, it is unlikely to be viable. The third egg laid has until May 30 to hatch.  Hatchling Hope at 2 days old. Courtesy of the Salt Point Nest Cam.  Ophelia’s behavior and that of all adult females changes once the first embryo hatches.  Instead of flying away with the fish delivered by Orpheus, as she does while incubating,  she takes the fish from Orpheus and stays at the nest. Ophelia will carefully tear small morsels of flesh from the fish and feed it to Hope. Ophelia will feed the hungry chick first and eat whatever is left over. ...

Changing of the guards as Ophelia takes off for exercise.  It’s will happen this week. Faint peeps from within the egg will be the first sign hatching is about to begin. These peeps are the embryo’s way of communicating with its sibling embryos and its parents, from inside the egg. These faint “care–soliciting” peeps prompt the adults to turn the eggs more often, build up the nest sides, and spend more time incubating.   Osprey eggs require 32–45 days of judicious incubation, keeping the eggs at 98–99 ºF  with frequent rolling to insure the embryos develop normally. Ophelia’s first egg was laid  on April 18, making today Day 32. Ophelia’s eggs usually hatch beginning on Day 37,  which is this Saturday, May 29, and will most likely occur in the early dawn before the  nest camera turns on.   What trigger tells the embryo to start the hatching process? As hatching approaches,  the embryo is so large that it nearly fills the entire egg and s...