Blog # 310 It’s Egg Day

 2021 

First Egg Day April 18, 2021! 

It’s Egg Day at Salt Point! Ophelia laid her first egg at about 6 am this morning. I am so  relieved and excited, although the signs of impending laying were all there: the pair had  collected soft nest cup materials, the pair copulated frequently, Ophelia sat low in the  nest, and Orpheus guarded from the perch. Male Ospreys maximize the time they  spend at the nest with their mates right before and during egg-laying. In this way, a  male protects his paternity by frequent copulation and by guarding his mate when she is  most fertile. 

Ophelia and Orpheus procreating in the early morning.

Ophelia and Orpheus about to mate in the early afternoon. 

Successful coupling at Salt Point.

Pair with egg. Orpheus has been favoring his eye for two weeks. This must impact his fishing. 

Orpheus seems so enamoured by the new egg, pushing Ophelia aside so that he could  incubate it. I rather doubt he’ll have much attention left for the other female who has  been visiting the nest. Regardless, Ophelia is going to raise another the brood of Salt  Pointers and I could not be happier. 

Ophelia and Orpheus negotiate who is going to incubate the egg. 

In preparation for Ophelia’s egg laying, the couple frequently mated, averaging about 8  times a day for the last 20 days or roughly 160 times for one clutch of 1-4 (usually 3) 

eggs. Not all mating attemps are equal. Studies show only 39% of copulations result in  actual cloacal contact and fertilization. Copulations serve two functions. In the first  weeks of courtship, mating stimulates the female’s dormant gonades to prepare for  laying. Only sucessful copulations during the days immediately preceeding egg laying  contribute to ferilizing the eggs. Pairs copulate most often in the early morning, at about  the same time as egg-laying takes place. 

Ospreys lay each of their chicken-size eggs about 2-3 days apart. The eggs will hatch in  that same order 36-42 days later. The smooth surface of the egg is creamy white to  pinkish cinnamon and is usually heavily wreathed and spotted with reddish browns,  especially at the larger end. Like snowflakes, no two Osprey eggs look alike, and their  fanciful patterns of spots and bllotches once put the species at risk in Europe owing to zealous egg collectors. 

Two other Lansing Osprey pairs are incubating their first eggs—those at Cargill and  Portland Point #2 (at the end of Portland Point Road by the house). Males at the Myers  Hill and Churchill nests are mate guarding in preparation. In Ithaca, the breeding pairs in the Treman Marina, McGovern Fields, and Stewart Park Youth Bureau nests are  incubating first eggs. The Union Fields and the Inlet nests should be the next downtown  nests to have eggs. By next week, most females in the Cayuga Lake Basin will be  sitting on eggs. If you drive around the lake this week, look for female Ospreys sitting  low in the nests with their mates guarding from their wooden perches. 

Eyes to the sky!  

Candace 

Candace E. Cornell  

Friends of Salt Point & 

Cayuga Osprey Network  

Lansing, NY  

cec222@gmail.com 

HELP PROTECT OSPREYS:

• Keep a distance (100-300 feet) from active nests in the breeding season. If an  animal vocalizes when you are near, you are too close! BACK OFF IMMEDIATELY. • Carry binoculars to view wildlife from a distance. 

• Help keep local waters clean and healthy. Preserve and clean shorelines. • Recycle or dispose of used fishing line and other materials that can entangle  Ospreys and other aquatic animals. 

• Volunteer to monitor Osprey nests with the Cayuga Osprey Network. Write to:  cec222@gmail.com.  

EYES ON OSPREYS 

WATCH! 

Salt Point Osprey Nest Cam 2021 

READ! 

On Osprey Time—a blog on the Ospreys of Salt Point 

VISIT! 

Cayuga Lake Osprey Trail

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