On Osprey Time

Canada Geese in the Salt Point nest. Literally minutes after posting my last entry on March 22, 2022 (Blog #373) announcing the first reunions of nesting Osprey pairs in the Cayuga Lake Basin, Orpheus arrived at his Salt Point Natural Area nest, only to find it occupied by two fat Canada Geese. Despite a 2:1 weight disadvantage per goose, Orpheus Orpheus reclaims his nest from intruders. drove them off by charging and loudly screeching. After this dramatic entrance, Orpheus settled in his nest fiddling with twigs. Thin after his long migration home, Orpheus will quickly put on weight after feasting on Cayuga’s bountiful fish. Orpheus has been collecting sticks and twigs to refurbish the nest as best he can in anticipation of Ophelia’s arrival. Orpheus collecting sticks for his nests. The nest is the focal point of an Osprey’s life; it is where they mate, breed, lay eggs, raise young, and protect the family. Without a nest, there can be no family, no next generation, and marks the end o...

Canada goose sitting on Salt Point nest on March 21, 2022. The spring or vernal equinox [ vur -nl ee -kw uh -noks, ek -w uh -noks] brought this year’s familiar chirp of the first Osprey to the Finger Lakes on March 20, 2022, with many more to come. After a winter perhaps spent in a corner of the Brazilian Amazonia, or a distant river delta in Suriname, “our” Ospreys are returning to Finger Lakes and specifically Cayuga Lake, to reunite with their mates. Usually, the male returns first with the females lagging a day or so behind. Once together again, the couple refurbishes their nest and begins a few weeks of courtship. The sooner a pair breeds, the greater their chances of having successful offspring. The first nesting pair seen in the Finger Lakes was spotted by Peter Saracino on the morning of the vernal equinox, March 20, 2022, sitting on their cell tower nest behind the Smith Opera House in Geneva NY . The first Osprey pair seen on their Cayuga Lake nest was spotted at Union Fields...

Ospreys nesting on a dedicated Osprey platform, built just for them. There is no shortage of Ospreys and their coveted nests in the Greater Cayuga Lake Basin. This area includes the Cayuga Lake watershed and the wetland complex of the Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge (MNWR). The birds nest here primarily because of the ample fish, clear water, and nesting substrates close to their hunting grounds. Once a colony is established, nesting sites are retained for the life of the owner and passed down to the next generation. Each year the birds add to the nest, resulting in large messy nests, that are trimmed by the winter winds. Ospreys are monogamous, pairing for life, but their true allegiance is to the nest, which must be protected at all costs. If it is knocked down, the birds will immediately rebuild. To an Osprey, the nest represents the future, for, without it, their lineage would not continue. Osprey nests are large, jumbled stick affairs built on elevated substrates, out of reach...

Early arriving red-winged blackbirds foraging for food, courtesy of Jerry Acton. Spring, that cold, wet joke played on us in the Finger Lakes, technically begins in three weeks—March 20. Despite the wintry weather, birders have already checked off several “spring can’t be far away” migration milestones like killdeer, red-winged blackbirds, and turkey vultures. But for me, no early spring arrival is more awaited and anticipated than the first of the Osprey. Reports of Ospreys in January, February, and early March are usually clouded by hope. Few if any good records of Osprey in the Finger Lakes exist in these months and these invariably turn out to be red-tailed hawks, great black-backed gulls, and immature bald eagles. Woodcocks huddling in the snow, courtesy of flicker. Migrating Osprey heading north past the Chesapeake Bay, courtesy of Mike Maguire. In early spring, the great race begins—spring migration’s land-grab. The first birds to arrive on their breeding grounds get first choic...