Blog #477 Spring Arrival
Ursula (top) and Orpheus reestablishing their mating bonds, courtesy of Cindy Sedlacek. Spring arrived tenuously in the Finger Lakes in late March as Ospreys returned from their arduous 3–5-thousand miles spring migrations exhausted, hungry, and looking for their nests. Ospreys migrate as individuals but reestablish their colonies as soon as they reach their breeding grounds. Hundreds of Ospreys settle into their nests and begin refurbishing their homes with fresh branches and twigs. By May most nests will be reclaimed, and new nests will extend north toward Lake Ontario and east and west of Cayuga Lake. A successful female hunts over the lake near Stewart Park, courtesy of Cindy Sedlacek. The strong tendency of Ospreys, males especially, to return to breed in or near their birth nests is referred to as philopatry. Female Ospreys also demonstrate philopatry, but if nest sites in the area are limited, she may look elsewhere for other populations to join. By ...