New Nests

Yesterday, May 22nd, was an adventure.  I documented two new nests and for the first time experienced first-hand what it felt like to have an osprey dive-bomb at you. I will get to that later.

Yesterday showed a sharp contrast in osprey behavior and just how important the "family" structure is in osprey behavior.  Most of the nests I went to yesterday were in urban environments. They included the water treatment plant and railroads in Lockwood and Hardin, and the Audubon Center. The Audubon Center is unique in that habitat-wise it is natural. But high levels of human activity present an interesting dynamic.

First year nester at Audubon Center

This is the first time this platform has been used. I was actually at the Audubon Conservation Education Center the very first day it was occupied. I was attending a talk from a Rocky professor on paleoecology in the area for my plant ecology class.  The osprey had shown up, built a makeshift nest as part of the mating ritual and began mating within the hour. It was rushed because it was late in the year for them.  I can only speculate why. She did not have the typical orange eyes of a first year osprey, but she did have the buffy look to her.  The dynamic I mentioned was that she has the comfort of a natural habitat, but with the constant presence of humans. That said, she was chirping almost the entire time I was there. The male also left almost immediately when I got out of my car. She got defensive. Nearby, a group of children approached with binoculars from the opposite side as well.  You could see the desperation she was experienced as she quickly flattened herself out on top of her eggs. I really do hope they all hatch this year since this is the first time they have chosen this platform.

I also found a "new" nest yesterday. I say "new" for several reasons. This location has been used in the past, but not for the past two years. Also, the previous nest was abandoned and they had built another nest just 200 ft. away.  The way I found it was interesting.  The original nest is actually considerably high up on the bridge and difficult to see any activity from below. I started to cross the bridge in hopes of getting a better angle.  Now I'm not particularly good with bird calls (I am practicing everyday!), but I've been around osprey enough this year that I started picking up the alarm chirp. But I was confused because I had passed the nest and the sound was coming from in front of me.  So I looked up and there she was, already gazing intently at me. Now mind you, this is a remote location outside of Big Horn, MT. Human activity is next to none in this location and the nest is on a bridge directly above the Big Horn River so this is great habitat. She. Was. Angry.  Her male counterpart was not there even from the beginning. I even heard a new sound. I expected the typical alarm call when I approached to get a GPS point, but never before had I heard the alarm call turn into an outright squawk. At this point I didn't know what to do. I was too far away to get an accurate GPS reading, but I respect these birds. They are absolutely magnificent.  And I am even working on their behalf, but I had no way of conveying that to her. So I went closer. She left her nest and began circling me, never once breaking eye contact. I now understand what it means to be "watched like a hawk."

Mother Osprey protecting her nest

I finally reached the nest, hit "mark" on my GPS and that's when it happened. I looked up and she was flying directly at me and as she got about 20 feet away she put her talons forward to show how serious she was. I was actually scared. Osprey have incredible talons.

Zygodactyl layout

They are zygodactyl, as shown above. However, their talons are 3 to 4 inches and meant to catch fish. All I could do was back away quickly and it seemed to work. She kept up the alarm call for some time, but she eventually returned to the incubating position. That was a first for me.

This showed me a stark contrast in how osprey behavior is directly influenced by environment.  The nest at the ACEC had good habitat as did the nest on the bridge. But human activity was very different.  Males were also not present at both.  The osprey on the bridge was extraordinarily defensive and went out of her way to let me know she cared for her eggs whereas the osprey at the ACEC chose to not leave her nest and just observe her surroundings. It also makes me wonder if they seemed extremely defensive because the eggs are going to hatch here in the next week or two.

On a different note, I documented the nest in Hardin for the first time as well.  I'm somewhat familiar with Hardin because I know a family out there, but I was without a GPS point. I had a relative location and that proved enough.  I drove around, gave up and thought I would try a new tactic. Hardin is small. So I went into the visitor center by the museum and asked the lady at the desk if she had seen a nest. At first she said no. But then I described to her that it looked like a small eagle nest and was most likely on top of a power line. She immediately knew what I was talking about and told me exactly how to get there! It just goes to show that the scientific community does not and should not operate under the idea that they have a monopoly on scientific research.  Community involvement is very important. I may not have found it if I didn't ask a local.