Wooo Hooo, theres an Osprey on Assateague! Looking at the dark band of feathers across the white chest, this is most likely the female of the pair that use this nesting which is visible from the Verrazano Bridge. It will be fun to watch as the established pair begin the breeding season. Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) are monogamous and after flying south for the winter (taking separate vacations) the male and female return to the same nesting site each year. Now they will begin to get reacquainted with aerial flight displays and courtship feeding by the male - proving to the female his ability to provide food for her and her offspring. The nest will soon start to take shape as well. The male will bring sticks, twigs, leaves and even algae to the female and she will arrange the materials for form a nest. On average, she will lay three eggs. Very generally speaking, eggs will appear mid to late April, they will hatch around Memorial Day, and the chicks will fledge around the 4th of July. Thanks (AGAIN) to Allen Sklar for sharing this image! Osprey and Assateague enthusiasts, please post photos of this nest to the AIA Facebook page as the season moves forward.
Posted on: Sat, 15 Mar 2014 17:05:52 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015