bird cams: hog island osprey portraits

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hog island osprey portraits

Stunning views from the nest and some dramatic shots of the osprey on Hog Island.

  • topic: osprey

  • location: bremen

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bird cams: hog island osprey portraits

Ospreys are the only birds of prey that rely almost entirely on fish, so they nest and raise their chicks near water. They return to Hog Island each year in early April after wintering in South America.

The Hog Island ospreys laid the first of their three eggs on April 26, and incubation time is 35-42 days. The female (recognized by the heavy striped pattern on her breast) does most of the incubation and the male often feeds her at the nest.

After the eggs hatch, the parents brood the chicks, protecting them from extreme weather and predators. They are very diligent parents, never leaving the chicks unprotected - even at night when Great Horned Owls might threaten the chicks. The parents are great providers of fish, hovering 30-100 feet above the sea, before plunging feet first under water, snagging the fish with their sharp talons. About fifty days after hatching, the young start exercising their wings in the nest and take their first practice flights from the nest. In early September, the young will begin their solo journey From Maine south along the Atlantic Flyway, passing through the Caribbean to winter in South America as far south as Chile.

about

location: Bremen, Maine

best viewing hours: 7:00am - 8:00pm

time zone: Eastern Time

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migration / Young Ospreys make their first migration alone, instinctively knowing where to go without instruction from parents; some Florida Ospreys are non-migratory, staying on territory throughout the year.

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migration / Ospreys often fly more than 5,000 miles round trip between their summer and winter homes.

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migration / Ospreys often return to the same lake, river or coastal winter home each year.

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migration / An Osprey may log more than 160,000 migration miles during its 15-to-20-year lifetime.

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hunting / Ospreys are great fishers - they have a successful capture in one out of four dives.

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hunting / Ospreys are the only raptor whose front talon can pivot backward.

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hunting / Bald Eagles and sometimes Great Black-backed Gulls will chase Ospreys, forcing them to drop their prey; Eagles sometimes catch the stolen prey in mid-air.

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hunting / Ospreys are known as fish hawks because 99.9% of their diet is live fish. They are also known to rarely eat small mammals, snakes, turtles, frogs, sandpipers, and ducks, perhaps when fish are scarce.

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hunting / After snagging fish with their talons, Ospreys shake excess water in mid air and take time to arrange the fish to carry it head first.

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hunting / Sometimes Osprey capture several small fish from a school in a single dive.

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hunting / The largest Osprey catch on record is four pounds, but most fish are 1-2 lb.

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hunting / Osprey lines up its catch head first for less wind resistance.

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hunting / Barbed pads on the soles of Ospreys’ feet help them grip slippery fish when flying.

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family life / Male Ospreys perform an aerial "sky-dance" sometimes called "fish-flight." With dangling legs, often clasping a fish or nesting material in his talons, they alternate periods of hovering with slow, shallow swoops as high as 600 feet or more above the nest site, sustaining this display for 10 minutes or more.

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family life / Female Ospreys are larger than males and usually have a heavily striped chest; males usually have a nearly clear white chest.

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family life / Most Ospreys are faithful to the same mate year after year and return to the same nest.

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family life / Nestling Ospreys grow as large as their parents before they take their first flight.

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family life / Nestling Ospreys have orange irises, in contrast to the lemon yellow irises of adults.

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family life / Nestling Ospreys have a scaled pattern on the wing and back, which mature Ospreys do not have.

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family life / Great Horned Owls have been known to swoop onto nearly full grown Osprey nestlings and carry them out of the nest.

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family life / Parent Ospreys rarely leave their eggs or chicks unprotected – the female stays at the nest while the male provides food.

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family life / A brood of three Osprey chicks requires up to six pounds of fish each day.

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family life / Male Ospreys deliver food to their mates on the nest; the female then feed the young.

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family life / Osprey incubation is 32-42 days, with an average of 38 days. Female Ospreys do most of the sitting, depending on males to provide food. However, some males handle up to 30% of incubation time.

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family life / Female Ospreys do most of the brooding, while the male provides food to the female and young.

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nesting / Ospreys typically return to the same nest year after, adding new sticks and creating a massive nest that may be 10-13’ deep and 6’ across. In Maine, they often line the nest with soft lichens and shredded bark.

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family life / During incubation, female Ospreys spend most of their time rearranging the nest lining.

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nesting / In Maine, Ospreys typically nest in tall trees, but elsewhere, they may nest on rock pinnacles, or even on the ground. Power poles, communication towers, and navigational aids are readily used, as are special nesting platforms such as the Hog Island platform.

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family life / Ospreys can readily adapt to human presence, as illustrated by the Hog Island pair that have become accustomed to curious bird watchers who watch the nest from close proximity.

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nesting / Ospreys obtain sticks to build their nests by snapping off dead branches from trees with their feet.

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nesting / Osprey typically return to the vicinity of their hatching place when they are about two years old; breeding for the first time when three years old.

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nesting / Male Ospreys return closer to their hatching place than do females. Males typically return to within 9-12 miles of their hatching place to eventually nest; females are not as precise, returning to within 20-30 miles of their hatching place.

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family life / Osprey eggs do not hatch all at once. Rather, the first chick emerges up to five days before the last one. This arrangement favors the first hatched chicks which permits them to thrive in years of poor food supplies. In these years, the later hatched chicks perish.

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trivia / The name "Osprey" made its first appearance around 1460, via the Medieval Latin phrase for "bird of prey" (avis prede). Some wordsmiths trace the name even further back, to the Latin for "bone-breaker"—ossifragus.

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trivia / There is only one species of Osprey - it is known from every continent except Antarctica;four subspecies from different continents are known.

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trivia / The oldest known Osprey was 32 years old.

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family life / About 10-15% of Osprey adults die each year and must be replaced for a population to remain stable.This means that pairs need to produce an average of .8 chicks per nest.
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Stunning views from the nest and some dramatic shots of the osprey on Hog Island.

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