Looks like Duke made it back. Showed up just this evening at 5:40pm. This signals the start of another year for us to observe Duke and Duchess raising their chicks. We can't wait to see what this year has in store! 

​You can watch 24/7 at www.ospreymontana.com and follow along.
Please feel free to pass it along to your friends and family.

What a great thing to wake up to on April 1st this year. Two birds touched down in our nest. They felt right at home and were soon nestled down and enjoying their perch. Feels great to have birds in the nest starting our 2018 season!

I would like to thank all of you who participated in viewing the Ospreys at Snappy's. Three years of collecting data on Ospreys in the Flathead Valley indicates that the population trend of Ospreys has remained stable. The average number of occupied nests ( both parents) was 25, producing an average of 32 young per year. Fledging success average 93%. Studying the reproductive performance of Ospreys shows a productivity (number of young per occupied nest) rate of 1.3. It is believed that each breeding pair in the population must reproduce an average of .95 to 1.30. This productivity seems to be sufficient to maintain a stable population. Tune in for next year.
Doug MacCarter

Thank you to all who voted in our little contest. We had some great name suggestions come in as well.  Even though we had a bit of a tragedy with our triplets this year, we continued on with the naming of all three birds. 

And the Winner is.......
Huey, Duey, Luey with 35% of the votes.  "Other" (or the write in votes) took second place as a whole with 33%. 

Write In Votes:
Manny, Moe, Jack    24    15%
Winken, Blinken, Nod   14   9%
Boone, Crockett, Bowie   6   4%
Scott, Shaunda, Kent (Lupton Siblings)   1  1%
Pete, Repeat, & Tailgate   1  1%
One, Two, & Three   1  1%
Manny, Moe, & Jack   1  1%
Oscar, Oswald & Osiette   1  1%
Ava, Avery & Avian   1  1%
Manny, Joe, Jack   1  1%
Uno, Dos Tres (they migrate south )  1  1%
Baja, Diego, Rica   1  1%
Mickey, Minnie, Goofy   1  1%
Prince, Princess (now only 2 - fits w/ Duke, Duchess)   1  1%
Boone. Crockerr, Bowie   1  1%

You may have noticed that the last 48 hours our Osprey Cam has been down. We have had a bit of a tragedy hit our Duke and Duchess, and also the family here at Snappy's. July 21, 2017 - Friday afternoon we were made aware of a chick that did not appear healthy in our nest and concerns were expressed about how to handle what we were watching unfold.

We have three chicks this year. So we are looking to name all three in a creative and memorable fashion. Please help us out and check out the poll below. We have picked some famous trios to start. 

We haven't been quite as attentive this year with our Osprey as we had previous. That doesn't mean we love them any less. We have just had a busy summer. However I am very please to report that hasn't bothered Duke and Duchess any at all. 

We noticed, once again this year, three eggs in the nest. If you remember, we did have three last year as well and only two hatched. I confirmed a couple of days ago, this year we have a 100% success rate. All three eggs have hatched and we have three chicks in the nest. 

After seven months, we have our FIRST visit of 2017. It looks like Duke has come to claim his nest this year. Duchess will undoubtedly follow in the next couple weeks. We are looking forward to another year with our Osprey family. Tune in with us and see what 2017 brings this couple.

First, 
Thank you for all who participated in the naming contest. We had some great suggestions. We appreciate all your feedback and input.

So without further ado.... by your vote: Lewis & Clark is your winner! Continue reading for all the results. Thank you again, and keep watching for the checks to fledge. We expect any day....

Dear Friends, Customers & Viewers Worldwide:

Thank you for enjoying with us, Snappy’s “Osprey Cam”, and for following this wonderful natural phenomenon of these beautiful raptors.  It’s been quite terrific to view and follow these magnificent birds – their nest building and mating, their patient process of feeding and waiting for eggs, then the laying of three eggs, the hatching of two chicks, and now “Duke & Duchess” raising their offspring, soon to fledge (def: leaving of the nest).

Also, I would like to extend a very sincere thank you to Mr. Doug MacCarter, who has achieved extensive graduate studies on the osprey species, and who has provided to us, invaluable counsel and knowledge.  Most important, he has become a great friend.  THANK YOU, DOUG!  And the following are some educational tidbits, passed through to you, direct from Mr. MacCarter.