State of the Clutch Address (Chick Update)

Friday Morning July 22, 2016

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.

• As you know, our chicks hatched on June 7th and June 11th.  At that time they weighed approximately 75 grams.  When they fledge, which will likely be around the end of July, they will weigh approximately 1800 grams (about four pounds).  So the growth in these two months is about 24 fold.
• At about the 7-week point – which is imminent – the chicks will begin to “helicopter”.  That is, they will exercise and flap their wings quite vigorously, and at some point begin to hover above the nest.  They are quite awkward at first, which will be apparent.  Very soon then, they will begin learning to fly.  Much is instinctive, but according to Doug, much is also learned, by watching their parents.
• At or about the same time, they will “go to fishing school”.  Again, much is instinctive, but extremely important, they MUST HAVE the teaching of their parents.  In diving on the pond, they will at first fail repeatedly, and must also learn the refraction of light, as created by the water.  (i.e.: the fish is not where it appears to be).
  • Their school will last two to three weeks.
• On or about the end of August, all four of our birds will migrate.  Duchess (our adult female) will likely leave before Duke.  He will then leave the chicks to fend for themselves at the nest site, but who will soon migrate as well.  So our four birds will not travel together.
• Most North American ospreys migrate to Mexico, Central or South America.  So it’s only a guess as to where Snappy’s ospreys will winter.  Their migration is triggered by changing day length as well as temperatures.
• Duke & Duchess will likely return to their nesting site here at Snappy’s around the end of March, 2017, and begin the process once again.  Their two chicks of 2016 will not return until 2018 or 2019, and provided they survive and reach adulthood, will likely return to within about 100 miles of their hatching site.  So regrettably, we will not see them again.  Doug also shares with us, that the mortality rate of young ospreys in their first three years is as high as 70%.
• Next summer, provided we are lucky once again to have osprey chicks, we hope to band the chicks and equip them with transmitters, that we can track their migration and travels.

Thanks again for joining and observing.  Please also join us in naming the chicks, which we will continue through Sunday, July 31st.

All the best,
B. J. Lupton