Joined: Mon Jan 18, 2010 4:13 am Posts: 1530 Location: California
May 27, 2017: Look closely and you’ll see tiny tail feathers emerging. Their feathers grow so fast that they need plenty to eat to ensure the feathers are well-formed.
First hatch date: May 12, 2017 Second hatch date: May 14, 2017
Joined: Mon Jan 18, 2010 4:13 am Posts: 1530 Location: California
June 8, 2017: Richmond brings a fresh fish to the nest, which Rosie takes. She begins to feed one of the chicks, but the other chick is behind her. Will this chick manage to get into position to be fed also? Note that both chicks are balling their talons, as their parents do while in the nest. Now that more feathers have emerged to keep them warm, the chicks spend more time alone in the nest, under the watchful eye of one of their parents.
First hatch date: May 12, 2017 Second hatch date: May 14, 2017
Here's a link to an osprey cam in Belwood Lake, CA. The Mom's body was found beneath the nest and Dad has been brooding, fishing and feeding the chicks on his own! Two very active and healthy osprey chicks!
Joined: Mon Jan 18, 2010 4:13 am Posts: 1530 Location: California
June 21, 2017: Whirley and Rivet have very heavy wings filled with blood feathers. A blood feather is a new feather that still has a blood supply to help it grow. When the feather is full-grown, it no longer needs blood to help it grow, so the blood vein recedes, leaving a normal, healthy feather. In preparation for fledging (their first flight), they need to stretch and exercise their wings. Note that one of the chicks is walking on his toes, like an adult bird.
First hatch date: May 12, 2017 Second hatch date: May 14, 2017
Joined: Mon Jan 18, 2010 4:13 am Posts: 1530 Location: California
July 3, 2017: Richmond brings a fish. Mom is usually there to get it, but not this time. So one of the osprey chicks grabs it. Later, Richmond brings another fish. This time Mom is there, so she takes it. The second osprey chick, who didn’t get any of the first fish, tries to grab it.
First hatch date: May 12, 2017 Second hatch date: May 14, 2017
Joined: Mon Jan 18, 2010 4:13 am Posts: 1530 Location: California
July 5, 2017: Both chicks have now fledged. They make return trips to the nest to rest and to eat. Note that a parent is with them on the Whirley Crane.
First fledge date: July 3, 2017
First hatch date: May 12, 2017 Second hatch date: May 14, 2017
Joined: Mon Jan 18, 2010 4:13 am Posts: 1530 Location: California
Rivet probably misses her big sister, Whirley, who had an accident while fishing on July 5. She likely dove into San Francisco Bay at too sharp an angle and became waterlogged — well out of view of the nest and webcam mounted on a vintage Whirley crane on the Richmond waterfront. About 6 a.m. that day, two Richmond construction barge workers spotted the osprey swimming in the Bay. The barge workers used a pole to help the osprey out the water and let her climb aboard to dry out.
Whirley was transported to a wildlife veterinary center in Marin County to get checked out. Whirley was in critical condition, as of this morning, July 6, at Wildcare hospital in San Rafael, where staff were trying to ease her labored breathing and stabilize her condition before taking x-rays. Wildcare says: “Upon intake it was discovered that she had quite a bit of blood in her mouth and she was having difficulty breathing. She was immediately placed in a critical care oxygen unit. Once stable enough to be handled briefly, our veterinarian administered appropriate medications but that was all Whirley could tolerate at the time. “Our first priority is to get her stable. Once stable we will take radiographs (x-rays) and run various tests to see if we can determine more of what is going on with her. This morning she is standing and her breathing appears less labored but she is still critical. As with all of our patients, we will do everything we can for her!” First fledge date: July 3, 2017
First hatch date: May 12, 2017 Second hatch date: May 14, 2017
Joined: Mon Jan 18, 2010 4:13 am Posts: 1530 Location: California
Update July 8, 2017 from Wildcare, where Whirley was brought after being rescued:
It is with a heavy heart that we share with you the news that Whirley did not make it. The CT scan confirmed the multiple fractures that we had feared on x-rays and also clearly revealed even more structural and muscular damage beyond those. The severities of her injuries are consistent with a high velocity impact which could’ve been with a structure of some kind but due to the absence of external wounds, it is also a fair hypothesis that these were sustained from a water impact during a fishing attempt. Even if her injuries had been reparable, she would never be able to fly again. This has been an invaluable learning experience for all groups involved and will serve to help countless ospreys in the future. Learning to be an osprey is an incredibly difficult challenge, as evidenced by a less than 50% survival rate of first year birds. Being a wild animal is hard and most people never witness just how hard up close. This is a very painful conclusion for all of us osprey family followers. However, we can all take comfort in the fact that so many people care! The folks who rescued her form the water saved her from what would’ve been a certain and horrible death from drowning. The volunteers who drove her to WildCare and brought her fish daily, the staff and volunteers at GGAS, GGRO, Fish and Wildlife, many more I’m sure I’m forgetting, and all of you who are so invested- are stewards for these magnificent birds.
Joined: Mon Jan 18, 2010 4:13 am Posts: 1530 Location: California
July 9, 2017: Rivet is the remaining juvenile in this osprey nest. Sadly, her sister, Whirley, had to be humanely euthanized, due to the extent of her injuries. How long will the parents bring her fish?
First fledge date: July 3, 2017
First hatch date: May 12, 2017 Second hatch date: May 14, 2017
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