It's been two weeks since GV was hatched and you can see how much the chicks have grown in comparison to the remains of the third egg.

The chicks are now following Bea about the nest attempting to stay in her shadow. They are walking about the nest, somewhat clumsily at times, and using their wings to support themselves. We should soon see the chick's downy fuzz being replaced with growing feathers.

Fifteen photos have been added to the photo gallery. I'm trying to catch up and add photos as I get a chance.

Hope you enjoy them. 8-)
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Bea has moved the third egg to the outer edge of the "nest bowl" (see arrow). No idea what happened to the chick and why it was unable to break through its shell.

GV and RJ are sprouting like weeds and as viewer Peter noted, both chicks are pretty equal in size. We'll have to see if GV is dominant over RJ or if they both call it a draw.

Chicks fighting each other can be quite brutal and hard to watch. This is a natural and an adaptive behavior. The aggressive behavior allows the dominant chick to receive its meal before other chicks and ensures a regulating brood size of healthy, strong chicks that can be raised on the available food.

As of this post, GV and RJ decided to duke it out. Each one getting in some hard blows while Bea was off to the side preening herself.  We'll have to see how nice the two siblings remain to each other.

The third egg has a hole in the shell and appears the chick did not survive.  Even if the chick did hatch we wondered how it would compete for food from its older siblings. The egg will most likely be discarded by Bea as the two chicks get older.

GV and RJ have grown significantly after hatching less than a week. As their appetite grows so will Jasper's job of catching fish for them.

There is still hope for the third egg to hatch. Today marks the 39th day of incubation. If the chick does hatch, it will have a lot of catching up to do.

Today marks the 36th day of incubation for the third egg. GV and RJ will have a definite advantage over the third chick if and when it hatches.

Jasper has be provideing fish at regular intervals and the chicks have been stuffing themselves until they fall asleep.

The second chick hatched this morning before 6:30 a.m. Thursday, May 3rd. The incubation was 38 days. The second chick's name is RJ.

Our first chick hatched at 2:53 p.m. on Wednesday, May 2, 2012. Incubation was 39 days. The chick's name is GV.

Yesterday, Saturday, April 28th, marked the beginning of the 5th week since the first egg was laid. Incubation is anywhere from 5 to 6 weeks so the first chick could hatch any time now.

In the last few weeks, Jasper has been bringing in quite a few large bass. If that trend continues, we shouldn't see the chicks go hungry. If the chicks don't receive enough food,  aggression between the chicks will intensify and can be hard to watch. That is a completely natural, wide-spread and adaptive behavior.  Chicks hatch over a span of many days, and so there can be a large difference in size among the siblings in the same nest.  This is called “hatching asynchrony.” They are covered in down when hatched. 


Bea is constantly up and down over the eggs as of this post so the first egg could possible hatch today. The first chick hatched on the 40th day in 2011 and in 2009 it was the 38th day.

'Oldest' breeding osprey lays 62nd egg at Loch of the Lowes
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-tayside-central-17726409

Wonderful video of osprey catching fish
http://www.youtube.com/embed/nA3LtXnNIto?feature=player_embedded

An "intruder" osprey that has been flying about landed on the platform this morning while both Bea and Jasper were at the nest. Both parents quickly dispatched the other osprey with Bea giving chase and Jasper covering the eggs.

For several weeks we've noticed that our pair has been bothered by another osprey in the area. This may or may not be the same bird.

The nest finally has a nice "bowl" shape. Both Bea and Jasper have been bringing in material which has made the nests appearance much more presentable in the past few days. Today marks the 20th day since the first egg was laid so we are about half way through the incubation period. If our pair continues to improve their nest they should be off to a great start when the chicks hatch. 

Bea and Jasper seem to have a nice rhythm going with incubation. Jasper is bringing in fish and giving Bea a break from sitting on the eggs. Not much time is spent off the clutch of eggs as they must be kept warm. So far Bea and Jasper are doing a great job.

Not much going on at the nest. Bea and Jasper are taking turns incubating the eggs while both are bringing in a few sticks, grasses, and an occasional pine cone.

The osprey cam viewing time has been increased to 7:00 a.m. to 8:15 p.m.

More photos have been added to the gallery.