The female should be commended for sticking it out on the nest throughout an evening and night of wind, lightning, and driving rain brought on by the line of spring thunderstorms that came across the southeastern states. For those that followed along with us last year remember that the female left the nest during a similar storm and the eggs were unattended for several hours.

She took advantage of the calm weather this morning and slept in a bit. She appears unruffled by yesterday's event and continues with her incubation. Now all she needs is a nice fish breakfast!

It's been eighteen days since the initial egg was laid so we are about half way through the first egg's incubation. Our full clutch consists of three eggs:

First egg was laid March 7
Second egg was laid March 10
Third egg was laid March 12/13

The eggs could conceivably hatch the week following Easter weekend. If the weather cooperates for the remaining incubation period and there are no predators, we could possibly have our first osprey chicks since our web cam went live three years ago.

The osprey's have been very attentive to their eggs and deserve a successful brood.

It has been relatively quiet on the nest with each parent rotating incubating shifts. The anticipated weekend rain never came until Monday late afternoon. The female stayed on the nest throughout the intense showers and protected the eggs. This year the ospreys look more relaxed and are doing a great job of taking care of their eggs.

The third egg has been laid either the evening of 12 March or early 13 March. Slightly cooler weather is predicted for the weekend along with showers and possible thunderstorms. Last year our pair left the eggs vulnerable during a cold snap that included thunderstorms. Hopefully the osprey will stay on the nest and continue to incubate the eggs.

As of this morning the ospreys have a second egg and the male has been quite busy carrying sticks and what appear to be banana tree leaves to the nest. Both parents have been regularly turning the eggs ensuring that the developing embryos do not adhere to the inside of the eggshell which can result in the embryo becoming malformed. Constant warmth stimulates the growth process. With another unseasonably warm day this week it should be easier to keep the eggs temperature regulated, though we are expecting cooler weather beginning Thursday.

Both parents have a brood patch, an area of bare skin under their breast feathers. Males have a smaller ‘hot-spot' than the females; however, the female ospreys have a larger area with many vessels that can be suffused with blood whenever the egg temperature falls. This instinctive ability allows the ospreys to sense temperature changes within the eggs and to control it within the nest through their own body methods.

The parents seem quite attentive to the two eggs. We’ll have to wait a few more days to see how many eggs this pair will have. Also, the gallery page has been updated with the latest pictures.

Enjoy!! 8-)

We now have two eggs as of 7:35 am, Tuesday, 10 March, 2009.

On Saturday, 7 March, our female laid her first egg around 11:25 a.m. One viewer noted seeing two eggs, but only one egg appears to have been laid.

With the arrival of the egg, our osprey parents will contribute to the incubation duties, although the female will carry out the majority of the incubating. The male continues to deliver fish to his mate, which will persist until the young fledge or the nest fails. Incubation for ospreys is approximately 40 days, so we could have hatchlings by Easter, but technically hatching could come anywhere from 35-43 days, depending on the egg’s development. A female osprey will generally lay 2 to 4 eggs over the course of a few days so more eggs may be on their way.

We’ll update the Osprey Gallery again within the week.

Until then,

We have our first egg of the 2009 season!!

Thanks to our viewer's watchful eyes, the first egg of the 2009 season has been spotted. Osprey usually lay two to four eggs within one to two days apart. Each egg is approximately the size of a chicken egg, mottled and cinnamon colored; is incubated for about 5 weeks to hatching and both parents help to incubate the eggs.

We may have another egg any day so keep watching.