This is the latest report in the continuing saga of “Ozzie and Harriet in Brooklin,” starring a local pair of nesting ospreys that we’ve been checking at least two times a week since they set up housekeeping in their annual summer residence on or about April 21.
Status: there has been no significant change. Both birds seem to be well. They’ve survived vicious storms and continue to fend off Brutus, the jealous single male osprey in the area. Harriet is still doing most of the incubation, while Ozzie brings her fish and sometimes takes over the incubation to give Harriet a break (often by flying to another treetop to eat her fish). Here’s Harriet incubating yesterday:
Here, we see Ozzie flying off the nest yesterday after delivering Harriet a headless fish that he decapitated for his own breakfast:
After mating, female ospreys usually lay their first egg within 10 days and generally will lay up to three eggs within several days, according to reports. These birds are long term incubators, usually taking between 37 and 43 days before the first egg hatches. Thus, we may not see any fledglings until late June or July, if everything goes well. (Brooklin, Maine)