It’s Osprey breeding season. This appears to be Ozzie yesterday on a local nest to which he has been returning from southern climes for at least five years, since I’ve been monitoring the nest and named him and his mate for convenience. Ospreys are what has been called “nest faithful” as well as being monogamous.
Ozzie has been here this year for at least a week and Harriet, his mate of many years, has not shown up yet, at least at the times that I’ve been monitoring the site and watching the skies along the coast. Harriet is larger than Ozzie, which is typical for female birds of prey. (One theory is that female birds of prey need to be larger to protect themselves and their young from aggressive male mates and strangers with killer instincts.)
To be sure, Harriet is one tough bird when it comes to protecting the nest. Here are a few Leighton Archive images of her:
However, Ozzie has shown no killer instincts toward his families and often is left alone to sit on eggs or youngsters when Harriet needs a break to eat the fish that Ozzie delivers or to get away from it all for 30 minutes or so.
We’ll let you know if and when Harriet returns. (Brooklin, Maine)