Twin Cities Metro Osprey Watch

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Twin Cities Metro Osprey Watch

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Dedicated to research, rescues and education on the Ospreys in the 8 county metro area surrounding Minneapolis and St Paul.

( Hennepin, Ramsey, Carver, Wright, Anoka, Washington, Scott, Dakota) PLEASE REPORT NEW NESTS email: [email protected] Research, education and consulting about Ospreys. Ospreys are an indicator species and therefore the health of this population reveals much about the state of our environment. (Examples of the ongoing research includes accurate productivity studies, extra pair copulation / length of pair bond, methods of recruitment of young ospreys into the breeding population / how young ospreys establish a nesting territory, age of first successful breeding and documentation of movement between nesting territories, etc.) We also do consulting about habitat requirements for new nest poles and education about all aspects of Osprey behavior. We watch over the Ospreys and do rescues when needed to ensure their survival. Our study area includes the eight counties surrounding Minneapolis and St Paul, including Hennepin, Ramsey, Wright, Carver, Scott, Dakota, Washington and Anoka counties. Under the direction of Vanessa Greene.

10/04/2026

Sadly, I think the 2026 osprey season has come to a close. I last saw an osprey on Tuesday, Sept 29. One of the monitors saw an osprey near her nest on October 1. I have checked a few nests since then and I have not seen or heard any ospreys. Today I visited the nest with the male who was still caring for two chicks on September 28, and the nest and surrounding area was quiet and empty. We had a good long run with them this year and I will miss them terribly, as usual. I find myself thinking about the magnificent benefactor male and the unrelated young osprey he was caring for…..wondering where they both are. Savoring the unusual and deeply moving memories I have of spending time observing them. We all send out our very best wishes for safe travel, easy weather, and a wonderful vacation before they head back home to us. A million thanks to all the monitors, and an extra kudos to those who continued to watch over their nests until the bitter end. I am so deeply grateful for your commitment to this effort.

09/29/2026

I stopped to check on one of my favorite nests on my way to the pottery studio….found the chick there this morning, and on my way home in the pouring rain, I stopped again and found the chick there and dear ol’ dad brought a small fish for her and she took it to a favorite perch to eat. So still here! She was not a very late fledge, but one of this males chicks stayed a long time last year too….I guess it’s in their DNA!

09/28/2026

Still here….the dad with the two chicks. Dad was on his same cell tower perch when I arrived, and the male chick was on the lightpole the nest is on. He was quiet, no food begging. No female chick! Dad was looking all around….then he finally flew off to the east….and the male chick started flying around as well. Dad then went to the west. After a short time He came back and went south and the male chick did too. All gone…but I waited. Suddenly I hear food begging and the female chick landed on the nest and Dad landed on another lightpole. I believe he went and rounded her up! I am becoming very fond of this fellow….he is a very attentive parent. He didn’t get a fish but he is definitely watching over them, and he is really sticking close by. The male chick did not return before I had to leave …but all three were seen! And one of the new monitors this year, Pat, is still seeing at least one of the chicks on her nest!

09/26/2026

Another gray, rainy day….but those can be good days to find ospreys. I only checked a few nests. I went to the nest of the orphans sibling and bio dad and they are still there! I didn’t see dad but chick was eating a fish and then went to the nest to wait for more! She’s a beauty!
Then I went further east to a nest that had late fledging chicks. I on,y saw one chick there last weekend….and today I found none! I waited for 45 minutes but no one came. I headed down the road and went past a pond where I have seen those very ospreys in the past. At first I didn’t see any ospreys but I slammed on my brakes and backed up cause something caught my eye. Sure enough there was a chick in a dead tree, with a whole bullhead! I watched this lovely girl for quite a while. She had a full crop and a whole fish…..hmmmmm. Did she catch that fish or did someone deliver it to her? I doubt that she would go fishing with a full crop…but you never know. Was this the chick from the nest I just left? She was being bothered by crows and she was enchanting to watch. Look closely at some of the photos…..below her crop….look at that belly. Someone is taking good care of her! This is what I love to see on a chick who is about to start her first migration!
I have so much fun finding and watching these birds…..I realized today, I would rather hang out with ospreys than people! Ha! This is a magic potion for me..they so often lift me up. So I savor these last visits.

09/25/2026

I found this sweet one today….she was eating a fish at first so Dad must have been there!

09/24/2026

I have been out checking nests the last two days as have several of the monitors also! Reports are still coming in!
I visited 20 nests yesterday and only two of them had ospreys….a chick on one nest with a fish, who took her meal to a tree to eat. I must have just missed Dad. The other nest had a chick with a full crop….just hanging out at home!
Today I checked 5 nests….and only one had ospreys . This nest was new this year so they laid eggs late after building their nest. When I arrived I found the adult male, on a cell tower near the nest. He was waiting, snoozing, preening and I just knew by his behavior that his kids were still around, so I waited. Eventually two ospreys flew right past him….one at a time, and none made any vocalizations. It had to be the kids! They flew off to the NE and I could see them circling….eventually disappearing. Dad kept snoozing. Finally one juvenile came back and landed in the nest,, followed closely by the other chick. Sweet. They were just out playing together. These two has gone thru so many shenanagins that I wondered if they both would make it. One day, shortly after fledging, I watched one of them try to land on the light cover on the lights where their nest is…..he slipped and was hanging there between two lights, feet hanging down, wings spread over two lights. My heart raced…..was I going to have to mount a rescue? Then he simply put his wings up and he slid right thru the lights and came out flying below, circled around and made it back to the nest! Whew. So here they are many weeks later, doing fine and I loved that they were out and about together. And Dad was waiting patiently at home. When they were both back on the nest they started food begging and off went Dad. I waited a while but it started to rain so I headed home. So osprey season is not over yet!

09/19/2026

I visited a few more nests today, on this cloudy drizzly day. The first stop was the nest where the orphans bio -dad lives….and the chick ( orphans half sister) was still there and food begging, tho I couldn’t see the dad. He must have been there. This chick is about a week younger than the orphan who departed last week….so it makes sense that she is still around.
Then I stopped at the orphans nest….and found a juvenile bald eagle on the lights! No ospreys objecting to his presence.
Then I headed on to some other nests. I did find one chick on a nest that was one of our latest nests to fledge. Her sibling was not around but she was waiting for Dad, and hollering for food occasionally. I moved on to some other nests and found no other ospreys but did find a pair of adult bald eagles on one of the osprey nests. Hope they don’t get any bright ideas. I did not see or hear any ospreys around, and if they were there, I am sure they would have had some thoughts about these visitors.
So still a few ospreys around in that part of the metro area.

09/18/2026

They aren’t all gone yet! Sometimes a miserable day like this is a good time to look for them…..cold, rainy, gray. I stopped on my way to the pottery studio to check one of my favorite nests….and there she was, the girl chick. In the rain, on the nest…..waiting.
A few hours later I came back and she was on a lightpole eating a large fish nd food begging at the same time. Funny. Then I looked around and saw the Dad on another light, also eating a fish! Together! Sweet! Then a crow came to join Dad, in case he wanted to share that fish I guess. The male was surprisingly unconcerned about the crow….no alarm call, no flapping or lunging at him. They looked like friends!
This is the nest where I watched a lingering chick for a long time last year. That is interesting to me….its obviously a different chick, hatched at a different time and yet, there they are….so maybe the signal about when to leave is coming from the male…if he is content to feed a chick for a long time, perhaps that sends a signal. Don’t know.
Then I stopped at another nest down the road….and found one chick, looking miserable in the rain. Waiting patiently….so Dad must be around!
Hard to get decent photos in this light with the steady rain….me and my scope got soaked. But it was worth it to see some of my friends. I checked six other nests yesterday and found zero ospreys. They could be around, just not at the nest. A rainy day is often a time they may return home to get some food.
I will check a few more nests tomorrow….

09/17/2026

Stockton University researchers found 85% of osprey chicks studied near Great Bay and the Mullica River did not survive.

09/13/2026

The beautiful ospreys that have been my focus in recent weeks seem to have fully departed. No ospreys seen there for hours today. Oh how I will miss them….all their perches seem so empty and quiet now.

The half sister down the road is still here. At another nest I watched that stunningly beautiful chick eating a fish….and suddenly she gave an alarm call a flew off. She returned and landed on a light and was quickly divebombed by a juvenile bald eagle. She took off and the eagle chased her aggressively….they circled and then finally disappeared to the west…..so I drove that way and walked all around the lake looking for them. I did not find them. I drove around another lake….nothing. I came back and the chick had not returned. This chick has been sticking pretty close to home so this is unusual.
I went back to my focus nest to look again for those ospreys but there still were none there. So I returned to the other nest…..but there was still no chick. I waited. Then I turned around and found the male eating a fish and looking for his chick. She did not appear. He then took off and flew circles, higher and higher, displaying the fish……that is the way that these males round up the kids. He finally disappeared to the north. No chick seen in hours. I am so worried. Not a happy note to end on for this neighborhood of ospreys.

Update! The monitor, Vicky, went and checked on the chick and she made it back to the nest….she is ok! That eagle was being unusually aggressive and relentless. So Whew! Thanks Vicky! It takes a village to watch over all these ospreys.

Address

Minnetonka, MN
55305

Website

http://ospreywatch.blogspot.com/

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