Twin Cities Metro Osprey Watch

Twin Cities Metro Osprey Watch 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 / leng

th 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.

I can never get as much done as I hope to each day….this morning got sidetracked at the two nests of the polygynous male...
06/12/2026

I can never get as much done as I hope to each day….this morning got sidetracked at the two nests of the polygynous male. The first nest is his official mate….and I could see that they have one chick. Seems to be only one. Then I went on to the other nest with the female who was raising three chicks alone. I stayed for sooooo long, and sadly I could only see two chicks. I wanted so badly to see a third pop up, but it just didn’t happen. I sort of expected this to happen, but it still makes me sad. But as I kept waiting, in hopes of seeing a third little head…holy smokes….the polygynous male came with a fish! A small one, but still….wow. Yeah! I was a little concerned that mom fed one chick and the other didn’t ask for food. I had noticed earlier that one chick had a pretty full crop and the other one didn’t…..so I hope the one that got the food was the one that needed it. It was hard to see the crop on the one that was getting fed. If that male helps out, even a little bit….it may help those two chicks survive. I did not see him do that last year. Maybe only having one chick at his main nest is freeing up his time a bit. So after he dropped the fish, and the female took it and started feeding….he flew off and was circling, hovering above the lake across the street, still hunting…..so when the female seemed to have finished feeding (it went quick) I took off down the road towards the other nest….damn stop lights slowed me down….but when I got there that female was feeding her single chick. The male was in his tree perch. So that’s a little good news / bad news on that situation. First photo is the mom and single chick at his main territory ….and then the two chicks at the secondary nest….and the male with the female and chicks at that nest. Note the difference in ages of chicks at the two nests. Unfortunately, this male shows up just often enough to chase off any new males….he is still acting as if this is his territory.

Watching a feeding this morning at the Arb I noticed the egg had been moved….overnight she moved the egg, which was crac...
06/12/2026

Watching a feeding this morning at the Arb I noticed the egg had been moved….overnight she moved the egg, which was cracked….so that answers that. All is well with the chicks as No 1 celebrates his one week birthday!

Interesting to watch a feeding at the Arb this afternoon….first thing I noticed is that the chicks heads are much less w...
06/10/2026

Interesting to watch a feeding at the Arb this afternoon….first thing I noticed is that the chicks heads are much less wobbly now….that makes it easier for mom. I also noticed that the older chick was stepping up and getting most of the bits and mom tried to reach around that chick to get to the smaller one. It was clear that she was trying to make sure the little one got some food. That was a very good sign. Eventually the bigger one fell into a food coma and the little one got more food until both were collapsed in a pile. Then Mom began her obsessive work to clean up every dropped bit…..it makes me laugh. She really goes to lengths to get every bit, even if she has to disturb a sleeping chick to get it. So I think things are looking pretty good there now….lets give her a lot of credit for learning how to be a better parent. Obviously the third egg is a dud. Now I can watch a feeding without my blood pressure going up.

I have been looking at ospreys for 33 years so I notice so many small things that others may not…..especially those who ...
06/09/2026

I have been looking at ospreys for 33 years so I notice so many small things that others may not…..especially those who are just watching online or are new to watching ospreys in person. I have mentioned their crops…..this is the area on the upper chest where the food goes to start the digestion process….ospreys don’t chew, they just swallow so the food begins to break down in the crop. Their crops will be empty and full many times during the day. I often get a sense about how recently they have eaten by looking at the crop….so it’s something I often record in my field notes. I also sometimes note if I see them p**p. Sometimes when I am trying to discern if chicks have hatched, when I still can’t see them because they are too tiny, I will see a little p**p sq**rt coming out of the nest! Yup they are in there.
Anyway as I watch the Arb cam I watch the crops on the chicks ……they should have a nice bulge after eating if they really got enough food. In the early feedings there was almost no bulge….sigh. But now I am seeing fuller crops. So here is a screenshot with the bulging crop circled…..so you can learn to focus in on that part of their little bodies to see how the feeding really went. A lot of food is dropped, and this mom ends up eating a lot of the bits herself. Most females focus more on the chicks and then finish the fish themself when the chicks fall down and go to sleep (“food coma”). I am happy to see some fuller crops now….so that is something you all can watch for!

I have been watching the feedings at the Arb cam whenever I can. I must say I had concerns at the beginning, but she is...
06/09/2026

I have been watching the feedings at the Arb cam whenever I can. I must say I had concerns at the beginning, but she is getting better at feeding them. I have also been watching other females and males, in comparison. The Arb female is still hesitant and stands quite far away from the chicks, and she does a lot of eating herself. I look closely at the chicks tiny crops…looking for that nice bulge there, like they swallowed a shooter marble. In those early feeding their crops did not look full, but hers did. Sigh. But today I am starting to see some fuller crops on the little guys. I was at another nest today where I noticed that every time the female ripped a small bit off the fish she stepped forward to be closer to the chick and she gently put it in the chicks mouth….no hesitation, and she didnt come away from the chick with the fish bit still in her mouth. And I have seen so many males pitching in and feeding chicks or feeding the female. So there are a variety of techniques for feeding the littles. The Arb mom may not win mother of the year, but they seem to be doing ok. I must say, she is really good at picking up dropped bits of fish, cleaning up! She notices every dropped piece! I hope for ongoing improvement In her feeding, but I am starting to relax a little more as I watch. Am I the only one who was leaning forward as I watched, as if that would help her get closer to the chicks little mouths?!
I am starting to wonder if the last egg will hatch or not. Maybe two is plenty for her to handle! They really are cute!

Our single female who is raising three chicks, still has three chicks! Every week is a milestone! And she has no new sui...
06/08/2026

Our single female who is raising three chicks, still has three chicks! Every week is a milestone! And she has no new suitors, as some suggested she would have. The coming week will be a challenge with very high temps and humidity. I hope they all make it. She is so amazing…they all seem to be doing well, bopping around the nest.

The other female with this polygynous male has hatched her chicks too now, tho I have not been able to see them yet. I didn’t see the male at either site today.

We have a second hatch at the Arb! I think mommas mind is blown….
06/07/2026

We have a second hatch at the Arb! I think mommas mind is blown….

Another ten hour day in the field….started out by finding our 28th new nest this year. Oy vey. Then I watched a bunch of...
06/06/2026

Another ten hour day in the field….started out by finding our 28th new nest this year. Oy vey. Then I watched a bunch of hatching and a bunch of feedings, and was able to count some little heads. Quite a few three chick nests! But the most amazing part today was the males…..
At one of my early stops the female was feeding chicks and I was struggling to count them, since they pop up here and there, and you keep waiting for them all to be up at the same time to be sure. So I am standing outside in a park, insanely talking out loud to myself….” There is one under her tail, one in front of her….and she is feeding something I can’t see.” Dad was watching. When mom seemed to stop, he picked up the rest of the fish and started feeding a different chick…. So he was feeding, walking around the nest with a big bite in his beak, like “anyone want more?” So sweet. He was just as involved with the feeding of his three offspring as she was. Not all males are like that….but it’s awesome when I get to see it.
Then I got to one nest and the female was in incubating posture and the male was feeding her as she sat. She got up, and he kept feeding her ( it was far away and the heatwaves were bad but I got some crummy photos…one is photo below ) and then she started passing the bites on to an unseen wee one. Sigh.
Some days I am tired and stressed, and then I have a day like this….and I walk away thinking, I am the luckiest person on earth to get to see this stuff, and to understand what I am seeing. People are running past me, biking past me and missing all these little miracles that are going on. Right there…..for free….for those who are aware.…and for those who invest their time and patience. I hope I am able to provide some insights and inspiration so people will be more aware of the awesome beauty of this species, and the natural world in general.

Breakfast didn t go well at the Arb…..not sure the chick got any food …..how will she handle multiple mouths to feed? La...
06/06/2026

Breakfast didn t go well at the Arb…..not sure the chick got any food …..how will she handle multiple mouths to feed? Last year we thought she was too young to have fully developed maternal instincts…..but maybe she is just a bad mother. Male isnt helping. It’s hard to watch….and with the heat that is expected, dehydration could be accelerated.

Another sad situation….a nestbox totally fell apart…..last time I checked this one they were just incubating, so I hope ...
06/05/2026

Another sad situation….a nestbox totally fell apart…..last time I checked this one they were just incubating, so I hope they only lost eggs and not chicks…I did not see the adults anywhere…..not sure when it happened.

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