Waiting for neighbors to return

By Gwen Chamberlain travel isn’t what it used to be. It’s more hectic, more crowded, and more stressful in so many ways. But despite some recent close calls mostly due to heavy traffic numbers, it’s generally a fast, safe way to get to your destination. That’s not necessarily true for some of my favorite neighbors who travel hundreds — maybe thousands — of miles twice annually. I’m looking forward to their return home for their family time. I don’t know when they will show up. They don’t bother to let me know when to expect them, so, I’ll just keep driving past their home to check for signs that they have returned. An osprey’s spring migration to the Finger Lakes area from a southern climate varies based on how far south the raptor travels for the winter. They are known to migrate to locations as near as southern Florida or as distant as Brazil, Bolivia or Chile. In any case, their travel north is exhausting and perilous, with hundreds of miles over open water, where a storm can blow the bird off course. Because there are no updraft currents or thermals over the open oceans, the birds must actively beat their wings for the flight, which can be as long as 400 to 700 miles from the Gulf of Venezuela to a Caribbean Island, and can take 30 to 40 hours. Although ospreys are expert fishers, they can’t hunt during this stretch of their trip because unlike ducks and gulls, they aren’t able to land on the water to rest. According to avianreport. com, during the spring migration, ospreys average 321 km (more than 199 miles) per day. Traveling in solitude is the normal practice, and the mating couple will not arrive together. They have spent the winter apart, and they return individually to the nest they occupied during the previous breeding season. The mother had left the nest to head south about a month before the father, who had remained here to bring food for the young before making his own trip. The young migrate individually as well. Their offspring from the previous breeding season are likely to remain in their winter home for another season, finally traveling back to their summer home the following spring, so the juveniles we caught glimpses of last summer won’t return until next spring. Once the mating pair reunites, it’s time to make repairs to their nest and prepare for parenthood. They will lay eggs anytime through mid-May. The average time between the first egg laid and the first egg hatched is 39 days and the average number of days between the first hatched egg to the first fledged young is 55 days. During this stretch of time, the parents are busily providing nourishment in the form of fresh fish from one of our nearby lakes. Along several ridgeline rural roads in the Finger Lakes, it’s common to see their large busy nests high up on top of utility poles, some that have been outfitted with nesting platforms. Lakeside dwellers can marvel at the sight of a fishing osprey through the spring and summer. The bird’s impressive eyesight zeroes in on a target and the raptor dives into the water, emerging with its latest meal. We were lucky enough to see a confrontation between a bald eagle and osprey over Seneca Lake late last summer. The eagle badgered the osprey as it hunted, and even attacked the osprey in an attempt to steal its catch. The attack was unsuccessful, and the eagle had to fend for itself while the osprey flew off with a meal. With their keen eyesight and feet that have become specialized to hold onto prey, ospreys are easily the premier fishers in the raptor world. Watching the progress of life in and around an osprey nest is a fun and enlightening. Take a slow drive along Pre-Emption or Ridge Road. One of my favorite rides is from Route 14 south of Dresden in the Town of Torrey on Swarthout Road, which crosses City Hill to become Hazard Road, then crosses Leach Road to become Norris Road, which continues through Himrod and becomes the Himrod-Starkey-Lakemont Road. On one trip along this route last year, we counted 16 individual Ospreys in various nests! So, go for a drive, find a nest to keep an eye on this spring and summer, and enjoy learning about these industrious, brave, and entertaining neighbors.

Waiting for neighbors to return

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