Recently, we spent 6 months workcamping in the Florida Everglades.

While working in the Activity Booth, Robyn had a front row seat for viewing the Ospreys at their nest at the marina. In this post, we’re sharing the story of a pair of Osprey we watched from sprucing up their 10 year old nest to the first flights of their new chicks and them leaving the nest.

They mate for life, and year after year, they come back to the same spot to raise a new generation of chicks. They spent days, gathering sticks and spanish moss, arranging it just right for the eggs that were to come.It was funny watching this “home spruce up”. The male would come flying in with what he probably thought was the best stick ever. He would lay it on the nest. She would inspect it and either put it in just the right place or just toss it right out.

We kept watching and after a while it looked like there had to be eggs in that nest. One always stayed in the nest. Frequently, in the past, they would both leave. But, not anymore.

So, We Waited.

Once we realized the female never left the nest, and the male became the sole provider. He would swoop in with a fresh caught fish and they both would eat. Occasionally, he would take a turn on the nest. Each day we kept looking for extra movement in the nest or little heads peeking above.

New Life Arrived

One morning, we could see tiny little heads peeking over the nest. We weren’t sure on how many but it really looked like two.

It was so cool to finally be able to see the little round balls that looked like heads poking above the nest. There’s Mom or Dad feeding broken pieces of fish to the babies. We could tell there were two.

Within a few days they both were flying confidently around the marina. Mom and Dad were usually nearby. You can tell the juveniles from the adults because the juveniles are spotted.

Once flying, they began exploring the world outside the nest.