*Female Ospreys lay 2-4 eggs, 3 is normaI with 4 eggs unusual, and more rare if all hatch and mature to
fIedgjng age. In our area most are laid during ApriI.
*Eggs are laid in succession, usuaIIy within a 5 day period, with the first hatchling sometimes much larger
than the Iast. Osprey egg coIoration is unique to each female.
*Both adults incubate the eggs. Males provide all of the fish, eating the head of the fish at their favorite
dining perch, then taking the remainder to the female at the nest. She will leave to eat the fish elsewhere
as he incubates the eggs.
*Egg lncubation is 3543 days. Watch as the adult “rocks down” flat onto the eggs.
*We confirm nestIing feeding behavior when the femaIe no longer leaves the nest to eat fish. She now
stays at the nest to brood her young and feed them.
*It may take 10 days to see the tiny heads pop up above the nest material, and up to 14 days to confirm
the last nestling has hatched. You may not see Chicks until June.
*Ospreys live on all Continents except Antarctica. Most Ospreys residing in Ospreys residing in our area migrate to South
America, with the aduIt female Ieaving first in August, and fledglings normally migrating by mid- September.
The adult males often stay until the end of September, incIuding the fledgiings. Ospreys migrate alone.
Adult Ospreys generally bond to one another and their nest site for Iife. Each individuaI Osprey also
travels to the same wintering grounds year after year! Official nesting season in Delaware is March thru September.
*After a gap year at their wintering grounds, the young returning birds may take a few years to find a
nest, and fledge young. There are many hazards to nest successfulIy for the duration of a summer, incIuding
the Ioss of a mate, weather, egg or chick predation, territorial fighting or human disturbance.
Their average life expectancy is 15 years.
*Ospreys create their own air conditioning! They are adept at keeping cool the increasing heat in the
Increasing heat of the summer. You may see a femaIe spread her wings over her chicks. This pose is caIIed “Mombrella”
You may see adult Ospreys skimming the water. A ”touch and go” cIeaning their taIons, or dipping just a bit
Iower to wet their abdomens to cooI themselves before heading back to the nest to cool their chicks.
They may also grab clumps of wet vegetation to take back to the nest to cooI their young.
*Ospreys often share their nests, not with other adult Ospreys, but with sparrows that nest inside the nest
materiaI.The little birds do not bother the Ospreys one bit!
If you slow down and observe from a safe distance, you will see an incredibIe species that is here for one
reason- to raise young. Now that you have learned more about the iconic Ospreys that spend haIf of their
year near us, we hope you will become stewards of this amazing species.
fIedgjng age. In our area most are laid during ApriI.
*Eggs are laid in succession, usuaIIy within a 5 day period, with the first hatchling sometimes much larger
than the Iast. Osprey egg coIoration is unique to each female.
*Both adults incubate the eggs. Males provide all of the fish, eating the head of the fish at their favorite
dining perch, then taking the remainder to the female at the nest. She will leave to eat the fish elsewhere
as he incubates the eggs.
*Egg lncubation is 3543 days. Watch as the adult “rocks down” flat onto the eggs.
*We confirm nestIing feeding behavior when the femaIe no longer leaves the nest to eat fish. She now
stays at the nest to brood her young and feed them.
*It may take 10 days to see the tiny heads pop up above the nest material, and up to 14 days to confirm
the last nestling has hatched. You may not see Chicks until June.
*Ospreys live on all Continents except Antarctica. Most Ospreys residing in Ospreys residing in our area migrate to South
America, with the aduIt female Ieaving first in August, and fledglings normally migrating by mid- September.
The adult males often stay until the end of September, incIuding the fledgiings. Ospreys migrate alone.
Adult Ospreys generally bond to one another and their nest site for Iife. Each individuaI Osprey also
travels to the same wintering grounds year after year! Official nesting season in Delaware is March thru September.
*After a gap year at their wintering grounds, the young returning birds may take a few years to find a
nest, and fledge young. There are many hazards to nest successfulIy for the duration of a summer, incIuding
the Ioss of a mate, weather, egg or chick predation, territorial fighting or human disturbance.
Their average life expectancy is 15 years.
*Ospreys create their own air conditioning! They are adept at keeping cool the increasing heat in the
Increasing heat of the summer. You may see a femaIe spread her wings over her chicks. This pose is caIIed “Mombrella”
You may see adult Ospreys skimming the water. A ”touch and go” cIeaning their taIons, or dipping just a bit
Iower to wet their abdomens to cooI themselves before heading back to the nest to cool their chicks.
They may also grab clumps of wet vegetation to take back to the nest to cooI their young.
*Ospreys often share their nests, not with other adult Ospreys, but with sparrows that nest inside the nest
materiaI.The little birds do not bother the Ospreys one bit!
If you slow down and observe from a safe distance, you will see an incredibIe species that is here for one
reason- to raise young. Now that you have learned more about the iconic Ospreys that spend haIf of their
year near us, we hope you will become stewards of this amazing species.