Sasanoa River, Maine

Today was an interesting day for viewing the nests visible from the Woolwich-Arrowsic Bridge. As the days get shorter, it's been getting darker by the time I get to the bridge (pictures click bigger).

And there have been several times in the last few weeks when no one has been on the osprey nest when I stopped by - after all, the older chick is now 14 weeks old, and has been flying for about 7 weeks, and I don't think the younger is that far behind (it was about 10 days later when I first saw both flying - and both were flying very well at that point, so I think both had been practicing!).

But today it not only looked empty - it felt empty.

It is true that I know that most of the young osprey who have been tagged so they can be followed as they begin their migration have left, and most of the osprey on webcams who hatched and fledged when these chicks did have left - so that may be coloring my interpretation. But I think they are off on their great adventure. Fare well, young ones - wishing you safe travels, and lots of fish!

But that's not the end of the story....

As I was driving across the bridge to my parking spot, I thought I saw something on the eagle platform. The fledgling has been visiting from time to time, but he's hard to see, especially in the fading light - his dark brown body and head blend in quite well.

I thought I saw something white.

And I did!

This is the time of year that some eagles who have taken a bit of a vacation after their chicks fledged start spending more time on the nests, beginning to get them ready for spring.

And the cycle continues....

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If you'd like to see more pictures and commentary on this nest - or on the webcam nest at the Taste of Maine Restaurant - you can use the link at the top of the page to get to my Local Wildlife Home Page which has an index of the reports on our visits to the sites.