for surfing, against pollution
Last of my ptz cameras failed at end of last summer. I want a closer view of the family, so am looking at a camera in the nest. Hope to have it running in the next month before the chicks show up.
Below are couple photos from 2021, birds on a wire, exercising, getting ready for the long flight to the south.
4/15; Surveyed route, not looking good. Looking at wireless.
The abruptness of nature, she follows her own rules. Got up Friday morning, looked outside at the phone lines looking for the birds, then to the nest with nobody home.
A little history; Wednesday, the 2nd of September the parents were gone when the sun came up. So, the kids hung out for 2 days and then off they went. Picture them lifting off at dawn and heading south, guess they would rest in southern New Jersey on their flight to their new home. We wish them luck.
Resetting the Bay Cam back to a 4 or 5 scene rotation of views of the Great South Bay and the marshland behind Gilgo Beach, hope to have it up and running soon.
UPDATE 9/26: last of my 4 Pella Sony and Canon cameras failed, total of 5 in the junk pile since started in 2004. So no camera for the Bay Cam as of now. Will update if i get one…
2 weeks ago on August 16th at 8-9 am on a quiet Saturday morning, my neighbor Paul called me to say he saw the young osprey fly! Wish I would have been looking, this is what he said happened.
He did not see them take flight off the nest, He looked out the window and saw 4 birds circling around the nest about 100 feet up in the air. After a couple of circles around the nest, they landed back in the nest one at a time. Nothing dramatic, just a couple of steady circles and a landing.
In the week before they flew, they had been exercising their wings more and more. Just flapping away in the edge of the nest. They became stronger and noticeably more coordinated during that week.
Since then, they have been building strength, endurance and skill each day by flying and I mean flying a lot. They chase each other or other birds all around the meadows. They practice flying over marina and dive bombing to the water where they skim their feet in the water as if plucking a fish.
Seems when they are not flying, they spend a lot of time on the Electric and Telco wires that run behind the homes on Cottage Walk. Sometimes for exercise, other times to hang out and then sometimes to catch a nap.
All of the above is to build the energy, strength and endurance for the flight to the southern United States in the fall. Qwen and Wilson will fly south this fall and will not be coming back soon. Young Osprey stay down south for a couple of years and then come back to mate and procreate!
Mom and Dad should be back to do it all over again in the spring! The height of an Osprey nest is a good indicator of how many times a pair has returned.
The Gilgo nest at the east end of the marina was started this year so it a small structure. Take a look at the nest from the west side of Gilgo, it has been here for years.
Decided to take some pictures to see how the osprey chicks Wilson and Gwen have grown / matured in the last week. Saw Poppa Skip deliver lunch, so the 1st photo is Mom and the 2 chicks enjoying their fluke lunch.
Estimate the chicks are 6-7 weeks of age. Check out Wilson’s wings! He seemed to control them pretty well, flight attempts coming!
The Osprey chicks, Wilson and Gwen, are growing up quickly, hope to see them learn to fly and fish in the coming weeks.
The young ospreys will hang with Mom and Dad for rest of the summer learning their skills.
Osprey cam video of the nest at the east end of the Gilgo Marina has gotten softer or more out of focus in last week or so. Clean window and lens to no avail.
I have use the Sony Pella cameras for the web site, Went thru the other two spares I have from over the years, they are all 15 to 20 years old. Both had issues. The ocean surf cam is a Pella living on borrowed time, it has been running since 2006.
I have a Canon CB-50i, it was the Long Beach Cam for 10-15 years. Always thought it was sharper than the Sony, but think full zoom Sony better than Canon in this application.
Took the day, but changed out camera for the Osprey Cam at Gilgo Beach and we are back up.
Now as to the fam… they seemed to be doing well. The parents stay mostly at the nest, Betty with the chicks Wilson and Gwenny while Skip keeps an eye out on the post out in front of the nest. Skip does the fishing keeping mom and the kids fed and safe. Hope to see the chicks try to fly in the next week or so.
A beautiful Sunday afternoon at Gilgo, looking around the wetlands caught a glimpse of one of the baby osprey thru my binoculars. Set up the camera and was quite surprised as to how much she had grown and all the feathers!
Based on the nest finally secured on April 15th , thinking the eggs would have created around May 1st. The female osprey incubates them for 5 to 6 weeks so the eggs would have hatched around June 7th. I think the baby osprey were 3 weeks old on July 1st as shown in the image above.
Young osprey spend days practicing to fly, right around their nest. The bird gets their first flight at seven to eight weeks. Based on the estimates, this chick is 5 to 6 weeks old.
Amazing amount of feathers, the chick had trouble lifting her wing, the photo makes her look more graceful then she is. Still very much learning her body. Reminds me of my Great Dane Jackson, as a pup, learning to walk.
Skip, the male osprey has been hanging out below the nest for the couple weeks. Betty, the female osprey stayed most of the time in the nest, figured sitting on eggs.
Decided to shot them this morning, set up tripod and it was a wonderful surprise to see the babies! Looks like they had 2 of them last week sometime.
Took photographs on July 1st, 2020 from 7:30 to 8:30 am. It was a beautiful summer morning at Gilgo Beach. Light north wind, sun coming up, parking lot filling with surfers come and going, swell small, 2.8′, 10 sec with some fun on the set waves.
Hope you enjoy, watch the live Osprey Cam of their nest here at gilgo.com or our mobile site.
