I had to go to the doctors this morning and then Don and I stopped for breakfast/lunch. I got back in time to see Mom at the nest. Unfortunately I didn't put the video on when I left so I don't know if there has been any signs of Dad's return. Here's a couple s'capes.


5:37am-Empty nest. Don't think Mom spent the night here.


10:25am- Mom just left the nest. She has been doing more nestorations. More large sticks building up the sides as well as some new bedding. Hope it isn't all in vain if Dad doesn't return.

I'm getting concerned too. There is a real possibility that the male just didn't make it back. Many ospreys don't. I hoping he just got a late start but if he does not return and no other male shows up, there won't be much for us to view. I feel bad for the female just sitting there so patiently, waiting.

I don't know enough about Ospreys, last year was the first year I watched them. Would mom look for a new mate if dad doesn't return? It is so sad to see her waiting for him.

Hi everyone. I'm also keeping my fingers crossed that the male returns soon - the last I knew, experts believe the adults migrate separately, and I do know that sometimes it's a week or more after the first one returns before we see the second one - I know the male returned to the NH nest on March 31, and the female wasn't seen until April 5.

If he doesn't return, it's likely that another male will join her. I read somewhere that adults with nests tend to come back first, while younger adults looking to start nests may be at least a week or two later arriving in a potential nesting area. That does make sense in a couple of ways. First, the returning adults know exactly where they're heading and probably fly there fairly directly, using stops they've used before (unless they run into bad weather and have to circle around a storm or wait it out, or something of that nature) - while young adults making their first flight back may do more sightseeing, so to speak - looking for good places to roost at night or stopping to fish along the way. And by arriving earlier, returning pairs have a chance to re-establish their pair bonds and get settled before any potential suitors arrive. That makes sense from a "survival of the species" standpoint because an established pair is more likely to be successful.

So - hopefully the male will return in the next few days - and if he doesn't, I would expect a new male to show interest in the female and the nest before too long.

Hi Darlene, Mare and Judy!

Thanks for the input Judy! I too was wondering if Mom will get a new mate if Dad doesn't return soon. She has really worked hard on the nest already and has it just about ready for egg laying.


11:45- More sticks!


11:45am- Love her landing with wings spread!



12:15pm- Mom sat at the nest for awhile.

Now the cam is down. I think it's been down for a couple hours now.

Thanks Judy. That was encouraging. I hated the thought of her being alone for weeks or months waiting for her mate. If something has happened to him it is nice to know that young single Osprey will be checking her and her nest out. I'm sure her urge to mate will encourage her to accept someone else quickly. I am still hoping to see dad though. There has been some pretty crazy weather and I am hoping he has just been delayed because of weather.

One of the adults at the Calgary, Alberta, nest is also late - it looks as if Calgary is directly north of Missoula, and there have been some storms in the midwest and I think in the Rockies that might have slowed them down - so hopefully both missing adults will be showing up soon.

A couple of Admin notes -

Hopefully you have now found this thread at its new home. We did have a reason for giving the two Project Osprey nests their own forum initially, but at this point it simplifies some things to merge them back in with all the other osprey cams, so that's what we've just done. I hope that's OK with everyone.

And I am pleased to announce that we have a new Topic Assistant for the osprey area - our own Tweet Dreams! Thanks so much, Jean, for agreeing to keep an eye on this area.

Thank you Judy!

This is a little reasurring to know this nest isn't the only one waiting for the males to return. There have been a lot of storms throughout the western part of the country so that makes sense that weather could be a factor in their late return.

Now for the cams to remain running without any glitches so we can see Dad the moment he returns. It's been on and off the last couple of days.
When the cam cam back on, someone was zooming in on Mom. I captured several close up of her and will call them the many faces of Mom! Here they are!: