Natural Weekends – Harbinger Of Spring
Officially, at least here in the US, the beginning of spring is sunset on the date of the vernal equinox, when length of both the day and the night are the same. For some, however, the first signs of spring are the delicate snowdrops that poke above a late winter’s snow. For others, it is the blooming of multi-colored crocuses. And for others, it is when the daffodils and the tulips open up to the sun. But here on the creek, the real beginning of spring is when the osprey return.
Osprey here in the Northeast follow the endless summer, spending our northern winters primarily along the coasts and rivers of South America, primarily in Columbia, Venezuela, and Brazil. The same breeding pair that occupied the nest on our creek will return to it again this year. How these two individual ospreys manage to find our exact spot is just one of the many talents of the supposedly lower orders that supposedly clever humans have yet to adequately explain. Moreover, this breeding pair will have spent their time in South America apart. They only return to this particular nest and area to breed, often travelling over 200 miles in a single day to get here. Any of their young that survive through the summer and make the migration south will stay in South America for the first year before joining the next year’s migration, finding a mate, and a new nest to call home.
The North American breeding grounds for all osprey cover most of Canada and the coasts of the US. Due to global warming, a small number of the osprey in the most southern part of the US east coast now “winter” in Florida. The number and range of that group is increasing and now extends up to the Chesapeake Bay. Ospreys’ diet is primarily fish, preferably around 10 inches long and weighing around half a pound. They are proficient fishermen/women, using their speed and claws, succeeding in capturing their prey on their first dive in optimal conditions. Here on Long Island Sound, the osprey particularly love to feast on the menhaden that run in the fall just before they head off on their long trek south.
DDT devastated the osprey population in the Northeast. It is estimated that the number of breeding pairs from New York to Maine declined to less than 100. Thankfully, osprey have made a remarkable comeback since then, with over 700 active nests now reported in Connecticut alone.
It is the female osprey who normally arrives at the nest first, a few weeks before her tardy mate finally shows up. She spends most of that time apparently repairing and tending the nest in anticipation of her growing family, as shown in the photos below. The last two years, our female has been remarkably consistent, arriving on March 16th both years. And that is our first day of spring.
