Rescued Osprey Chicks Earn a Floating Dock for Nest—and Parents Approve!

We were just about finishing lunch at the Rappahannock River Valley National Wildlife Refuge when a call came in from concerned citizen that a nest containing 3 young ospreys (Pandion haliaetus) had slid off its platform and was floating in the water near the mouth of Cat Point Creek near Naylors Beach.  We sprang into action, gathering our hip waders, raptor gloves, kayaks, and a tub in which to place the chicks and float them to safety.  Sure enough, the chicks were huddled on the remains of the nest, which was barely afloat, causing them to become wet and risk becoming chilled.  The parents were circling overhead, calling and collecting old sticks from the nest, attempting to rebuild. (Not a well-considered move, as the piling was tilted at 45 degrees.)

 The first idea was to paddle out to the nest pole with the tub and try to place each chick in the tub.  But the laws of physics and the chicks themselves would have none of it.  Every attempt to reach or grab just pushed the kayak away.  The water was too deep and the bottom to muddy to stand in, and the oldest and closest chick was prepared to attack.  Okay, plan B:  Float the whole mess to the shore and transfer the chicks onto something stable and floatable.  Since there was no way to tie onto the nest remains and tow it ashore, it had to be pushed by the kayak—a difficult, tedious process that took what seemed like forever.  Either the nest kept going off to the side or the bow of the kayak kept overtopping it.  Meanwhile the soggy raft was sinking and disintegrating, and the chicks were getting wetter.  But eventually the awkward affair reached shallow water where there was a hard sand bottom, enabling us to work more efficiently.  Just in time, we were able to lift each chick out of the disappearing nest remains and place them onto a hurriedly built “nest” fashioned with sticks on top of an inner tube.  (Fortunately, the caller, who stayed to help, had an inner tube with him!)  The chicks seemed to accept this temporary fix well enough, so we towed it out to the piling and tied it securely, leaving enough slack to accommodate the tides, until a more permanent solution could be delivered.  It was not possible to place the makeshift nest back on the original piling.

As we watched from the shore, the parents continued to call, circle and retrieve the floating sticks of their old nest.  Our biggest concerns were the puncturing of inner tube by the talons of the chicks or the parents, or the attaching line becoming wrapped around the piling, causing the inner tube to tilt, causing the loose sticks to slide off when the tide dropped.  Last but not least, would the parents continue to feed and care for the chicks on this floating nest?

To address the first two concerns, we quickly arranged to have more stable platform built made of old styrofoam sections used for floating docks.  When this arrived, we had to bring the chicks on the makeshift inner tube nest back to shore, and then lift everything onto the new floating dock.  Then we let the air out of the inner tube and secured all to the platform with rope.  This resolved the worry of puncturing and tilting.  It still remained to be seen however, if the parents would accept the new arrangement.

The morning brought good news.  Not only were the chicks still on their new nest (and dried out), but mom and dad were there also, providing fresh fish, and adding new sticks!  We shall continue to keep an eye on them.  Judging from their size and the time of year, the oldest chick should fledge within a couple of weeks.  The youngest chick, if it survives, should fledge within a week of the first. 

The osprey population is doing very well in this area due to abundant food resources (mainly catfish).  For ospreys, the number of young fledged increases with increased abundance of food resources.  The average clutch size (number of eggs laid) is 3.  The first chick hatches out up to five days before the last one.  Raptors will often attempt to raise a third chick, called the “insurance” chick to guarantee nest success.  If food is abundant, little aggression is seen amongst the chicks, but if food is limited, the younger chicks often starve.  The oldest chick dominates its younger siblings, and can monopolize the food brought by the parents.  Fledging takes place about 44-59 days from hatching.
 
We wish to thank Garry Keckley, who called the office and readily jumped in the water to lend assistance, June Parker Marina, who donated the styrofoam floats, and Ernie Sadler of Assured Comfort, who took time from his job on a minute’s notice to construct the new platform.  Thanks also to Refuge interns Ricky Coston and Megan Davis, Biological Technician Mike MacKinnon, and Refuge Officer Dustin Martin who assisted in this rescue effort.

All in a day’s work.  You never know when you go to work in the morning just how your day will turn out.  

Sandy Spencer
Wildlife Biologist
Rappahannock River Valley NWR
Warsaw, VA