July 24, 2024
Jim Baker, Ken Edwards and Todd McCormack completed the 2024 Osprey count. There were 34 fledglings in 15 active nests. Of those 15 active nests, 6 nests had 3, 7 had 2, and 2 nests had 1 fledgling. This was the 2nd highest production year, only behind 2020, when Fishers had 42 young. In total, there are 33 nesting platforms on the island. 10 of those have shown little activity, but 8 others had active osprey activity with no nesting birds, so hopefully, there will be pairs on these next year.
The first Osprey arrived on the island on March 17, and it was sited by the Tombaris. This was the second earliest sighting in the last ten years (the earliest was March 16, 2020). Several of the nests had very early nesting birds, and the estimate in these cases was that they were a few weeks ahead of the normal timeline.
| Ross Tree | 2 | Chris Dewey | 3 |
| Steve Cook | 2 | Baker, Peninsula Road | 3 |
| Chapman | 2 | Ski | 2 |
| Bogert | 3 | North Hill Road | 1 |
| Osprey Cam (lost 2) | 3 | Parker, on Hay Harbor | 2 |
| Middle Farms, Beach Pond | 2 | Compost Station | 3 |
| Middle Farms, across from driving range | 1 | Silver Eel Cove | 2 |
| Four Corners, past DuPont’s | 3 | 2024 TOTAL FLEDGLINGS | 34 |
Thank you to Jim, Ken and Todd for their time and expertise in observing, locating, and counting all the nests. Todd McCormack documented the count with his photographs and has included some pictures for the record.
While all of these images were taken within five days of each other, it is amazing to see the different stages of development of the chicks. There are three images below of the Compost Station nest, and while the observers first thought there were only two birds in the nest, as the camera/drone zoomed in, you could see three expertly camouflaged birds…all quite small. This contrasts the Baker Nest at the end of Pirates Cove, where large birds were aggressively flapping their wings and have now all fledged. You can see the distinct feather pattern of newly fledged Osprey in the photos above from the Baker’s nest.
Click any photo to see a larger image.
Often, the adult osprey shields their chicks from the sun/heat, as evidenced by the photo above of the Ross Nest. Sadly, three chicks in the Museum Osprey Cam nest are now down to one bird.
Also, after conferring with Alan Poole, while the ideal data would be to “count eggs, chicks and fledged birds,” he agrees that if you are only doing 1 count, doing it just before they fledge makes the most sense. And, if they are “in the nest the day of the count,” they “count” even if they die of starvation/neglect or any other cause the next day.
Todd added, “The Edwards and Baker team are committed to stewarding the wildlife on Fishers!”
