The Meadowlands Blog

Three Active Osprey Nests!

On Friday and Monday, we surveyed the three known Osprey nests in the Meadowlands.

All three, we are happy to report, are active.

At the nest in Carlstadt, we saw the female on the nest and the male nearby.

 At the nest in Kearny, opposite laurel Hill, we saw two adults on the nest (above).

At the Jersey City nest, by the PSE&G generating plant, we saw one adult on the nest with two babies.

The Jersey City nest, the oldest of the three, played a key role in Tom Yezerski's new children's book, "Meadowlands."

Bergen County Osprey Nest

  We are happy to report that Ray Duffy saw two young Ospreys in a nest on a radio tower across the Hackensack River from Mill Creek Point yesterday.
    This has the potential to be major news: We know of no successful Osprey nest in Bergen County in decades. These young Ospreys likely have a ways to go before they fledge, so keep your fingers crossed.
   For roughly a year, the Meadowlands Commission has been keeping an eye on this pair of  Ospreys. They had a nest on same radio tower in 2009, but we think it was a "starter nest" for this year.
   We took the photo on the left on Thursday but could see no young. The nest is at the bottom of the photo; a perched Osprey is in the upper middle of the shot.  Stay tuned.
   (Thanks, Ray!)

Osprey Hatchlings!

 
  The Osprey couple nesting in Kearny across the Hackensack River from Laurel Hill County Park are parents for the second year in a row. 
   The nest, registered with the New Jersey Osprey Project as Osprey Nest #042-A-002, had two successful fledglings last year.
   In the photo of above, you can see one of the adults feeding one of the young.
   Ray Duffy reports seeing three hatchlings, and sent along a long-distance photo to show it.
   As he writes, hatchling on "left had head down but you see the body, middle [hatchling has] head up,  and right [hatchling] still low in the nest but you can see the head.
   Thanks, Ray.
   For posts on last year's Kearny nest, type "Kearny Ospreys" in the "Search" bar on the upper right of this blog.

Osprey Nest #042-A-002 in Kearny

   We have been in contact with the Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey regarding the successful Osprey nest in Kearny not far from Laurel Hill County Park, and the nest is now official -- with its own number and everything.
   Next thing you know, the Osprey family (two adults, two kids) will be paying taxes. :- )

   Click here for a link to the New Jersey Osprey Project's blog and its  banding of two young Osprey in Jersey City.

The New Jersey Osprey Project

 
   The Osprey Nests in Kearny and Jersey City, as it turns out, are just two of more than 400 statewide. These amazing fish hawks have their own statewide blog, appropriately called the New Jersey Osprey Project.
    According to Ben Wurst, Habitat Program Manager for the  Conserve Wildlife Foundation of NJ, "Most pairs hatch in late May, early June. You’re more likely to see them when they are around 3 weeks old."

   The link is to the New Jersey Osprey Project is here.