Action at the osprey nest by the Calgary Zoo is live-streamed by ENMAX
ENMAX has launched a Hatch Date Contest in Calgary! The ospreys in the nest near the Calgary Zoo have laid 3 eggs and if you can guess the date that one of them will hatch, you could win a Family Fun Pack for the Zoo.
You can have a peek at how Mom and Dad and the eggs are doing via a nest cam. This year, Dad arrived home from his migration first, on April 14, and Mom arrived the next day. Together, they set to work building the nest from scratch (it had been cleared by ENMAX to discourage geese from claiming the nesting platform). The rebuild required hundreds of trips gathering sticks, branches, and tufts of grass – a big task following an exhausting migration.
Photo courtesy Dyfi Osprey Project.
The eggs were laid April 29, May 2 and May 5. And now we wait. The ospreys take turns brooding, though Mom seems reluctant to relinquish the eggs for very long. Dad brings her fish and tufts of grass to entice her off them so he can take over, giving the eggs a roll, then settling in.
Snowfall May 3, 2014, captured by ENMAX nest cam
Osprey eggs typically hatch after 5 – 6 weeks of incubation, usually a day or two apart. In 2014, though, the eggs laid May 1, 3, and 7 all hatched on June 11! The hatchings were cause for great celebration for another reason as well: a storm on May 3 dumped 25 cm of snow on Calgary potentially compromising two of the eggs.
In 2013, the nest cam was turned off following a devastating flood in Calgary. Dedicated birders continued to monitor the osprey family that summer, recording successful the hatching and fledging of all three chicks. In 2012, the male osprey disappeared, and it is suspected that he died during a severe hail storm on August 12. Mom raised the three chicks alone, feeding them several pounds of fish a day and protecting them from weather and predators. She is now affectionately known as ‘Super Mom’. 😊
There is no shortage of drama at the osprey nest. If you can’t watch the webcam all day, check out this Hancock Wildlife Foundation forum for highlights, including photos. And if you think you know when the eggs may hatch, tweet the date @ENMAX with #ospreyYYC. Be quick – it will happen soon!
