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Camera has viewers os-preying for chicks this year

Ospreys return to Boulder County Fairgrounds, should lay eggs in next week or so
Amy Golden
Amy Golden

The resident osprey pair returned to their nest this week at the Boulder County Fairgrounds, and viewers are crossing their fingers that this season will be more successful for the couple.

Both the male and female osprey have returned safely from their wintering grounds. Ospreys migrate separately to the far south every year, but return to the same nesting site annually.

Osprey chicks have about a 50% chance of surviving their first year, and in 2020 and 2021 the nesting pair were not successful in hatching any chicks.

This season marks the 10th year for Boulder County’s osprey camera. Anyone can watch the live stream of the nest at www.bouldercounty.org/open-space/management/osprey-camera/, which also includes a chat forum to ask questions and share observations. 

There are two cameras pointed at the nest, but right now only camera two is working due to a power issue with camera one. Moderators said the county is aware of the problem and will be checking into the issue by the end of the week.

On Monday, county employees removed a goose deterrent that successfully prevented geese from nesting at the ospreys’ location just east of Cattail pond.

The osprey pair are currently in nesting mode, so their time is spent furnishing the nest, delivering fish and mating. Moderators expect it to be at least another week before any eggs are laid.

In previous years, it’s taken anywhere between 11 and 17 days between the ospreys’ first day together and their first egg.

The male osprey this year is the same dark-legged male who mated with the resident female osprey last year, replacing the former resident male that did not return in 2021 and is believed to have died. The new male arrived on March 30 last year, and the female laid her first egg on April 13.

Ospreys typically lay between one and four eggs per season, which incubate for 36-42 days. The chicks will spend roughly 50-55 days in the nest, with the parents leaving sometime between September and October after the chicks have fledged.