In the picture above you see the male on the left and the female on the right.  The female is generally larger and has brown speckles or  "necklace" on her chest.  The FaceBook viewers named our female Pinella and the male Stirling.  We are now on FaceBook !!!  Check it out.

June 19 -Several viewers are concerned about the banding that took place at the nest.  Some viewers think perhaps the chick was put at risk because of the banding.  Rob Bierregaard is a professor at UNC-Charlotte and has been studying osprey migration since 1969.  This is his opinion regarding banding.  

"I know how disappointed everyone is about losing the young in this nest and realize how tempting it is to blame the loss of the bird on banding, but I don't think that was the issue. I don't know if the necropsy has come in, but in almost all the pictures I see from before the loss, Sparky did not look healthy. In most of the pictures, including the "memorial" picture, his/her eyes are not wide open. That's the sign of a sick bird. It could be, of course, that a single snap from the video would catch the eyes opening or closing, but there are too many like that I think to be just chance.
As for banding--no, it's obviously not necessary, but we have learned a lot of important information about Osprey migration, movement, and migration from over 30,000 Ospreys that have been banded. Most of these were young, and I've never heard of a bird dying while it was being banded. Sure, it's a stressful event, but the birds seem to get over it really quickly, and there's no indication that banding increases mortality."

You might want to visit Dr. Bierregaard's website about Osprey migration.  It is a fascinating.  Be sure to look at the 2013 map.

June 11 - It makes me incredibly sad to announce that the chick died yesterday.  It is being taken to a vet for a necropsy, the same as an autopsy for a human.  I will share the results with you all as soon as I get them.

Please check at FaceBook for the latest pictures and information about the chick.

I would like to thank all of the thousands of viewers for your support, comments, and pictures throughout the season.  All pictures and comments are posted in the NestingNotes.

I would also like to thank the city of Dunedin and our sponsors for their support of this educational project. 

Sincerely, Sparky Jones

Communnications Director

DunedinOspreyCom.org

 The nest/platform is located on the Pinellas Trail near the Dunedin Stirling Links Golf Course in Dunedin Florida.  Check out wonderful Dunedin!

Contact Us: DunedinOspreyCam@Sunchasers.us or call 703-303-4606 with any questions or concerns.