General

Osprey chicks thriving at Fort Calhoun

It has been nothing if not a wildly unpredictable year for the raptors of OPPD.

At North Omaha Station, Clark and Lewis lost their chicks for the second year in a row. But three weeks later, Clark laid a second clutch. And a pair of ospreys built a new nest at the same station, the second pair to call an OPPD property home.

Meanwhile, in a new nest at Nebraska City Station, it appears that one of Lewis and Clark’s offspring has taken up residence.

The original raptors of OPPD

Observers were surprised to see Clark lay a second round of eggs this spring.

Falcons will usually lay a second clutch rather quickly if they lose a clutch early in incubation, said James Thiele, OPPD’s Wildlife and Natural Resources program manager. It’s less common to do so weeks later, after going through the full incubation period and losing chicks.

“I’m hoping for the best with this new clutch” he said, but added that with Clark having lost clutches two years in a row, the odds aren’t strong.

Two osprey chicks

Up at Fort Calhoun Station, however, two recently hatched osprey chicks appear to be thriving.

“I’m just glad to see the ospreys have been surviving the storms,” Thiele said.

Recent storms in the area have left one parent, likely the female osprey, drenched by the rain, huddled over her eggs – now chicks – protectively.

The female osprey at Fort Calhoun laid three eggs this year, but the third egg still has not hatched and at this point, it likely is not viable.

But the two hatchlings appear to have robust appetites and are active, especially  on nice days, when they enjoy some time in the sun before or after meals.

You can watch their antics on their YouTube livestream.

“Those two should have plenty to eat and should come along just fine,” Thiele said.

New nests

The other ospreys currently calling an OPPD facility home have been spotted in and around their nest at North Omaha fairly frequently. But their nest, which is new this year, does not have a camera, and employees have not yet been able to get a good look inside.

“One bird has been sitting on that nest incubating, and I’m hoping they have a few eggs in there, but we just don’t know yet,” Thiele said.

The other new raptors of OPPD, a peregrine falcon pair at Nebraska City Station, raised hopes for a new line of chicks. The breeding pair settled into a new nest at NCS,  but it appears they may not have a successful clutch.

The female laid three eggs, and now only two remain.

Given the amount of time that has passed since those eggs were laid, it’s likely they are not viable, either, Thiele said.

A falcon legacy

But there is also some happy news at Nebraska City.

Thiele was up on the roof recently and was able to see part of the ID information on the colored bands worn by the falcon that was in the nest at that time.

Those numbers, combined with numbers from a partial read of the bird’s federal Fish and Wildlife Service band – spotted by Ricky Woods, a wildlife biologist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services – indicate the falcon is likely one that hatched at North Omaha Station in 2020.

One male and two female chicks hatched that year at North Omaha, Clark and Lewis’ daughters Storm and Flicker and son Flash. Thiele and others will continue to work to fully confirm the new resident’s identification and to try to identify the other falcon.

Falcons tend to nest in and return to environments similar to those in which they were raised, Thiele said. So it’s not surprising that one of Lewis and Clark’s offspring would take up residence at a power station. And with the large pigeon population on site, they have an ample source of food.

After the Nebraska City falcons leave for the season, Thiele said, the utility will work to determine whether the nest needs some adjustments for next year.