General

The raptors of OPPD are staying busy

It’s been a busy few weeks for the raptors of OPPD. 

Lewis and Clark, the peregrine falcons at North Omaha Station, are incubating four eggs, and the osprey pair that moved in a few years ago has returned to their nest.  

Down at Nebraska City Station, employees have spotted Storm, one of Lewis and Clark’s offspring, on a rooftop ledge. And at Fort Calhoun Station, the resident nesting pair is back, along with a surprise visitor and at least one egg in the nest.  

Three’s a crowd

At Fort Calhoun Station, this year’s first osprey arrived March 28. A second osprey showed up April 5, and the pair soon began the process of refurbishing their nest, something they do each year.  

As of April 21, there’s one egg in the nest, with two to three more likely to follow. Last year, the pair successfully raised three chicks. 

The nesting process included a bit of a twist this year – one of the ospreys carried what appeared to be a black trash bag up to the nest on April 9. Since then, the trash bag has been removed by an osprey or carried away by the wind several times and has been returned to the nest repeatedly. 

“That’s something I haven’t seen before with ospreys,” said James Thiele, OPPD’s wildlife and natural resources program manager. “I’ve seen it with smaller birds – they might add things like small pieces of string to their nest, along with their usual materials. But I’ve never seen trash bags in an osprey nest.” 

The bigger twist at Fort Calhoun this year is the presence of a third adult osprey. Three adults visited the nest April 12, and two of them seemed to be encouraging the third to leave. 

On April 14, all three were spotted in the nest briefly, and two of them appeared to be challenging each other before one chased the other away.          

You can keep an eye on the drama on the ospreys’ livestream on YouTube.                                              

Another falcon offspring returns

At Nebraska City Station, Jordan Shea, an apprentice machinist, spotted a falcon perched on a ledge on the roof recently. He was able to get a good look at its band, which identified the bird as Storm, a female falcon hatched at North Omaha Station in 2020.   

No word yet on a possible mate for Storm, but there was a breeding pair at Nebraska City last year, so one could be nearby. That nest does not have a camera, so spotting the falcons’ comings and goings is a bit trickier. 

Storm is the second of Clark and Lewis’ offspring spotted this year. Ohm, who hatched in 2022, joined Clark at the nest in the second half of February, spending time with his mother until his father arrived March 5. 

North Omaha Station raptors

Observers didn’t quite know what to expect with Clark this year. She lost a clutch in 2023 and two more in 2024. 

Her luck did turn around a bit last year, and one chick – Beak Randby – survived, eventually surprising and scaring observers by going on a little adventure before he was fully prepared to fledge. Observers are hopeful some of that luck will stick around this year. 

Clark and Lewis have been taking turns incubating their eggs. You can keep an eye on their progress via their livestream on YouTube. 

A pair of ospreys took up residence at North Omaha Station in 2024, settling into a nest atop a light pole. The pair returned this month.  

The pair successfully hatched some chicks last year, and Thiele and other employees will be keeping an eye on them with the hopes of another clutch of chicks this year.