The Call of the Osprey by Dorothy Hinshaw Patent

Author:Dorothy Hinshaw Patent
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Iris, Stanley, and their chicks on the nest.

In late summer, osprey chicks begin to fly. You can see a blue leg band on this chick as it comes in for a landing. The other chick is standing on the nest behind its mother, Iris.

THE ADVENTURES OF IRIS AND STANLEY

In 2012, as Iris and Stanley worked hard to raise three healthy chicks, thousands of people around the world followed their lives by watching the webcam pointed at their nest. The perfect osprey mate, Stanley helped Iris incubate the eggs while the chicks developed inside. After they hatched, he brought Iris and the chicks fresh fish on a regular basis, and the youngsters thrived.

When Iris showed up again in early April of 2013, webcam viewers held their breath waiting for Stanley to arrive. No one knew where either bird had spent the winter, somewhere far to the south, or even whether Stanley had survived the winter so far away. A different male osprey appeared and displayed interest in Iris, even mating with her, but he wasn’t Stanley, and he wasn’t acting like a good mate. He rarely showed up, and Iris would sit on the nest, calling out and getting no response. Then another male arrived, but he also didn’t behave like a loyal mate, and he wasn’t Stanley either. Stanley had appeared rather late in 2012—early in May—so maybe it was still just too early. But meanwhile, Iris had laid two eggs and sat alone on the nest, faithfully incubating them.

Things changed suddenly the first weekend in May. Stanley finally had found his way home to Iris, but he had to battle one of the other males to claim his mate. Then he shocked some webcam viewers by tossing out one of Iris’s eggs and burying the other one deep within the nest. Everyone thought he was such a good mate, and here he was, destroying Iris’s eggs. Then the next day, she laid another egg, which Stanley also disposed of.

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