YELLOWSTONE'S WILD WORLD

You may or may not know that the dead tree in Lamar Canyon that has held osprey chicks for the past two summers toppled in the high winds a few days ago.

The osprey nest fell to the ground and miracle of miracles, there is one survivor, shown in the iPhone/scope photo above.

I first met this osprey pair a few years ago when they had a nest in Lamar Valley, near the edge of the canyon but that tree toppled, leaving the couple without a home.  Last spring construction was still taking place on the new bridge in Little America and the osprey pair tried their darnedest to build a nest on the crane.

Some of the construction workers would watch the birds work all day long, building a big and fat nest, laughing at their folly because at the end of the day the nest would be knocked to the ground.  Some of us got up in arms about the plight of these two birds last year and the amusement of the construction workers who did not think it was a big deal that the pair would have to begin all over the next day.  Suddenly, after much commotion took place on Facebook, steps were taken to prevent the birds from trying to build their nest on the crane and they were forced to find another location.

The birds chose the tree that fell down a few days ago.  Last year the pair had three chicks and I believe that they all survived, though one seemed to have some issues and because they are far away I have never gotten into watching them.

But, today I stopped to see what the status was of the remaining chick and found one adult standing over the youngster.  I was not sure if the chick was okay because of the way it barely moved but during my third stop today I saw it standing on a stick and cleaning itself.  A parent was in the tree above, keeping a close eye.  I have only seen one parent and am hoping that the other one is fine as well.

My heart went out to the osprey parent and their remaining chick – here they were, busy feeding youngsters and then one day the wind blew and knocked their house down.  And now their rumbled nest is on the ground, leaving the survivor vulnerable to coyotes, badgers, wolves and other predators.  But, I could tell that the parent was going to do its best to keep that youngster alive and I hope it succeeds.  I need for the chick to survive – I need for something good to happen right now.  But, I am not sure how long it will be before it is time for the osprey chick to fledge.  I hope soon – it looks healthy but I doubt it will survive long on the ground.

Nature is nature – not pretty – it is all about survival.  But, I can’t get over the way nature’s parents work so very hard to keep their youngsters going.  They truly melt my heart.