During the week of January 26, a pair of osprey began rebuilding a nest in a standing dead pine tree east of Cook Hall. This tree has supported an osprey nest every winter for the past 6 years, with the exception on one year when the nest was taken over by Great Horned Owls. Now three weeks later, the osprey pair are still adding spanish moss and sticks to the nest. The osprey are perched on the tree every day. Sometimes one osprey is sitting on the nest while the other is perched on a nearby branch.
This nest tree stand in a grassy parking area for Cook Hall. Several years ago the college hired an arborist to remove all branches that were likely to fall, in order to prevent damage to cars in the parking area.
Osprey incubate their eggs for 32-43 days. Once the young birds hatch, they spent 48-59 days in the nest and nest tree before they fledge. Female osprey are larger than males and have a necklace of heavier brown marking across their breast. Male breasts are uniformly white. Both parents incubate, but the female does the majority of the incubation while the male primarily provides food.
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