Both ospreys got right to work, Rosie sitting on the egg and Richie flying in for a CK to assure a second egg. 

Airing the egg serves two purposes. First of all, on hot days and nights, the nest bowl can get hot. Secondly, exposing the egg to lower temperatures can retard its hatching, so that the three eggs hatch close together. If they don't, the third chick hatched is smaller, less developed, and subject to bullying by its siblings. 

 Richie loves to incubate the eggs. He will land and nudge Rosie to let him take over. Sometimes she does, other times she resists his nudges, which can become more pronounced, until she relents or he gives up. An easy way to get his turn is to bring her a fish. He is a bit nervous when incubating and looks around a lot. 

Egg Number 2 arrived on April 8 at 16:56.  See the humorous interactions with Richie earlier that day, trying to help Rosie, who was getting ready to lay an egg. 

With two eggs in the nest, Richie decided a special gift was in order, so he brought a tree to Rosie. See the video by VA to enjoy the interactions with this tree. A still photo does not do it justice. 

Egg 3 finally arrived on April 11 at 8:42 pm after dark. Chatters had been watching and waiting for hours. then it arrived without fanfare. 

The white egg appears to be Egg #3. It can be hard to tell them apart as Rosie rolls them. 

Rosie's job now is to sit on the eggs and keep them warm, rolling them periodically and airing the nest bowl by rearranging the nest material. Richie's job is to give her a break once in a while by sitting on the eggs, a job he loves. And to bring her fish. This year, he seems to be lagging a bit in bringing her fish. He catches a fish, eats it first, then brings her the leftovers. While she doesn't need as many calories while sitting on the eggs, the hope is he will up his game once the eggs hatch. They also bring more materials to build up the nest or make the newt bowl softer.

One persistent intruder keeps coming around but Rosie and Richie are adept at sending any intruders away. 

Richmond has not been bringing as many fish as in the past, but Rosie goes out to get her own when needed, while he egg sits, which he loves. He tends to fish, eat most himself then bring her the leftovers, which can be just a fishtail at times. One day though, he caught a great big striper, which fed them both a long time. 

Life on the nest right now is all about the eggs. Keeping them warm, turning them, aerating them, keeping them safe from intruders. The eggs are quite distinctive this year. The dark spotted one was the last laid. 

Both Rosie and Richie seem to like incubating. Each will nudge the other to move off the eggs to give them a turn. Richie is more alert while incubating, seeming nervous. It is his job, of course, to defend the nest. Rosie is more focussed on the eggs themselves and lies quietly and sleeps at night, while getting up periodically to air the nest bowl, turn the eggs or just check them. 

When not fishing, Richie is always nearby, keeping watch on the nest. If he spots a possible intruder or Rosie calls, he comes to the crane and he and Rosie work as a team to chase away the intruder. 

Other visitors to the nest are left alone, if they pose no threat. These are usually small birds.

Fish, of course, are important to the osprey pair. Richie was slow to start providing this year, often keeping the fish he caught to himself, or bringing Rosie the tail only. There is the possibility that a lost rear talon may have made fishing harder for him and he caught fewer fish and needed more for himself. This is only a surmise by chatters at this point. At any rate, it appears that he is doing better now and bringing fish to Rosie. When he doesn't, she quite capably goes to catch one for herself, while he happily incubates the eggs. True partnership. She often takes her fish up to the strut, a protrusion from the crane.

Then there are the quiet times. Nights have been quite restful this year so far. Often Rosie naps on the eggs in the late morning or afternoon. Richie spends less time on the nest this year, preferring the boom, where he can keep watch.

After some speculation about Richie's possible leg injury and his less active fish providing to Rosie this year, an alert chatter noticed a missing talon. This talon is now growing back in but could have hampered his fishing ability. 

Things have settled down. The female intruder has not appeared lately or is being warned off. The nest has gone from a termite mound to a well-designed osprey nest with sticks defining the nest area and soft grass and gracillaria lining the nest bowl. All is ready. Rosie is spending more time on the rail and on the nest. And Richie has started bringing her fish. Also, several CK's have appeared to be successful. All is in place for egg laying soon.

Along with the nest's progress, Richie and Rosie have been bonding. They chase away any intruders and Richie regularly requests a CK. There have appeared to be several successful CK's, leading chatters to expect an egg soon, in early April. And Richie has begun bringing fish to Rosie, although she catches her own as well.She lets Richie know quite vocally that he is supposed to bring the fish to her. Rosie is staying close to the nest, either on the rail or on the nest itself. She spends every night there. 

Rosie returned without fanfare this year and there was disagreement about when she actually returned. A female osprey landed on the nest on February 25 and Richie joined her, but it apparently was not Rosie. You can watch the video for yourself and decide.  This year, there are more ospreys than ever, all flying in from their stay down South, so it is harder to say who is who. Below are two more photos taken by our faithful LtL from the ground. These definitely do not appear to be Richie or Rosie. 

Meanwhile, the nest is a mess. . The raven pair and the crows have been coming all winter to pick at the nest. Lately, they have been stealing sticks regularly to build their own nests. One such nest appears to be in progress on the near light pole in the car ship lot.

 Four ospreys  have been seen flying at the Whirley Crane, jostling for position. There have been some skirmishes. The crows and ravens have also been at the nest a lot. It provides easy picking for the corvid nests. The raven pair is making a nest on a light pole in the port parking lot, where the new cars sit. Meanwhile, at the Richmond Yacht Club, a pair appears to have settled in at that nest. 

March 4: Some chatters believe Rosie arrived by March 4. You can look at the caps below and decide for yourself.  They have been seen together on the crane and on the nest in the past few days. Or is it a different female with Richie?

Rosie and Richie are settling in. They are seen together more and Richie has begun attempting CK's. Rosie visits the nest but does not spend much time there. She has been sitting on the rail quite a bit. They also spend time on the Dutra Crane. They were bringing sticks to the Dutra Crane, so the crane operators lowered the crane. There have been some sticks brought to a light over the parking lot. And a few brought to the nest. But they seem perplexed as to how to place the sticks. 

To illustrate the issues facing Richie and Rosie this year, the following video shows Rosie trying to nestorate and instead sliding down the nest along with the clump she was trying to incorporate. She easily flew off subsequently, as you can see if you watch to the end. 

The intruder female with the s​peckled bosom has aggressively tried to woo Richie, but he is now having nothing to do with her. Meanwhile, he and Rosie are bonding more. 

Meanwhile, Rosie fed herself and began to think about nesting. She and Richie slept together on the wires at night. Did they talk things over osprey fashion then? After the Dutra Crane was lowered, they brought sticks to a light pole. They also started a pile on the upper sheave. 

Craigor and Del Prado Brothers playing Osprey Nest

The osprey season is ramping up. Ospreys have been seen flying around the area and perched in familiar spots, such as the light poles. On January 30, an osprey landed on the Whirley Crane nest. It looked around, mantled a bit tentatively then was chased off by another osprey.Some chatters thought it was Richie, other that it was probably a younger osprey trying out the nest and being chased off by Richie, who was keeping watch nearby. 
For more information, see the video caught by VA, on the Youtube channel. 

Richie is coming to the crane almost daily now and has begun chirping for Rosie. On Feb. 8, he flew to the nest as well for a few minutes. Rosie is presumably already on her way. 

Feb. 20: The ospreys are returning. Chatters on the ground have reported ospreys flying above the RYC nest. Pairing off, perhaps? They report seeing ospreys on light poles, on the wires, and on the nest briefly. At least some of the sightings have been of Richie. He seems to be visiting the area every day, making a brief visit to the nest, sitting on the ROV wires or by the Dutra slip, and eating fish. There is some disagreement about whether all sightings have been of Richie or other ospreys. A striking female visited the nest briefly and was chased off by the raven pair, who have been dismantling the nest, flying off with sticks, presumably to build their own nest. Who was that female? So far, no banded offspring have been sighted. And Rosie still has not returned. Watch for her any day now! For more detail, see the GGAS Youtube site for short videos of visitors to the nest.

Note the identification marks here: black stripe above eye, black patch at front of head. black dot under wing. 

While you're waiting and watching, here are some past photos of Rosie's return and a song for her and Richie

Rosie's Returns

2017  March 5
2018  March 2
2019  Feb. 23
2020  March 5
2021  Feb. 18 
          2022. ???                

With the ospreys all flown, action slows on the Whirley Crane nest. However, there is always something to see on the cam and the chatters continue to chat. The nest cam has an incredible view of the Bay. One can see the lights of San Francisco, especially nice at Christmastime when the buildings and bridge are lit. Then there are the boats going by, from kayaks and paddlers to large car ships accompanied by two tugboats. The pivot is especially fascinating to watch. Various birds visit the nest: a raven pair, gulls, finches, and even a falcon.
In past years, Richie has made occasional visits. This year, we have seen him only a few times when he has flown by to defend his property rights. 
On chat, people also post pictures of other nest cams, ospreys in other parts of the world and even an albatross. There are photos of birds seen in the area, such as herons and egrets, and photos of birds chatters see on their excursions, local and farther afield. 
Below is just a sample of the nest cam views in the past two months. 

Sometimes the nest causes chatters to wax poetic and activates their imagination. The light artifacts from the camera are especially fascinating. There are sparkles, which midi calls fairies, and a diamond shaped light named Zoid.  And a light over the Bay that some say lights Rosie's way back to the nest. 

Whatever the fantasies, the facts are that Rosie should be returning by the end of February. She may have started her journey. Chatters on the ground have reported seeing ospreys around the Richmond Yacht Club nest and Pt. Isabel. So the action is beginning. And Rosie watch has started. 

The osprey season ends when Rosie flies South for the Winter.  The WWOC celebrates the end of season each year with a party. This year was special since it was the first time chatters had been able to gather together in person since 2019. Our Fish Matrix Master and Band Leader had, however, kept us well entertained with videos on Youtube throughout the drought period. These are available on his youtube channel. Below is a video of the live performance this year. 

 The party was a great success, with a fun time had by all. East Brothers Beer kindly provided the stage as in the past. We had a new banner with a new logo. Chatters brought desserts, many in the shape of fish. There was even some dancing. And a Pied Piper to draw everyone away from the cakes and over to the stage area. Prizes were awarded. And the band played old favorites, as well as a new song for this year's third chick Lupine. And midi introduced a new theme song for the WWOC, as well as a quiz on the band letters. 
The Nest Item museum was on display and some chatters displayed their art, photography and writing. What a talented group!
And somehow, the peripatetic pig named PP showed up! Nobody (except one?) knows how he got there or how he left, but presumably he enjoyed the party. And partook of the many desserts and whipped cream. 

The Last Day of Summer   
  
Tis the last day of summer
And the ospreys have flown away.
Do you see Rosie up yonder
She too is flying today.
 
She will fly thousands of miles,
To her warm winter home
Find her favorite  Southern beach,
Spend the winter there alone.
 
So farewell to our dear Rosie,
May the wind in your wings be fair
May the skies above be blue
And a warm welcome greet you there.
 
Richie is at the nest
Watching for his mate Rosie.
After your long winter rest,
Rosie, will you return to me?
 
Tis the last day of summer,
And the ospreys have all flown.
Do you see Richie up yonder
Standing on the nest alone?

midi October 2021
 

Be sure to visit the nest cam occasionally. You might see intruders such as gulls and crows, see the beautiful night view of San Francisco, or see favorite boats go by. It is always a beautiful, calming view. And if you are feeling lonely, just log onto chat to join the always lively conversation. You'll find plenty of laughs and who knows, you might even learn something. About ospreys? Yes. But also about literature, art, cooking, words and whatever else you can imagine. 

And then there is just the beautiful view of the nest we get from the nest cam. 
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