Was anyone watching just now?? The male jumped on the female’s back in an attempt to mate. The mating attempt was very brief. A male will land on a female’s back many times without the “cloacal kiss” accomplished.  Studies have shown only 30-40% of mating attempts are successful. Early copulations stimulate the growth of eggs within the female’s ovary and strengthen the pair bond. The last 3 or 4 days before eggs are laid are the most critical for fertilization.

CLICK HERE FOR LIVE OSPREY CAM

From Greenbelt’s live cam page:

Greenbelt’s OspreyCam is located in Gloucester, MA on Greenbelt salt marsh near LobstaLand Restaurant.

History:  In 2017 a pair of young Osprey took up residence on the LobstaLand platform in July/August and made a small nest. In 2018 they returned in April, stayed until August and built a large nest but never laid eggs. We call this a “house-keeping pair”- almost always a young pair learning the ropes.

In 2019, the pair returned in April to the nest and produced a clutch of 3 eggs, all under the watchful eye of the newly installed webcam. The adults were named Annie and Squam. They hatched one egg, and eventually fledged one chick – named River. River was banded before he fledged. He left the nest for good in late summer.

2020 – Annie and Squam returned to the nest in mid-April, and since then they have been tending to the nest, preparing to produce a clutch of eggs. They have been very patient as we have been back and forth to the nest site many times getting the new webcam set up.

Update April 29, 2020 – The webcam is now live. We’re awaiting what this season will bring! We hope you enjoy with us.Ospreys adding sticks to their nest