We thought we had lost the baby osprey early on.  We could barely see the tops of their heads and then one day we noticed both parents were off the nest that morning and then when I was leaving work that day.  One of the parents was taking a bath in the retention pond and the crows were driving her crazy. The next day we saw the tiny heads peek out so they were both fine.

By mid-April, the babies were getting much bigger and easier to see.

By the end of April, the oldest was testing his wings.

Still getting dinner from the parent.

By early May they were fully grown but still had their orange eyes and spots on the tips of their wings. Not long after this picture was taken, they were flying circles around the parking lot area. By early June they were spending most of their time off the nest but close by. They were still coming to nest to be fed only then the parents were dropping off the fish for the kids to eat on their own. And now, we are all empty nesters.

For several years we’ve had osprey babies growing up in the parking lot at work.  The nest is on a light post that no one parks under anymore.  No one wants to clean up big baby bird poo off their car. The parents continued to bring in new sticks, straw and moss while they were growing up.  It was fun watching them grow up. They would be screaming for food in the morning when I drove in and screaming for food after work when I was leaving. They were usually sleeping if I made it out to lunch.  The best was watching them start to fly close around the nest. More pictures to come.