A sure sign of spring: We saw ospreys at two separate locations around Merrickville, Ontario, about 30 km south of Ottawa:
Ospreys: breeding pair, near near the Rideau River at Burritt’s Rapids, Ontario. April 3 1014
Osprey: At Merrickville, Ontario, April 3 2014
John. Your ospreys must be the most optimistic birds. They look very determined. I particularly love the lone one on a branch. Fantastic composition. Is this the sign of a new birding season opening up for you? Looking forward to more bird photos. Nicole
Has something gone wrong with the two Osprey nests outside Merrickville, Ontario?
No birds in sight, and, vegetation now growing on both nests. There were juveniles in each nest in July.
Both nests are within a km. of the Rideau Canal and this disappearance may be pointing to some problems in that waterway.
We also visited, yesterday, the Osprey nest at the Iroquois Locks on the St. Lawrence Seaway. The juveniles an adults there are thriving — fishing on their own and watching the big boats pass by their nest a few feet away.
I haven’t been down to the Merrickville nests since I took those photos, so I have no cuurent information on them. However, the ospreys in two nests by the St. Lawrence River about 5 km east of Cornwall all seem to be doing well (as of last week). I’ll post here if I learn something new.