Osprey Cam
July 30, 2019 – The babies are starting to fledge. See the comments for more details!
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Click here to see brief videos of the first two eggs hatching.
Each year we provide live streaming of the Ospreys that nest in the marsh at the Milford Point Coastal Center.The female lays eggs 1-3 days apart. The first egg was at least two weeks later than usual this year — about May 10th. By May 18th, there were three.
Incubation begins with the first egg and takes 36-40 days; the eggs hatch asynchronously, each hatching in the order laid. This gives a distinct advantage to the older chicks in years with meager food supplies. If the weather is bad, all may not hatch. Generally, two or three babies fledge annually.
Ospreys were driven to the edge of extinction in the 1960s and early 1970s because of the widespread use of the pesticide DDT. They were listed as endangered and protected by the Endangered Species Act. After DDT was banned, the Osprey population began to thrive.
