photo 6 story - April 29

Greetings from Holtwood

My last report indicated at least two nestlings in the Holtwood Dam nest and one for sure in the Norman Wood Bridge nest. On April 29, after a rather long respite while I was birding in the Dry Tortugas, I was pleasantly surprised to find two nestlings in the Norman Wood Bridge nest, already standing tall and sporting some black feathers. As I climbed the hill to get a photo, I met someone coming down who showed me some pictures he had taken a few days previously of three fuzzy-gray nestlings in the Holtwood Dam transmission tower nest. My photo shows only one of these chicks, since the mother was shielding the other two from the late afternoon sun, and they are still too small to be seen from the road, due to the depth of the nest. The chick in my photo may be the oldest, and appears to be about 3-to-3½ weeks old.

As I waited for Dad to possibly fly in with some food (which did not happen), I observed at least five Osprey flying about the area. One adult appeared to still be incubating on the Piney Island tower, while I could not discern any on the York County tower. The Osprey situation here still remains to be settled!

The next Eagle Watch, May 13, will definitely show some nestling activity. After an unexplained decline in productivity last year, the Holtwood Preserve eagles seem to be back on track with two in one nest and three in the other, just as in 2004. To join the Eagle Watch, meet at the Lock 12 Historic Area off Route 372 on the York County side of the Norman Wood Bridge at 10 a.m. Bring binoculars and dress for outdoor weather.