Check it out, Richmond: A baby is on the way! The female osprey we’ve been following at RVAOspreyCam.com has been sitting on the nest in a very particular way since yesterday afternoon. This morning, when she got up to stretch, we found out why. We have an egg!

According to the Center for Conservation Biology’s Osprey Watch program, as nest building nears its conclusion, courtship and mating intensify resulting in the laying of 2-4 eggs.  Eggs vary considerably in coloration but typically have a cream-colored base with blotches of some secondary color.  Both adults alternate incubating eggs for approximately 35 days before hatching.

So, A) that may actually be the male you see helping to incubate the egg and B) by Saturday we may have another egg, as ospreys lay eggs “asynchronously,” i.e. one at a time with a delay in between.

The James River’s version of must-see TV is here, folks!