One of the parents leans over to feed the first hatchling.

Yesterday morning, viewers at the RVAOspreyCam were treated to an amazing moment. At 7:45 a.m., the mother osprey stood up and walked to the edge of the nest. The day before that act would have revealed three eggs. Yesterday, we saw two eggs and a tiny chick. It was a beautiful sight.

Throughout the day we watched as the mother and father periodically brought half eaten shad to the nest and fed the hatchling, while still sitting on it and it’s yet-to-be-born siblings. Those other two eggs shouldn’t be far behind in their hatching. The second chick could break out any moment.

And as if all that excitement wasn’t enough, today the Times-Dispatch featured the story of the cam on the front page. Great photos by Dean Hoffmeyer and story by Colleen Curran on A1!

It’s been a heady 36 hours in osprey cam land, but we’re just getting started. In addition to the two other imminent hatchings, we’ll be announcing a naming contest for the parents very soon. We figured it was a good idea to name the parents, instead of the babies, because osprey pairs stay together (often for life) and return to the same nest year after year. So we’ll get to know these two, whereas the soon-to-be fledglings will eventually have to find mates and territory of their own.

Stay tuned for that. In the meantime, click here for more osprey baby action.

Screen cap taken this morning of a wet osprey waiting on an egg to hatch.

It’s a gorgeous morning in RVA as we await the emergence of baby osprey No. 1 from its egg. The weather looks like it will turn nasty over the weekend — rainy and much cooler. Today, Day 3 of #hatchwatch, could be the big day! Then again, it might not. Afterall, our friend April the giraffe officially took forever to birth her baby last week.

And don’t forget: Tomorrow egg No. 2 goes on the clock (assuming standard osprey incubation period of 34-40 days). Gird your loins, Richmond, if you thought just one #hatchwatch was exciting, imagine waiting on two…

In the meantime, enjoy the above pic of the cam site from our friend Ted Elmore (taken from the Manchester Bridge).

Click here to go to the cam.

Ospreys swirled around RichmondOutside’s Ryan Abrahamsen yesterday as he worked to fix the internet feed at the cam site.

It’s been a crazy few days in RVA Osprey World. Last Thursday our internet signal started to degrade due to interference from other signals near our ethernet bridge on a rooftop in Manchester. It’s complicated, but the bottom line is that yesterday we had to raft out to the cam site, climb the old bridge piling, and reset the receiver right next to the camera. It took maybe 90 seconds. Our osprey friends weren’t happy. They dive bombed us a couple of times, but, as you can tell from the current feed, they went back to the eggs after we left. And the feed is back up!

That brings is to the even bigger news: Today is the first day the first of the three eggs could hatch. Osprey eggs incubate from 34-40 days. Today is Day 34 for egg No. 1. Crunching the numbers, egg No. 2 could hatch starting on Friday and egg No. 3 on Saturday.

This is going to be better than April the giraffe. Trust us! This is real, wild nature. The parents will bring fish back to the nest. Eagles could attack. Who knows what may happen with three new mouths to feed?

Click here for the live feed.

On Saturday, April 29^th the Friends of the Lower Appomattox River will stage the 3^rd annual Appomattox RiverFest (with co-sponsor Fort Lee). This day long family event is great for nature lovers, birders, history buffs, outdoor enthusiasts and anyone who wants to spend a beautiful day outdoors enjoying the scenic and historic treasures of the Appomattox River.

Fishing lessons are among the many offerings at FOLAR’s Appomattox Riverfest on April 29th.

From 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. at the Appomattox Riverside Park – at the rocky rapids where Dinwiddie, Petersburg and Chesterfield meet – RiverFest will offer these activities and more:

o  Obstacle course and climbing wall with Fort Lee

o  Youth Fishing workshops, provided by Virginia Department of Game & Inland Fisheries

o  Kayaking workshops with certified instructors

o  Archaeological activities and demonstrations with Fort Lee archaeologists

o  For nature lovers – view rare fauna along the trails with a Master Naturalist

o  See and learn about the fish, reptiles, amphibians, bugs and birds that help keep the river healthy with Environment Education Specialists and Thunder Eagle Wildlife Rescue

o  Stroll or ride a tram along the River Walk Trail that provides great views of the river

o  Learn the history of the river and batteau with the Virginia Canals and Navigation Society

o  Food Trucks and Live Music by the Fort Lee Band and Mike Packer & Johnny Holt!

There will be plenty of parking with shuttle buses running throughout the day at four locations:

o   Bank of McKenney, (6300 River Rd., Petersburg VA 23803)

o   Matoaca Baptist Church (6409 River Rd., Petersburg VA 23803);

o   Matoaca Elementary School (6627 River Rd, Petersburg, VA 23803); and

o   Matoaca United Methodist Church (6301 River Rd., South Chesterfield VA 23803)

The event is free and open to the public. Additional information can be found at www.folar-va.org or Facebook, or email,GetInvolved@folar-va.org or by calling (804) 543-0325.

This morning (March 27) an osprey got up to shift the eggs around. Two are visible at its feet.

Richmond’s favorite pair of ospreys (featured at RVAOspreyCam.com) isn’t slowing down. Every couple of days it seems, there’s something to report. Last Thursday the female laid a third egg. Given what is normal for ospreys — 2-4 eggs, laid 1-3 days apart — that is probably her last. Now comes the waiting. If you’ve followed the cam closely, you’ve seen that both birds will sit on and incubate the eggs. Usually the other flies off when they switch, presumably to hunt for fish, though we haven’t seen them actually eat a fish at the nest yet.

That will change when the chicks hatch and the parents must bring them food for the first few weeks of their lives. When will the first chick hatch? Online sources tell us that ospreys eggs hatch 34-40 days after being laid. That puts the hatching of the first egg at April 19-25, but let’s be honest, who knows?

Stay tuned! And in the meantime enjoy these pics from the recent nest activity.

One osprey and two eggs in the nest back on March 20. Three days later a third egg was laid.

This nest has been a reminder that ospreys will use ANYTHING to line their nests! Viewers have been particularly concerned about the plastic bag shown here, which is still part of the nest structure but now in a different place.

A boardwalk in Henrico’s Cheswick Park.

In the Op/Ed section of Tuesday’s Times-Dispatch, Sports Backers Executive Director Jon Lugbill clues us in to something all Henrico voters should keep an eye out for in the ballot box next Tuesday.

“A bond referendum package for parks projects would include an 87.1 million investment over six years, without an increase in the tax rate,” Lugbill writes.

Among the natural areas in the county that would see improvements: Greenwood Park, Tuckahoe Park, Taylor Park, Cheswick Park, Tuckahoe Creek Park, Dorey Park, Deep Run Park, and Three Lakes Nature Center.

I’ve hiked at Cheswick and Deep Run parks, fished at Three Lakes, mountain biked at Dorey and bird watched at Tuckahoe Creek. The idea of those green spaces getting even more TLC is an exciting one.

“Henrico’s bond referendum elevates its support of active-living infrastructure for its residents and maximizes the benefits of sports tourism,” Lugbill adds.

Give Lugbill’s column a read, Henrico voters, then do yourself a favor and vote for increased resources for Henrico’s nature parks.

Editor’s note: Chris Johnson is a local photographer with a passion for wildlife. He’s written and shown off his work in this space before. We hope to have a semi-regular series from him through the spring documenting the bird scene on the James in Richmond. Stay tuned! (Oh, and BTW, some of his best work is for sale in the RichmondOutside.com store.)

An adult eagle in the Pony Pasture area. Credit: Chris Johnson

I’ve been excited to see as much bald eagle activity as I have so far this winter. I’m on the river with my camera pretty often, and I’d say I see at least one of the eagle pair at Pony Pasture (Williams Island) about 75 percent of the time. They really seem to like the tallest tree of a cluster that makes up a small island on the south bank of the Huguenot Flatwater area. There’s also a tree on the south bank of Williams Island almost in line with the Z-dam where they like to perch.

A few days ago I was at Pony Pasture, and I saw both of them at various times, which wasn’t all that surprising. I had been watching a flock of seagulls that suddenly seemed to fly around frantically, and when I looked up I was not expecting to see a juvenile bald eagle! It couldn’t have been more than a few hundred yards from the nest of Virginia and James. Given how territorial bald eagles are, I expected to see a tussle but never did. The juvenile stayed a while, taking a few laps around Williams Island and perching on a tree right at the emergency parking area for Pony Pasture. It’s amazing what you see in this urban wilderness if you just sit and wait.

I’ve also been curious if the pair on Cooper’s Island (just upstream of Nickel Bridge) would be active again this year given their success at fledging one eagle last spring. With the gloomy skies today, I thought a trip to the CSX A-line bridge and the Pumphouse would make for some great shots. I didn’t lug my big telephoto zoom lens with me and had my 18-month old son in a backpack on my back, so I wasn’t all that prepared when I looked up and saw white tail feathers and the white head of one of the bald eagles flying up the canal and then breaking left back towards Cooper’s Island.

A juvenile bald eagle soars above Williams Island. Credit: Chris Johnson

When I finally made it down to the James, I was able to spot two white heads moving around in the nest area before one of them took off and flew toward the Nickel Bridge. I’d say that’s a good sign that they’re trying to get the nest ready again. This is certainly the time of year for that in Central Virginia. I guess we’ll find out in a few months how things turn out. Last spring the eaglet hatched in the middle of March. With an average incubation period of 35 days, there could be eggs in the nest in the very near future.

I never had a chance to explore the area around the third pair that nested over by Stony Point last year, but it will be exciting if we have three (or more) pairs nesting in the city again this season.

A purple martin looks for food at the Bryan Park Colony. Credit: Nick Kotula

July 4^th has come and gone. We’ve celebrated our independence from Britain by grilling, drinking, and shooting off fireworks, but did you know there are still colonies in the world? One of them is right here in Richmond!

When a group of purple martins comes together to nest and do what the birds and the bees do, they are called a colony. Bryan Park, located right at the split of 95 and 64 at the northern tip of Richmond is home to a very active colony. Every year these birds make the trip back from the Brazilian rainforests to spend the summer in the hot and humid RVA! To give you some sense of how big of an accomplishment this is for a small bird, I did a Google Maps search and was told it couldn’t calculate the route!

Adolph White talks to a family about purple martins. Credit: Nick Kotula

The purple martin is the largest swallow weighing in at 1.75 ounces which helps to explain how they are able to travel 3946 miles (as the martin flies) to call Richmond home. Purple martins are the only species of birds that are completely dependent on humans. Purple martins do not nest anywhere but in the houses and gourds created for them by committed volunteers who have an intense love and commitment to the birds.

At Bryan Park that person is former schoolteacher Adolph White. I met with Mr. White several times, and his commitment and love for these birds is apparent. He will gladly take time to share information and explain, modifications he has made to the houses to ensure a successful nesting spot. His enthusiasm is apparent and infectious.

A purple martin in flight. Credit: Nick Kotula

I’m looking forward to exploring all of Richmond’s parks and sharing the birds and other wildlife that I find. If you haven’t had a chance to check out the martins at Bryan Park, I highly recommend taking a few minutes to watch them swoop and soar through the park before they begin their annual migration back to the tropics!

A section of the downtown RVA heron rookery in its glory days. Credit: Nick Kotula

Here are a few things that you should know about me before reading this: When I put together the words “Richmond” and “outside”, I immediately think of the James River. When I think of the James River, I immediately think of wildlife. And when I think of wildlife, I think of herons. I’ve been writing about the heronry (a rookery for herons) at Pipeline Rapids since 2012, primarily for the James River Association for their Today on the James blog. You can read my most recent article here, or you can waste a bit of time reading all of them here!

So, I really like birds. I especially like great blue herons (GBH for short). For the past few years downtown Richmond has been THE premiere spot in the area to view these birds as they court, copulate, and care for their young. In 2015, the Richmond heron world was rocked. Much like the purple martins (I love that that website still exists), the birds were a no show. At least no one had planned a Heron Festival, which actually surprises me, in retrospect.

Even with no rookery, this is a common sight along Pipeline Park. Credit: Nick Kotula

Richmond Times-Dispatch even did a piece on the disappearance and questioned if they were just delayed or perhaps confused from our horrible winter.

In April I only found one lonely bird. Previously, if there were leaves on the trees, there were chicks in the nests. I returned to Pipeline in May, and I think we can safely say that there will be no heronry this year at Pipeline Rapids.

However, while the herons may have abandoned their previous home, they seem to remember where to find the best takeout in Richmond. The fall line was teaming with GBHs taking full advantage of the running shad and assorted other fish.

So, what does this mean? For you, it means Pipeline is still an excellent place to get in touch with nature. For the James, hunting herons are a great sign of water quality. For the usually solitary and territorial herons, the fact that they are still visiting the fall line en masse means that they are probably still nesting nearby. For me, that means further exploration and reporting on where they’ve taken up residence!

Few birds are more impressive than a heron in flight. Credit: Nick Kotula

If you have never been, I highly recommend that you make a visit to Pipeline Park. Click here to find RichmondOutside.com’s Pipeline park page, scroll down and look on the right side where you’ll find a green “Click for Directions” button. That should get you there!

Do you have a favorite spot on the James? Do you have any leads on where the herons are nesting? Let me know in the comments!

When an osprey does this…

We’ve featured a lot of amazing bald eagle photos here over the past few weeks, as Richmond’s two nesting pairs — one on Williams Island near Pony Pasture, the other on Cooper’s Island near the Nickel Bridge — have laid and incubated eggs, hunted the James for food, battled each other in the skies of downtown, and now gotten their hatchlings nearly big enough and strong enough to leave the nest.

But RVA’s eagles aren’t providing the only aerial show in town. Back in March, our migratory ospreys returned from points south to nest and raise young in Richmond. There are nests all along the James within city limits, but our good friend Chris Johnson has focused mostly on the scene between the Lee and Mayo bridges. With the shad run in full swing, he’s had plenty of osprey action to keep him busy. Here are some highlights, and you can see more at his Instagram account.

It usually means this for a shad.

And a short flight back to the nest for lunch.

But sometimes this happens!