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.