Conserve Wildlife Blog

Twins! Two osprey eggs hatch overnight!

May 26th, 2015

by Ben Wurst, Habitat Program Manager

Overnight two osprey eggs hatched at the Osprey Cam nest inside Edwin B. Forsythe NWR in Oceanville on day 40 of incubation. Ospreys exhibit asynchronous hatching or they hatch in the order they are laid. This ensures that the oldest and strongest young survive if there would ever be a shortage of prey. The third egg should hatch within the next 2 days.

You can tell when osprey eggs hatch by the behavior of the sitting adult. They sit higher, with their wings down and they are a bit more concerned with the young that sit beneath them. Young are born semi-altricial which means that they are downy and can open their eyes, but they require very close parental care.

Two osprey eggs hatched overnight on May 25-26th at Forsythe NWR in Oceanville.

Two osprey eggs hatched overnight on May 25-26th at Forsythe NWR in Oceanville.

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