I am sure many of you noticed that the webcam was not streaming much this past weekend. The entire system is solar-powered, and when there are consecutive days of heavy cloud cover, the batteries do not recharge enough to run the camera. This happens every year, especially in the early season when there is less daylight. There is really nothing we can do about it, except to hope that the sun returns soon! When it does, the batteries charge and the camera starts up again.
As of now, Squam has not returned yet, and the banded male has taken up residence at the nest with Annie. This is a class in Osprey Behavior 101 with males competing for females and nests. The banded male is bringing in a modest amount of nest materials (visible in the accompanying photo of Annie on the nest) as he has the last 2 years when he also attempted to take over the nest. If Squam does not return this week, I will be worried. But I think he will, so I am not overly concerned yet. Last year, he showed up during the first week of April, a full week or so after Annie returned.
Around the region, Osprey are being sighted with greater frequency. If you are a Greenbelt nest monitor or would like to report on activity at a nest, our online nest data forms will be active either today or tomorrow at our updated website. Stand by.