In late March of 2012, the male returned and started repairing the nest and establishing their territory.
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They spend the next weeks pair bonding, mating, and nest building. Pa takes on the role of provider and supplies Ma with many fish.
In these photos, note that Ma has a fish that Pa brought her.
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On April 21, 2012, Ma gathers some moss from a maple branch and delivers it to the nest.
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I first saw the young chicks on June 15, 2012. Eventually, I learned that there were 4 babies.
Here we have Pa delivering a fish to Ma and the youngsters on the nest. Pa does not linger on the nest. He usually drops off the fish and flies to a nearby perch for preening and rest before his next hunting trip. In the following photo, Ma feeds the kids.
On June 27, 2012, while Pa was away fishing, an intruder Osprey buzzed the nest and eventually provoked Ma to take off after it. Intruders often came around, but usually Ma would hold her ground on the nest and just scream a lot. I was surprised that she left the kids unattended to chase away the intruder.
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Pa will often eat the heads of the fish before delivering them to the nest.
As the kids grow up, Ma spends more time off of the nest.
Pa is very busy with so many mouths to feed.
July 25, 2012, The four young birds are getting big, stretching their wings, and preparing for flight.
This one gets some air and impresses its siblings. On July 26, 2012, the first one leaves the nest. Before long, all four have fledged and are flying all about the area. They are also quite vocal.
Pa brings fish to the nest and they all fly back to the nest and fight over the prize. The winner hauls the fish to a perch where they can consume it in peace.
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Ma leaves and Pa is left to look after the four fledglings.
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