Our resident Osprey pair at the Loomis Goose Creek Preserve in Ashville has returned!
On April 1st, we had our first sighting of Hauke (the male) on the nesting platform, and three days later on April 4th, Femke (the female) arrived home.
The pair has been inseparable since reuniting– playing house and barely leaving the nest other than for short periods, happy that their long separation has come to an end! We can expect to see one or more eggs in a couple of weeks.
This will be their fifth season on the nest, and each return is just as miraculous as their homecoming in previous springs. It is like clockwork, and always begs the question of why they have chosen the Loomis Creek nest, along a busy road, out of the billion other places that they could have landed in warmer climates with equally good sources of food. And how do they not lose their way on their long, separate journeys from down south and find each other here in Chautauqua County? No doubt they love Chautauqua Lake!
If only they knew the joy and sense of wonder their presence brings to us. Thank you, Femke and Hauke! And welcome home!
(photos from our Osprey cam - follow our Facebook and Instagram pages to see more photos and videos and follow Hauke and Femke's story for 2024!)
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