Volume III, September Edition
Our Osprey Garden
Greetings!
August has been a time of change for Colonial Beach and her ospreys. The juveniles have begun to fish on their own, nests no longer are the center of activity as they were last month. As of this writing, many ospreys, mainly adults, have left to begin their long migration (2500 miles) to their wintering grounds in South America. Quite a few of the juveniles remain behind, sometimes calling incessantly for their parents. The skies have grown very quiet as well, only occasionally do you hear their call. The juveniles this year will not return to this area for 18 months, they will remain in their wintering grounds until at least the spring of 2024.
I want to give you a summary of what we observed this season with regards to nesting activity:
At the beginning of the season there were 55 active nests identified, meaning there was nest building and mating activity.
Out of those there were 27 successful nests meaning at least one chick fledged.
This resulted overall in 55 chicks, to the best of our knowledge.
We wish a safe journey to all of our ospreys and we will look forward to their return next year.
Festival News
Our team has been working hard to bring all of you a fun, informative and meaningful festival! We have an impressive line-up of speakers so far:
Bryan Watts, Director, The Center of Conservation Biology, William and Mary
Mike Callahan, Chief ornithologist, Caledon State Park
Greg Kearns, Park Naturalist, Patuxent River Park, MD
Pam Narney, Master Naturalist, Montross
Noteworthy Exhibitors are:
Virginia Institute of Marine Science
Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources
Potomac Riverkeepers
Rappahannock River Valley National Wildlife Refuge
Of course we will have the ever popular Trolley and Golf Cart nest Tours, Craft Vendors, Food Vendors, activities for our nestlings (children) and many Colonial Beach organizations.
Live Raptors!
Activities held on Town Hill will be free to the public, tours and speakers will require a ticket.
Early Bird tickets are $10 for a Single and $15 for a Full Nest; Children 12 years and under are free and must be accompanied by an adult. Day of ticket sales $15 for a Single and $20 for a Full Nest.
Tickets will go on sale in early 2023.
50% of all profits will go to ospreys and other wildlife needs here in Colonial Beach! Thank you for your support!
· We will have a booth at the Town Hall on Town Hill event on Saturday, October 29, 2022 from 10 AM to 1 PM. Please stop by and say hello! We will have some freebies for the nestlings!
*********Please sign up on our website to receive festival updates.**********If you have stories or an experience that you would like to share in the newsletter for next month, please send an email to: ospreycbva@gmail.com