The Addictive Osprey Watch

Photo courtesy of BoulderCounty.org

Oh, like I need one more time suck in my life.  Something that I look at  – just for a second! – and then two hours are gone. Like many of you, I’ve been rejoicing that spring has delivered news about babies.  I’ve been watching chick hatchings and waiting for blog posts about goat births – obsessively.

Yet none of these has gripped me and not let go like the osprey cam.

The short story (you can read more on their website – it’s great):

An osprey pair began nesting in 2003 on a light pole in Longmont, Colorado.  They mate for life. Every winter, they fly separately to Central or South America then return to their nest each spring to reunite.  In 2012 a web cam was installed and the bird’s lives were documented.  There’s a timeline here – you’ll need to scroll backwards for last year.

This year, on March 26th, the male returned.  He’s been sprucing up the nest (it’s humongous) with small branches and twigs and lots and lots of trash (she’s not going to be happy).

But the lady of the house hasn’t returned yet.

I know it’s a bird and doesn’t have human emotions, but every night he stands on the edge of the nest and his head turns back and forth, to and fro.  And you just know he’s looking for her.  He’s scanning the skies for his mate.

He watches for her, and I watch him watching for her, until night falls.  I find myself holding my breath at times.

This is some kind of romance, some kind of story.  The best kind.  And I’m hooked.

(Sharing at Clever Chicks Blog Hop, Homestead Barn Hop, Backyard Farming Connection Hop, Down Home Blog Hop, Frugal Days Sustainable Ways, Link Love Thursday and The HomeAcre Hop!)