Watch the new male from the Hellgate Osprey Cam bring a monster-sized stick to the nest as Iris calls him in. After a few attempts to land atop the nest, he manages to place the stick precariously along the side railing. Several minutes of wrestling later, Iris takes over—and the stick is ultimately dislodged, falling from the nest. Perhaps this particular stick wasn’t a suitable addition to the nest after all.
Watch live with updates, tweets, and highlights at
http://AllAboutBirds.org/ospreys
Watch the cam and learn about the Montana Osprey Project at
http://hs.umt.edu/osprey/
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This Osprey nest is at the mouth of the spectacular Hellgate Canyon at the edge of Missoula, Montana. It’s in a very busy location, right outside the Riverside Health Care Center and next to busy parking lots, a construction site, a busy highway, and a railroad. However, it’s also an ideal location in many ways, since these Ospreys have riverfront property only about 50 feet from the Clark Fork River. Being so close to people does not bother them, and hundreds of people enjoy watching them every day.
The female Osprey at this nest is called Iris because she has very distinctive spots on her iris, especially in her left eye. These iris patterns serve as individual barcodes and allow us to identify her. She has nested at this site for many years. Her mate of many years, Stanley, did not return in 2016, and she attempted to breed with a new male dubbed “Louis” after an influential local Salish elder named Louis Adams (for more info: http://missoulian.com/news/local/new-osprey-father-named-in-honor-of-salish-elder/article_a9a4e738-e22f-5660-9633-b8cfec680244.html)
After a single year of successful breeding with Louis in 2018, Iris went through several years of unsuccessful attempts as Louis paired up with another female a little downriver. Then, in 2024 a new male showed up (later christened “Finnegan” by viewers) who successfully paired with Iris and began a new breeding season.
Ospreys are consummate fishing birds, and this pair fishes primarily from the Clark Fork River and nearby Rattlesnake Creek. They use their 6–7 foot wingspans to soar above the water, looking for fish, then diving as deep as 3 feet for shallow-swimming prey. Adult Ospreys usually weigh 3–4 pounds, and they can carry prey up to 50 percent of their own weight. Ospreys can live up to 25 years, and they typically lay 1–4 eggs in a clutch.
The nest used to be on a power pole about 200 feet west of where it is now. This was dangerous, since the Ospreys could have been electrocuted, causing fires and power blackouts. In 2007, the current nest platform was erected to provide a safer place for the Ospreys to nest. They took to it immediately. Getting the new nest platform set up, and installing and running to high resolution camera for this feed for you to enjoy has been a large effort involving many groups: Riverside Health Care Center, Karen Wagner, Kate Davis and Raptors of the Rockies, Northwestern Energy, Dave Taylor Roofing Company, and Dr. Erick Greene of the University of Montana.
#birdcams #live #osprey #birds #wildlife #nature #nowplaying #montana
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He is a good guy for sure, have they consummated the marriage?
He is such a good provider. I just love seeing them doing well together.
Oh boy this one needs a lot of training
Ok, now how about bringing our queen some fish
He is very proud of this
🦜 What happened to the 1st NG?? He stuck around quite a bit. This doesnt appear to be NG/V1 🤷🏻♀️
"Yo, look at this GIANT STICK I found! Isn't it awesome??"
😂😂😂
Iris you well deserve this impressive NG. Hoping you 2 stay bonded 🤞 ❤
Aww, he's doing his best! He definitely didn't settle for a little twig – only the biggest sticks will do!
When your husband goes shopping at Home Depot without you 🤣
Iris sure has had a time of it this year,maybe it will settle down now.🙂
Honestly, I loved the first attempt at delivery (near very start) when the disembodied stick flew by and gave Iris a little whack on the head! “Incoming!” 😂
'A' for effort young man😂
This is why you don't send men to Home Depot by themselves
Perfect for pens!
Yes – this is not a good addition to the nest. Glad it fell out.
So what is going on here!? Iris has a male suitor! She’s so bossy, lmao😝! I love you Iris❤
I'm hopeful for this pair, it's been great watching their bond grow the past few weeks and his investment in nest building. Hope they both return next mating season.
Heiata was busy this morning. He always seems to bring smaller twigs, bark, and leaves, so it's good to see him bring a large one, even though it eventually fell from the nest.
Wow that was a whopper of a stick.. That reminded me of louis's first year at the rest, every time he brought a stick in Iris had to duck. He would land with the stick across her back or hit her with it. He fell off the side of the nest once trying to arrange a stick it was so funny… Shame he was no good for Iris because he was very funny to watch!!
That's not a stick, that's a BRANCH! Iris is like, "What, do you think this is an EAGLE'S NEST?! But A+ for effort!"
I have hopes for New Guy #21! Iris seems to be interviewing all the single males in Hellgate. This guy seems to be ‘experienced’. Don’t ask how one might deduce this….hoping for the best for our queen! ❤
Wow Thanks for this insight – nest building is a lot work ! ❤
I have watched a lot of raptor nests. I believe this one is the biggest overall. I watched a male bald eagle bring in a "log’ about the size of my F WRIST in diameter, but the length didn’t compare to this osprey
😂He brought a big stick and now he's yelling at him to settle down 😂