Young Ospreys
Just as their eggs are laid at intervals of one to three days, ospreys hatch a day or two apart. They are covered in down when hatched, but begin to grow new feathers within days.
The chicks must rely entirely on their parents for food, although the chicks are three-quarters the size of an adult within a month.
By about five to seven weeks of age, osprey chicks are ready to test their wings for the first time. Once capable of flying, the chicks learn how to hunt for themselves, though they will generally stay near their parents for another 30 to 50 days.
Young ospreys of migrating pairs typically separate from their parents permanently in the fall. If they survive until their second or third year of life, the young usually will return to where they were hatched and attempt to set up house in the same general vicinity.
They are capable of breeding by their third year of life.
For more information on ospreys, click on the pictures below.
General Info || Legs & Foot || Eyes || Beak & Mouth
Wings || Plumage || Feeding || Young Chicks || Breeding & Nests
Terms of Use - Copyright 2007 Central Vermont Public Service
Copyright 2002-2003 photos CVPS, Gustav W. Verderber, Floyd Scholz
and Department of Fish & Wildlife
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