Osprey Live Stream, Stockton, Missouri
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Liberty Utilities Co. and Mid Central Contractors invite you to join us in celebrating the return of osprey to Stockton Lake. Enjoy this brief peek into the lives of this osprey family! But, please be aware, at times, nature can be difficult to watch.
On February 24, 2015, Liberty Utilities Co. moved the osprey nest from one of our transmission towers to this newly built nesting box. The pair had a nest burn in the previous summer after coming in contact with an energized electric line. The fire also did damage to the transmission tower and line, interrupting electric service. This new home for the pair of osprey is meant to be a safe nesting alternative while also increasing service reliability for Liberty Utilities customers. Click here to view photos of the installation of the nesting platform.
Above is a live stream of the nesting box. The box is approximately 4-feet by 4-feet and approximately 70-feet high. Although the power lines are visible in the background, the nesting box is approximately 50 feet away from the power lines. This nest also has night vision provided by infrared light illumination. Birds and humans cannot see infrared light, so the osprey are not bothered at night by the infrared light illumination. The cameras are powered by two solar panels. If there are several days in a row of overcast skies, the camera may run out of battery backup. But, once the sun returns, the camera will be operational again.
Note to viewer: Images presented on this live stream are the property of the Liberty Utilities Co. and may be used for educational and non-commercial purposes. Images may not be sold.
About Ospreys
Osprey are uncommon statewide, most are spring and fall migrants but a few nest here. Ospreys are up to 24 inches long, with a 5- to 6-foot wingspan. They are midway between eagle size and large hawk size.
They eat almost exclusively fish they have caught, including carp, catfish, perch, shad and suckers. Also called “fish hawks” or “fish eagles,” osprey usually fly back and forth over—and 50 to 200 feet above—the water while searching for fish. When an osprey spies a fish, it hovers a moment before diving and plunging into the water feet first. Often it will completely submerge except for the wings.
Osprey reach maturity at age 3 or 4 and usually nest near water on a tall structure, such as a tree or rocky bluff. Like bald eagles, they generally mate for life. Nests are built of sticks and miscellaneous other materials. Two to four eggs are produced and hatch in about 5 weeks. The chicks fledge after about 9 weeks. Both parents care for the young. Osprey live about 7-10 years but have been known to live for 25.
(Source: Missouri Department of Conservation)
For more information about osprey, visit the Missouri Department of Conservation website here.
Comments 1,941
Hello I just found this site and am thrilled to know Osprey can and do live here and survive! Do the pair have names?
I am only seeing 3 eggs today but connection is poor.
So the way I have it figured we will be be looking at after May 23 for the Hatch to begin. I will zoom the camera in tight when we get close. Thanks,
thank you! like it close, like it like this 😉
I was without my internet for two wks.. Back now & so happy to learn of FOUR eggs. I missed keeping
Tabs on O’s daily. Thanks to all for keeping us informed.
hearing the red bellied woodpecker or the sandhill cranes??
hope this works https://flic.kr/p/GevAs6
anyway to share screenshots? is there a facebook page dedicated to this wonderful family?
It works….just click on it….Thank you!!!
Oldollady has seen and taken a picture of four eggs…..Four!!!
OH LORDY!!! at about 7:55 dad brings a fish, mom gets off the eggs-there are FOUR!!! amazing!!
Ha! You beat me!
Does anyone know what those small cylindrical things are in the nest. Look like little tubes. If the Osprey are ok with them ,well I guess I will just have to live with them, but they bug me!
I also see three (3) eggs………Regarding the Cylindrical things……..There is a funny story with those………..What they are is sort of pungy sticks that were originally installed on the Power Structures to deter the birds from nesting there. As it turns out the birds used these as anchors to help hold the nest in place. When the nest was moved those were cut off at the base to allow the nest to be moved in one piece without disrupting the construction of the nest. So they have remained. We had discussed removing them but were concerned a the time it would cause disruption to the nest, so we left them…..The feeling is mixed, they annoy me somewhat also but this winter we may try to remove them but until then it’s and interesting story.
Thanks Mike for this interesting info. Now that I know their history I might start liking them in the nest. Bottom line if the Ospreys are ok with them , then so am I.
thank you mike- we have wondered about them too
april 10 and we see 3 eggs!!
4/8 7 am. two pretty eggs and dad comes in to mate with her 😉
Both Ospreys in nest at 1:55 pm being buffeted by high winds.
Mike Gordon, Thanks so much for the closer view.
7:47 turkeys under the view of nest, i didnt get a pic
I’ve zoomed the camera in for some more exciting egg viewing over the next week or so………as per earlier discussions we would expect 2 – 4 eggs…….with most osprey mating pairs laying 3 eggs. Very uncommon to have have more than 4.
I will zoom the camera back out once all the eggs have been laid.
Enjoy!
thank you! she is beautiful
Thank you for the closer view!
we have an egg!! april 4 i think about 7ish pm
??
At least one egg.
Mrs O (I assume) is sleeping on the perch……..
Both on the nest this a.m. and being very active. Looks like they are getting nest ready. What fun. Again big thanks to all for sharing the ospreys with us.
Glad to see all is well and both O’s on the nest this morning after the big storm last night.
Both Ospreys are hanging out on and around the nest this morning and doing a little chirping….
Looks like Daddy O has half of a fish on the nest….
Thank you so much for doing this again this year. I thoroughly enjoyed watching the osprey family grow last year and am looking forward to watching again this year, even more so with the improved camera resolution, zoom feature and audio. A huge thank you to all involved!!
One on the nest….one on the perch eating…. 10:18 am
Our pair was on nest a lot today. Mid afternoon I saw 4 something flying over the lake, our
Pair was still on nest at that time. I wondered if they were more Ospreys
I love the clarity of picture and surround scene of lake. Great job!
can anyone tell if the same pair? they are getting along like an old married couple 🙂
Both on nest at 5:00 pm. W/fish YES!!!!!!
One on nest 1:00 pm today Mar 22. Brought a fish to nest & was eating
Mrs. Osprey enjoying the morning sun on her nest and seems to be watching for Mr. Osprey’s arrival….8:50 am.
osprey on perch at 7:06 am as the day gets color
looks like the same lady as the one on 3/11
Still or back on the nest at 10:10 am.
ALL,
Osprey Nest Camera is working well……Hope you all enjoy the better resolution. Added benefit we will be able to zoom down when babies are getting close. This camera has an optical zoom making the resolution consistent at any zoom level.
Still working on the WOW (Wires Over Wildlife) Camera (Also HD Resolution)…….for some reason after we moved it, it lacks any level of cooperation. I have not yet given up on it and will achieve my goal but it might take me a bit.
Further, I hope you all enjoy the audio with the cameras this year. It definitely adds a level to the experience. Note: While we do have countermeasures in place wind is still a challenge when you are 75 feet above the ground. So on windy days you still have some wind noise. This morning however I’ve very happy with the sound quality given that this is definitely not an ideal setting for sound.
Enjoy!
hear some wind-but want to hear osprey 😀
thank you
Thank you!!!
female osprey on nest at 17:49 march 11 ’16
We have a few more exciting changes we are going to make. However we are waiting on a couple of parts. If the weather will cooperate we will have these completed within the next week or so……… So please check back…….
Thanks!
I am back for another year and can’t wait to see the changes. Go Empire! Go Ospreys!
Osprey on the nest now. I have a screen shot.
First Osprey 2016 Arrived 3/8/16!
Yay!
Great news! I’ll report this to eBird, Cornell’s online birding database.
Hi Mike,
I reported your sighting to the eBird database. Since it is an early date for Osprey, the reviewer asked for any documentation of the sighting. Do you have a freeze frame photo from March 8 that I could submit to him? Thanks
Do you know what the past arrival dates have been?
Sorry I didn’t see your note until now…….Unfortunately I did not take a screen shot…….I will know better in the future.
I may have seen one at the nest w. of Bona. You must have moved the nest and built a new platform. Wish I could have watched. Thanks so much for everyone’s efforts.
How Exciting!!!
A friend of mine just got this photo…… https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/jffx6gjm5tg8e7b/1457740442068iM3wL2016-03-11_185006.png?dl=0
Just to bring everyone up to speed. The equipment to a pretty hard hit with lightening we have determined the needed equipment but may be sometime before we can restore any live feeds. I’m hoping in the meantime we can get some video clips posted here. I will update here when I know more.
Good to hear. Thanks for the update.
At Stockton Lake Aug 27. Ospreys still using nest as we watched with binoculars.
The Storm over the Weekend caused an issue with our cameras. We are going to try to address it next week. Please check back later.
They just flew off when mom or dad flew on nest!
Six black birds on nest again. Wonder if they look for fish bits or bugs or what?
They just flew off when mom or dad flew on nest!
Osprey on the perch eating a fish 4:26 pm 8/10/15
One adult on nest at 5:20. 2nd one flew in also & then flew off. First time I had seen both at one time in a long time it seemed!
Sat 8/8/15, 8:07 AM…..both adults on the nest at the same time, no babies
A regular size bird is sheltering from the rain this morning in the upper rim of the nest. He looks so tiny in comparison! No ospreys present.
When I looked again. Adult actually feeding baby closest to it beak to beak!
At 5:50 pm three babies on nest & one adult!
At 5:30 one baby on perch. One adult flew in w/fish followed by a 2nd baby. Adult didn’t seem to want to
Share. Has anyone seen both adults at same time? I haven’t.
Monday, Aug 3, 10:15 AM, saw 3 big crows checking out the nest. ? We were at Stockton Lake yesterday and counted 7 osprey nests and 10 ospreys. Saw one carrying a fish and another skimming the water fishing. We saw 3 ospreys return to the camera nest, so I think the crows are just visiting.? It was very cool to see the “babies” acting all grown up and flying like pros.
I saw two of the younger birds on the nest at the same time Wed, 7/29/15, and one had a fish. Today, 7/31/15, there was one of the young birds on the perch by the nest at 3:00 PM. A huge thank you to whomever has kept the cameras up and running during this hot, hot, hot summer!!
I have seen them on nest at different times! Usually when they bring fish & eat it on nest. I have not seen two
Adults at same time. Little ones are not so little now so not much space for all!
Does anyone have data as to when they may begin their migration.
The issues recently with the cameras has been a component that has been failing due to the excessive heat. Funny I can sort of understand that………..anyway hopefully it’s resolved for the time being.
Well feel like empty nest syndrome, has anyone seen any birds recently.