SOUTH BEND, Ind. — There's a new family growing high above a northern Indiana television station.
Staff at 13News affiliate WNDU in South Bend have been watching a nest of ospreys on their transmitter tower. A video camera on the tower has given nature watchers a bird's-eye view of the growing family.
Three eggs were laid in the nest in April. One of them hatched late last week and a second hatched on Sunday.
Josh Sisk, executive director of the Potawatomi Zoo, told WNDU the eggs hatch one at a time so the parents can make sure there is enough food and resources for at least one chick to survive.
Sisk said ospreys are a falcon species that are unique in that they're one of few that only eat fish, which they hold onto using small spurs on the bottom of their feet.
The new chicks' parents will have defined roles for birdwatchers to observe as their babies grow.
“So now that the chicks are hatched, mom’s going to do most of the care, so she’s going to be staying with the chick and dad’s going to be the hunter. So, dad’s going to be going out, getting the fish, and he’s going to be making sure he takes care of mom and the kids as they grow,” Sisk said.
The chicks will mature over the next two months, getting feathers in preparation for leaving the nest. But even after they're old enough to venture out on their own, Sisk said the osprey young will still hang around the nest for a couple months after that.
“One of the cool things about this is, once a pair makes a nest, and it’s safe, and they have a successful clutch of chicks, they’re usually going to come back every year, so this may be something, as long as you’ve got your tower there, they may be coming back every year to start building their nest, so I’d be prepared for that,” he said.
If you'd like to keep up on the progress of the osprey chicks and await the hatching of the third egg, WNDU has a live camera you can watch here. The station is also taking suggestions to name the new babies.