Yes, it’s time for the Ozzie and Harriet show again. Ozzie returned to their nest at least by April 17, when I first saw him. This year, he didn’t have to wait long for Harriet. I saw them together in the nest on April 20. We’ll be following this osprey family until they (and hopefully their offspring) migrate back to a southern state or beyond in the fall.
The images here are from yesterday, which started off sunny when I saw Harriet alone on the nest, as you see in this first image. It was gray and drizzly by the time Ozzie brought lunch home. Note that Ozzie is up to his old tricks: He eats the heads off the fish before giving the rest to his mate. (The brains of fish may be their most nutritious parts.)
Their nest is almost 100 feet above Great Cove in a topless spruce. Unfortunately, the surrounding branches are encroaching on it and restricting my view. It’s difficult to get clear shots of them together. (I shoot from a car window at a considerable distance to avoid making the birds nervous.)
Nonetheless, I can see that the usual fish hawk antics have resumed. Harriet spends most of her time on the nest. She often engages in loud “begging,” issuing the characteristic, high-pitched female osprey pleas for attention and food. Ozzie spends most of his time elsewhere.
But, at least once a day, Ozzie flies in with a scaly meal, which Harriet often tears apart with gusto. They’ll often copulate once or twice before and/or after mealtime. Ozzie will return several times a day, apparently just to copulate. He’ll also return immediately if Harriet issues an alarm call due to such things as being threatened by a bachelor osprey or a bald eagle. They both defend the nest ferociously, seemingly without regard for their own safety.
Ospreys work hard at propagating the species. Copulation to assure fertilization will occur many times a day with increasing frequency until egg-laying time in late April or early May. (One report zealously noted 338 copulations by a pair before egg-laying.) Ozzie and Harriet have not been shirking their duty in that regard, but I don’t tally their efforts.
(Images taken in Brooklin, Maine, on April 24, 2026.)