Of all the birds here in the Rockies, ospreys are the most willing to put their private lives on display: they hunt for fish over rivers and lakes, and they nest on top of dead trees or power poles, so they're really easy to observe.
 |
| Osprey nest on the Bow River Bridge at Castle Junction, Banff Park. |
But now you can have an intimate view at the family life of ospreys, courtesy of a
webcam near Exshaw, just outside of Banff National Park. The webcam was installed by the power company Fortis, and went live in early May when a pair of ospreys returned from migration. Since then, they've spruced up the nest, laid three eggs (between May 8 and May 14), and taken turns incubating. The real excitement started a few days ago, with the birth of the first chick. Currently, it looks like there's one egg left to hatch, the two newborn chicks are enjoying a post-natal diet of pure sushi!
If you are in Banff or Lake Louise, and want to see osprey in a live setting, our most celebrated pair of “fish eagles” have a nest on the Bow River Bridge at Castle Junction. Just take the connector road between Highway #1 and #1A and look at the bridge's western iron girder.
