Less than two days after hatching, an osprey chick born on the Town of Osoyoos’ live osprey camera has passed away. The adults raptors stopped caring for the baby bird, which some viewers believe is still visible beside the remaining egg. (Town of Osoyoos / YouTube)

By Vanessa Broadbent

Osoyoos Times

Less than two days after hatching, the first osprey born on the Town of Osoyoos’ live osprey camera this year has passed away, and it’s unclear why.

Viewers watched the first of two eggs hatch on Tuesday afternoon, but by Thursday morning the baby bird was no longer moving.

Tyra Trevellyn, an administrator for a Facebook group dedicated to tracking the osprey family’s progress, watched the baby bird’s passing.

“The little one kept his heart in the game longer than I thought would be possible,” she said online. “Right from hatch he was active and curious and in touch with his world. And our hearts.”

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Trevellyn said the bird passed late Tuesday night. She thinks the cause was dehydration after being left uncovered in the sun and without food; while the osprey caught a fish, they did not share it with their offspring.

“He died after dark while his mother was covering him. I saw him struggling alone so much of yesterday that I was afraid his final breaths would be taken alone. No.”

Ann Gregoire from Summerland also watches the stream regularly every year, and even named the birds: Ollie and Sue.

She thinks the new chick was starved.

“There have just been such little bits of fish coming into the nest,” she said.

These screenshots from the Town of Osoyoos’ live osprey camera show a newly-hatched chick in the nest. The chick passed away less than two days after it was born. (Town of Osoyoos / YouTube)

It’s the first time Gregoire has seen a chick in the Osoyoos nest pass away, but she says it’s not uncommon.

In other nests she watches she’s seen crows or ravens remove the baby birds, and a particular nest she has her eye on right now hasn’t seen the male show up with food for about 24 hours.

“There’s all kind of weird incidents or things that happen,” she said. “But this particular nest, as far as I’ve been watching, has had really good luck.”

It has been an odd year for the birds though, she pointed out.

Two eggs appeared in the nest in early May, but were kicked out by the osprey only days after they were laid.

The osprey likely rejected the eggs because they would not hatch, a response frequent with chickens as well, said Dale Belvedere, manager for South Okanagan raptor rehab centre SORCO.

“They knew the eggs were not living,” she explained. “The first set of eggs weren’t viable and that’s why she chucked them from the nest.”

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Gregoire has a different theory: she believes the eggs were not offspring of the male osprey and as a result he rejected them.

As for why the new chick didn’t make it, Belvedere isn’t sure. She’s noticed the raptors oddly pecking at the nest and trying to move twigs, and the female raptor is sitting on the remaining egg to keep it warm, but not constantly.

“They seem to be very stressed about their actual nest,” she said.

The remaining egg is expected to hatch soon, and the raptor’s response to it could be more telling of their situation.

“The other egg should be hatching any day – let’s wait and see what happens with this other egg.”

While Gregoire finds it emotional to watch the new raptor pass after waiting for it to hatch, she realizes that sometimes it’s inevitable.

“You really feel it, but it’s just one of the things that happens in nature,” she said.

The stream, hosted by the Town of Osoyoos and FortisBC, can be viewed here. While the town administers the camera, placed atop a decommissioned FortisBC pole, staff are not able to visit the nest due to risk of disturbing it.