Welcome to opalholicsanonymous.com where opal season lasts forever.

When I heard the news that geese were nesting on an osprey platform I was quite surprised, even though I know they will nest in trees, but I thought to myself, 'this can't end well'.

That said, I tuned in to see this for myself, and found the female sitting on 3 eggs, while she and the gander were vigorously trying to defend their nest from the male osprey that had returned, which was repeatedly dive-bombing the pair of geese that are totally defenseless against its beak and talons.

The geese have done a remarkable job of defending their eggs, but seeing the height of the platform I was convinced the goslings would never make it, which concerned many other viewers too, so I was very pleased when I tuned in the other day and found a video clip of other goslings on an equally high platform, and got to see what happened. I'm adding the text from the chat for you so you'll know why this is possible.

Canada geese often chose elevated areas to build their nests. This will
give them a better chance to spot predators. However, this couple
extended it to the max! But it has happened on several osprey nest sites
or trees before. All goslings will hatch within about 24 hours and leave
the nest soon after by a leap of faith. They weigh almost nothing, have
fluffy down feathers, and their bones are still soft and bendy. The will
make it! This clip is a great example:

The osprey was awaiting the return of the female, who finally arrived 2 days ago, so he had little else to do but pass the time harassing the geese, but now hopefully things will settle down since there is a second platform, which is where they are now. Here's the link to the cam, which will pan between both platforms off and on.

https://explore.org/livecams/ospreys/ch ... sprey-nest

Here's some footage from the day the osprey was continuously attacking the geese. After that day it was sporadic until his mate Charlotte returned. Mother goose is still sitting on her eggs, which are now two in number, because one got damaged so she ate it.

Mother Goose's two remaining eggs hatched, beginning the night before last, and by yesterday afternoon they took their leap of faith at less than 24 hours old, and joined their parents on the ground; and I had tuned in just in time to see it!

Here's a clip of them diving off the platform, and one of the whole family on the ground below. It was just adorable, and when they panned back I could see that there were many other geese with their goslings heading across the field toward the water. Too cute!