Allegheny County, Allegheny RiverTrail Park in Aspinwall
Active osprey nest on abandoned railroad bridge that crosses the Allegheny River from Aspinwall to the city of Pittsburgh. The nest is close to the Pittsburgh side of the river on the upper span, visible when looking upriver. It's difficult to see with binoculars. On Sunday an adult osprey brought it to my attention by responding to insistent, repeated begging calls. An adult flew in with a fish and deposited in the nest. A second bird tore into it while the first bird flew off.
It was difficult to determine the size and plumage of the bird on the nest. A recently fledged bird or an adult mate? There has been a bird at the nest most mornings. Today I spotted a single bird in the nest area. 30 minutes later, I was upstream from the bridge and saw 2 adult ospreys landing on the bridge at the same time. The nest was not visible to me. Any ideas about whether there may be offspring already or is this courtship behavior?
