WILDLIFE WATCHING -- Ospreys nesting above War Memorial Field in Sandpoint hatched their first chick Monday, and a web cam is giving viewers an up-close and personal view as the adults feed the bird.

The emergence of another chick could happen any day -- or hour.

The first chick to hatch was being fed this morning around 9 a.m. The camera is positioned perfectly to see the action as though you were in the nest.

With a web cam fixed above the nest platform, the public was able to watch the ospreys arrive on April 10 to begin building their nest and go through courtship.

In late April, the camera caught skirmishes between the pair that adopted this nest and a second osprey pair that was attempting to hijack the nest. (The field on Lake Pend Oreille has two osprey nests.)

The Sandpoint Osprey Cam is a collaboration of the City of Sandpoint and Sandpoint Online with corporate support by Avista and Northland Communications. Consulting biologist is Jane Fink of Birds of Prey Northwest.  Moving the nest and puting up the web cam was no easy task. Read about the project.

The Sandpoint Online web page includes a chat feature for osprey watchers to trade observations, plus  Fink is providing an interpretive blog.

The number of daily page views grew into the thousands on May 7, when the female osprey laid the pair's first egg at 12:48 p.m.  (above left). That egg hatched on June 18.  The second should hatch any hour or day.

The parents will be feeding fish to the birds every few hours for weeks.  Enjoy the show.

Meantime, check out this incredible osprey fishing video and brief yourself with Fink's answers to osprey FAQ»