Osprey chicks hatch off Longboat Club Road

By Dana Kampa
| 12:15 p.m. April 14, 2026

An osprey parent feeds one of the recently hatched chicks on a signpost at the intersection of Gulf of Mexico Drive and Longboat Club Road.

Longboat Key
Neighbors

Spring has sprung, and with it comes new life.

Commuters traveling Gulf of Mexico Drive are likely familiar with the nest that has been a longtime home to a nesting pair of osprey on the intersection with Longboat Club Road.

The family of birds is celebrating success this month with the recent hatching of multiple, seemingly healthy, large chicks.

Osprey chicks will typically fledge at about 55 days old but will nest at their home base until migrating in September, according to the Friends of Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge.

Passersby are encouraged not to disturb the nest while the family grows.

Parent and chick look out over the busy motorway on April 12.

author

Dana Kampa

Dana Kampa is the Longboat Key neighbors reporter for the Observer. She first ventured into journalism in her home state of Wisconsin, going on to report community stories everywhere from the snowy mountains of Washington State to the sunny shores of the Caribbean. She has been a writer and photographer for more than a decade, covering what matters most to readers.