Events from the nest today: 4-11
Today has been an extremely eventful day for our osprey pair so far. The male osprey was seen spectacularly catching a fish in front of the hide early this morning. An interloper was seen mid-morning in the vicinity of the nest. In reaction, 7Y made to chase the interloper away from the nest and did not return for several minutes. Thanks to the male’s efforts, the intruder has not been seen since.
In reply to a question we received via
ospreys@swt.org.uk, we do have the ability to reposition the camera during the day and once the eggs are laid we will be zooming in to examine them more closely. However, this will be done intermittently and only during daylight hours as the night vision camera cannot be repositioned.
Another question we were asked was why the female osprey upon receiving a fish from her mate, promptly flies off with it to eat elsewhere. This behaviour is normal for the period before the eggs are laid as it is essentially going through the motions of incubation. Once incubation has started, the male will consume the head of the fish himself, and will then deliver the other half to the female, who will leave the nest, allowing the male to take over her duties. This gives the female a welcome break and a chance to get some exercise.
Events from the nest today: 4-10
The day-to-day task of keeping his mate well nourished continues for the male osprey. At 11:08am a fish was delivered, which the female then flew away with to eat elsewhere. Then at 12:51pm the male visited the nest again, bringing with him another fish. This was rejected by the female and was taken away 10 minutes later.
Despite the pressures of providing constantly for his mate, the male osprey seems to have taken to his task with fervour, displaying the same dedication which he showed the previous year when the female was fighting to hold onto life.
The pair have attempted to mate throughout the day. This behaviour will most likely continue until the eggs are laid to ensure that there is every chance the female will produce a healthy clutch.
Events from the nest today: 4-9
It has been a somewhat routine day for our pair of opreys, with the male bringing in fish this morning for our female to keep her strength up. This is a very important job as a regular intake of protein is necessary for her to produce healthy eggs, something which we are all hoping for!
Later this morning the male visited the nest twice bringing in the occasional stick to add to the nest. Though his most important job is to bring in food for the female, this is also useful as she can remain on the nest and continue create the nest bowl where the eggs will be laid.
Around lunchtime the male attempted to mate with our female but was not entirely successful. This may be a sign that the eggs are already developing and she is refusing his advances because of this.
Events from the nest today: 4-8
During the early hours of this morning, our female osprey could be seen adjusting and building the nest. We are all still looking forward to the possible prospect of eggs in the next few days as our female has been displaying positive behavioural signs.
