No matter how I write this blog I am going to be critisized by some of you....so it is best to just say it as it is....the situation for our youngest chick is not looking too good. Will it die on the nest? If today is anything to go by then the answer is undoubtedly yes, but before we all start allocating blame, the chick is still alive and we have to cling onto the hope that it will survive. If OVS starts to bring in large fish again and the weather improves we could return to the scenes of last Friday when the chicks were so stuffed that they were rejecting food and there was no "bullying" on the nest. We should not give up hope.
Today three reasonably sized fish have been delivered and the smallest chick has only had a couple of small pieces in total.....the last fish was split between the two oldest chicks whilst the little one sat next to EJ and called for food, she ignored it for a long period of time before offering the smallest of pieces. It may appear strange that a parent will not feed its offspring but this sort of thing is happening on hundreds of nests at this very moment, from goldcrests to white tailed eagles. The parents need to guarantee at least one successful fledgling and will feed the biggest and strongest one first for that very reason. I know it is hard to watch but nature is cruel and the strong will survive.
Many of you have asked about the whereabouts of OVS. Since Saturday (21st June) 17 fish have been delivered to the nest of which OVS has delivered 14. Where is he when he is not out fishing? If EJ is food soliciting it is either because OVS is in the vicinity having just come back with a fish and she is calling him in or he is in the vicinity and she wants him to go off for a fish..... regardless, if she is food soliciting then he is in the area. If she is not food soliciting then the chances are that he is away...Where? I'm sorry I can't answer that one.
The next few days should give us the answers to a lot of questions ......
I do hope that our little one will survive but we may have to prepare ourselves for bad news. Please let me be wrong.
If you want to specifically help the Loch Garten Osprey Team 2008, you might consider supporting the RSPB. You can do this online via the RSPB website: http://www.rspb.org.uk/join, if you add the code PR08 (that is zero eight), your membership will be credited to the Loch Garten team.