Hello everyone,
After a very promising start to our season here at Loch Garten - both EJ and Odin safely back, three eggs laid and two chicks hatched - events have taken a turn for the worse. Odin, normally a fantastically devoted provider for his family, hasn't been seen since lunchtime yesterday, leaving two hungry chicks on the nest along with a worried looking EJ. Odin had chased an intruder yesterday morning and then disappeared, probably to catch a fish, we assumed. Not long after he left we had a male bird land on the tree next to our nest, sending EJ into a state of some panic. Some quick camera work revealed a leg-ring and the intruder was identified as Cromarty (PP7), a four year-old Scottish male. This was initially met with some excitement at the centre, as we love to see young ospreys arriving back to Scotland, ready to breed and further increase the population. The cheeky youngster hung around for a while, even attempting to land on the nest, before EJ apparently scared him away.
Cromarty yesterday
Activity over, we settled down to wait for Odins fish-laden return. And wait we did. By closing time, he still hadn't returned but we shut up the osprey centre happy in the knowledge that anytime soon he would provide his burgeoning family with a delicious, piscivorous meal. When, this morning, I arrived at the centre to be told by Dave, one of our residential (and long-serving) volunteers, that Odin still hadn't come back, alarm bells began to ring. This really isn't typical behaviour for Odin however, some of you may remember two years ago when he vanished for about a week, ousted by an intruding male (Fenrir), who then proceeded to kick three eggs out of the nest. On that occasion Odin reappeared shortly after to see off the mischievous Fenrir and reclaim his nest, albeit too late to save the eggs. However, if Odin is gone for a week right now, that will be the end of the two chicks, who surely can't survive with no food for such a long period. Cromarty, the intruding male who has probably been the cause of Odin's disappearance, has today been joined by at least two other males in harrassing EJ on the nest. It seems that the word is out that EJ is currently unaccompanied and we have witnessed a number of skydances where these males perform a stunning, swooping aerial display in an attempt to woo the available female. At one point, Cromarty even had the barefaced cheek to land on the nest next to EJ and see off one of the other males, as if to say "Stay away from MY nest!"
Who does he think he is?
Cromarty joins EJ on the nest!
If Odin doesn't turn up in the near future it looks likely that Cromarty will be the one to take over. Unfortunately, male ospreys are not ones for adoption and are unlikely to raise another's offspring as their own - disposing of them so as to encourage the female to mate with them instead. Whatever happens, it is important to remember that this is an entirely natural process and nature has its way of ensuring the strongest genes are passed on through the generations. As hard as it is to witness "our" ospreys experience difficult times, we have to remember that this is not a Disney film and that there is no such thing as "goodies" and "baddies". The intruding males are doing exactly what they should be doing and in many ways, it is fascinating to witness this behaviour first hand. When things don't go according to plan, it should serve to remind us of what a delicate and difficult process breeding is and how amazing it is that these birds, and all animals, successfully breed as often as they do.
Having said that, I really hope Odin comes back soon!