Daily Update (LG Nest) Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Well, initially, EJ was primarily staying on the nest. I personally watched hours of loud food soliciting, which went unanswered by Odin. Many mating attempts occurred and were witnessed, but fish were not brought in. We saw one side of the ritual, but not the other. After a long period of not receiving any fish, she left the nest. Also, this was David's (at LG) comment on the blog:

"Just to let you all know EJ is sitting on the camera tree munching a fish she caught earlier, Odin has been out and about since this morning, probably fishing but also getting some peace and quiet!"

So that suggested to me that she is doing most of her own fishing. But you're correct that my comments were speculative, and right after posting, I edited to acknowledge that we can't know for certain what is happening out of our view.

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Thanks for your reply, Diane. Your points are, as always, well made and apposite.

I sometimes wonder if we can suffer from having a selective memory when it comes to the events of last year. Consequently, I like to re-read blogs from previous years in order to make sure of the goings-on that occured - it's always illuminating and often quite surprising (did you remember that we had no sound this time last year - I certainly didn't). I agree that we probably saw slightly more of Odin at this time last year, but I seem to remember that his reputation as a star performer stemmed mainly from the gushing blogs of the LG staff, rather than from what we witnessed on the nest cam, part of which must have been down to the fact that he wasn't OVS.

We also need to factor in the situation that he faced last year. As a new male on the block, he had to win the affections of EJ and prove to her that he was a worthy partner. As part of an established pair he doesn't have to perform up to those standards in order to win over EJ this time round (as her immediate acceptance of him on Saturday night proved). One thing we can all agree on is that he is certainly performing his primary function with great vigour and regularity - passing on his precious genes by mating as often as possible.

We should never forget that we are limited to the view from a fixed camera focussing solely on the nest and for news of wider events at LG we rely on the blogs of the staff. Only those on the ground can confirm what is really occuring there, and from the tone of the blogs so far I for one am pretty sanguine about things.

Finally, regarding fish. Can you remind me who posted a photo the other day which not only showed EJ's tummy roll but stuck an arrow on it to highlight it? Their name escapes me!   ;-))

All I will say is that any bird that leaves a half-eaten fish on the nest, and yes it is still there now at 22:54 BST, is not about to starve.

I realise that we are all desperate for another hugely successful season like last year, and look for any slight anomaly that might precipitate some unwelcome outcome. Three days after the completion of Odin's marathon migration I think is too soon to start complaining about his performance. Let's cut the bloke some slack and we'll see in the fullness of time whether he can deliver the goods when it really matters.