Daily Update~Loch Garten Nest ~Wednesday 13 May 2015

Aww :'( again... all is quiet, no fish can be in the offing.

I'm very worried about EJ now - this lack of food and attention to the scrap of eggshell. She needs her strength even if only to build up for the journey South and back again next year.  This year is not going to be a good one I'm sure. Odin part timing if at all, the immature males no good as partners/fathers.  Shame no one can tell her to just go fishing and flying and being an osprey for the hell of it!!!  Am I wrong?

Morning everybody - have just arrived and caught up with posts from yesterday evening and so far this morning.  Many thanks to all for reports.

I fully endorse what Leen said earlier (on page 5). I think this is an incredibly useful, not to say invaluable, thread for keeping up with the LG nest, especially for those who are not able to watch live regularly. The informal shift system works really well, and of course we have all the dedicated posters (I'm not naming names, but you all know who you are!!!) who provide the backbone on the thread with all the pics and vids.  Many thanks to you all!!

Sorry that EJ is still without food.  RE her current incubating behaviour, Paul's Bathtub article (see my query on the new Q&A thread yesterday - Scylla, I didn't understand the very technical words either!), certainly explains why she STOPPED incubating, but I's still mystified as to why she has STARTED again.  Something must have triggered the hormonal response.

I did put forward the possibility that, by appearing to be incubating, she is demonstrating to potential usurpers that the nest is occupied, but having read Paul's article, which rather implies that birds don't do much rational "thinking" this is probably very unlikely.

Sudden shouting, she flew!

Back she comes, shouting all the way and continuing.  I can't see what she's doing, cam froze... settled on eggshell.

moffer said:

I console myself with knowing that EJ knows best. If she gets that hungry she'll go fishing I'm sure.

I think we said early on in the saga Moffer that eventually the survival instinct will kick in. I think what amazes most of us is the time it has taken for her to go that route. We all know that she is more than capable of catching fish as Clare said.

Morning everybody, what a few days this has been, so grateful to everyone who constantly watches and reports , your heads must be spinning, above everything now I just want to see EJ eat,

She's wasn't gone for long though...

Oldshoremore, you have very articulately put voice to my own questions - what hormonal reaction has kicked in that meant that an experienced female osprey, even having apparently lost her mate, not being fed, still wants to incubate a very clearly broken egg shell? I can't fathom it, except as some form of trauma...

Oldshoremore said:

I did put forward the possibility that, by appearing to be incubating, she is demonstrating to potential usurpers that the nest is occupied, but having read Paul's article, which rather implies that birds don't do much rational "thinking" this is probably very unlikely.

I always wonder about that.  I don't know if anyone has done any kind of study into the potential intelligence of raptors but I know that studies of other groups of birds (corvids, for instance) have shown levels of intelligence way beyond anything expected.